Original Tiger claw fact or fiction

[Alan Armstrong]

Fact or fiction either way fascinating! My Sensei told me a story about 35 years ago about the original tiger claw style from China.

Foot binding (lotus foot) was a common practice in China for status reasons and beauty/vanity reasons also. This foot binding would stunt the foot from growing naturally.

Another practice was hand binding for martial artists to create the Tiger claw. This is the way the story was told to me and so it is just that, a story. True or not perhaps we will never know.

In ancient China villages had their prize fighters. Boys raised from birth to fight for the honor of the village. That was their status in the village 'Tiger claw fighters' Everything they wanted or needed was done for them. They were trained to fight bear handedly. With one exception, their hands were bound in to a fist.

As the child grew the fingernails would pierce the palms. As the child grew so would the fingernails grow through the child's hand. Eventually the nails would pierce totally through the hand to come out on top. The nails would curl over the four knuckles forming the Tiger claw.

Seems we may have seen something similar to this in the movies, such as 'Wolverine' from 'The X Men'

[Zaine]

The story about the nails is interesting. I couldn't find anything about it searching on the internet (other than this post). Who told you the story and did they give a tradition from which it was passed down? I love hearing folk lore but I can't find anything on this.

[Alan Armstrong]

This story (Tiger claw) was handed down to me from my Sensei pre internet. I don't want to give out his name but his initials are Mr G P

We can assume everything is written down, this is just not so. Martial art sensitivity training is transferred through touch and practice, that cannot be caught on camera or explained in a book. My Wing Chun teacher was third generation to Ip Man. My Wing Chun Sifu taught me things not possible through verbalizations alone.

My (story telling) Sensei was a Master in Shotokan. I know he had some Chinese martial art experience also by the way he would use some references to it. Shotokan karate can easily be switched to 'Dragon Ying' Kung fu. Just by changing punches or blocks for grabs. Also relaxing the body instead of tensing it.

Claude van Dame practiced Shotokan and switched it to 'Dragon Yin' style in the movies that he played in. This is not factual, it is just my observational opinion.