Lao Chi Kung Fu is a five animal Shaolin based combat system.

Lao Chi Kung Fu is taught as a fighting art, for self-defence, and not as a sport. Although not full contact, contact is made in practice,whether during one on one, multiple attack or freefighting.

The Emblem

Using Snake, Crane, Monkey, Tiger and Dragon, Lao Chi Kung Fu incorporates a large number of kicks with soft and hard hand techniques. Lao Chi uses nine stances from the animal fighting form, plus a basic horse stance and a basic fighting stance, eleven stances in total. All of the stances can be used in collaboration, making Lao Chi a very fluent and adaptable martial art. This encourages the practitioner to be spontaneous as well as to improvise. Hand movements, evasions and techniques from the animal fighting forms combine with the standard techniques for good close quarter defence.

In essence, the theory of the five animals is like the Oriental game of paper, scissors and rock. The scissors cut the paper, the paper covers the rock, the rock smashes the scissors. Each in turn is greater then the other, but also there is no greater or lesser.

See the next page for descriptions of each animal.