THE CRANE, THE SNAKE, THE TIGER AND THE LEOPARD

The Spirit of the Tiger

Form and Spirit

To attain a high level in kungfu we not only perform kungfu forms but also manifest their spirit. If there is no spirit in the forms, they become mechanical and are not alive. But the spirit must be appropriate to the form. Performing a crane form with a tiger spirit, for example, is inappropriate. Nevertheless, similar movements may be manifested in different spirits, as shown in this video clip taken at the Special Shaolin Kungfu Course of September 2005 in Malaysia.

The spirit of the crane, the snake, the tiger and the leopard are characteristically different. But a particular spirit is not limited to a particular form. We may, for example, execute a leopard punch with internal force characteristic of a Tiger. Yet, at refined levels, the internal force of a Leopard is quite different from that of a Tiger, Crane, Snake or Dragon.


Please click the picture below or click the caption to view the video

The Crane, the Snake, the Tiger and the Leopard from Wong Kiew Kit on Vimeo.

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