Master Li often said that the power of Hwa Yu was in its root. He emphasized
practicing all aspects of the art with standing, rowing and walking, along with
the Form. Master Xavier said Master Li also emphasized the pushing hands and
self-defense techniques from every position in the Animal and Long Forms.

That's how I break down the animals: standing, rowing, walking, pushing hands,
and self-
defense techniques along with doing the complete Form. I also practice the
animals in
different combinations (Dragon and Tiger, Dragon and Crane, Tiger and Pang,
Crane and
Monkey, etc). We learn so much from that as well. I've also done that with
scores of
combinations from the Long Form and discovered some wonderful methods inside.

The Animals are balanced in right side and left-side movements, so that helps
greatly in making sure we develop both sides of our body and brain. It also
supports
the natural flow of the Animals into self-defense techniques that spring out
easily.

The Animals give us almost unlimited numbers of movements to practice at very
slow, slow, medium, medium fast, fast, and ballistic speeds. I've also added
weights,
weapons and other resistance methods to add to the experience.

Have fun!

Mark

--- In hwayutaichi@yahoogroups.com, "dasisdad" <dasisdad@...> wrote:
>
> What are some different ways to practice the animals forms? I have been
> learning the forms from video because there is no one near me that
> teaches Hwa Yu. Also, if anyone knows any other videos that can be used
> to learn this amazing art form, I would appreciate it.
>
> Stephen
>