So What are the Animal Styles? of Shaolin?an explanation by Shifu Jason Parks, the founder of Mountain Gate Academy.

. hou!h Mr Parks isn"t my teacher, ...he !i#es a !reat explanation of this form that $ practice. he animal styles are more correctly kno%n as the $mitati#e Styles &'in! (uan) and are a uni*ue feature of +lassical +hinese martial arts. Masters de#eloped these styles as a %ay of explorin! the nature of human consciousness by explorin! ...the different ,minds- that the animals represent. he animal is an archetype that the practitioner canexplore to understand the chan!eability of the human mind. he purpose of imitatin! is to free oursel#es from our e#eryday identity and therebyexplore %ays of thinkin! that %e %ouldn-t ha#e normally considered. his creates a paradi!m shift and expands our understandin! and our barriers accordin!ly.
The first imitative system was not martial at all but was developed for health prevention. The Wu Xing Xi (Five Animal Frolics) were developed by Hua Tuo and by using the imitative actions of the Tiger !ear "eer Ape and !ird the natural health systems of the body can be regulated and balanced. These e#ercises were popular for health but did not directly inspire the development of animal imitation systems. $n the %&''(s a )haolin *aster !ai +u Feng set out to revitali,e the )haolin system. He travelled around -hina for three years meeting with masters and learning a variety of styles. After the three years he returned to )haolin and constructed a new style by combining five systems he had encountered in his travels. This .new( style was the )haolin Five Animal Fist / )haolin Wu Xing 0uan. )HA12$3 F$45 A3$*A2) )haolin Wu Xing 0uan contains five distinct imitations / Tiger -rane )na6e 2eopard and "ragon. 5ach of these styles had e#isted before this form but it was !ai +u Feng who combined them into a single style in which each animal complimented the other. There had been records of animal bo#ing for centuries before !ai +u Feng but it was scattered e#amples and none had captured the imagination as this style had . 5ach of these animals will be e#plored in detail in later articles but $ wanted to mention another version of !ai +u Feng(s bo#ing / Wu Xing !a Fa 0uan. Wu Xing !a Fa 0uan means the 5ight 2aws of Five Animals !o#ing and is a summary form of !ai +u Feng(s original style. 77777 $3)58T 777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 ( this is the form that $ learned from my teacher *i6e )hea student of -ao 2i Hung and 6ung fu brother to Tracy Fleming of 8ichmond 4A.) 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 $n Wu Xing !a Fa 0uan the varying aspects of the system help to develop the practitioner so as to improve all of their 9ong Fu. $n this form the e#ercises of the Tiger develop muscular strength and help increase bone density. The -rane develops the smooth control of 0i 8elief While the )na6e develops the smooth control of 0i itself. The 2eopard develops speed and power. The "ragon develops the ability to hold still.

All this is possible because of the proper application of the !a Fa or 5ight 2aws. The 5ight 2aws are: %. -orrect use of the internal s6ills ;. -orrect use of e#ternal s6ills <. -orrect application of mind =. "evelopment of the )i# Harmonies through the hands >. "evelopment of the )i# Harmonies through the legs and footwor6 &. -orrect application of the three ,ones of the body ?. -orrect application of -hin 3a functionality @. -orrect development of 0i 9ong. Although some historians believe that !ai +u Feng(s style was originally called Wu Xing !a Fa 0uan the versions that are most commonly practiced in )haolin today are only variations on the summary form. After !ai +u Feng imitative styles became very popular and many different imitations started to appear. Apart from the original five animals of Tiger -rane 2eopard "ragon and )na6e there are many others including the *antis 5agle *on6ey "run6ard White Ape "og Ahoeni# 5lephant 2ion )wallow Haw6 8ooster "uc6 Fish Turtle Toad )corpion and many more. Today !ai +u Fengs anciester is alive and well: his name is *aster 0in 0ing Feng and he is -ao 2i Hungs )ifuBB you can reference *aster 0in here: http:CCwww.cmaod.comC)haolinDF.html