stuff covered today:
concepts:
- hawk follows sparrow
- twisting force
- applied stances
- tantui
- third palm change
the forecast was for bad weather, light rain. but the morning turned out to be just a heavy overcast, and no precipitation, so i decided that there was very little chance of class being canceled, even though its outdoor location made it susceptible to inclement weather.
class started out uneventfully. some new people showed up, some people from prior weeks did not (it always seems that way). with Lee leading as he customarily does, we started off doing stances (always the same 10: horse, bow-and-arrow, 60-40, 70-30, rooster, etc.), and then proceeded to performing tantui.
tantui
tantui is (from what i can tell--notice how i often use this phrase with learning martial arts?) a martial arts form derived from the muslim populations of western China. based on what people have told me and what I've been able to research on the internet, the muslim Chinese had a reputation of being superb fighters, which combined with their status as outsiders independent of the ethnic struggles in imperial intrigue, made them prize candidates as imperial bodyguards. much of their fighting style is characterized by wide-open stances and movements, with direct action and forceful techniques. because their fighting style was considered in such high esteem, it was used as a source from which many other northern Chinese martial arts borrowed their elements--and so is the reason why so many of the fighting styles from northern China are characterized by wide, long-range techniques.
tantui itself is the core of the muslim Chinese fighting style, and apparently is titled in English "muslim long fist." tantui consists of (depending on the region) 10 or 12 lines of stances, within which a series of stances are performed along a line. each line has its own series. i am only learning the first, and have not yet learned the others--as a result, i did the first line, and then stepped out to take some notes and observe the others.
according to what i've read on-line, there's a saying that "if your tantui is good, your kung fu is good." if that's the case, i've got a ways to go.
Sifu Jason arrived just after Lee had finished. when he asked me i was learning tantui, i said yes. he then asked to see me do it, at which i told him i had absolutely no idea what the proper order of stances were in the series for the first line. at that point he ordered Phunsak to work with me.
this is one of those times when it is clearly apparent just how necessary it is to have close personal attention from the instructor, and that emulation alone is not enough. Phunsak had me follow him as he did the first line in tantui, and then stopped to painstakingly point out to my mistakes. emulation of Lee had gotten me the apparent ability to follow the series, but the truth was that i was missing much of the finer points of technique necessary to give substance to the concepts behind tantui.
according to Phunsak, there are certain nuances in hand and foot positioning, as well as torso rotation and shoulder movement, that are crucial to make tantui effective. without it, the student won't develop the instinctive feel for the actions that give tantui its ability to develop muscles, coordination, and power. Phunsak's comments were confirmed by the on-line research i did on tantui, which essentially stated that tantui was developed to push students to change their mindsets away from familiar patterns of motion and see the additional ways their bodies can produce power.
i can tell that there are certain parts of tantui that are proving very challenging to me in terms of my flexibility.
third palm change
after awhile, Sifu Jason had everyone stop working in their respective groups, and then had everyone line up to learn the third palm change.
he reviewed the single and double palm changes--as much to show them to the new faces returning from their vacations as much to refresh the memories of everyone else. he then showed the third palm change.
the third palm change is an additional order of complexity from the single and double changes. it involves a greater number of changes in foot positioning and stances, and incorporates much more circular and fluid motions of the arms and hands, as well as involving a more conscious adjustment of the body along a vertical axis up and down. for all intensive purposes, it makes the practitioner a whirling dervish of flying hands and arms and rising and descending body parts moving in a synchronous ballet of movement before arriving at rest. it is, to say the least, the physical equivalent of a tongue-twister (simple to watch, but then frustratingly difficult to perform).
Jason broke the third palm change into 2 halves. we took an extended period of time doing the first half, following his careful, slow, and repeated demonstration of the techniques. he had us emulate him at first, and then walked around us observing as we attempted to do them as a group along a cadence count. after awhile, we moved onto the second half, following the same strategy. when he became a little more satisfied, Jason then had us integrate both halves and do the entire palm change as a single movement.
this time (unlike the previous classes), i could see that almost everyone was having trouble getting comfortable with the palm change. they were pretty much having the same problem i was: remembering the sequence of techniques, as well as coordinating the simultaneous performance of multiple actions in a smooth, seamless progression.
at this point, Jason had us break off into groups to work on the third palm change on our own--or to take a break from the concentration and digest its concepts.
