Traditional Shaolin school in Orange County.
- Thread starter Ronnin
- Start date
What part of OC? I might be able to help.
Here are general differences between Northern and Southern styles.
Northern styles tend to be "longer". Think of a greater distance between the opponents, more space to use. Like fighting in country field.
Northern shaolin tends to use more legs and kicks. When the arms are used, they are used at almost complete extension.
Southern styles tend to be "shorter". Think close range fighting, like fighting in a city alley.
The legs are not used as much, though kicks are still used. Leg movements are not as complicated as those in northern styles and arm extension on strikes is much shorter.
Northern styles tend to be "longer". Think of a greater distance between the opponents, more space to use. Like fighting in country field.
Northern shaolin tends to use more legs and kicks. When the arms are used, they are used at almost complete extension.
Southern styles tend to be "shorter". Think close range fighting, like fighting in a city alley.
The legs are not used as much, though kicks are still used. Leg movements are not as complicated as those in northern styles and arm extension on strikes is much shorter.
There is a school in Brea. They have been there along time. I know of others but don't know their actual address and phone numbers. I'll see if I can dig em up.
Shaolin Kung Fu
1219 W. Imperial Highway
Brea
714-4499125
To make a very long story short: Shaolin is one of many Chinese fighting styles. I think Kung Fu would be considered the generalized term.
I concur. Shaolin is a 5 animals style. I trained Southern Shaolin (Sil Lum) for about 2 1/2 years before we moved and I started SPM. I believe Northern Shaolin is much more prevalent.
Hey Jade Tigress. That's a cool name and avatar. I also like your slinky signature, too funny.
I can't speak for Shaolin. I've been training in San Soo for 35 years and I can say it is very practical and effective. I've had to use it on more than a couple of occasions to defenf myself and my wife.
Well, as with all martial arts, it's going to depend on the instructor. If you're getting legitimate instruction and the applications of the forms are taught, then it is effective. If the instructor does not know the applications and the principles behind the *animal* basis, it's not going to help you much. Is there 5 animal school nearby that you are considering?
You might find this thread interesting.
Animal Techniques, Are They A Waste?
L Canyon
Orange Belt
Mr. Qui Gon - where do you train in Orange County? I take San Soo in Reseda and I love it. I believe that Artie Dison teaches San Soo in Santa Ana, and there are a number of other instructors in the OC area.
Back to the original poster's question - you might want to consider san Soo, unless you want animal forms, which I have never seen taught in San Soo. But forget what I say, the best way is to just go to a class, watch, talk to the instructor, and see what entices you.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Five Animals can actually mean quite a few different things, depending on context.
The Five Animals are the Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Crane, and Snake. It's possible that in some contexts other animals are substituted for a couple of these, but these are probably the most common list.
I don't believe there is a specific "Five Animals Style". Rather, there are many different Chinese systems that include Five Animals material as a portion of what they do. And how they do it, and what purpose the Five Animals serve can be quite different from one system to another.
For example, I recently spoke with a friend of my Sifu's, who is an accomplished Choy Li Fut person. Choy Li Fut is a very long-armed Southern style that art includes the Five Animals. But in this style, the five are together in one form, which is considered an "internal" form of the system. What this means is that it is designed to develop your internal energy, which we refer to as "chi". In this context the movements themselves may or may not be as readily applicable in combat, but the development of the chi is the real focus of the exercise.
In other arts that incorporate the Five Animals, there may be entire forms, even more that one, devoted to each animal. And the Five Animals may be more external and may be designed to be more obviously applicable in combat. Hung Gar is another Southern system that traces roots to the Southern Shaolin Temple, and incorporates the Five Animals. How they do it is something I am not familiar with so I can't comment further. But again, the Five Animals are typically a portion of the entire art, and I don't know of an art that is entirely Five Animals.
This also should not be confused with the various complete arts that are based on a specific animal. Fu Jow Pai (Black Tiger), Lung Ying (Dragon), Bak Hok (White Crane, both the Tibetan Style and the Fukien Style that are entirely different from each other) the various Tang Lang styles (Preying Mantis), Monkey, White Ape, Eagle Claw and other arts, are complete arts by themselves based on their animal, and are not the same as the "Five Animals", altho I think some of them may also include the Five Animals as well. But if you simply take the Crane material from Choy Li Fut's Five Animals, it is not the same material found in the Tibetan White Crane or Fukien White Crane systems, for example.
So there is really no clear answer about the Five Animals. It means different things in different contexts, and its purpose as an exercise can be very different depending on the context. One thing to understand: in the Chinese arts, just because two things may have the same, or a similar name, doesn't mean they are anything even remotely similar. It can be frustrating at first because it's confusing, but once you get past that, it is really fascinating and you realize how rich the Chinese arts are.
As far as Shaolin goes, it can be sort of a generic name for a whole bunch of systems that at least claim roots in the Shaolin temples, North and/or South. The temples, in the past, were refuges for political refugees who entered and hid among the monks to escape their enemies. Many of these people brought martial techniques with them which were then incorporated into what was being practiced at the temple already. In this environment many different systems developed within the temples. Many of those arts are still practiced today. Shaolin Longfist may be the most "generic" of the Northern Shaolin systems, but I use that term reluctantly because none of the systems are really generic, and there is nothing that can be clearly identified as typically "Shaolin" about one art or another. They simply claim roots or influences in the Shaolin Temple, and that makes them a Shaolin art.
Hung Gar, Choy Li Fut, Wing Chun, and Fukien White Crane, I believe, all claim roots or links to the Southern (Fukien) Shaolin Temple. They are very different arts, but in some ways you can see similarities between them.
I believe the Northern Preying Mantis styles, Shaolin Longfist, Eagle Claw, are all considered Northern Shaolin arts, claiming links to the Honan Temple.
You have asked some questions that don't have any short, simple answers. I hope this helps you get an idea of what you are in for. It's great stuff, enjoy!!
callagon
Yellow Belt
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