day 79: theory! (general principles of combat)

concepts:

• whirlpool
• tangential force
• energy
• centers
• structure
• beam & support (the I)
• yin & yang
• relaxation
  

forms:

• combat concepts
• recognition drill
• palm change 8 (side B & 2-person form)

we had an extended day today, starting from about 10 and ending around 3:30.

combat concepts

the bulk of the day was spent on theory in relation to fighting, beginning with the combat concepts covered in previous classes (reference: day 73, day 75, & day 78).

Sifu noted that the picture included for the posting for day 75 was a succinct visual summary of the nature of whirlpools, tangential force, and interacting energies in a fight. that particular photo was from an astronomical supercomputer simulation of 2 colliding galaxies (link: http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/1008.php). i included it because it shows the interactions between the rotational, linear, and gravitational forces between 2 opposing galaxies of differing sizes--things which i thought were natural expressions of the theory we've been covering.

Sifu pointed out that the manner in which the 2 astronomical bodies interact in the photos is exactly what happens in a fight. in a fight, there are 2 bodies, each with their own energy and mass. interacting with each other, they rotate around each other about a common center of mass (or center of gravity). their energies also begin to engage each other. their collision is not so much a collision but a coming together of forces which then are followed by a rebound away, which then eventually come back together again. ultimately, the 2 bodies form a single mass with a single center.

Sifu stated this is largely analogous to a fight between 2 people, in that the opponents fight to disrupt each other's energies, and also fight to dominate or control their common center of gravity. whoever does this controls the single mass created by the 2 bodies involved in combat.

Sifu continued by noting that it was interesting to see that ancient practitioners in the martial arts--and also ancient scholars--could visualize this and understand this enough to utilize it, even thought they didn't understand how it worked. so even while modern science has yielded more knowledge about the processes, it can't claim to have been the first to recognize the phenomenon.

i dug around to find a video that i thought was a more animated illustration of what we've been discussing. i came across a couple of YouTube videos that i thought were useful:

Hubble Source video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBFc1ldP_Ps

Andromeda and Milky Way video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC_bxZhfQJk

note: the Andromeda galaxy is estimated as being twice as large as the Milky Way galaxy.

Sifu extended the discussion to cover the means of how to use the theory we've been covering. so far, we've talked about using and disrupting energy (ours and our opponent's), and doing so utilizing whirlpools and tangential force to recognize, respond, deflect, redirect, and project power. the next step, however, is to address just how a practitioner is supposed to apply these ideas in facing an attacker.

at this point Sifu noted 2 important concepts that he wanted to expand on:

• center--we've talked about this before, but this time Sifu stressed it was important to understand this concept, since it's one of the most important in combat. going back to the colliding galaxies image, he said that in any fight between opponents, there are a number of centers: 1) individual centers, where each person can be seen as having a center of mass or center of gravity, lying along a centerline of their torsol; and 2) the systemic center, which is the center of mass or center of gravity about which all bodies (all parties in the fight) rotate. you can preserve your center and centerline by aligning it with the systemic center, and you can disrupt the opponent's energy state (i.e., their stability) by controlling the systemic center to create leverage for your actions in a way that disrupts their center and centerline. once a person's center or centerline is disrupted, they are thrown off-balance or lose control, resulting in their collapse, or at the least exposing them to your attack.
• structure--we've also talked about this in terms of static structure (built through stances) and dynamic structure (built through forms and sparring). this time, though, Sifu detailed what this actually looks like. he said that when looking at a person's structure, we can visualize their centerline, shoulders, and hips forming an "I", with a central supporting column (the centerline going through their torso), their shoulders forming the top beam, and their hips forming the lower beam. a person with good structure as an clear "I" shape. a person with bad structure has a skewed "I." the former is good in that it is stable, the latter is bad in that it is unstable. determining if the "I" is straight or skewed involves recognition of yin-yang and relaxation states for each body part (not just the parts in the beams and support). structure causing instability is one that is vulnerable to being thrown off-balance or denied control, again resulting in (at worst) their collapse or (at best) exposing them to attack.
  

