NG YING KUNG FU IMPERIAL COMBAT ART AND ALL OTHER ANIMALS

Abstract

The Chinese Martial art Kung fu also known as wushsu or kuoshu has is a collection of multiple fighting style that have evolved over centuries in China. The style is classified on the basis of certain common traits and one of them is Shaolinquan, a kind of Kung fu that involves All Other Animals, also known as Ng Ying Kung fu that belongs to the nanquan or Southern style. The trait follows five traditional animal styles – Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake and Dragon. The ‘five animal martial art’ is supposed to have originated from Henan Shaolin Temple which is located towards the north of Yangtze River but surprisingly the form is rare in the Northern Kung fu art. The art is also known as wuxing in which it refers not only to five animals  but five elements namely wood, water, fire, metal and earth. The animal techniques in Kung fu are inspired from the animals defensive and attack technique including the hand, fist and finger formation  and employs all defensive actions like ripping, tearing, clawing. The paper attempts to study and critically analyze the human defensive art of Kung fu as an inspiration from nature and its forces