Through careful study, Kou Sze was able to break down all of the monkeys’ reactions and categorize them into five different personality types. Thereby he founded five different monkey forms: the tall monkey, the lost monkey, the drunken monkey, the wooden monkey and the stone monkey forms. Each of these monkey personalities has a different defensive and attacking style from one another.
1. Lost Monkey
The “Lost Monkey” has lost his way, and looks innocent and confused. This is just a fraud, for the lost monkey is tricky, and deceiving, fooling his opponent at every opportunity. This money trains for extremely light footwork. He’s quick to move, and each movement (both fist and foot) is hard for the opposition to predict and follow. Sometimes he seems to fake a move, but then it turns out to be real, and vice versa. The lost monkey changes his footwork frequently. His opponent doesn’t know where the monkey is moving next. The same is true of his hands. The hands and the footwork change suddenly and without warning.
2. Wooden Monkey
The “Wooden Monkey” is a very aggressive fighter, leaping out at enemies from the hidden woods. He is relentless in his attack, and never fears his opponent. The wooden monkey uses quiet, controlled movements. He’s always looking for an opening in his opponent’s defenses. When he attacks, he attacks so aggressively that his enemy finds it practically impossible to defend himself. This monkey is opposite of the playful appearing drunken monkey.
3. Stone Monkey
The “Stone Monkey” uses more physical force than the drunken monkey and is a much more external form. The Stone Monkey is well suited to a physically strong person. All of the movements use force against force. This monkey practitioner trains his body to be very resilient to blows, like a rock. He can exchange punches on a one to one basis with his opponent. This form also contains many falling and rolling techniques.
4. Standing Monkey
The “Standing Monkey” doesn’t fall and roll around as much as the others, and uses more conventional stances. It is a long-arm form, which is well suited for tall people.
5. Drunken Monkey
Monkeys can become intoxicated when they drink. When the monkey appears to be drunk, his enemies will attack, thinking to take advantage of his condition. But the monkey is very elusive and hard to catch. He hides, and then counterattacks with deadly precision. His footwork consists of low stances and tricky acrobatics, giving the appearance of drunkenness.
The drunken money is the hardest of the five types to learn, but it is the most powerful of the five. In this form, the monkey must squat, roll and tumble more than in the others. The movements are combinations of hard and soft power, designed to develop the chi or internal energy. Although the monkey seems unstable and out of control, when he moves he concentrates his energy into whatever part of his body he wishes. This can be the monkey practitioner’s shoulder, waist, hip, arms etc. Wherever he touches his opponent, the qi energy leaves the monkey’s body and can cause serious injury to his opposition. Everything seems relaxed, without hard external power, but upon contact powerful internal energy is released.