Below are our posts on the ancient art of Jade Dragon Kung Fu (Yu Lung Chuan). This will soon include a range of techniques, basic training, weapons skills, animal styles and so on. More are being added all the time. Keep checking back.
To learn our first combat form see Leaping Tiger Form.
The Leaping Tiger Kung Fu Form 1
The ‘leaping tiger’ is the first form that students of yu lung chuan (Jade Dragon kung Fu) learn. The Jade Dragon School derives its name from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in South West China where its monastery was located. To the West of the mountain flows the Jinsha river…
Elbow Lock
Here are a few videos showing a class I ran several years ago on elbow locks. You can see some of the variations and how quickly and effectively you can take someone down when you get the technique right. The technique is simple The student in this video was struggling…
Bagua 3 – Changing Direction
Although bagua is famous for its circle walking practices it is during the changes of direction that the magic really happens. There are many methods of changing direction. Each develops different skills. Some of them are very simple, others very complicated and challenging. The video below will show several key…
Leaping Tiger Form 2
In kung fu every part of every movement should be powerful yet effortless. To do this we invoke all the principles of tai chi plus a few others. The two moves shown in this video look simple but to achieve that level of fluid, whole body power means understanding where…
Reeling Silk
For thousands of years the Chinese have cultivated silk. Silk is a very delicate material to work with. To draw a silken thread out of a cocoon the action must be very smooth and even with no jerkiness or changes of direction. Otherwise the thread will snap. Too fast and…
Leaping Tiger Form 3
This section contains a powerful punch and kick combination that is trained on both sides. It improves your balance and connected power. Before you work on the video below make sure you know your dragon punch and your front kick. Previous: Leaping Tiger part 2 Next: Leaping Tiger part 4…
Bagua 2 – Fan Chang
Fan Chang is an arm movement that takes power from a rotation of the legs and waist and projects it out through the palms. With practice you open up the energy channels and can feel a strong connection of energy all the way up from feet to palms. Rotation is…
Bagua 1 – Walking the Circle
Baguazhang (pronounced bag-wa-jang), or bagua (pakua) for short, is a fascinating practice of moving meditation and self development that became the most sought after martial art in China. This post, and the video at the end of it describes the basic practice of walking the circle. Don’t neglect this as…
Wave movements in Push
Learning to move in fluid wave-like patterns is good for your health, open your joints and allows power to flow through you in the most efficient way. The tai chi move ‘push’ is an ideal move to incorporate this wave movement. Do practice the basic move first. Then check out…
Heaven Figure 8 stepping pattern
The heaven figure 8 stepping pattern is very useful for tai chi practitioners to learn and essential for students of Jade Dragon Kung Fu. It forms a part of many of our styles and movements. You will find it in our leaping tiger form and discover many ways to use…
Wave-like arm movements video
In both tai chi and kung fu our aim is for power to flow through the body and out again. Energy usually travels in waves so by creating wave movements we can prevent ourselves tensing up and let the movement flow. The power this can generate is enormous yet effortless…
Earth Figure of 8
This is the second of the two figure of eight arm movements. In a previous post we covered the heaven figure 8 movement. This one goes the opposite way round. Both movements have the following benefits The earth figure of 8 is also a great rooting exercise that teaches you…
Heaven Figure 8 Arm Circle
There are two figure of eight arm movements – heaven and earth. They have many uses: Today we are going to learn the heaven figure of eight. We will do a large movement that basically describes an anticlockwise circle to your left and a clockwise circle to your right. Stay…
The Invisible Stool
One of the main aims of tai chi and kung fu is for you to be able to hold and move your body in the most effortless and efficient way. This doesn’t come naturally as our habitual way of holding our body is from above by tensing up. This takes…
Extended Guard
Developing an effective guard is essential in any combat situation. I have lost counts of the number of fights I have seen – both in real life and on video where one protagonist has his hands down around his waist and then wonders why he gets hit so easily. In…