One of the primary characteristics of Five Ancestors is its reliance on the
Sam Chien (literally "three battles":三戦) stance and the corresponding hand form of the same name, which it obtained from Fujian White Crane. The "three battles" refer primarily to the three stages of Wuzu practitioners can achieve: combat preparation, combat tactic and combat strategy; all of which must be mastered in order to attained a good level. "Three Battles" has multi-faceted meaning: conceptual, physical, and spiritual. Sam Chien can also be said to allow development of the eight Five Ancestor principles and so, is considered the most important form in the style. Indeed, it is said that this form contains all the principles of the Five Ancestors system. Thus it is the first form taught to junior students, so that they may explore the essential points of Five Ancestors from the start of their training. With the practitioner's progress in understanding the essence of Sam Chien, all of their movements are immediately improved as a consequence. Thus, it is a strong adage believed by senior/master level practitioners that, without the most basic essential understanding of Sam Chien, all of the fighting forms are rendered as much less effective. Fighting forms are relatively uncomplicated, but have a heavy reliance on one's Sam Chien evolving understanding. Thus, Sam Chien keeps being practised even by those who are very senior in the arts: "Since the beginning learning Sam Chien. Until pass away keeps learning Sam Chien." The writer here can't emphasize enough that junior practitioners see how important it is to keep training Sam Chien while progressing to learn different forms at the same time. It looks and feels boring, but without it a Wuzuquan practitioner is nothing. Although the exact method depends on the school, Five Ancestors is known for its large variety of power generational methods. Due to the distinct character of each ancestor, these methods change depending on the power required. Some schools teach tension forms that develop power, of which there are about ten, and fist forms that train technique, of which there are dozens. Others stress a relaxed body, instead seeking maximum transmission of the relevant
jin. For the He Yang (何阳)branch/School, these 2 extremes are represented by the Lu Wanding/Lo Ban Teng (盧萬定) lineages representing the earlier. The teaching of Lu style is mostly in Indonesia (in the city of Jakarta and Surakarta/Solo). The latter is represented by the latter teaching of Shen Yangde/Sim Yang Tek (沈扬徳) whose style evolved from more direct in the earlier teaching In Xiamen to the "seeking maximum transmission of the relevant
jin "when he had moved to Singapore. The Surakarta/Solo branch has a unique execution as it integrates the Lu and the earlier Shen's teaching. For those who are intimate to the art, GM Liem’s style could be said “upper body Sim, lower body Lo.” The style was popularized in solo by Lin Shui Gang/Liem Tjoei Kang (林水港) who was the nephew of Lu as well as an adopted son of Shen. In the surface, it seems to be counter-intuitive to integrate two opposite spectrum of teaching. However, the underlying principle of He Yang lineages are the same and the integration follows the principles taught by Coshu He Yang and proven as effective as the other lineages. "Hard" and "soft" are relative concepts in Wuzuquan as it is like a fine combing. However, for those with proficiency in the style, there exist a correlation with the ideal fighting distance: the "softer" one school's style is perceived within Wuzuquan, the shorter is the ideal/preferred fighting distance. This is a consequence of the emphasis of the school's power generation method, again usually is only perceivable to those who have prowess in the arts. The six principles of the footwork are as follows: • Big Gate • Small Gate • Middle Gate • Front Gate • Back Gate • Turn Gate The base are the same as other southern styles: • Tun (Swallow) • Tu (Spit) • Fu (Float) • Chen (Sink) but Five Ancestors also adds on top of it a second set: • Fen (Scatter) • Bi (Fold) • Tuo (Prop) • Dun (Stop) The five power generation methods are as follows: • Legs • Pelvis • Body •
Dantian • Inch Chase On top of this are miscellaneous hand forms, two-man forms (also known as form-drill) that may or may not include sticking hands, and forms for a comprehensive arsenal of weapons including rice bowl and chopsticks, umbrellas, and even opium pipes. Over the decades masters have added to this list, introducing material they considered relevant to the time. Five Ancestors is now taught in
China,
Malaysia,
Philippines,
Indonesia,
Singapore,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Ireland,
Sweden, the
United Kingdom,
Germany,
Norway,
Sweden, the
United States,
Switzerland,
Canada,
Denmark, and
Spain. ==Governance==