The Animal Attidudes in Chinese Martial Arts Theory

Kenpo Karate, or Ch'uan Fa Gung Shou in Chinese, means Way of the Fist, or, more literally, Fist Law Method. Kenpo is a system made up of specialty self-defense techniques many of which have their roots in the theory and movement of the traditional Kung Fu system. Kenpo also employs the traditional five-animal structure of the old systems.

The five animals: Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Dragon, and Snake, allegorically portray the different aspects of one's character. The Tiger emphasizes an aggressive linear style, while the Crane represents the opposite element of defense and evasive counter-striking. The Leopard's speed incorporates the Tiger's aggression and the Crane's rationality.

Kenpo takes the Tiger-Crane-Leopard sequence to be the student level stages principally emphasizing a firm foundation in physical strength and coordination along with an exposure to the fundamental techniques of our system.

The Dragon attitude is noted for its emotion of controlled fury, so the mental/spiritual, rather than the physical component of an individual, is the focal point of the Dragon. The Snake stands for Ch'i (Ki in Japanese), spiritual power--derived from the unification of mind and body. In Kenpo, the practitioner's personality is broken down into these five component aspects, each represented by a corresponding animal. Then each of these facets is worked on singly, and following that, all five are again reunited into one developed whole. Each finger of the fist stands for one of the five animal facets, and the fist they make when united may be taken to be the hidden sixth animal, the Monkey.

The Monkey is the first step to mastery, to complete humanness, to the final level of Sage. The Monkey combines the intellect with the physical and emotional disciplines of the preceding five animals into a single rich whole. As each individual is comprised of relative natural strengths and weaknesses, due to stature-strength coordination, each Monkey is different and exhibits a natural preference. Thus a Monkey may be decidedly Crane or Dragon in his her execution and attitude. Nevertheless, every Monkey has worked on all facets of their character and not just those most comfortable.

Each of the following essays on the various animal attitudes is divided into four parts: 1) Element, 2) Image, 3) Stance, and 4) Commentary. The information in these essays are specific to the curriculum of American Kenpo Karate Academy, but at the same time they have been drawn from a large pool of available information and opinion concerning the five-animal systems of Chinese Martial Arts. Though most martial artists are familiar with the popular conception of animal systems as physical imitations of each animal's behavior in nature, these essays are focused on the more subtle, psychological side of the animals that is also inherent in the physical motions of all five-animal systems. We invite your comments on what we have offered here.