I recently watched an old-style kung fu movie (Snake in Eagles
Shadow; Jackie Chan, Simon Yeun, and Yuen Woo Ping) and it
portrays Jackie Chan as a Snake-fist style master, who can
smack around :smack: all the bad guys with his fist that looks like
(duh) a snake
I did some reasearch on the snakefist style and found it is an
actuall art that flourshed under the Chen dynasty (or somthing)
But could it actually be used for pratical battle? Something makes
me want to think that it is used more for Chinesse opreas, just
the way it looks- doesnt look like you could really defend yourself
with snake- hands
(also, how bout the Eagles Claw and Praying Mantis style)
-PK
These are very practical styles. You don’t defend yourself with “snakeheads” (whatever they are). You can block or dodge like other martial arts.
Just about any style can be effective or a waste of time. You don’t fight against the style, you fight against the fighter.
And more properly, against the fighter’s training methods.
Although the snake fist is used in various techniques, that shouldn’t be taken to mean that all the strikes/blocks/whatever must imvolve a snake fist in some way. The main idea is that the art is based more on the perceived characteristics of the snake, that is, stealth and quickness in it’s movements as opposed to an art that relies on power and strong deep stances.
Regarding techniques that do employ a snake fist, they are useful but like all weapons, they are most effective when used in the appropriate ways, as parries or against soft body parts and nerve centers.