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Animal-Inspired Forms:Training with Speed, Power, andSpirit in the Martial ArtsRosalie del RosarioIntroductionInspired to move with a panther’s speed, strike withpower of a tiger and accuracy of an eagle, roll andtumble with the playfulness of a monkey, or evade anattack with the tranquility and balance of a crane,martial artists tried to capture the movements andessential character of various animals for centuries. Intheir admiration of animals’ strength, skill, and spirit,practitioners of many fighting systems have imitatedanimals in their training. Chinese fighting systems, inparticular, embraced animals in their training asmanifested in the prevalence of animal based forms inmany styles of kung fu. The movements and essence ofanimals are also found in the fighting systems of India(as poses) and Vietnam and the Philippines (as forms).Although fighting systems in other regions of theOrient (e.g., Japan and Korea) are less evidentlyinspired by animals, some of the stances and strikesused in their forms nonetheless imitate animal traits.Origin, Purpose, Application of FormsForms are typically defined as sequences ofindividual combat techniques known as katas in judo

Animal-Inspired Formsand karate, poomse in taekwondo, taolu in wushu, andjunanahon in aikido. They are an integral part oftraining in most martial arts, laying the foundation forbasic techniques used in sparring and combatsituations. Among many explanations to the purpose offorms in training a generally accepted one is todemonstrate the offensive (e.g., hand strikes, kicks) anddefensive techniques (e.g., blocks, throws, stances,footwork), as well as balance, strength, flexibility,coordination, and targeting1.From thorough research on the origin, purpose, andapplication of kata (or more generally, forms), jujitsuhistorian Donn Draeger considers learning andpracticing forms a “normal process of ‘walking beforerunning’ in which efficient movements and techniquewere first designed, tested, improved, and finallystandardized through the media of kata”2. Heconcludes that fighting systems were constructed byconsolidation of pre-existing forms and fightingtechniques.Animal-inspired FormsForming the basis of many fighting styles, forms inmost Chinese fighting systems have been derived fromthose animal movements and behaviors that wereconsidered responsible for an animal’s efficient fightingtactics. In many Asian cultures, animals are thought topossess natural and sometimes supernatural powers,talents, and skills, which they use for fighting. Martialartists were inspired by the aggressive or defensivetemperament of animals that allowed them to survivein harsh physical environments, amidst predators and2

Rosalie del Rosariocompetitors. It was therefore reasoned that the bestway to fight effectively was by imitating animals.3The history of many fighting systems is not welldocumented. Stories on how animal-based formsoriginated are consequently often anecdotal, beingpassed down orally from master to student. tioners to develop these forms are largelyundocumented, many interpretations of the origins ofanimal-inspired forms are inconsistent and sometimesbiologically inaccurate. For example, inspiration for thepraying mantis form supposedly came fromobservations of a cicada and praying mantis engaged ina “death match.” However, cicadas in real life do noteat other animals but instead feed on plant roots. Thecicada’s participation in the “death match” with themantis is hence limited to playing the role of desperateprey rather than a threatening predator.While the animal being imitated often gives thename to the technique being performed, it is unclearhow some of the forms received their animal-basednames. Techniques in the form may be named after ananimal because they were developed by a practitioner’sobservation of that animal’s movements, or because thepractitioner resembled the animal while performing thetechniques. In either case, animal movements havebeen imitated in many martial art forms.Some forms are based on only the movements of ananimal (e.g., praying mantis and eagle claw styles); inother forms both movement and behavior of an animalare mimicked (e.g., monkey style). In some forms notonly is movement imitated, but also the animal’s spiritis cultivated and exhibited (e.g., snake, crane). The3

Animal-Inspired Formssnake form, for example, develops internal energy,while the crane style exhibits stability and tranquility,manifested by the ability to stand on one leg withoutshifting weight.4 Often fighting systems combinemovements and traits from different animals.Many Chinese fighting systems originated at theShaolin Temple5, situated on the foothills of SongshanMountain in Henan province of China. The grasslandsand forests near the Shaolin Temple were home tomany animals known to have inspired martial artforms, such as praying mantis, tigers, white cranes,monkeys, snakes, and panthers. The admired traits ofthese animals are commonly applied in forms, knownby their namesake as strikes (e.g., crane’s beak andeagle’s claw), blocks and parries (e.g., praying mantis),stances (e.g., crane stance), and footwork (e.g., monkeysteps). The following set of figures show severalcommon Shaolin hand forms named after animal traitsand widely used in many of the Asian martial arts.6Figure 1: Dragon Claw (two styles)Figure 2: Elephant Fist and Elephant Head Hand4

Rosalie del RosarioFigure 3: Panther Fist (palm and profile views)Figure 4: Snake Hand (palm and profile views)Figure 5: Crane Hand (left) and Tiger Hand (right)Animal-inspired forms were also created andpracticed in Indian, Vietnamese, and Filipino fightingsystems. In regions where fighting systems were notdirectly inspired by animals, such as in Japan andKorea, techniques that imitate animals are neverthelessincluded in their respective fighting systems. Manytaekwondo forms use animal-derived techniques, suchas horse, cat and tiger stances, or snake hand, ox jawand tiger mouth strikes.5