Sifu said that to become better at fighting, we needed to develop the ability to instantly recognize (and use) centers (both individual and systemic) and structures (ours and our opponents'). he noted that all good fighters have this skill.

recognition drill

to develop skills at recognizing centers and structures, Sifu had us work on the recognition drill (my term). this drill involves partners (2 or more) in non-contact situations, and has 2 levels. the drill works as follows:

• level 1: partners take turns holding fighting stances (note: this is not necessarily the same as static stances, but rather are the "ready" stances held in combat). the partners not holding the stance then try to identify 1) the stance-holder's center of gravity/mass and centerline, and 2) the stance-holder's structure. the goal is to recognize if the stance-holder is stable/unstable--in terms of as a whole, and also in terms of individual body parts. for center of gravity/mass and centerline, this requires looking at the body type, distribution of weight, posture. for structure, this requires looking at the yin-yang states and level of relaxation.
• level 2: partners face off in fighting scenarios, holding good structure. they then move around each other, trying to determine if their opponent reveals any weaknesses while moving. again, this means trying to see if the opponent 1) skews their center, or 2) skews their structure. movements can be in any direction to probe the opponent, meaning forward, backwards, sideways, circular, etc.--closer, farther, beside, behind, or in front of the partner.
  

Sifu reminded us about the following:

• yin-yang concepts--anything forward, up, outward, with body weight, or with force is yang (substantial energy), and anything backwards, down, inward, with less body weight or less force is yin (insubstantial energy). adding onto the previous class instruction on this idea, he said that in relation to structure that a situation where there is clear demarcation of yin-yang (i.e., one shoulder is dipped down, or yin, and the other shoulder is raised up, or yang) indicates instability, and hence is vulnerable to attack (so that you should apply yang to the body part in yin state, and vice versa). however, where things are even (i.e., where it is not clear what is yin or yang), this indicates a stable situation, and one not vulnerable to attack.
• relaxation--creating stability is easier in a state of relaxation. muscles that are tensed tend to pull in unequal ways, creating divisions of yin-yang that skew the center and structure, causing instability and vulnerability to attack
• static versus dynamic--good opponents will have good centers and static structure. in such situations, you have to engage in motion to force them into motion, with the hope that movement will cause changes in their posture revealing weaknesses in their centers and dynamic structure. as a result, movement should take into consideration the goal of forcing the opponent to move in ways that help you determine their dynamic structure and ability to hold their center in such conditions.
  

we practiced this drill for awhile, working in 2 groups of 3 people.

palm change 8

after awhile, and after he had observed our progress, Sifu instructed Phunsak to lead us through the remainder of palm change 8.

Phunsak led us through both side A and side B. after this, he decided that we had time to work on the 2-person form, so we worked on this for awhile.

i haven't recorded the 2-person form for this yet, but you can see the videos of side A and side B here:

side A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EMla3lX_-Y

side B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPSdYuOE5Y4

we finished the day with Sifu showing a demonstration of how to exploit the concepts of centers and structure, using the scenario of an opponent attempting to grapple with a low entry grab towards the legs.

typically, the prescription for this situation is to sprawl, preventing the opponent from grabbing your legs and forcing the opponent down on the ground beneath you.

however, Sifu said that you can avoid this entire situation by simply redirecting the opponent to the side. Sifu showed that you can push the opponent's shoulder or head in an arc about the systemic center that forces them off their original vector and throws them onto the ground facing away from you. Sifu said it helps to also recognize the original force vector, and to make the arc around the systemic center in a way that it turns the opponent away from the force vector. in his words: "just turn them away from the vector." done right, this requires very little effort.

we practiced this for awhile. it is a little tricky recognizing the systemic center, as well as moving the opponent's shoulder/head around the systemic center, but once you get the feel of this it is suprisingly easy--in fact, it's actually very easy to use too much force, in that you can actually produce a very violent motion of the opponent away and onto the ground.

by this time it was starting to get dark, so we called class to an end and went to lunch.