Snake kung fu

Snake kung fu is a Shaolin boxing style, one of several Chinese martial arts known as "snake boxing" or "fanged snake style" (Chinese: 蛇拳; pinyin: shéquán; lit. 'snake fist') that imitate the movements of snakes. Proponents claim that adopting the fluidity of snakes allows them to entwine with their opponents in defense and strike them from angles they would not expect in offense. Snake style is said to especially lend itself to applications with the Chinese straight sword. The snake is also one of the animals imitated in Yang-style tai chi, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. The sinuous, fluid motion of the snake lends itself to the practical theory that underlies the "soft" martial arts.

Different snake styles imitate different movements of snakes. Some, for example, imitate the Cylindrophiidae, while others imitate the python, while some schools imitate other types of snakes, like the viper and the cobra. There are two unrelated, Northern and Southern snake styles.