Drunken Monkey Form or Drunken Monkey Pole Form of Kung Fu is a Korean martial art, and one of the variations of the Monkey Style

Monkey Kung Fu

Monkey Kung Fu, or Monkey Fist , is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique.There are a number of independently developed systems of monkey kung fu...

.

This style is different from Zui Quan

Zui Quan

Zui Quan is literally Drunken Fist, also known as Drunken Boxing or Drunkard's Boxing) is a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts, as well as a classification of modern Wushu forms...

 (Drunken Fist), as the practitioner is imitating gestures of an intoxicated monkey

Monkey

A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

, rather than a human fighter.

Drunken Monkey does not begin with drunken-like gestures, but rather the drunken aspect enters the forms in the middle section when the practitioner plays the movements of a monkey drinking stolen wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

.

The Drunken Monkey style is visually completely different when compared to Zui Quan and is shorter in sequence. This style, however, is considered more artistically beautiful, acrobatic and agile compared to Zui Quan. This does not necessarily mean that it is more or less effective in actual combat.

Contrary to claims in movies, actually being drunk doesn't improve drunken monkey or drunken fist. It's based on the concept of imitating being drunk, actually being drunk is not required and may impair one's speed and ability to perform complex movements.

Description and techniques

The form is short and simple, consisting of a few dozen or so movements. Much of the moves are performed at a low ground level, with rolling, tumbling and falling techniques. There are also many unusual grappling and blocking techniques. The higher level attacks include eye pokes and throat hits, as well as blocks and punches (with punching being exceptional, as monkeys generally do not attack with their fists). There are also many middle attacks such as kicks aimed to the stomach area, and lower attacks to the lower abdomen, groin and legs.

• The "Monkey-Hands" Technique: Relaxed hand strikes with the palm facing downward and fingers drooping towards the ground, used to deflect hand strikes and kicks, and also to strike with the fingers towards the throat and eyes.
• The "Monkey-Claws" Technique: This attack is basically a strike with the palm facing forward and hitting with the fingers and striking downward, like any animal's clawing motion. It is used to hit the face and eyes, and can also be used to grapple the opponent's wrist.
• Low Kicks and Ground Kicks: There are many kicks in Drunken Monkey, primarily aimed at the lower portions of the body (legs, groin, abdomen) and executed from a low position or from lying on the ground.

Origin

The inspiration for Drunken Monkey can be traced to the character "Sūn Wùkōng

Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...

" from the story "Journey to the West

Journey to the West

Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...

", written in the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 by Wu Cheng'en

Wu Cheng'en

Wu Cheng'en , courtesy name Ruzhong , pen name "Sheyang Hermit," was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, best known for being the attributed author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West.-Biography:Wu was born in Lianshui, in Jiangsu...

. In the story, the Monkey King stole all the peaches of the "spiritual peach tree" of the Heavenly King Mother

Jade Emperor

The Jade Emperor in Chinese folk culture, is the ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to a version of Taoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon...

 and drank all the wine reserved for fairies and immortals who were invited to the birthday party of the Heavenly King. The Heavenly King became enraged and the Monkey King made a mess of the Heavenly Palace after fighting and defeating all of the Heavens' warriors. The Monkey King had to be finally subdued by Buddha Yu-lei

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

.

Article source

Leung, Ting Dr.

Leung Ting

Leung Ting is the founder and permanent president of the International WingTsun Association.Leung chose the spelling of WingTsun to differentiate his teachings from those of other Wing Chun schools, and to keep them from passing off their style as his own...

 Drunken Monkey Kung Fu – (1998) Leung Ting Company, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 (ISBN 962-7284-02-5)http://www.amazon.com/dp/9627284025/

In the movies

• In Jackie Chan
  Jackie Chan
  Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
  
  's Drunken Master II
  Drunken Master II
  Drunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong kung fu action film directed by Lau Kar-Leung and Jackie Chan, who stars as Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. It was Chan's first traditional style martial arts film since The Young Master...
  
  (1994) (AKA Legend of Drunken Master (2000) (U.S.
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  )) Drunken Monkey is hinted at. In one fight scene, Wong Fei Hung
  Wong Fei Hung
  Wong Fei-hung was a Chinese martial artist, a traditional Chinese medicine physician, acupuncturist and revolutionary who became a folk hero and the subject of numerous television series and films. He was considered an expert in the Hung Gar style of Chinese martial arts. Wong is visibly the most...
  
  takes a form he calls "monkey drinks master's wine" which bears resemblances to and shares a similar name with the Drunken Monkey forms "The Monkey King Stealing Wine", "The Monkey King Drinking Wine" and "The Monkey King Becoming Drunk"
• The main character (Chia-Liang Liu) in Feng hou (1979) AKA Mad Monkey Kung-Fu http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079147/ is a master of Lau Family Hung Gar kung fu which has its own variation of Monkey Boxing inclusive of the Drunken monkey technique
• A more recent film featuring a drunken monkey style is Chui ma lau (2002) AKA Drunken Monkey http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367602/ In this movie Chia-Liang Liu is also one of the lead characters and again the technique on display is a variation of the Lau Family Hung Gar system.
• The movie Chu long ma liu (1979) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078969/ also features the Monkey styles including Drunken
• A similar attack style appears in Monkey Island 4.