When Animals Attack

[SnakeStrike77]

Hello all, and thank you for your continued interest. I hope I have added some good topics, and responses. As my title suggests I’d like to know if any of the styles you practice involve an animal style or influence. Just to get things rolling, the style I practice is strongly influence by The Tiger, The Leopard, The Snake, The Crane, and The Dragon. Just to give you a VERY short explanation:

Tiger: Strength, and tenacity

Leopard: Speed, and coordination

Snake: Intelligence, and Deception

Crane: Balance (physical, mental, and spiritual), and Focus

Dragon: Removing Fear regardless of the journey, and ability to “ride the wind”

There is a lot of history that we are taught into each animal however I do not have enough space to give a full explanation lol. In our style it is a requirement for each belt to learn and memorize an animal move. Very interesting information. Let me know what/how you practice, or how much participation an animal(s) influences your style. Thanks to all!!

[bushido_man96]

Not a lot of animal influence in TKD that I know of, or if there is, it just isn't a focus. However, that doesn't mean that we don't try to develop the skills that you mention above. We just try to use a more all-encompassing approach, I guess.

[Grego]

I don't think any form of karate has any animal totem that it bases itself on.

I think that its more beneficial to take those animal qualities and apply them to yourself.

for instance, basing your style on a bear's attack probably won't do me much good if I weigh 120 lbs. However, it might work if I based it on a leopard.

[bushido_man96]

I don't think any form of karate has any animal totem that it bases itself on.

Actually, I think that there is one that is based of the White Crane system of Kung Fu; I thought it might be Shito-Ryu, but I might be wrong.

[SnakeStrike77]

I can get a little more specific too. Our “moves” are broken down into categories. One of these categories is “Animals Kempo.” (just a reference title) There is an additional required animal kempo you must be able to perform in order to advance to the next belt. For the adult class this starts at yellow belt. The actual move it self is a series of block, stikes however mimicking the movements, and/or representation of that animal. For example a “Tiger” kempo would involve the hand position of a clawed hand, and be most if not all forward movements showing aggression and tenacity. Where as say a “Leopard” kempo hand position would be a closed hand attacking with the knuckles in the middle of the fingers. It would also involve less head on movements in exchange for faster, and more off center attacks involving different footwork. I’ve found it very interesting, and that’s why I wanted to reach out to share/ask if anyone else’s style has their own unique animal based system. Thanks to all!

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for sharing and opening this conversation.

[SnakeStrike77]

Thanks for sharing and opening this conversation.

Thank you for the opportunity, and feedback! Off topic I've been telling other students at our dojo, and other martial artists I've met in competition, and at friendship seminars about this site. Great opportunity to talk "shop". I've enjoyed reading the topics! Thanks again to all.

[white owl]

Thanks for sharing.

[bushido_man96]

Thank you for the opportunity, and feedback! Off topic I've been telling other students at our dojo, and other martial artists I've met in competition, and at friendship seminars about this site. Great opportunity to talk "shop". I've enjoyed reading the topics! Thanks again to all.

That is great. I look forward to seeing a few of them chime in. The more, the merrier!

[Wa-No-Michi]

I do understand (I think), the reason for utilising animal movement and characteristics in your ma training, or at least the desired function within a school's pedagogy.

I have spent the last 25 years of my MA training studying the movement and characteristics of a more pertinent animal perhaps.... the common-all-garden "homo sapien".

The understanding of movement and application of mindset is key to any ma, and of course there are many different ways to approach this.

WNM