“The creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance.”
Xiangxing Quan, or Animal-Imitating Boxing, is a style of Kung Fu that imitates the movements of different animals with the stress on the
hitting feature of their movements and actions. Some of the animals that a Xiangxing Quan student imitates are eagle, white ape, white
crane, tiger, and snake. A Xiangxing Quan practitioner emphasizes the imitation of the spirit of a certain animal.
When practicing Xiangxing Quan, one should not only imitate the appearance of the animal, but also should bring out its spiritual
features. Kung Fu characteristics of attack and defense should also be fully displayed. An excellent routine of Xiangxing Quan is one
that combines true-to-life imitation and the attack and defense skills of the Martial Arts.
Xiangxing Quan does not merely confine itself to the imitation of animal movements. The movements are frequently a refinement of the
animals’ movements. There are other styles of Kung Fu, such as Taiji Quan and Xing Yi Quan, which imitates animals as well in their forms.
The history of Xiangxing Quan goes back to thousands of years to Dr. Hua To’s five animal exercises. Not only Xiangxing Quan is a
good self-defense style, it is also a great exercise to better one’s physical and mental health. Today though, most Xiangxing Quan forms
are more concerned with the successful imitations and adding difficult turns and twists.
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