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According to oral tradition, at one point, the pre-eminent Shaolin style fell out of favor in comparison to the so-called "internal" styles. The opinion was that Shaolin was too hard and relied too heavily on physical strength. Then the style underwent a major reorganization, with the boxing techniques being grouped into five categories corresponding to five animals - tiger, crane, leopard, snake and dragon. The style in its new form was then more internal and sophisticated, and Shaolin returned to prominence. Hung-ga is famous for having boxing techniques based on these five animals.
Tiger trains the boxer's strength and aggressiveness. Through tiger style the boxer develops bones, muscles and ligaments. The tiger has no concern for self, but attacks, taking ground the way that a brush fire quickly consumes everything in its path. Tiger uses "gong" or hard ging.
Crane is characterized by techniques that evade or rotate around an attack. The crane is not aggressive the way that the tiger is. It develops balance, use of the waist and whipping power or "bin" ging. Its main weapons are the crane's beak and the crane's wings. Related to the wood element, the crane uses both hands to achieve balance. The correct crane stance is not standing on one leg, but the figure of two adducted stance, yee ji ki yum mah.
The leopard is another big cat, but lacks the size and weight of its larger cousin,the tiger. The leopard uses speed and stunning power to overcome the attacker. Leopard techniques employ the leopard's paw, a half-closed fist that goes deep into soft areas of the body with the knuckle ridge or serves as an "iron hook" in defensive actions. Leopard techniques often involve springing into the opponent.
The snake relies on internal actions and develops the boxer's chi. Related to the water element, the snake is very loose and flexible and uses multiple hits to vital spots to stop an attacker. The snake's head, tongue and tail can all serve as weapons.
Dragon techniques are the only ones based on a totally mythical animal. The dragon can twist and turn like the snake, but is much larger and more powerful, and can unleash all of its power into its target in a single strike. Related to the earth element, the dragon trains the spirit of the boxer, since it cannot conceive of defeat. It also provides sinking and rising and rooting, and a base for the actions of the other animals.