Developing skill

[Sagacious Lu]

Thanks, fellows. I'm trying to pick up some 5 animals from this kid i know who practices it, he I plan to meet his trainer asap. Also, I do shadow box, and when I can I hit the heavy bag. My hands are much stronger now that I have torn them a few times, and My wrist is more accustom to the jolt of impact, which is cool. I also hang a sweat shirt and "hit" it like a bag, though I dont try to power throwgh it, just snap at it with my jab/cross/hooks. And yea, I know a bit about throwing a punch, I feel confident in my understanding of the basic boxing ones. I have read 2/3 books on boxing and asked my MT teacher about about how my form looks. I'm working on it.

Good idea with the stance thing as well, do you think its alright to practice my wrestling stance as well? I'm sure it works muscles just like my higher striking stance.

Right on, I didn't mean to be condescending but I didn't want to assume that you had any knowledge either. If you're working with a MT instructor I'm sure you'll learn solid striking skills. Def. meet your friend's teacher. Once you understand how to hold the six basic stances you can practice them anywhere. If you take the time to practice them regularly they will do wonders to build strength and flexibility in your legs. To start off I suggest holding each of them as low as you can for a minute on each side- doing horse twice since it's symetrical. When you can't hold them anymore stand up, shake it out and go right back into the stance. It will take 12 minutes to complete all six that way, and it will be one hell of a leg work out. A wrestling stance is a very different thing, it won't work your legs any where near as much as kung fu stances, but then again you do use your wrestling stance in wrestling matches where as kung fu stances are (for the most part) a training tool. What's the name of the 5 Animal Style your friend practices?

[danfaggella]

Jeez, I'm not even sure, I can ask the guy. I'll also try to see what kind of rank he has, he has this reputation of being a very knowledgable and rough guy (not "rough" in the sence that he dresses like he is homeless or that he goes out and drinks every night, but that when he practices a technique with someone he does it in a very hard manner, never actually hurting the person but definitly bringing pain), and I can't wait to meet him on sunday.

[Sagacious Lu]

Def. find out what style it is, I'm interested to know what people are practicing. Also, if he's a traditional kung fu teacher he should be able to tell you about the lineage of his system. Good luck this weekend.

[danfaggella]

I think he mentioned chow ka or kuntao or some kind of name like that i didnt quite pick it up. He stated that the chinese military learned a certain amount of it way back when. I didn't even know that there were different 5 animal schools, i thought it was just five animals, as in, the five animals that the shaulin put in the system (although there are prolly plenty of others that aren't in the classic 5, like dog/monkey/mantis). I guess if there was a certain style of 5 animals that the chinese military once trained in, it is that "branch"

I learned how to do repeated inside/outside lever blocks, and the first kata he teaches, which is a bowing kata.

PS:
Maybe I am assuming things or maybe I'm racist or something, but I don't think so. Though this man is very knowledgable about KF/chinese histroy/philosophy/other random things, he works at a factory, lives in an apartment, has a slight gut, drinks scotch, and dresses like any other factory worker. This makes me think (is it bad to think this?) that he is not quite credible. I may find out otherwise or i may never know either way, but I have these thoughts. Is it wrong just to assume he isnt very good just because he doesnt live the "martial way" or present himself differently or loose weight or not because he swears jokingly in conversation?


gracias

[Sagacious Lu]

I think he mentioned chow ka or kuntao or some kind of name like that i didnt quite pick it up. He stated that the chinese military learned a certain amount of it way back when. I didn't even know that there were different 5 animal schools, i thought it was just five animals, as in, the five animals that the shaulin put in the system (although there are prolly plenty of others that aren't in the classic 5, like dog/monkey/mantis). I guess if there was a certain style of 5 animals that the chinese military once trained in, it is that "branch"

There are many different forms of 5 Animal Kung Fu. The five animals are Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake and Dragon, although as you say there are other animal styles including eagle, horse, mantis etc. I doubt anyone knows exactly how many different animal based styles there are of kung fu. Each of them are very distinctive and you shouldn't assume that one style will have much in common with another because they all do things differently. I'm not familiar with Chow Ka but then again I don't really know much about any system other than the one I study.

