Tiger Gung Fu Transforms into Dragon Gung Fu
Dragon Gung Fu refers to internal martial arts training, and tiger Gung fu refers to external martial arts systems.
Dragon Gung Fu would include such Chinese martial arts as Pa Kua Chang, Tai Chi Chuan, and so on.
Tiger Gung Fu would include such systems as Hung Gar, but would go outside the Chinese to such systems as Shotakan Karate (Tiger Emblem), Kyukoshinkai, and so on.
The main difference between the hard and the soft, or the external and internal martial arts systems, is emphasis on muscles in the hard, and emphasis on the growth of Chi from the Tan Tien in the hard.
Though, to be honest, do the Tiger Gung Fu styles long enough, and you will morph into the harder Tiger systems.
Now, most people consider that all you have to do is gear your training to development of tan tien based martial arts, and that will transform you into a dragon gung fu stylist. And this is true. But, there is an easier way, one that works more in conjunction with Tiger Gung Fu styles.
This means that if you do what I am about to tell you, you can easily transform your hard style into a soft style with just a little shift in your training.
To make the transformation from tiger Gung fu methods to dragon, first learn how to make grab arts out of the self defense techniques you practice in the forms.
This can be easily done, and probably the best example of this is the Matrix Aikido method.
Now, here is where the change really starts. You must learn how to use less and less force when doing those grab arts.
Instead of slamming with the hips, learn how to nudge and unbalance, and let the unbalancing technique take its course.
Now, I could tell you dozens of things, but I shant. It would turn into a complex discussion, instead of a conceptual principle.
Heck, take apart those techniques by the thousands, get complex, but always refer back to this principle of using less and less effort.
And that is the way you transform Tiger Gung Fu into Dragon Gung Fu.
Here’s a great article on how to make Dragon Gung Fu out of Tiger Gung Fu, and here’s an interesting online martial arts course on the subject.