Snake Fist Form

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Wing Chun
1

I have heard of a form taught in Wing Chun called SNAKE FIST FORM. Does anyone know any information on this form or at what level it it taught.

Thanks for any help

2

Hey Kempo, I have not heard that. I have however heard a few times that there is some snake fist in Wing Chun. Some ideas anyway. I always took it as one of two things, 1 - somewhere when wing chun got started or modified, someone saw what they liked in snake fist and decided to use some of it. 2 - Something in WC resembles something in snake fist so much that someone decided it must be that they share a common ancestor! Either way, WC works, and I like it!

3

I worked out once with a wing chun guy in St. Louis that did a snake fist form that was, according to him, part of his wing chun system. I don’t know what style or lineage of wing chun he was (i was practicing wu xing chuan at the time and didnt even know there were different types of wing chun, so didnt pay much attention to that). It was the last (3rd or 4th?) open hand form that was taught in his system. It looked pretty cool when he demoed it, more like snake fist (but smaller more compact) than a typical wing chun form. So as far as I know, the answer is ‘yes’, there is a wing chun style that teaches a snake fist form…again, I don’t know how authentic it was or what lineage it came from, or much else about it, but I did see it. Yes, there is a lot that resembles snake (and crane) in wing chun, it was highly influenced by, and/or evolved for those shaolin arts.

4

Mutant beat me to it, but Wing Chun appears heavliy influenced by Snake and Crane Shaolin. Kung Lek might even have some info on this.

5

Some of the Vietnamese students of Yuen Chai-Wan (Nguyen Te-Cong) integrated 5-Animal fist into their WCK and do Tiger, Snake, etc. sets.

Back in the 1960s, an anonymous writer used the term “Snake Shape Hand” to refer to Yuen Kay-San’s Wing Chun, due to the small wrist movements.

Rgds,

RR

6

Rene, does that book you were a part of (sorry, forgot the name!) mention the possibility of snake and crane in wing chun in it? I read it somewhere in a book but cannot remember what the sources were.

7

Hi,

Complete Wing Chun. I don’t remember offhand if we mention it there, but either in that book or in a related article we’ve discussed the concept of Fujian White Crane and (perhaps Hakka) Snake fist being the inspiration behind the snake and crane legend.

Rgds,

RR

8

That sounds even more familiar! I must have read it either in Complete Wingchun, ot in a side article! I believe I own a book also, called Complete Kungfu or something similar that has a small chapter on several Kungfus. In it I am sure they mention snake and crane in WC as well.