Chinese Animal Sequence

The first true "form" I've learned in Kung Fu has finally reached a point for me at which I believe I can say a few things about it. Chinese Animal Sequence is based on a set of attacks and blocks in the style of the many animals that Kung Fu emulates. Depending on what style one might train in, there are all sorts of animals that movements and attacks are based around. I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject, but there exists full monkey-styles of Kung Fu, crane-style, tiger-style, etc. It can tend to sound a little cheesy but it's actually very neat. Technically Pai-Lum is a "dragon" form of Kung Fu (yeah, the Chinese considered a dragon to be, not only an animal, but a real beast...awesome). Dragon-style is very powerful, closed in, and showing little areas of weakness. The dragon dares you come to him and uses as little energy as possible to lash out and counter. Much of what one does in Pai-Lum is this notion of expending as little energy as possible to deliver the most powerful techniques possible. It tends to be a matter of finding your center and feeling where the power is coming from in all techniques, whether up from the feet and out the hands to moving the hips in concert with an attack thus creating a devastating blow.

As I began my transition from Tae Kwon Do (which as I've mentioned before is much more oriented in hard-hitting and striking) this changeover to using more than just brute strength was an adjustment. At this point I feel like I couldn't pull off a technique without putting some type of hip work into it or feeling the direction and flow of the strike, so Pai-Lum has certainly taught me that well.

My sifu (basically a Chinese word for "teacher," although one shouldn't confuse any person who teaches as a sifu as the word connotates much more than that) teaches forms in many stages so as to better to aquaint a person learning them for the first time. He starts with the memory work of a form just to get you used to the blocks, strikes, and footwork needed. Then we move into an application level of work where you learn what the moves you do in a form actually perform against; for example, the first movement of Chinese Animal Sequence is a double tiger clawing action (I know, cool, right?). The application of this move is that someone is grabbing your throat with both hands, and you counter by thrusting both arms up at an angle towards them and then sinking thumbs and fingers into the tender spots on their shoulders and digging in. Nifty. Finally you go through a practical level of work where you once again go through the entire form but learn slight variations on all the moves that offer an outside application that you could use independently of the form. All this "repeat" work actually helps to build not only your familiarity with each form as you learn but also a deeper understanding of the applications and purpose of them.

The neatest part of Chinese Animal Sequence comes from after all of this; you learn the "attitude" portion of each animal within the form. I've only been through this process once as a student but there are a few students now learning the form that will need this portion for the first time and I believe my sifu trains the whole class with the attitude each time. I'm looking forward to going through this again because the attitude gives a whole other layer and dimension to the form that isn't just simply learning movements or applications; it offers a glimpse into the thought process and mindset of the animals that you portray as you perform the set. Perhaps it is simply the way my sifu teaches this, or there was some other connection I sensed that makes this learning process so fascinating to me. Imagine the tiger as it pounces and strikes; what is it protecting? Its cubs, and in that moment that it attacks it knows no other feeling, no other thought than protecting what it cherishes most. Can you apply that to your own life? You bet your bottom. That's easy, with the ladies I hold dearest occupying most of my waking thoughts and never far from my consciousness. It truly offers a deeper understanding and fairly transforming thought process when learning something as seemingly simple as a martial arts form. It reminds you that these arts have been around for a long time and much, much more was done with them in the past than can usually be imparted today (although I certainly give my sifu props for trying).

The forms of Kung Fu are certainly a departure from what I started with in Tae Kwon Do. While I've trained in memory work before, the added levels of application and practicality of the forms so far in Kung Fu have been fascinating. I look forward to what future training brings.

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