Art, who had showed up late, watched me with bemused interest. after a few moments, he began working with me.
Art, having been with Jason for so long, has been through 64 Palms multiple times. he told me this was the 3rd time he'd gone through it. evidently, the first time Jason had taught it doing it the way it's supposed to be done--in a circle, the way bagua is supposed to be done--but that everyone had struggled to learn it. the second time, Art had just come back from postrate surgery (he's a postrate cancer survivor), and had been able to do nothing else than watch. this was the third time. he then laughed and said that he seemed to learn new things each time Jason covered it.
stance applications
after some time on the third palm change, Jason started showing everyone some combat applications of bagua involving hand movements redirecting punches and counter-striking either by hand strikes or throws. from what i saw, it involved a circular flick of the wrist to the side followed by a lunge forward to either strike or throw the opponent. after demonstrating the technique a few times and describing its concepts, Jason had everyone break off into pairs and practice the techniques. i stayed paired with Art.
it dawned on me that what Jason had showed involved the elements of the pole drills from last week. this gave me more insight into the application of the drills in combat. at this point i realized a number of things:
- it makes a huge difference practicing with a real person, to see how a technique works in practical application
- bagua is a close-in system. as in close. to apply its techniques to hit or throw an opponent, you have to close with your enemy and make contact between your shoulders and torsos. talk about the brutality of violence
- minute differences in technique can have dramatic impact on the effectiveness of a technique--with just a slight change in movement, i found that my actions were either completely suppressed or surprisingly effective (Art showed me just how exposed i could be if things were done wrong, and how powerful i could be if things were done right)
- i still didn't have things down--my techniques was being countered by Art more often than they were succeeding in doing what Jason had showed us they were supposed to do
one of Jason's other senior students, a man named Eric who appears to be in his 40s, came up to me and said that i was having difficulty with the techniques because my stances were all wrong. he pointed out my footwork and body positioning was taking away from the proper form needed for the techniques. Art agreed, and commented how my stances were preventing me from properly redirecting incoming strikes and counter-attacking, as well as leaving me vulnerable to the opponent's actions.
as Eric and Art discussed what it was that i was doing wrong, it became clear to me that the techniques Jason had showed us were involving more than just the pole drill, but also integrated the stances we perform to start each class--in particular, this set of techniques involved the horse stance, 60-40 stance, and bow-and-arrow stance. the pole drill itself had involved multiple stances, but now the techniques integrated everything for its goals.
it was then that i had another realization: the proper form of each stance, and just why proper form was so important. it's not because it's just because "the way things have always been done." it's because it makes a major difference in determining the effectiveness of each technique.
for example, in order to redirect an incoming strike, the technique Jason showed us involved a seemingly slight nuance in the 60-40 stance in which the butt and waist are slightly turned towards the enemy. this turn is crucial in properly aligning the hand movements to redirect an incoming strike with minimal effort. similarly, the technique also involves a shift from 60-40 to bow-and-arrow, where the shift involves a twist in the rear foot that at first impression is seemingly inconsequential. but the shift plays a major role in instilling the counter-strike with force and ensuring that the practitioner doesn't overextend himself and become vulnerable. this essentially, is another facet in meaning of the term "twisting force."
after thinking about it, and practicing a few more times with Art, i'm thinking that for me, the trick to doing this right is to imagine my butt initiating the technique, essentially serving to "cock" the movement by turning to face the opponent and align my shoulders, arms, and hands for the shift to counter-strike.
Eric commented dryly that this was considered by traditional instructors as an "advanced" technique, and not something commonly taught to beginners. Art concurred, and said that Jason had been reprimanded by his instructor in the past when he taught it, since it was considered one of the school's "secrets." Art noted that Jason had only begun serious teaching of bagua after his instructor died.
food
the class wound down after this, and Jason said we were finished for the day. we all bowed, said "thank you" in Mandarin, and wrapped everything up.
afterwards, several of the students went with Jason for lunch at a Mongolian-Chinese restaurant in Monterey Park (basically, a spicy version of Japanese shabu shabu). i decided to go. things were a little awkward, since some of the other students were not very talkative, but things got a little better once we started a decent conversation with me, Phunsak, and Jason about Chinese history and the current state of kung fu in China.
it ended up being a decent way to finish the day's lessons, and a nice way to get to know Jason and the other students a little better. he evidently he goes to lunch with everyone after each class, so i may do this again, time permitting (which it probably will be).
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