PS:
Maybe I am assuming things or maybe I'm racist or something, but I don't think so. Though this man is very knowledgable about KF/chinese histroy/philosophy/other random things, he works at a factory, lives in an apartment, has a slight gut, drinks scotch, and dresses like any other factory worker. This makes me think (is it bad to think this?) that he is not quite credible. I may find out otherwise or i may never know either way, but I have these thoughts. Is it wrong just to assume he isnt very good just because he doesnt live the "martial way" or present himself differently or loose weight or not because he swears jokingly in conversation?

gracias[/QUOTE]


This is very difficult to say. The fact that he has a gut suggests that his diet needs improvement but he might still have outstanding skills. I also wouldn't necessarilly discount him because he swears or enjoys a drink- kung fu teachers are not monks and you can't expect them to live as if they were. If he's been training hard for years he might be an excellent teacher despite not being perfect. That said it does not sound like you're describing a dedictated professional. You should probably take a close look at what's going on to see if it's worth your while to train with him. You can tell a lot about a person's skills from the way they move, even in practice. I wouldn't jump to conclusions but you should def. be careful and use your judgement. I am curious about your use of the word kata though... that's a Japanese word and I can't help but be suspsicious when I hear it used to describe a Chinese practice. We practice what we call "forms" which have similarities to katas, but we would never call them katas.

[danfaggella]

I think I've heard him interchange the words, he refers to forms as kata at times, though as you said Kung Fu calls them forms, as far as I know anyways.

Also, I have found out that he is actually ranked a "Grandmaster," which is nuts. I must find out what assosiation/s he is with and how one attains such a rank. He surely knows pretty much everything about every form I've seen, from "pointy hands" to mantis, he knows what every movement means and teaches people in a practical manner, which is rather rough but I think thats the right way, we go hard when I grapple/wrestle/box, and I think that it is a big part of martial arts (IE: being able to deal with and deal out pain).

I am excited to get itno some traditional stuff, and especially at a place that is not for panzies. We practice outside no matter the weather, and he doesn't take it easy on us. Despite the long drive, I feel like sportive martial arts doesn't show me the full spectrum, and I hope I grow and become a better fighter from 5 Animals.

Off to practce my bowing form, I'm getting nice at it.

[Sagacious Lu]

Also, I have found out that he is actually ranked a "Grandmaster," which is nuts. I must find out what assosiation/s he is with and how one attains such a rank.

I would def. question this. In Chinese sifu/shr fu means master/teacher and sigung/shr gung (people spell Chinese words differently in English so I'm not sure of the spelling) means grand master teacher. The term is used when addressing your teacher's teacher, kind of like saying grandfather to your dad's father. I address my teacher's teacher as Shr gung when he visits us but his students still call him Shr fu because that's what he is to them. If one of my classmates were to open their own school my teacher would be Shr gung to the students there but he would remain Shr fu to me. In China being a Shr gung isn't a rank it just means that you have a student who teaches.

He surely knows pretty much everything about every form I've seen, from "pointy hands" to mantis, he knows what every movement means and teaches people in a practical manner, which is rather rough but I think thats the right way, we go hard when I grapple/wrestle/box, and I think that it is a big part of martial arts (IE: being able to deal with and deal out pain).

Regardless of what he calls himself from the sound of this he has a lot to offer. You can't learn take downs without throwing your partner, and it's just as important to learn how to break fall as it is to learn the take down itself. Kung fu practice has to be as hard, physical and rough as possible (within reason for safety sake of course) if you want to be able to use it against real opponents.

I am excited to get itno some traditional stuff, and especially at a place that is not for panzies. We practice outside no matter the weather, and he doesn't take it easy on us. Despite the long drive, I feel like sportive martial arts doesn't show me the full spectrum, and I hope I grow and become a better fighter from 5 Animals.

Off to practce my bowing form, I'm getting nice at it.

That's awesome. My first classes were very exciting and lots of fun because everything was so new. When I get frustrated I try to remember how I felt for my first weeks in training and that motivates me to work through it. Good luck

[danfaggella]

Thanks Lu, you are very Sagacious.

[Sagacious Lu]

Thanks I'm glad I could help