Shaolin Five animals tapes from Steve DeMasco

[thutn]

Hello,
Has anyone watch his tapes? If you did please tell me a little about it.

if you don't know what i'm talking about: click here.

http://blackbeltshop.com/kung_fu_videos.htm

thanks.

[mortal]

Watered down karate with different fists represnting the "animal style" he is imitating.

I would some it up in one word.

Gay.

[dimmakseminar]

Dear mortal:

When referring to the word "Gay", are you defining it as "with h.omosexual tendencies" or as "with happy tendencies". I'm certain that many readers would like to know so as to avoid confusion, as many people enjoy happy videos, whereas probably only a select few would enjoy h.omosexual videos. Please advise.

Sincerely,

dimmakseminar

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by dimmakseminar
Dear mortal:

When referring to the word "Gay", are you defining it as "with h.omosexual tendencies" or as "with happy tendencies". I'm certain that many readers would like to know so as to avoid confusion, as many people enjoy happy videos, whereas probably only a select few would enjoy h.omosexual videos. Please advise.

Sincerely,

dimmakseminar

.001

[Li Nin KiT]

go learn at a school u knob

[David Jamieson]

I would question the overall validity of the black Tiger stuff in particular.

a) it is a recent creation it seems, put up to fill a void because shaolin black tiger did not exist in the temple curriculum.... until now. However, Shaolin Black tiger has been practiced outside the temple for some time before the recent refilling of the Henan temple and what not.

b) i've seen the form and frankly it doesn't resemble black tiger much and even lacks much of the fu jao use. (i've seen BT from several families now and though they are different, they share some common principles whereas the Shaolin version has little if any of these principles in their new form).

If nothing else, 5 animals forms are fighting forms i.e they are robust with techniques that are applicable to combat. The current Shaolin versions of these appear to be more of a contemporary wushu variant of that expression, which in turn is martially "dead". Not that it doesn't take effort and athleticism to do these forms, but, they, in my opinion, aren't exactly rwadily applicable to fighting without some adaptation.

Kungfu forms, in my opinion, should express martiality with every move and in turn, every move should be readily extractable for drilling as a combat tool. I find that in modern Shaolin, this is surprisingly not the case and all too often.

ah well, but now i'm getting into dead horse territory

[thutn]

Thanks guys, but I need some more details.
So, this is not the original shaolin forms?

thanks.

[David Jamieson]

There probably isn't really such a thing as "original shaolin forms".

the nature of kungfu dictates that it doe not remain the same over time. It must be flexible and adapt to suit the people and times it is in.

Sure, there are some old forms around, but this is an exception and not the norm.

The Shaolin temple as we see it today is a modern incarnation that has been recreated as a ways and means of re-establishing the order and meeting a need that is demanded by the public.

The order will never again be what it was 1000 years ago, and 100 years ago, it wasn't as it was originally. Shaolin is constantly in flux, constantly changing to meet the time it exists in.

If you want to learn really old style kungfu, the Shaolin has one or two bits and pieces of it, but the folk masters (as has been stated before) in and around the temple propogate the older traditional styles and older styles still have been removed from the temple for a great deal of time, probably somewhere in the area of 5 or 7 lifetimes. Hence we have the southern styles, and the general diaspora of kungfu practice to the world both of taoist and of buddhist origin.

anyone who tells you they have "the original" shaolin is quite frankly pulling your leg. All shaolin is a great body of stuff ranging from traditional to their own forms of contenporary wushu.

It will rise and fall, settle and scatter as it has always done. This is not a valid reaons to not begin though.

[MasterKiller]

DeMasco lies. Next question?

[norther practitioner]

So, this is not the original shaolin forms?

big bag-o-worms...

but some don't call it gong fu.

[richard sloan]

lol @ mortal and DMS...

KL- there are quite a few moves that have nothing to do with combat in old Shaolin forms.

Lots of Buddhist stuff, even in something like yi jin jing.

For a disciple, there are a few things DeMasco is clueless over- far be it for me to point them out.

He is obviously raking in major ducats. I openly laughed at his book and have visited a few of his studios just to study their pitch. It's pretty funny. He needs to have an older brother dress him the hell down.

[mortal]

Hey Rich

Long time no talk.

Dms is funny for a total geekasuarus!

[David Jamieson]

there are quite a few moves that have nothing to do with combat in old Shaolin forms.

There are entire forms that are not combat oriented at all...seeing as you brought it up.

[Michaelwalter77]

The shaolin 5 animals tapes that he is offering are ok, but not the shaolin that we know. Good for enjoyment but that is about it. I cant go into explicit detail but, I was a long time student of one of his affiliates. This style was pretty much created by him and Fred Villari in the late 70s and early 80s it is a kempo system. Kempo loosley translated means "china hand" in Japanese. Karate was booming in the 60s and 70s. Karate also had a specific carricilum so no matter what Gojuryu school you went to they were teaching the same forms in the same order. That is where kempo came into play. If you wanted to create a style but it didnt match what other schools were teaching you could say that it was kempo (Japanese karate derived from chinese style). Therefore it could not be traced or verified. Not to say that demasco is doing this. There are some phenominal kempo practitioners (Keith Hakney, Chuch Liddel). Also Shorinji Kempo is a devastating style.
Just remember that Kempo is Karate not Kung Fu, and many kempo people have created their system. It may be practical, but it is not rooted in traditionalism.

[pazman]

Kenpo loosely translated mean 'boxing method'

Kenpo is not karate.

Demasco is a crock.

All loose ends are now tied.