Snake Style

[Mei Hua]

This is based on the Northern Styles

Me
The origins are pretty hard to determine, modern snake is an amalgamation of many other older styles whos history have been lost. Snake is an internal system, primarily based on the Taoist Yin/Yang principle, you counter Yang, direct/straight on, attacks with Yin, circular/ off center, defense and vice-versa. Snake teaches endurance, stamina, and balance of emotions & body/mind/spirit. Snake also teaches to never give an opening in a fight, nor to give any sign of what it will do, always keep an opponent guessing, and when that opponent moves you strike where they leave an opening or have a weakness multiple times, lightning quick and back off to wait, all very lethal wise. There are three types of Snake; Python, which teaches grappling and constriction. Viper, which teaches strikes to arteries/veins to inflict heavy psychological damage as well as stopping blood flow. Cobra, which teaches strikes to nerves/pressure points.

Me
In a way Snake is reactive, but most often it watches and waits while giving no sign of what it will do. When it's opponent moves or leaves an opening then a Snake practitioner launches multiple attacks at all of the vital and weak spots to destroy their enemy, then move out of range to wait the next move. Most often Snake will weaken an opponent by striking at their weak spots or their base to wear them down before moving in for the final kill, it is lethal but wise, ferocious but smart in it's movements, devious and deadly. A good Snake practitioner will often leave a false opening for an opponent, and when they move for the attack, it's usually to late to stop the deadly trap that was set for them! Snake is a powerful animal, wise, spiritual, and deadly.

It's effective, not just technique wise, but strategy/tactic wise. But like I said, it's good to have another style to draw upon, I said I liked Tiger because its ferocious and destructive capabilities give a good balance to the lethalness of Snake, but any style will work just as good. The only difference I've seen between Northern/Southern Snake is the way the hand is positioned; Southern tends to use the Snake head more; hand 90 degrees to wrist with thumb curled under, Northern has the same but puts more emphasis on soft target strikes and so at certain levels switches the hand positioning to the before mentioned with the pinky/wring fingers curled into the hand to make it easier to hit soft points, and to focus your energy into those fingers for the same purpose. Most Snake styles have all three types of Snake; Cobra, Viper, Python, unless it trains specifically in just one Snake type, which some schools do, but Bei Shaolin has all three. As for the forms, that depends on which your instructor teaches, some forms might start off with just one Snake type to get you familiar with it until you advance in skill and combine the three types together. Either way, Bei Shaolin Snake is a very nice school to study.

Me
Python is the Snake style that uses leopard fist, for pinpoint strikes and for grappling purposes. As for which Snake style has the most complex forms, they all are complex, each one starts off with simple forms that progress in difficulty as your skill advances, just depends on what type of complexity as each has different characteristics. The most complex of any Snake style are the forms that combine all three Snakes into one, which requires you to be loose, flexible, and be able to make rapid changes in body and mind, as you might use a Snake technique of one type and then switch to another Snake technique and so have to change your focus, positioning, intent, purpose, and technique style with the speed of lightning. As for which I would rank in order of complexity; 1) Viper, 2) Cobra, 3) Python, but those are just my opinions, another practitioner might give you a different order depending on their body/movement type and personal preferences.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I think you will have a pretty good idea what they are going to do if you take your eyes off the hands, and watch the elbows and shoulders.
Sean

 

[Mei Hua]

You would think, and then we do something different.


I've beaten a number of people with things like that, they don't often stop to think that an opening really isn't, or that the showy hands really can strike or cover for something else.

You learn how to read an opponent, apply psychology and have the skill and ability to fight well, and you have an efficient fighting strategy that produces effective results.

 

[Tensei85]

Old Thread:

Here's a little more info on She Quan, (Sei Kuen)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Kung_Fu


Anyone else had any experiences with this system or even with the Emei She Quan set?