Elite Jeet Kune Do LLC, Elite Jeet Kune Do of Connecticut, Elite Jeet Kune Do of CT, Elite JKD of Connecticut, Elite JKD of CT, Jeet Kune Do in Connecticut, Jeet Kune Do in CT, JKD in Connecticut, JKD in CT, Jeet Kune Do Concepts in Connecticut, Jeet Kune

Five Ancestors Fist (Chinese: 五祖拳; Hanyu Pinyin: wǔ zǔ quán; Minnan: ngó chó kûn) is a Southern Chinese Martial Art that consists of techniques from five different styles:

Five Ancestors has been attributed variously to Chua Giok Beng (pinyin: Cài Yùmíng) of Jinjiang near Quanzhou in Fujian in the second half of the 19th century or to Bái Yùfeng, a famous 13th century Shaolin monk of the original Henan Shaolin temple in the North of China to whom Five Animals style and Hóngquán (洪拳) have also been attributed. The Cai (Chua) branch also calls themselves He Yang Pai, a tribute to Cai's teacher.

One of the primary characteristics of Five Ancestors is its reliance on the Sam China (pinyin: Sān Zhàn 三戦; literally "three battles") stance and its corresponding hand form of the same name, which it obtained not from Fujian White Crane (since it in fact draws upon the yin/yang white crane method), but from the militaristic characteristics of Taizu. The "three battles" refer primarily to the three stages of a wuzu practitioners can achieved: battle preparations, battle techniques and battle strategies; all of which must be mastered in order to attained a good level.

Sam Chian can also be said to allow development of the eight Five Ancestor principles and so, is considered the most important form in the style. Indeed, it is said that this form contains all the principles of the Five Ancestors system. Thus it is the first form taught to junior students, so that they may explore the essential points of Five Ancestors from the start of their training.

There is an Okinawan version of Sam Chian, which is possibly better known in the West. The Okinawan pronunciation is: Sanchin.

Although the exact method depends on the school, Five Ancestors is known for is large variety in power generational methods. Due to the distinct character of each ancestor, these methods change depending on the power required. Some schools teach tension forms that develop power, of which there are about ten, and fist forms that train technique, of which there are dozens. Others stress a relaxed body, instead seeking maximum transmission of the relevant Jīn.

On top of this are miscellaneous hand forms, two-man forms (also known as form-drill) that may or may not include sticking hands, and forms for a comprehensive arsenal of weapons including rice bowl and chopsticks, umbrellas, even opium pipes.

Over the decades masters have added to this list introducing material they considered relevant to the time.

Five Animals (martial arts)

In the Chinese Martial Arts, imagery of the Five Animals (Chinese: 五形; Hanyu Pinyin: wǔ xíng; literally "Five Forms")—Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon—appears in many styles.

The Five Animal martial arts supposedly originate from the Henan Shaolin Temple, which is north of the Yangtze, even though imagery of these particular five animals as a distinct group is either rare in Northern Shaolin Martial Arts—and Northern Chinese Martial Arts in general—or recent (cf. wǔxíngbāfǎquán; 五形八法拳; "Five Form Eight Method Fist"). They are well represented (among others) in the historically northern nei jia styles.

The legend of the Five Animals

Shaolin first became famous because the Tang Dynasty (618-907) saw fit to favor the monastery with its patronage as thanks for the contribution of its monks to the Battle of Hulao. The sudden renown of the Shaolin martial arts attracted pilgrims who came specifically to study its fighting methods. However, the more people that sought training at the temple, the smaller the proportion of them that had the time or the inclination to truly dedicate themselves. But really they didn't know who to choose first and why. Some regarded the Shaolin imprimatur as a kind of talisman that rendered years of training unnecessary. Others only wanted to fight well and cared little for esoteric martial arts like qìgōng, erasing over centuries the difference between the Shaolin martial arts and those crude methods on which it was supposed to improve.

The legendary Zhang Sanfeng is said by the nei jia schools that associate themselves with him to have trained Snake and Crane style Shaolin martial arts.

Another was Jueyuan, who in the 13th century started from first principles with the 18 Luohan Hands, the original 18 techniques of the Shaolin martial arts. Like those before him, Jueyuan used the original 18 Luohan Hands as a foundation, expanding its 18 techniques into 72. Still, he felt the need to seek knowledge from outside the confines of the temple.

In Gansu Province in the west of China, in the city of Lanzhou, he met Li Sou, a master of "red fist" Hóngquán (紅拳). Li Sou accompanied Jueyuan back to Henan, to Luoyang to introduce Jueyuan to Bai Yufeng, master of an internal method.

They returned to Shaolin with Bai Yufeng and expanded Jueyuan's 72 techniques to approximately 170. Moreover, using their combined knowledge, they restored internal aspects to Shaolin boxing.

They organized these techniques into Five Animals: the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard, the Snake, and the Dragon.

Comments

Jueyuan is also credited with the Northern style "flood fist" Hóngquán (洪拳), which does not feature the Five Animals but is written with the same characters as the Southern style Hung Kuen,, perhaps the quintessential Five Animals style. Moreover, as in the Southern Hung Kuen, the "Hóng" character (洪) in Hóngquán actually refers to a family name rather than its literal meaning of "flood." However, the two styles have nothing in common beyond their shared name.

Moreover, in Mandarin, "wǔxíng" is the pronunciation not only of "Five Animals," but also of "Five Elements," the core techniques of Xíngyìquán, which also features animal mimicry (but of 10 or 12 animals rather than 5) and, with its high narrow Sāntǐshì (三體勢) stance, looks nothing so much like a Fujianese Southern style stranded in the North.

Elite Jeet Kune Do LLC is an organization dedicated to the exploration/teaching of realistic street self-defense. Elite JKD was formed by renowned instructor