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Original SourcesL tigerday.orgwww.altaconservation.org |
Tiger and Leopard Exercise:
A Technical Balance of Power and Finesse
By M.E.H.
In the world of Asian martial arts, many combat
techniques are based on the behavior of the animals. Some of these animals are
the mythological Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard and Crane. The foundation of the
Southern Shaolin martial art systems can be attributed to these five animals.
In China, the Tiger and the Leopard were two of the
most feared animals that stalked the land. At night these man-eating creatures
would sneak into villages where they would attack livestock and humans alike.
To Chinese martial artists, these carnivores were not only feared, but also
respected and even praised. Why? Because many of the Chinese open-hand combat
techniques were based on the actions and movements of these two animals.
Let's start with the Tiger. The Tiger can be
considered the fiercest of the original five animals taught at the Hunan
Shaolin Temple. Its major characteristics are its raw courage, dynamic strength,
and ferocious attacks. One predominant focus of the Tiger-pattern exercise is
the introduction of powerful short-arm clawing strikes to the practitioner.
Proper practice of the Tiger exercise can strengthen the practitioner’s bone
structure. These factors turn the Tiger-pattern exercise into a dynamic
power-oriented set of combat techniques.
The Leopard on the other hand has always been
considered the cleverest of the Shaolin Five Animals. Its major attributes are
dynamic attacks, agility, cunning, swiftness, high leaps, and running speed.
The principal purpose of the Leopard-pattern exercise is to develop lightning
speed and agility. The practitioner is introduced to the art and science of
rapid-fire punching and kicking combinations and taught the skills of stalking
an opponent. These techniques are a few of the components that make the
Leopard-pattern exercise a methodical, speed-oriented combat style.
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF
THE TIGER AND LEOPARD FIST
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The late Lew Bun (1891-1967) was the first
grandmaster of the Hung Sing Choy Li Fut fighting system to teach in the United
States. He consolidated the individual Tiger and Leopard forms and incorporated
them into one lethal open-hand combat exercise the Tiger-Leopard Fist. This
form was originally created as a physical conditioning exercise, but is now
used as a combat form against an even more vicious animal—man!
Sifu Lew Bun came to the United States in the
1930s. In 1941, he opened his Choy Li Fut martial arts school in San Francisco
Chinatown. His school was nicknamed the "Red Door." This moniker was
due to the red-painted front door that honored the forefathers of the Choy Li
Fut martial art system. Lew Bun continued to operate this school until his
death in 1967.
During his tenure, Lew Bun discovered that some of
his Choy Li Fut combat tactics were ineffective against physically large
people. So, he decided to develop a set of pragmatic, but lethal open-hand
exercises for the purpose of "open-hand combat against physically large
opponents" (including, Cross and Reverse Fist, Tiger and Leopard Exercise,
Ten Thousand Elephant Exercise, and Five Animals Internal Exercise).
Historically, the Tiger and Leopard set is
considered a technical subset of the secretive Ten Thousand Elephant Fist
exercise. The Ten Thousand Elephant Exercise is a clandestine short-range
open-hand combat form that was only taught to his loyal and most advanced
students. Lew Bun taught the Tiger and Leopard set as an introduction to
advanced Choy Li Fut open-hand combat principles.
Many years after Lew Bun’s death, Sifu E. Y. Lee
decided to teach this intricate open-hand set to his advanced students.
THE INFLUENCE OF CHOY LI FUT SYSTEM
IN THE TIGER-LEOPARD EXERCISE
To learn the Tiger-Leopard exercise, the martial
artist must first master the basic Choy Li Fut hand, foot, and eye movements.
This exercise also features the three major
tactical movements of the Choy Li Fut system:
"Slip-hitting" attacks (Sei-Dai)
"Hand-piercing" thrusts (Chieu Charp)
THE
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT BEHIND
THE
TIGER-LEOPARD EXERCISE
The Tiger-Leopard exercise is a rapid tempo
open-hand combat exercise that displays some of Lew Bun's favorite street
combat tactics. It combines the powerful attacks of the Tiger and the strategic
darting motion of the Leopard. Some of the distinguishing Tiger and Leopard
moves are the "Double Circular Tiger Claw" attack, Tiger Tail Kick,
Rolling Ground Spinning Body Sweep, multiple "Leopard Knuckle"
Thrusts, and "Double Leopard" Upper-cutting Hand Strikes.
