What is better, North Shaolin or South shaolin? What's the difference of its techniques?
January 9th, 2009Comparing Northern Shaolin to Southern Shaolin is like comparing Kodokan Judo with Kosen; same technique library, different practice emphasis. In the Southern Temple, because southern Chinese people tend to be shorter than northern, hand forms are emphasized more, while in the northern temple, leg forms are emphasized more, or rather leg techniques, kicks. From the northern temple, northern schools of Kung Fu evolved that used almost nothing but kicks, so many that Tae Kwan Do's true ancestry and pedigree may be impossible to trace.
Let me see here, if I remember right, Shaolin aims to emphasize the five aspects of physical confrontation, namely;
1) Crane in the north, Mantis in the south, its emphasis is I believe evasivenes.
2) Both north and south practice the snake form, for hand speed. What strikes faster than a snake?
3) For agility, which compliments evasiveness, the monkey form.
4) For strength and power moves, the tiger.
5) For focus, so you don't get distracted in a fight, the Dragon.
Each of the animal forms has 108 steps, and each form has such an extensive library of joint locks and throws, that entire styles developed around them. From the monkey routine evolved 4 other forms for the style that became known as monkey kung fu, Praying Mantis was its own style since BEFORE it was taught to the temple monks; like the monks of the north did with the Crane style, the Mantis style was streamlined into a 108 step form because obviously enough, there are only so many hours in the day to practice. Each form, is its own science, as each aspect of a confrontation can be complicated if not studied correctly.
The five aspects of a confrontation that involve victory or defeat, according to Shaolin thinking, are;
1) Speed
2) Evasiveness
3) Agility
4) Strength
5) The ability to focus to a point where you can strike a small target with a kick (very hard to do).
For each aspect of combat, both north and south have a form covering it, and each form can take a lifetime to master. Every Shaolin monk who has ever studied at the temple, has a favorite form, a particular form they may enjoy most, or, are best at, as different people start out with different strengths. The Shaolin temple has never had a shortage of students, so many people who have studied there came in all shapes and sizes. Some are naturally well muscled, built like bodybuilders, others started out skinny as a rail, and so on. Also don't buy into the racist thinking that goes "oh sure, wimp martial arts only work against other wimps...." implying that there aren't men in China who are physically large and powerfully built when, in the northern Shaolin temple, many of the monks there sometimes grew to be 6'3. The reason east asian martial artists insist "size doesn't matter, its skill" is because so many people have studied at the Shaolin temple most of those guys have seen it all, they have seen men of all kinds of builds, shapes, and sizes, and the one determining factor in the outcome of all tests of skill, has always been skill and the mind, not physical size.
An example of this, although not Shaolin, is Shotokan master Gichin Funakoshi; the man was like, only 5'1, and weighed MAYBE 130 lbs. A fly weight in every sense of the word; the great majority of his mainland Japanese students were often way bigger than him, and yet all of them were scared of practicing sparring drills with him. Funakoshi sensei's techniques were so polished, that to have a punch or kick blocked by him, was a painful affair. Also it did not matter how large or strong you were, he could always block it, and in Karate I know that when doing those drills you have to strike at someone full force like you are trying to hit them, otherwise the practice won't work. This regardless of age.
In the end though, people think what they want to think, specially here in the west; they will take a small handful of fights in MMA circles, and just arrogantly assume those guys are the best fighters in the world, when they do not have a clue, no clue at all, the levels of skill east asian martial artist can reach, or anyone who bothers to practice for a long time. Even born strong, sooner or later you grow old, and criminals do not discriminate regarding age, so it behooves to emphasize technique, over strength.
There is a now well known Shaolin monk in NYC who goes by the name of Shi Yang Ming; he is so skillful, not even the best security Hollywood money can buy is a m
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