Southern Style SHAOLIN Boxing (Fa Sect)

Southern Shaolin is of course somewhat different from the Northern branch. Generally speaking there is less emphasis on kicks, especially of the jumping variety. Southern Shaolin has a distinct timing that floats between soft, whipping motions and sudden stops. The hands move constantly with sophisticated and unusual hand positions often requiring an "educated" wrist. Specific finger techniques are also shown.
This branch is based that of the "Fa" branch. Fa here refers to "the Law." And the law is the Dharma and the essence of the Awakened One's teachings.So one translation might sound redundant for this is the "Buddha" branch of Shaolin.

Instructor/Demonstrator: Liu Yan Feng, is not a young instructor. His movements are fluid, clear and very refined.

VCD#1007 Southern Shaolin Fa Men Saber
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Fa Men Broadsword. This is a typical and medium length Southern Saber set. Good clear coverage with body wraps. Very strong retreating technqiues. Generally a better constructed and more realistic saber than many which stress leaping and tend to be weak on left hand manipulation. It should be a secret to no one that a good judge barely watches the blade and spends most of the judging time and energy tracking the left hand and the foorwork. This is a good set because it stick to the eight basic planes or orbits.

VCD#1008 Southern Shaolin Fa Men Staff
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Fa Men Staff. "Buddha" staff sets are almost always elegant, simple and solid. This is no exception. True Southern movement with more emphasis on symmetry of attack and defense. Butt strikes, kneeling blocks, side slashing more evident here than in the Northern styles. Southern staff is much closer to Celtic quarterstaff fighting. Also this set contains some of the classic Southern Shaolin postures.

VCD#1009 Southern Shaolin Double Breaking
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Er Fang Kai Chai Bu. Double defense entering and breaking steps. This is a comprehensive form of the Southern technique with a typically Southern tendency to do things on both side. Elbow strikes, low hand sweeps, grappling moves, very fast footwork, finger strikes: this is a major Fa Men form also known as the "Ten Small Basic Hand Methods."

VCD#1010 Southern Shaolin Fluid Turning Steps
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Shun Fan Kai Chai StepMore and Fluid, Turning, Opening and Breaking Apart Steps.One of the most dynamic of the forms in this system with hopping steps, quick drops, fast retreating actions and rapid poking actions. It is our feeling that though this is a very fluid style, especially regarding arm motions, that it could be learned by someone : especially someone with some Southern background because the major themes shown in the fundamentals actually encompass the boundaries of the style. All the actions of this style are variations on some few excellent moves. Not a bad thing, this.

VCD#1011 Southern Shaolin Butterflies Fall to Earth
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Butterfly Falls to Earth. An interesting set. The footwork is particular with much side stepping though no kicks. The footwork here is more than just "fluid." Much low sweeping of the hands and then separate motions such as fingers pokes and rolling palm actions. Arm work something like smooth and soft Tong Bei at times.

VCD#1012 Southern Shaolin Wood Ox Split Tendon Steps
About an hour, ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

Mu Niu Fen Jin Step. As a general rule when we hear "Ox" we should think of slow, powerful, determined, powerful and oriented to waist movement. The Ox, one of the animals of Chinese astrology, change the use of labor when it replaced the horse as a draught animal. Unlike the horse, which needed tending, the farmer could drop the reins and the ox would keep walking absolutely straight. All it need was some one to turn it around. This form emphasized waist actions with a very unusual move, somewhat like Tan Tui, where one hand is held to the size and the other performs soft striking actions. This is repeated often in this set.

VCD#1013 Southern Shaolin Fundamentals
Douible VCD Disk , ,VCD pricing, Chinese Only

There aremany ways to show "basics." In our opinion this is one of the best. Here we have what might be termed "loops." That is to say groups of four to eight moves which can be repeated (and are) in many variations. There are some styles where this can actually give your the essence of the style. In PiGua for instance the exercise and patterns are more significant than the forms. Here the Southern Shaolin style is shown with the kind of basic patterns that could aid any instructor.There is an essential move repeated here is many variations which we see in all of the core forms of this system. Douible VCD Disk.