Technically, the Tiger-Leopard exercise
incorporates a wide array of short to medium range punching and kicking tactics
of the Hung Sing Choy Li Fut system. Its hand techniques include
vertical-motion elbow smashes, the overhead reverse sweeping punch, a
specialized (corkscrew drill motion) one-inch impact "Leopard ping)
punches, elbow smashes, and downward-thrusting "Leopard Knuckle"
strike. (The last two Choy Li Fut "Leopard Knuckle" hand techniques
are a part of the Choy Li Fut system Charp Tsui punching techniques.) The array
of kicking techniques includes the triple-jumping crescent kick, double-ground
sweeping kick, stationary-ground sweeping kick, low-elevation knee and
shin-shattering kicks, and groin-aiming snap-thrust kicks.
A typical combat progression in the Tiger-Leopard
exercise is the explosive movement of a retreating cross stance, followed by a
circular-motion overhead leopard back-fist hand strike leading to a sequence of
triple jumping spinning kicks. This sequence is completed by advancing forward
with a darting side-square stance and targeting a frontal leopard strike to a
selected vital spot in the lower abdomen.
When the footwork portion of this exercise is done
correctly, the completion of the pattern walks looks like the Chinese character
for peace.
TECHNICAL
IMPORTANCE OF THE TIGER LEOPARD EXERCISE
While teaching this form, Sifu Lee also stressed
the following eight strategic principles of open-hand combat:
Striking is more
effective than grabbing
Implementing the flesh
portion of the hand and the leg onto the bone
Targeting
speed-oriented hand strikes toward the head
Directing power-based
hand strikes to the nerve points of the body
Dodging and countering is more effective than "blocking and attacking"
Quick drawing your
opponent(s) effectively (through positive strategic awareness and responding)
Deceiving your
opponents psychologically is more effective than physical attrition (Subtlety
and technical misdirection are the metaphysical devices that can be used to
mislead your opponents to a false conclusion.)
Sifu Lee always reminded his students that the true
art of street combat is based on striking the opponent effectively and not
getting hit. "...If you are going to "quick draw" your
opponent, explode into your opponent effectively. If you are wrong,
recover quickly."
He also emphasized that "... for every
offensive technique implemented, there is always a defensive technique that can
neutralize it. However, there are no counters to the elements of timing and
power. The Tiger-Leopard exercise is one of those rare ideal open-hand sets
that focuses on developing the proper execution of both speed and power with an
emphasis on physical agility and proper timing."
UNDERSTANDING
THE ANIMALS
As part of the training, Sifu Lee underscores the
importance of understanding the spirit and motion of the animals. Part of the
student's training is to emulate the spirit and the movement of these animals.
They are instructed to visit the city zoo and the library to study the quintessence
nature of the animal. Sifu Lee argues that if the student does not do this,
then, he or she is likely to have a difficult time emulating the spirit and the
movement of the animal.
VARIOUS
COMBAT TACTICS OF THE TIGER-LEOPARD EXERCISE
Some of the combat tactics that this exercise
stresses are:
Delivering a deceptive
rear torquing leopard hand thrust from a tight hip motion
Implementing knockout
punches (frontal or back hand) off the front leg
Intercepting and locking the opponent’s attack with one hand and performing a diving-inside
torquing-motion hand thrust strike with the other hand to the lower vital spots
of an opponent at the same time
Shifting and spinning off the front and rear leg
Targeting linear and
corkscrew motion hand strikes to vital points
Using tight
circular and short linear motions punching techniques in closed area
Using the front
hand to cover the opponent's eyes or to disrupt the opponent’s breathing by
stretching their neck
Utilizing the front
or the back hand as a misdirectional cue
Using
soft-flowing maneuvering techniques to penetrate through the defense of the
opponent
Executing quick,
singular, and multiple one-inch impact hand and leg strikes (that is, aiming at
the leg and below the waist-level with front snap thrust kicks) to the
opponent’s vital spots
Changing direction
by turning on the balls of your feet
Employing evading and
countering from any angular position and various physical motions (such as
skipping, stepping, sliding, and jumping).
