Ok, since many Shaolin styles basically teach the same, or similar movements, what if we took ALL Shaolin forms and connected them back to back to back, and then deleted all the redundant techniques to create one single form that represents all of Shaolin’s techniques in one set?
How long would it be?
impossible
id say as long as a piece of string
why would you want to do that?
all of these different systems have their own unique history and development.
there is a lot more to a system than the techniques that you see in forms, just because two systems have outwardly “similar” moves, the power training and jibengong as preserved in those 2 systems might result in 2 very different interpretations.
besides, there already is a standardized “Shaolin” form and it’s not worth much IMO.
styles emphasize strategy and tactics which define them as a style.
Shaolin is a very broad and general term that covers a whole lot of styles.
teh long, the short, the middle. Different jings and how to develop them and how to express them in whatever context. the gongs, the augmentation practices that prepare you for use of techniques and so on and so on.
for people who study a system, it generally means following a method. That method will put emphasis on on what is known as workable within the context of what the master knows and what he will impart.
so in short, it would be virtually impossible to gather all forms and delete out all the redundancies because redundancy is what makes for progressive learning and strengthening of attributes associated with style.
anything worth having can’t be rushed and when it is, it’s not worth having. 
i think RD is tlaking about SOngshan shaolin. thats why he said raw. cause thats the “official” shaolin of today. and yes alot of their forms do look alike. I agree.
Hypothetical
I could be wrong, but I think RD is curious as to how long we think a form that was assembled using each Shaolin technique one time would be. If I’m right, than this would be one seriously long form. I’d think it would take an hour or more to perform. If you could even remember all of it. I think SD already has a form like this. :eek: 
Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.
As to redundancy within forms, I think it is how the person who created the form emphasized the techniques they felt were the most important for a student to learn. Repetition builds mental and muscle memory, as well as strength and coordination. JMO
Greetings,
This has been done.
Bagua in my opinion is one of the remaining doors to the real Lohan technique. Instead of having hundreds of forms, there was a simplification to essential techniques that through the use of directional changes evolve into something greater than what the eye can initially see. Tan Tui is like that as well.
mickey
Is this a koan? If so, I like qixingmantis’ reply. Here’s mine:
sit casting a shadow on a stone
[QUOTE=GeneChing;699205]sit casting a shadow on a stone[/QUOTE]
always answering with your philosophical stuff no one understands.
*edit
except maybe jamieson cause he’s a hippie canadian.
My thought is that there is so Much redundancy, that a single form of all Shaolin, with all the redundancies removed might not be more than a few hundred techniques in length.
what’s not to get about koans?
You are referring to a compulsory set way (guiding taolu); didn’t they tried that already? :o
not to get about koans
But redundancy is good. Repetition, repetition, repetition. It’s all the flowery stuff we can do without. 
For me, actually, it goes the other way. Rather than look at all the different forms, I’m more fascinated by the multitude of variation within a single form. Take Xiaohong. It’s practiced so many different ways. There’s so much variation of interpretation between individuals. Just last week, I saw Yanxing’s version of Yinshougun and it had a totally different beginning than what I was taught. I think both versions are valid. My version fits me better but Yanxing’s version is still interesting. So for me, it’s not about distilling to some universal essentials. It’s about the immense diversity. If you just want basics, look to Muay Thai. There’s only a few moves really, and then it’s just repetition, repetition, repetition.
P.S. Shaolinlueb, that was a softball koan. Surely you can penetrate it with a little meditation.
i was talking about casting a stone. not the softball koan. the koan ill run over.
p.s. isnt it cone?
haiku
talking softball koans
conical shaolin shadows
an ill stoned cast
Acrostic
So many secrets
Hidden in gentle movements,
Always guiding me
On life’s magic road,
Leading me deeper
Into myself,
Now, I see the eyes of God.
heres a haiku for you
[QUOTE=GeneChing;699458]talking softball koans
conical shaolin shadows
an ill stoned cast[/QUOTE]
my head hurts a lot
shaolin koan is not here now
what the f you mean
head hurtin’ haiku
shaolinlueb puzzles
haiku koans hurt his head
soon to be homeless
They are “kung an”.
Koan is a japanese zen reference, but it’s all the same stuff. IE: old men spouting crap that makes you feel stupid until you finally realize that the old men are just being coots.
Then you can make yourself feel stupid by really investigating mind and using kung an’s in the process.
[QUOTE=Royal Dragon;699273]My thought is that there is so Much redundancy, that a single form of all Shaolin, with all the redundancies removed might not be more than a few hundred techniques in length.[/QUOTE]
Hmm, what you see today as “Shaolin forms” now existent are just an amalgamated summerization of Shaolin forms from just ONE time period, the Ching Dynasty.
Thus, forms derived from or at the temple, that originated during the Ming dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Sung dynasty are missing. it would be thousands of moves then if these are included.
If all forms movements do indeed come from the original Lohan 18 Hands forms, then you can say 144 moves.