Crane Style
The crane is only a bird, and yet he is a bird with a reputation for longevity and extraordinary libido. Since an excess of libido denotes an abundance of energy within the body, and since the crane also represents longevity, he was chosen to be one of the Shaolin animals. It is believed the crane lives a long life because his body contains a great amount of jing.
Jing is the Chinese word for essential energy, but also translates to libido. The crane develops his jing easily, since he is a calm, quiet animal whose powers of concentration are not easily broken. An example of the cranes patience and concentration is his ability to stand for hours on just one leg, without shifting his weight.
Training in the Shaolin crane form was designed to help the martial artist hold his inside energy and consequently increase his strength, both internally and externally. It helps to develop his internal Chi and at the same time hardens one’s bones and muscle structure. The crane has the same calm, quiet nature as the snake. And as with the snake, all crane movements are useful for overthrowing and controlling the opponent easily and with minimum effort.
All the Crane form techniques are circular movements. They are always soft and relaxed, however they still explode with quick, sudden power upon contact with the target. There are both long and short hand techniques, the short hand movements are often joint locking techniques, and the long movements generally involve strikes to vital areas. The Crane is useful training for stretching and strengthening arms and fingers, practicing the Crane form also improves balance and speed, since the movements are quick and active, utilising a loose, supple waist with light and balanced footwork.
There are several specialised training procedures in the crane form a lot of which involve strengthening the fingers for finger tip strikes. Also since the practitioner needs strong ankles the martial artist would often use ankle weights to strengthen the legs and enhance the balance. The spirit of a crane is one of deep, relaxed concentration, which encourages development of focus and intent within the Shaolin crane student.
Jing is the Chinese word for essential energy, but also translates to libido. The crane develops his jing easily, since he is a calm, quiet animal whose powers of concentration are not easily broken. An example of the cranes patience and concentration is his ability to stand for hours on just one leg, without shifting his weight.
Training in the Shaolin crane form was designed to help the martial artist hold his inside energy and consequently increase his strength, both internally and externally. It helps to develop his internal Chi and at the same time hardens one’s bones and muscle structure. The crane has the same calm, quiet nature as the snake. And as with the snake, all crane movements are useful for overthrowing and controlling the opponent easily and with minimum effort.
All the Crane form techniques are circular movements. They are always soft and relaxed, however they still explode with quick, sudden power upon contact with the target. There are both long and short hand techniques, the short hand movements are often joint locking techniques, and the long movements generally involve strikes to vital areas. The Crane is useful training for stretching and strengthening arms and fingers, practicing the Crane form also improves balance and speed, since the movements are quick and active, utilising a loose, supple waist with light and balanced footwork.
There are several specialised training procedures in the crane form a lot of which involve strengthening the fingers for finger tip strikes. Also since the practitioner needs strong ankles the martial artist would often use ankle weights to strengthen the legs and enhance the balance. The spirit of a crane is one of deep, relaxed concentration, which encourages development of focus and intent within the Shaolin crane student.