Is there a Wolf Kung Fu? I've heard references to a Wolf style in the past, but never from anything reputable. I've searched for a "Wolf" style in the past, but haven't been able to find anything. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist (But it should, think about it. I imagine a cross between Tiger and Panther) but I'm just throwing it out there. If I remember right, Shaolin monks didn't develop any animal styles based on an animal that didn't use it's hands. Just thinking it'd be an awesome animal to learn.
I heard of a dog style but never wolf..... Dog style has a lot of cheap shots and pretending you are hurt...
I've heard of dog style as well. It's kinda more grappling than anything else. A lot of low stuff. It was developed for women who had bound feet or something and had to fight from the ground.
Well there is the Wolf Teeth Pole Arm....Very Intense weopon. Maybe this is what you seen about. Here is a link to the actual weapon.....http://www.wle.com//products/w075.html This is my favorite polearm. I wouldn't want to be against the guy carring this thing..... :woo:
What I heard about Fujian Dog style is that it's not really grappling, but it's ground striking. A very weird concept about striking someone from your back. Think golden scissors. It was supposedly popular with ladies, as their wrapped feet did not allow for much mobility, so fighting from the ground was more natural and comfortable for them.
Though I am not an expert on the history of dog style, I somehow doubt dog style was learned by women who bound their feet. Foot binding was only practiced by the wealthy and those who were part of the court. Those in the country who lived in villages did not practice foot binding for a very practical reason, women with bound feet couldn't work, and women in the country need to be able to for survival reasons (Reference "The timeline history of China," by Wintle, pubished 2002 by Barnes and Noble. Still in print). Dog style was a village style of kung fu, so the women in the area this obsucre style was practiced wouldn't have had bound feet. I have no solid historical reference on the history and causation of Dog style, but I've heard it was created to counter another village style that was practiced by a rival village that had a tendancy to be part time marauders. That's hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt, but with as much infighting between vilages and people that has happened in China (look at the Hakka-Punti clan wars), I'd say it seems likely. Be well all.
Thanks for the info; it does seem unlikely indeed. There is one thing though with this that slightly bug me; all places I have heard about Dog-style have linked it with being popular with women. Now would peasant women have been learning kung fu?
On that matter, I really couldn't see any reason pesant woman wouldn't pratice some kind of kung fu. I suppose it would depend on the cultural bias of the area they lived in, and wether they had enough free time to learn such a "non essential" skill, but there is certianly plenty of precedent in the history of CMA for women learning kung fu so it's entirely possible. I appologize for being pendantic, I was really only taking issue with the whole bound feet thing, the facts on that particular point just don't seem to add up to me. If a website claiming to expound the history of dog style states women used it because of their bound feet, it would raise a red flag in my mind. As always, especially with any type of CMA orgin story, check the source and see if it has any legitimate historical references (then check the references to make sure they themselves aren't made of whole cloth!). Much is made up, sometimes by the charlatins, sometimes by the legitimate practitioners. There's plenty of "Foo" in the history of Fu. If you could give links to the sites you read about Dog style, I'd be interested to read them for my own elightmenment (if it's too much work to dig them up, don't worry about it I've got a black belt in google-do). Be well!
You don't need to apologize for anything; as I said, your story sounds much more likely. What I've heard about Fujian Dog style is mostly contained in this page. And while they do not state explicitely their sources, they claim to sell two manual of it. One has a pretty amusing cover image. The manuals themselves do seem like relatively recent documents, so that doesn't prove or disprove anything about the legitimacy of these claims; it all boils down to who are the sources of said documents. Now personally, I've never heard of Ding Xiao Se or Chen Zhi Fan. The first one is not found by google except in a wikipedia and a about.com article, which probably gathered the name from the page previously mentionned. The second seem to a name used by other people (at least, I haven't seen any use to it relevant to kung fu). I don't understand any chinese, but I think I gathered that it is also the name of a book. I have checked the image of their Fujian Crane book, and it does seem like it is showing some sort of Fujian Crane, although not of the same variant I am learning (so I cannot be a 100% certain). The stances of the two men who seem to be doing the most basic of forms are abysmal. I cannot find any references on the net to the author of that one book.
Crane uses it's wings, Mantis uses it's claws, Eagle it's talons. All of which could be adapted by the hands. You got me on Snake though. I forget where I got that comment from. I read it from an article when I was researching Wolf Kung Fu, and that comment was supposedly from a Shaolin Monk.
There is a Wolf Kung Fu. I am the patriarch of the style! Believe when I say it is teh d34dly. The secrets of this style can be yours for a mere $500/month! :woo:
Oh benefolent master! I have been searching for thee for these many years, and now I have finally found you! Please, teach me. I'll pay you anything! Money is no object for me to learn t3h d34dly Wolf Style.