Different Specializations

[Jonny Say]

Dear All,

As some students are now having the option to choose their specialisations I thought it would be a good idea if some of the seniors who have already specialised would give a quick breakdown of what their set means to them.

Such as how has it affected your development both in the martial sense and in your personal development, what is in your eyes the essence of your set, how has the set interacted with your strengths and weaknesses, what breakthroughs have you had and what problems have you come across, any relevant further information?

Thank you in advance

[Darryl]

First amongst equals

Moving swiftly in

Symbolically, I have found the Shaolin Monkey Set to be both very Daoist (Yin Yang, laughing, free and phenomenal) and very Buddhist (very simple and direct in it's application, very effective with it's results), to the extent that I would say that it occupies the happy middle ground of not being either 'just Taijiquan' or 'just Kungfu' but instead, a fluid and resourceful mixture of both.

The Set itself - the Monkey Set is both extremely simple and extremely hard. Instead of just being the patterns themselves, the Set seems to be most alive in the transition from one to the other; even when the practitioner stops the Set keeps flowing, everything swells and Timing is everything. I mentioned to Sifu that it feels more like performing a play than demonstrating a Kungfu Set ands he nodded and said "Yes". The mindset of the practitioner is far more important that the physical action, since you must stay relaxed, jokey and unthreatening even when closing to strike or manipulate your partner or opponent. Misdirection, lures and the casual nature of the practitioner all lead the foe so that you can strike when and where they least expect it. Distraction and fearless taunting are also key parts of the monkey's arsenal.

When fighting, a Monkey practitioner is there to play and accordingly, they refuse to fall into the standard 'opponent' role. They only seem to be only passingly interested in you and only vaguely interested in actually fighting you .. until your own focus goes and then they attack rather viciously! Accordingly, there are a variety of methods and techniques to help you lose your focus within the Set, as well as other patterns and techniques that are to be used when you have lost it.

However, there is no specific Force Building pattern within the Set for solo practice, aside from the techniques themselves. Most of the other Sets that I've seen have specific Force training patterns within them but when I couldn't see one during the Shaolin Monkey Set, I asked Sifu if there was one and he replied "No .. Art of Lightness" which set me laughing. My chi had been rising the whole time and instead of embracing this, I spent much of my time attempting to get it back down again. Within the combat application of the Set, anything goes - a monkey practitioner is brave, resourceful, fun loving and affectionate but also vicious, tricky, wiley and cunning. Outside of the Set, a typical Monkey practitioner will not take themselves (or others) too seriously, will be able to flow and adjust in difficult circumstances and will be very observant as to the various states of other people and events.

And finally, I'm getting a video clip of the whole Set made up for Sifu, myself and our respective websites. I noticed that there are only video clips for the Tiger Crane Set and the Five Animals Set, so I decided that it was a good time to film the whole thing .

[Hubert]

so I decided that it was a good time to film the whole thing .

I knew we could get you to show us the set - our intricate conspiracy paid off!
world conspiracy - 1
Monkey - 0



(miserable joke aside, that is great news)

[Michael Durkin]

Shaolin Five Animals

To begin with I wasn't given a choice in choosing the Five Animals set. I came to attend a Chi Kung course with Sifu in Edinburgh and was told that Sifu wanted to teach myself and Mark the set. I wasn't expecting this and thought do I really need to learn more material. Sifu of course made the right choice for me and I was happy to learn the set over the weekend.

From my own practice of the Five Animals Set I have found that it feels like an extension to the combat sequences and skills Sifu has already taught us, so I have found it quite a smooth transition to start practicing this set. It is a little like going from combat sequences 1-4 to combat sequences 5-8, the techniques are expand upon. These new techniques are a lot richer I have found, they are a lot more flexible in their application. For example there are techniques such as the dragon techniques which allow you to counter many different kinds of attacks by swerving your body and circling the hands. There are some patterns that are quite precise in their application like reincarnated crane where you can tame and guard one hand and simultaneously pinch and eye or poke a vital point. A lot of the patterns in the set I really like the feel of, for example the 'swimming dragon plays with water', even though I can't do it very well. I also love the different uses of the unicorn stance with leopard and snake strikes.

The Five Animals set has surprised me how much it has sunk in without me being aware. Not having someone to practice with can be a challenge, but recently I was surprised how much of the set started coming out when Darryl and myself started experimenting.

