There are several Chinese martial arts known as Snake Boxing or Snake Style (Chinese: pinyin: shéquán; literally "snake fist") which 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 wouldn't expect in offense. Snake style is said to especially lend itself to applications with the Chinese straight sword. Both Wing Chun and T'ai Chi Ch'uan are said to be based on a combination of the Snake and Crane styles. The snake is also one of the animals imitated in 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 Cobra, while others imitate the Python, while some schools imitate both for different applications.

Snake is one of the archetypal Five Animals of Chinese martial arts; the other four being Crane, Tiger, Leopard, and Dragon. These five animals originally represented the five classical Chinese elements before developing into their own styles. Snake is usually Earth, Tiger is Fire, Crane is Metal (which also doubles as Air), Dragon is Water, and Leopard is Wood. Since they were derived from the Five Elements, they are kept in this pattern. At this point many styles delve into more advanced animal training or actual element training. The Taoist temples of the Wudan...