Animal Styles - Unleash the animal within
When a student has learned the basic principles and fundamental skills of the Jade Dragon system and has shown that he/she understands how to apply them through a hand form and weapons form then that individual can become an intermediate student and will be ready to be introduced to the animal styles.
The 8 animal styles of the Jade Dragon system are more than just different sets of fighting skills. Each helps develop body, mind, spirit and emotions in different ways thus producing a more rounded individual with fewer physical and emotional weaknesses. They teach the tactics and mindset of each animal as well as analysing its fighting abilities. and how it develops and uses its power both in combat and in health/healing.
Learning the animal styles is something all the students eagerly look forward to. Before they can be learned however, it's important that the student has a good grasp of the fundamentals of the system, can coordinate arms and legs well, can root power down into the ground and understand and be able to use the basic skills that are taught.
The animal styles are learned in a cycle - you learn the basics of the first animal, then the second etc. When you have been around all 8 you go to the first animal again to learn the knowledge at a higher level and so on. Evidently there is an enormous amount to learn but if this knowledge isn't passed on it will be lost as so many other schools have lost their deeper knowledge. Hence our teachers are keen to pass on higher levels of knowledge to those who have the dedication and capacity to study over a long period of time. Click on the images below to take you to that animal.