There is so much to explore in such a short space, truly a set that you can come back to, re-examine and deepen ones understanding upon. Because the set is quite short and the patterns very flexible, you can focus upon how the patterns can be applied in many different situations rather than have a big long list to select from. On a higher level, the spirit of the techniques are of course heavily influenced by the animals themselves, you may have read about or already experienced the different natures of the animals and that makes the set even more fascinating.

Sifu's book 'The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu' - When you are performing a dragon pattern, for example, you should develop mind control to channel internal force to wherever it is wanted; when you are performing a tiger pattern, you should feel the courage and power of a tiger, and not perform it as if you were a cat.

With this in mind I don't feel like I'm developing my ability to 'externally' mimic a tiger, by moving in a particular way or making a certain sound, more so I believe the set has the potential to develop myself holistically so that I become confident and courageous like a tiger, but as a human being, if that makes sense

I really look forward to practicing this set over my life time and seeing what is revealed, it definitely has a lot to offer. Which ever set you begin practicing, like art, whether it is for you or not doesn't matter, its all about the discovery process. I believe these sets are being taught to us so we can explore ourselves at the same time.

[Markus Kahila]

Now this is a great read. I was just about to go to sleep, and this thread glued me to the monitor.

So please go on - I'd love to see more comments of experiences with set specializations. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go jump up & down the front yard for awhile to lose some of the extra buzz and excitement.

[Tapio Raevaara]

While I'm not a shaolin practitioner, this is extremely interesting. Please keep on posting! It's wonderful to see comments about the actual essence of the sets instead of mere technical details and specialities.

[Jonny Say]

Thanks guys, as already mentioned it has provided very interesting reads!

Calling any Dragons, Dragon Tigers, Tiger Cranes etc!!

[Marcus]

Hello all,

Just a quick reply as I'm disappearing under a mountain of "to do" lists.

I was honoured and surprised when Sifu expressed his intention to teach me the Dragon-Tiger set (as shown in the excellent Introduction to Shaolin Kung Fu). The fact that it was late, March and the training venue was right outside the Holiday Inn in Edinburgh, just added to the excitement

To be honest I am still at the stage of learning the set (only another 10 patterns to go). Even so I have been staggered at the applications of the patterns. My favourite is Pattern 6 "Leak hand Cannon punch". Outstanding! Though at my extreme novice stage everytime I tried to apply it during the Warrior Project I recieved a good thrashing

Learning this set has also helped me to understand much better the principle of "Leak" techniques and I remember clearly the moment when it sank into my brain, a real "Eureka!" moment.

I am excited as I look to the future, the range and scope of the Shaolin Arts is vast. Having a "set" helps me to gain focus, clarity and understanding. I think for those of you deciding which set to choose, this must be a most difficult problem. But what a lovely problem to have!

Right, I only came to the forum for a phone number, now I better get back to work or else there won't be any newsletter this month

Love to all

Marcus


Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha

[Luo Lang]

Hi there,
Exellent post here! Many thanks to my Sihengs Darryl, Michael and Marcus for sharing their experiences.

[Luo Lang]

Actually, I wanted to write more, ubut then pressed the wrong bottom....

Darryl: I found your comments and experiences most interessting. A real insight into the Shaolin Monkey syle.
The first time when I was thinking about the different styles was when I saw some of my seniors practiicing thieir sets in Malaysia. I saw some Dragon-Tiger, some Five animals, some Dragon Form and finally some Tiger-Crane stets. It was so amazing to watch all those different styles with their characteristics. I remember clearly what I was thinking at that time: hopefully Sifu will decide for me.
When looking at my Chi flows then I could tell myself a direction. But Chi Kung flows, that I knew, do not necesserely lead into a Kung Fu specialisation. Anyway, somehow I was really happy, when Sifu came to me and said: your Monkey flows are interessting.

[Jonny Say]

Hey Guys,

It'd be really great to hear some other specialists if there's anyone out there!!

[Antonius]

Five Animals are better than one.

[Jordan]

Ah.. so it comes down to Maths



Five Animals has 3 more (animals) than the next best (2 animals)

[Darryl]

One Banquet is better than five sandwiches

[Andrew]

Indeed Darryl ... but try to visit a banquet with less than 5 courses

Andrew