Shaolin Kung Fu Styles
Wu
Xing Quan (Five Animals Boxing)
The
Shaolin 'Wu Xing Quan', better known as the 'Wu Xing Ba Fa', is
the immitating style of the five 'basic' animal styles of Shaolin
boxing. It consist of the Leopard (Pao), the Tiger (Hu), the
Snake (She), the Crane (He), and the mythological Dragon (Long).
Shaolin first became
famous because the Tang Dynasty (618–907) saw fit to favor the
monastery with its patronage as thanks for the role its monks
played in the Battle of Hulao. The sudden renown of the Shaolin
martial arts attracted pilgrims who came specifically to study its
fighting methods. However, the more people that sought training at
the temple, the smaller the proportion of them that had the time
or the inclination to truly dedicate themselves. Some regarded the
Shaolin imprimatur as a kind of talisman that rendered years of
training unnecessary. Others only wanted to fight well and cared
little for esoterica like qìgōng, erasing over centuries the
difference between the Shaolin martial arts and those crude
methods on which it was supposed to improve.
Another was Jueyuan, who
in the 13th century started from first principles with the 18
Luohan Hands, the original 18 techniques of the Shaolin martial
arts. Like those before him, Jueyuan used the original 18 Luohan
Hands as a foundation, expanding its 18 techniques into 72. Still,
he felt the need to seek knowledge from outside the confines of
the temple.
In Gansu Province in the
west of China, in the city of Lanzhou, he met Li Sou, a master of
"Red Fist" Hóngquán (紅拳).
Li Sou accompanied Jueyuan back to Henan, to Luoyang to introduce
Jueyuan to Bai Yufeng, master of an internal method.
They returned to Shaolin
with Bai Yufeng and expanded Jueyuan's 72 techniques to
approximately 170. Moreover, using their combined knowledge, they
restored internal aspects to Shaolin boxing.
They organized these
techniques into Five Animals: the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard,
the Snake, and the Dragon.
