| OK, if you're reading my articles regularly, you | | | | weird having my center of gravity up so high, |
| know that I like learning new martial arts styles. | | | | when going through the motions. |
| Mostly I've focused on the Northern Chinese | | | | While there are leg braces and pull-me/push you |
| styles, the ones based around Wudang Mountain. I | | | | maneuvers in Shao Lin styles, there are far less |
| learned the classical Snake Style Kung Fu as a | | | | of them than there are in the Northern styles. |
| change up from jiu jutsu, and then learned a bit | | | | There's also less of a focus on defenses. |
| about the Southern (or "modern") Snake Style | | | | Compared to the northern styles, the blocks are |
| that was created by Master Leung Tin Chu at the | | | | much more basic, and less fluid. Shao Lin Kung Fu, |
| turn of the 20th century. Master Leung blended a | | | | even more so than the Southern snake style, |
| lot of Shao Lin Kung Fu stances strikes with Wing | | | | emphasizes a variety of punches, and upper body |
| Chun style fluid motions to create his Snake | | | | work. |
| Style, and when I learned more about it, it got | | | | One of the really interesting things about the |
| my curiosity piqued about Shao Lin style Kung Fu. | | | | school that I found, taught by Master Jung, was |
| Like the northern styles, Shao Lin Kung Fu is a | | | | how limber he was. He seemed to be in his 60s |
| blend of philosophical techniques, and spiritualism | | | | or 70s, kind of stout, and thick around the middle. |
| with hard exercise meant to focus the mind and | | | | Yet there he was drilling guys twice his size and |
| tone the body. Unlike the northern styles, Shao | | | | young enough to be his grand kids through |
| Lin practices focus a lot more on the physical | | | | throws, punches and forms. Hard to believe, I |
| nature of it. Not to the same extent that Tae | | | | mean, yeah, martial arts movies always have The |
| Kwon Do or Karate do, mind, but much more so | | | | Old Master who sends the Young Pupil out to do |
| than the Wudang internal schools do. | | | | things, but this was the first time I'd seen it in a |
| Anyway, after learning about the Shao Lin | | | | commercial dojo. Jung looked like he was able to |
| influences, I had to go find a more "rigorous" | | | | keep up the pace, and was very good at showing |
| source to see what was up. I found a dojo that I | | | | the different stances - Tiger Stance, Crane |
| could visit as a student, and watched for a while, | | | | Stance, Snake Stance and Bear Stance are the |
| learning the differences in stances - Shao Lin | | | | ones that stuck out in my mind. |
| stances are a lot more open and upright - there's | | | | Unfortunately, his school was too far away for |
| less of the "tiger crouch" in them, and more of a | | | | me to attend regularly - at least, not without |
| focus on using the arms and hands to block | | | | breaking commitments to my own school, where |
| rather than redirect from what I'd learned. A lot | | | | I'm an assistant instructor. But still, what I learned |
| of this is because the Shao Lin Kung Fu styles are | | | | there was pretty impressive. If you're looking for |
| built around the presumption of a weapon being in | | | | a more action oriented style than traditional Kung |
| the practitioner's hand, usually a staff, and that | | | | Fu, or Wing Chun, Shao Lin schools are well worth |
| requires a more upright position than I was used | | | | looking into! |
| to. After having come from jiu jutsu, it felt VERY | | | | |