5 Animals
From Shaolin Kung Fu we teach the Five Animals, five different ways to win. Each animal is a fighting spirit or strategy archetype. They are dramatically different, but all effective in their way. We train in the five animals to study different approaches for different mindsets and different body types. By training in these different approaches we get the power to choose how to act to our greatest advantage in a situation.
- Tiger: The Tiger is the direct and aggressive approach. The tiger is ferocious and tenacious. It acts immediately and decisively. The tiger wants to overwhelm with multiple strikes leaving no opportunity for the opponent to counter.
- Leopard: The Leopard is the creative planner. It likes to use agility and quickness to be evasive and hard to target. The leopard wants to strike where the opponent is weakest so the leopard can stay balanced while the opponent must be unbalanced.
- Crane: The Crane is patience under pressure. It avoids the direct conflict, evading and deflecting, rather than walking directly into danger. The crane wants to let the opponent exhaust themselves with aggression.
- Snake: The Snake is the analytical planner. It shifts and slides to be able to strike with clear precision. The snake wants to create a clear path to strike once and be done.
- Dragon: The Dragon is the complete fighting spirit. It is all the strengths of the other four animals, without their weaknesses. The dragon can always attack from a position of strength.