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The Flowing Motion Of The Snake Lends Itself Well To The Art Of Kung Fu
By Yoshi Kundagawa
The Flowing Movement of the Snake Lends Itself to the Art of Kung Fu
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If youve read my articles, you know I have two loves: Mastering various Kung Fu styles and watching them performed on television.
Ive been doing snake style Kung Fu for going on eight years. Once I transitioned into Kung Fu styles, snake was the first one I picked up, because of its similarities to jiu jitsu. Like jiu jitsu, snake style kung fu is all about transmitting core body strength from the abdomen to the arms, and uses a lot of joint locks and grapples. Unlike jiu jitsu, it uses a more open stance, and tries for greater flow in motion, with more kicks and arm strikes. Particularly, it incorporates several weapon elements, including techniques applicable to using a sword. It contrasts with a lot of contemporary styles from China, in the focus on blocks, throws and hitting from odd angles.
Martial arts when applicable to swords are totally cool. Before we get to the pointy sticks, lets discuss snakes. The reasoning behind snake style kung fu, as I have learned, is that from the fluid movements of snakes, you can learn a lot about balance, body motions and striking power. Some practitioners focus on the cobra strikes, trying to mirror the lightning quick attack of a cobra with an open palmed strike. Others focus on the nature of the python, which, as you might suspect, draws in to joint locks and throws and immobilizations. All of them focus on feints you learn not just the strikes, but the techniques to mask which strike youre throwing, or which joint lock youre throwing. Snake style is kind of a cross between a game of chess and poker. Not that youre
going slowly enough to actually think while youre doing it since its all learned at the muscle memory level, but that youve got moves, counter moves and bluffs, all running at the same time.
Snake style isnt the best on defensive blocks. The blocks, parries and lateral movements are basic at best. It is a more offensive style, in the Northern version, which is what I learned. (Northern snake style is largely what got used for the cinematography for Sir Tes style the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.) Indeed, Wudang Mountain, the great school in the film, is renowned for producing great Snake Style Kung Fu practitioners.
Southern snake style is a much more recent variation, and dates back to the 1800s. Its a blend of classic Shao Lin forms, with harder, direct punches mixed with Wing Chun movements for a bit of fluidity. You can tell the practitioners apart, because the Southern stylists have a more open and upright stance, and focus more on a variety of punches rather than a balanced set of punches, joint locks and holds. Im not gonna get into the discussion about which one is better, since Im biased having trained in the more traditional form of the art. Both styles are a lot of fun and can teach you sound martial arts techniques.
---------- Yoshi F Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers themixed martial arts industry. For a free report on Choy Li Fut Chi Kung Bagua Ball DVD: Shaolin Kung Fu Meets Swedish Exercise Ball to Harness Your Energy visit his blog.
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