Animal-Inspired FormsChinese Fighting SystemsLaying the foundation of Shaolin martial arts is thefive animal system, based on dragon, tiger, panther,snake, and crane. This system is integral to the Shaolinfighting styles and has influenced many other kung fustyles as well. The five animals represent physical andspiritual traits that are needed for fighting skills to beeffective. Shaolin practitioners believed that imitationof the traits of these five animals would contribute todevelopment of inner strength and physical power.7Figure 6: Dragon form6

Rosalie del RosarioA mythological beast, the dragon, is ranked highestin the hierarchy of animals, with supernatural powersand swift and nimble movements. Yang (1996)summarizes the key traits of each form: The dragonform trains the spirit, exhibiting the ability to focusintent and develop qi. The tiger is known for itsstrength, its form trains the bones, developing speedand strength. The panther (or leopard) form focuses oncultivating power and speed, while the snake formemphasizes the development of qi. The crane, believedto live long, nurtures life-essence. Its form captures thecrane’s ability to conserve and protect the essence ofthe body. The five animal form combines the animals’strength and spirit, establishing internal and externalmovements of hard and soft techniques.8 Executingtechniques in these forms allows one to exhibitoutward characteristics of the animals such as dragonpalm or tiger claw, as well as their inner essence, suchas leopard’s speed and crane’s elegance.9Similarly, one of the supposed origins of tai chichuan was from observation of the interaction betweena bird and a snake. Taoist priest, Jang San Feng,observed that the bird’s movements were “sometimessoft, sometimes hard but always quick.” These relaxedmovements were more in line with his Taoist beliefsthan many of the fighting systems that he believedused too much strength and heavy breathing. Hedeveloped a system, tai chi chuan, which involvesmovements that are both soft and hard, both powerfuland performed with light relaxed breathing.10Likewise, other kung fu forms also imitate animalmovements, behavior, and spirit. Among the mostpopular modern styles are the praying mantis and eagle7

Animal-Inspired Formsclaw style, monkey style and crane style.Praying Mantis StyleThe praying mantis system is thought to have beendeveloped by Wong Long, a Shaolin monk, who wasinspired by the ability of the predaceous insect toovercome the larger and stronger cicada. Typically, amantis lures a cicada into striking range and thenquickly reaches out with its elongated front legs to grabthe hapless prey. Although the original praying mantissystem has branched into several styles, they aredistinct in imitation of the insect’s quick and aggressivefighting tactics, and all include a constantly movingfighting style that calls for changing direction andangle of attack to break the enemy’s guard.11Figure 7: Praying Mantis formThe praying mantis system is based on twofundamental principles: the ability to grab theopponent quickly like the mantis (mantis claw), andagile and balanced footwork (monkey steps) patternedafter that of monkeys.12 The grab was originally done byimitating a praying mantis’ front claw, “with the indexfinger extended forward, supported by the thumb, andthe other fingers bent back toward the palm,”13 and isused both offensively (e.g., to strike, grab or pull) and8

Rosalie del Rosariodefensively (e.g., in blocks). In lieu of the difficulty ofimitating the six-legged footwork of insects, the prayingmantis system primarily uses jumping and turningfootwork, with strong stances that are patterned afterthe agile and balanced movements of monkeys tochange the angle of attack and close in on an opponent.Eagle Claw SystemFigure 8: Eagle formDifferent from many other fighting systems, thepurpose of the eagle claw system is not to kill or maim,but to control and temporarily disable the attacker.This system is based on the eagle’s cleverness, speed,and strength to trap and hold its prey with its sharptalons. Typically the claw hand (made by folding allfingers into half-clenched position) initially blocks theopponent’s attacks, then quickly controls and traps thearms and joints of the opponent into submission.Finally, a strike is dealt to a pressure point somewhereon the body.14 The kicks involved in this form alsocenter on locking techniques and foot traps. All tenforms in this system are empty-handed and can beapplied to disarm and disable a person.9

Animal-Inspired FormsMonkey StyleThe monkey style imitates the monkey’s speed,agility and playful behavior. Stories on how the monkeyform originated vary widely. One anecdote ascribes theform to a martial artist with a short temper, Kao Tse,who was imprisoned for killing a fellow villager duringa fight.15 While in prison, Kao Tse studied a group offierce monkeys that guarded the exit gates. Heobserved that each monkey had a different fightingstyle, and hence developed five different fightingpatterns based on these monkeys, one of which is thedrunken monkey style. While all monkey forms involveacrobatic tumbling and rolling, this particular drunkenmonkey form emphasizes acrobatics with low stancesgiving the appearance of drunkenness. The attacker,deceived into taking advantage of the seeminglydrunken monkey, is dodged by the monkey whocounterattacks with snap, spring, and thrust kicks orgrabbing, locking, and hooking hand work.Figure 9: Monkey form10