self defence

Journey To Becoming A Kung Fu Black Belt

9 years ago

Bianca Mohan describes her journey to becoming a kung fu black belt, how kung fu training has helped her learn how to direct herself through life. Below is an account…

Ladies Self Defence Training

Dim Mak, Kung Fu, Tai Chi

9 years ago

Ladies Self Defence training is offered on a daily basis in kung fu classes at all three Golden Lion Academies; however, special workshops for girls and women are given to…

Martial Arts Children and Kung Fu

Kung Fu

11 years ago

Martial arts children and kung fu training. This article tells the reasons why children should participate in kung fu. The training of children in martial arts has been the source of…

ed from beginners to second level black belts with everyone enjoying the whole 3 hours which passed very quickly. Sifu Craig explained in his entertaining and humorous way the origin of the adaption of animal fighting styles to martial arts. One story was that a monk trying to shoo a crane from a vegetable garden was unable to hit the crane with a stick, every attempt to strike the crane would be averted with the monk realizing that the crane’s method of defense would be useful in martial arts. The 5 animal styles form part of the golden lion syllabus but does not define golden lion; rather it adds to a very broad and extensive body of knowledge. The 5 animals which are taught at golden lion are ‘best of class’ and represent the most efficient and skilled fighters for that type of animal. The 5 animals also represent 5 different types of abilities and related skills allowing the Practitioner to change between animal fighting styles when required. The animals themselves include the Tiger, leopard, Crane, Snake and Dragon. The Tiger is the largest and most powerful and tends to charge the opponent and attack directly with brute force using circular arm movements to overwhelm the opponent. The hand shape resembles a tiger claw which is used to strike and rip. The spirit of the tiger is fierce and fearless and is best used when an opponent is smaller or weaker. The Leopard is smaller and not as powerful as the tiger, it relies more on speed and accuracy with its strikes and targets: soft-tissue regions and other vital areas such as the neck and temple. The Leopard uses the second set of knuckles to strike in order to reach areas that a traditional fist shape could not access. The Crane is a skinny hollow boned bird with little muscle power; it uses evasion, speed and accuracy to overwhelm the enemy with rapid strikes and evades using circular movements. The crane’s weapons include the crane’s beak, wings and legs. The crane’s beak hand shape which if formed by placing the tips of the fingers and thumb together to strike soft areas such as the eyes, throat, ears and heart; sides of the head; ribs. When facing a more powerful opponent, using the speed and evasiveness of the crane style can be used rather than trying to match an opponent using power. The Snake has no fists and relies on coiling motions and rapid and accurate striking to the vital parts of the body, especially the eyes, face and throat using the ends of the fingers to emulate the snakes head. The snake utilizes simultaneous striking and locking techniques to evade and strike at the same time assuring that the practitioner has a high chance of causing extreme damage with little strength. Like the crane, the snake style can be used against a more powerful opponent. Dragon is an internal, Chi cultivating style and is characterized by grabbing, breaking and locking techniques using apposing thumb and fingers. The style combines the elements of the four other animals. If you are ever lucky enough to have Sifu Craig demonstrate the dragon claw strangle on your throat it is something you will never forget. Sifu Craig showed us a drill for each of the 5 animals and when the class was able to perform the exercise a further extension would be added to give us some very effective and powerful techniques. Some of the drills involved sending your opponent to the ground forcibly (which most people agreed strangely) provided quite a sense of satisfaction. Each set of techniques involved quite different movements ranging from striking the side of the neck with snake to using transition to a dragon stance to send an opponent to the ground. It was also stressed throughout the seminar that correct stance work was essential for any of the 5 animal styles to be correctly applied. Dave Mallon M’Beena student

Shaolin Kung Fu 5 Animals Self Defence

Kung Fu

11 years ago

Shaolin Kung Fu 5 Animals Self defence seminar by Sifu Craig Rayner was held on 21 September at Golden Lion Rowville, assisted by Sijie Joey Baful. Attendees ranged from beginners to second level…

Strike like a Dragon but land like a Cat: Power of the Cat Stance

Kung Fu

11 years ago

Below is Jonathan Finkelstein’s account of how kung fu training actually helped him with his knee problem. He also highlights the usefulness of the Cat stance in daily life. Jonathan is…

Kung Fu Hook Punch Chinese Martial Arts

Kung Fu

11 years ago

The kung fu fighter’s hook punch, known in Chinese martial arts as the Qian Bai, is a very effective medium range striking technique. It is found in almost all Martial…

Kung Fu Self Defence Close Range Techniques

Kung Fu

11 years ago

Kung Fu Self Defence Close Range session was very effective in delivering an understanding and practice of close range techniques using the elbows and knees. On a recent trip to…

Martial Arts Kids Kung Fu Classes Benefits Seth Sleep

Kung Fu

12 years ago

Dear Master Richard, I want to share some info with you and all at Golden Lion Academy about Seth. He is in your Martial Arts Kids Kung Fu programme. Seth is 8…

Laura Tan demonstrating tiger and crane application

Kung Fu Tiger Crane Shaolin Fighting Art Self Defence

Kung Fu

12 years ago

Kung Fu Tiger and Crane Shaolin Fighting Art Self Defence was a fascinating workshop made even more interesting by learning more about a style that has helped to form the…

Dim Mak Kung Fu Power in Yin and Yang

Dim Mak, Kung Fu

12 years ago

In dim mak kung fu, yin and yang power can be applied to our training through our state of mind, composure, fighting stance, and silence (examples of Yin), as well…

Pressure Point Three Heater 10 in Dim Mak

Dim Mak

12 years ago

Dim Mak pressure point Three Heater 10 is not a dangerous point, it is not a point that causes serious injury or death. It is the milder of the two…

Dan Tian Practical Applications in Dim Mak Pressure Points

Dim Mak, Kung Fu

13 years ago

The dim mak pressure point Dan Tian is located on the lower torso, approximately one hand width below the navel. The Dan Tian is also known in western terms as…