Southern Shaolin / Hung Gar

[Maestro]

shaolin

shaolin soft? what are you talking about?

ive never heard shaolin reffered to as "soft"

I know that shaolin kung fu contains both internal and external aspects of kung fu, but as for it being "soft" umm..no ive never heard it reffered to as that..

infact all shaolin kung fu ive heard of is always reffered to as "hard" rather than soft..

i dunno who your sifu is..doesnt sound like hes a monk..

but that doesnt mean anything

like everyone else im no expert on shaolin..but what your training in sounds a little questionable...

its just strange the way you talk about your kung fu training..

and the bit about hung gar is just ridiculous..hung gar like all systems of kung fu contain both internal and external aspects..

id ask your sifu what hes talking about instead of asking us if hes right or wrong

because if you ask me..hes wrong..id be interested in hearing his reason for saying what he said though

[I Attack Bears]

Will do, tonight.

[dmounty]

Since Hung Gar is based on southern shaolin... (its core shaolin element being the tiger) it was refered to by many practicioners as Southern Shaolin, most notably Wong Fei Hong, and Lam Sai Wing. I guess in some lineages, this nomenclature is common in some lineages, and not so much in others. As far as the five main family Shaolin derived styles go... I would said Hung has been added too from the most sources, but it still retains a strong Shaolin flavour. Whatever name it goes by however, I am surprised to hear any teacher saying that such a widely practised style could be damaging to health (when practised correctly, as clearly any style can damage your health without proper practise). In fact, it is commonly regarded that the Iron Wire (Tid Sin Kuen) hard chi gung form is very beneficial for the health, and combines hard/soft movement and dynamically varying tenstion, with breath control, and specific sounds and subsequent emotion and intent. Lam Sai Wing practised this form daily, and lived well into his 90's (practising until his death). I think most Hung practicioners are proud of their Shaolin Heritage, and try to keep the essence and tradition of Shaolin in their training. By whatever name it goes however, good Hung style is a complete and effective combat system.

[shaolinstylee]

Good post dmounty. In my experience, it seems that even if they keep the shaolin in the name or whatever, it is more like shaolin hung ga, or hung shaolin, etc. Not simply southern shaolin, but I could be wrong, I certainly don't know how every school says its name. I'd have to agree too with the whole harmful thing.... If you train correctly, it shouldn't be too harmful, but one must remember, you are studying to learn how to fight, and fighting can be harmful (no duh, but you'd be surprised )..

NP
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