I am seeing alot of misleading info reguarding Kung Fu in General. First, “Justin” was not far off in his post

The Shaolin Kung Fu 5 animal style consists of Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Leopard and Crane.
These styles were more than just fighting styles (as used in most KF schools now days). As there are 5 Elements, 5 Chi Kung Animals, 5 Feng Shui Animals, the Shaolin 5 Animals were much much more. It has to do with Body, Mind and Spirit; but they were also metaphors for human situation handling, interaction, focus and much more. HEALTH AND WELL BEING THROUGH HARD WORK AND PERFECTION (Kung Fu).

Most martial arts can be used as self defense when trained properly. Kung Fu is no different. If you train to spar, then you will not survive long in a real fight. A good Kung Fu school will first teach you fitness and self defense. Once you reach a point in your training, you will begin to move beyond that into learning the ART of Kung Fu, which is so, so much more than just self defense.

It is certainly true that traditional Kung Fu does not have a color coded ranking system. You were either a beginner, Intermediate, or advanced. Most Kung Fu Schools in the US do have their own ranking and many (mine included) have borrowed from our Martial arts brothers for a color coded ranking. This helps beginner students to see some sort of reward in the early stages of learning Kung Fu. Once you EARN your black sash, that signifies the end of the BEGINNER period in relation to Kung Fu, as opposed to the End of many others.

If you are interested in learning Kung Fu, you need to find you a school that is backed up by a strong lineage. IE, I am learning Seven Star Preying Mantis Kung Fu from Sifu Brandon Jones, who learned from Sigung Raymond Fogg, who learned from Grand Master’s Lee Kam Wing, Chu Lung, and Henry Chung. Be wary of those that have been doing Kung Fu for less than about 10 years (Sifu level takes 8-10)

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