Snake Cat Crane Combined Fist by Leung Wing-Hang (2014-08-02)

I call this *Snake Cat Crane* FINE ART ~ as both the *Combined Fist Boxing* and the book concerned are FINE ART. The *Boxing ART* looks to be Fluid, Agile and Lofty like the Snake, the Cat and the Crane. That is flowing, dynamic and graceful via stepping in a very light ~ even hopping style. Even tho Sifu Leung Wing-hang was associated with a *Hung-kuen* lineage ~ this Mentor had lots of other experience ~ studying various *Boxing* [Ch'uan Fa] Arts while traveling in post-WWI China. After acquiring some good skill in *Boxing* [Ch'uan Fa], Leung was invited to become a *Caravan* Guard ~ giving Leung even more traveling martial arts experience ~ especially with two particular *Caravan* Guards ~ who were experienced *Boxing* Adepts. One Guard was an Adept in a family style that was something like Hsing Yi and Bagua ~ a *softer* Internal Art. The other Guard was Adept in a self-created style ~ *Eagle Claw, Mantis Step, Swallow Body*Those two Guards and their Arts go far in explaining the influences on Snake Cat Crane as well as Leung's Hung-kuen background AND Leung's Chinese Medicine / Healing background. BUT [as seemingly hinted at in the Epilogue on page 179] ~ [in my view] ~ there seems to even be a distinct Tibetan [even Mongolian] influence on Snake cat Crane ~ lots of full-body shifting and twisting especially. Survival involves MOVING ~ especially when there are *monsters or numbers or weapons* involved. Shifting and twisting vigorously can help keep one from being *stuck* or even *pinned-down* via static inertia ~ a *sitting target*. So, Snake Cat Crane is FINE ART via a wonderful 48 *forms* FORM ~ with a great spectrum of movements like the Snake and Cat and Crane ~ all very mobile un-heavy beings.The book itself is also FINE ART. It has an interesting story behind it of a third generation relative of Leung Wing-hang ~ Eric Shou-li Yao discovering that Leung Wing-hang was a brother of his Grandmother ~ as he was looking thru her family records and photos ~ while visiting his family in Hong Kong circa 1994. This led Eric into being determined to re-publish Sifu Leung's 1920's work on Snake Cat Crane Combined Fist. With the help of folks in Hawaii, Germany and Plum Publications itself [who turned-out to have a copy of the 1920's book in their library] ~ Eric Shou-li Yao was able to finish this honorable intense effort in renewing such a nearly lost TREASURE.SO ~ the renewed Snake Cat Crane Combined Fist book is a work of FINE ART. One can judge this book by its cover ~ a calm creamy background with quiet grey Chinese calligraphy and a subtle foreground of deep brown fonts and an interesting photo of Sifu Leung in an amazing On-Guard movement [showing great Art and skill in itself]. Inside the book are numerous forwards, commentaries and special articles ~ by Sifu Leung ~ and contemporary folks ~ those showing that Sifu Leung was once held in great respect ~ even if nearly fading-away later.For the presentation of the 48-*form* FORM itself ~ there are five main *angles*, There is [1] the commentary about the overall FORM by Sifu Leung and others. Via the Form Overview ~ there are seven subsets of [about] seven moves each ~ making the whole FORM easily learnable ~ and naturally able to fit into a smaller practice space than the whole FORM. These seven sections have both [2] good footwork-diagrams and [3] good line-drawings to illustrate each circa seven *form* subset. Following that book section ~ there is one on *Form Details* in which there are [4] explanations in both Chinese and English [like in the whole book] and [5] great re-produced photos ~ that are surprisingly viewable for ones from so long ago !!

Whether you're a seasoned Hung Gar practitioner, a fan of Southern kung fu, curious to learn a distinct form or just a martial arts enthusiast, this book is a great addition to your library.This book is a fantastic record of a now-defunct lineage of Hung Gar, with a form created by the author. This Snake-Cat-Crane form is representative of Hung Gar style, with solid stances and animal imitation. If you want to learn to practice this form itself , it is possible to learn to motions from this book. For tips on performance and applications, Master Frank Bolte (as of the writing of this review), has kindly provided a video guide to this form on Youtube, which perfectly complements this book.Also included are poems to memorize the form, commentaries by various masters, and more. Again, a wonderful record of this unique form. Even if you have no intention of making this form part of your martial repertoire, this is a splendid addition to your library!

Es un libro un poco caro ,para el poco contenido que tiene