While Xingyiquan is forceful and solid, it is also very agile, as shown in this pattern, "Sparrow Rushes Towards Sky"

The twelve animal-forms complement the simplicity of the five elemental fists. The twelve animal-forms are as follows:

1. Dragon (long)
2. Tiger (fu)
3. Monkey (hou)
4. Horse (ma)
5. Alligator (tou)
6. Cockerel (ji)
7. Hawk (yau)
8. Swallow (yan)
9. Snake (she)
10. Ostrich (tai)
11. Eagle (ying)
12. Bear (xiong)

In the "Xingyiquan Classic", the special features of these twelve animal-forms are as follows:

1. "long you sou gu zhi fa", which means that the dragon-form has the techniques of shrinking and expanding bones

2. "fu you pu shi zhi yong", which means that the tiger-form has the courage of charging at prey

3. "hou you zong shan zhi neng", which means the monkey-form has the ability to transverse mountains

4. "ma you ji ti zhi gong", which means the horse-form has the art of sudden speed

5. "tou you fu shui zhi ling", which means the alligator-form has the intelligence to glide through water

6. "ji you sheng dou zhi xing", which means that the cockerel-form has the nature to fight

7. "yau you zuan tian zhi shi", which means the hawk-form has the poise to soar the skies

8. "yan you chao shui zhi qiao", which means the swallow-form has the marvel to skim over water

9. "she you bo chao zhi jing", which means the snake-form has the essence to slide through grass

10. "tai you beng zhuang zhi xing", which means, the ostrich-form has the structure to collide and ram

11. "ying you zhou na zhi ji", which mans the eagle-form has the skill to catch and grip

12. "xiong you shu deng zhi li", which means the bear-form has the strength to be stable and upright