In the Tiger-Leopard form, there is also a strong
emphasis on combining various hand and leg striking movements. Some of the
techniques that are emphasized included the transitions from:
Circular to linear movement
Diagonal angle to linear movement
Circular to circular movement
A progressive sequence that includes all three
types of movement
ADDITIONAL
TECHNICAL FOCUS
In the beginning of training, Sifu Lee usually
instructs the student to execute the exercise with minimum speed, maximum
extension, full coordination, timing, and precise accuracy. Once the
fundamentals are mastered, the student is taught to exercise the punching and
kicking maneuvers with maximum velocity from all directions.
In the beginning of most martial arts training
programs, the students are taught to block with one hand and attack with the
other hand. At E.Y. Lee Kung Fu School www.eyleekungfuschool.com, Tiger
and Leopard practitioners are instructed to simultaneously disintegrate the
opponent's attack and counterattack. This advanced combat tactic is emphasized
in other advanced combat exercises of the Choy Li Fut system (that is, Five
Animals Internal Exercise, the Ten Thousand Elephant Exercise, and so on).
While maneuvering and combating in a vertical
linear motion is a common trait found in most martial art systems,
instantaneous evading and countering movements are particularly
highlighted in this exercise.
COMPARING
THE TIGER-LEOPARD EXERCISE
TO
OTHER ADVANCED SETS
The single commonality that all advanced exercises
possess is the emphasis on the killshot. The killshot is the martial arts
equivalent to Western boxing's knockout punch. The Tiger-Leopard exercise
introduces to the player to a variety of killshot tactics. These lethal tactics
are practiced in both single- and multi-combat situations. The students are
also instructed in the art and science of rapid-fire one-inch hand strikes and
the various tactical principles of open-hand combat.
COMPARING
COMBAT TACTICS OF THE TIGER-LEOPARD EXERCISE TO WESTERN BOXING
Sifu Lee points out that there are many technical
similarities between this open-hand exercise and that of Western boxing. These
specific parallels are the usage of angular hooks, straight thrusts, round
house swings, and crosses.
In
a street combat situation, the motion of an experienced Tiger-Leopard player is
similar to that of a skilled Western boxer. Once an experienced practitioner
has penetrated the outer defenses of an adversary, he/she should instinctively
target an offensive combination of quick hooking and upper-cutting strikes into
the vital spots of the opponent.
CONCLUSION
If the Choy Li Fut player were to master the
power-based actions of the Tiger and the explosiveness motion of the Leopard,
his arsenal of efficient open-hand combat maneuvers would be increased
dramatically.
Sifu Lee accentuated that the consummate Tiger and
Leopard player is one who is "methodical by style, subtle by action."
This mindset is extremely emphasized in the training of some of his other
advanced Choy Li Fut open-hand combat training exercises.
In the 20th century and beyond, elaborate open-hand
combat sets like the Tiger-Leopard exercise are needed to teach defense-minded
students the art of defending themselves from the most vicious animals of all.
This is the first article we’ve been honoured to have on the complex and
powerful system of Chinese martial arts called Choy Li Fut. I can’t thank Jadedragon.com www.jadedragon.com and M.E.H. enough for sharing this article with us!
Mr. robert walther
ReplyDeleteI am MEH. I do not remember if I gave you direcr permission to share this article. ...
http://www.thesnowtiger.com/2015/10/tiger-and-leopard-exercise-technical.html
Hi MEH,
ReplyDeleteThe permission came from Mariette Pan. If you want me to remove the article, I will do so immediately. Thank you.
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