The Shaolin Cross Block for Basic Southern Shaolin Kung Fu Fighting Style

Video Transcript

" Hi! My name is Julio Anta from Anta’s Fitness & Self Defense in Miami Florida. My website is www.antakungfu.com. Continuing our series in Southern Kung Fu, we are going to show you what we call the Shaolin cross. Interesting story on this is, we call it a cross because it looks like a catholic cross the way we block. Yet we call it Shaolin cross, because the monks in the Shaolin temple used to walk around like this meditating. If a thug attacked them, they would feel the power. Because they were peaceful warriors they would block and take them down depending on how strong or violent the person was. With that in mind, we usually practice it in a horse stance. I am going to show you one then I am going to stand up to show you the moves. This is blocking at four angles, soft but powerful. We don’t block. We strike the strike. So we bring it up like the Shaolin monk and then we do a crane beak no higher than your eyebrow for a punch that is coming in straight. A leopard’s paw, for a punch that is coming into your body, this is not for a kick. Another crane beak, for a hook coming this way. And a crane wing for a punch coming this way but it has to be fluent and soft. So it would look something like this. So one more time crane beak, leopard’s paw, crane beak, crane wing. Blocking at four angles your body is soft, but it is a super powerful block when you learn to do it."