- eyes
- hands
- lines
- sweeping
- kicks (axe, stomp, sweep in, sweep out, sweep hook)
- 2-person drills
Sifu stated that today was exclusively kicks. because we were going to cover the same kicks for everyone, the bagua and baji students were all included together, and then paired up.
kicks
Sifu went through a set of 5 kicks for us. all the kicks were low kicks (i.e., to the knee or below). Sifu said that in fighting this was actually the most common kind of kick, since it's the most difficult to defend against and also leaves the kicker the least vulnerable to counter-attack. he said we should focus our efforts on developing these kicks.
for each one, he demonstrated the kick, and then had us perform them individually, with each person moving forward on a line stepping into kicks against an imaginary opponent. we alternated left and right kicks. we applied the same process for each of the kicks. Sifu noted the major points of each kick:
- axe--in this kick, the practitioner brings the rear foot forward and snaps it, with the intent of striking the opponent's knee or shin (front or rear) with the top of the foot. Sifu emphasized the kick is not a swinging of the foot or leg, but rather a linear strike forward. he also said the kick actually starts with the lead hand twitching to distract the opponent's attention. in addition, he said that as the body turns into the kick, the arms should not switch positions (i.e., upraised lead arm versus lower guard hand), but instead the lower guard hand should stay down as it becomes the lead hand. only after the kicking foot returns to the ground should the hand rise to the lead arm position.
- stomp--in this kick the rear foot comes forward to plant next to the front foot, which then rises and goes straight to the opponent's knee or shin (front or rear), with the striking surface being the heel. the initiation with the rear foot helps generate momentum that is transferred into the front foot. again, Sifu said that the kick begins with the lead hand twitching, with the aim of distracting the opponent's attention to the upper body.
- sweep in--this is a sweep of the front foot from the outside into the opponent (e.g., if the practitioner is standing with the right leg in front, the leg is going to sweep counterclockwise on the ground). the target is the opponent's ankle, and the striking surface is the inside of the foot. Sifu pointed out the intent is to trip the opponent, and so the foot doesn't really stray too far from the ground, but instead actually skims along it to the target. also, the kick is initiated with the rear foot coming forward to the front foot, so that momentum is generated for the sweeping of front foot. similar to the axe and stomp kicks, the entire process begins with a slight drop and twitch of the lead hand to distract the opponent.
- sweep out--this is basically a reverse of the sweep in (e.g., if the right leg is in front, the leg is going to sweep in a clockwise direction on the ground), with the same target and same points. the striking surface, however, is the heel. also, rather than starting with a drop and twitch of the lead hand, the kick begins with a sweep of the hand, first in the opposite clock direction of the sweep to set up the kick and then going in the clock direction of the sweep to accompany the kick (e.g., if the kick is going to sweep clockwise, the lead hand at first moves slightly counterclockwise to help position the lead leg, and then goes clockwise to accompany the leg sweep).
- sweep hook--this is a kick from praying mantis. it begins with the lead hand making a slight circular motion to move the opponent's arm aside, and then continues with the rear leg swinging forward. as the rear leg swings forward, the hands make a slightly larger circle so that the guard hand becomes the new lead hand and the former lead hand becomes the guard hand. the swinging leg finishes with the heel on the ground and toes pointing up, catching the opponent's lead foot at the heel with the goal of tripping them. Sifu noted that the foot moves in a circular pattern, and stays near the ground.
- lines--for kicks that are linear, the path of the leg or foot should not be circular. linear kicks do not involve swinging the legs. linear kicks should be more along a line directly to the target.
- sweeping--for kicks that are sweeping, the path of the leg and foot will be more circular, but they should remain close to the ground, to the point that they are scraping the surface.
- eyes--the eyes should not look at the target or the lower body, but should be looking directly ahead. this is to prevent target fixation, wherein a practitioner locks onto a target and loses awareness of movement or attacks from other areas. it is also meant to prevent the signaling of your intended target to the opponent, since the opponent will read your eyes and know your intent.
- hands--hands are crucial to initiating and performing a kick. in the initiation phase, they distract the opponent's attention away from the lower body, and they can deceive the opponent into thinking the intent is for an upper-body strike. in the performance phase, they aid in generating momentum and providing balance.
- balance--kicks should be done with a sense of balance. because of their shift in weight between the legs, this can be difficult to do, and are dangerous in that kicks that are off-balance expose the kicker to counter-attack from the opponent.
- speed--this was probably the most heavily emphasized point from Sifu, and he didn't mention in reference just to kicks, but in fighting all around. he said it was imperative that we develop speed, and that we practice working at speed so as to acclimate ourselves to fighting conditions. in a fight, everything happens very fast, and we have to be ready for it...and the only way to get ready is to get used to it in practice.
after going through the kicks solo, Sifu then had us pair up and move back and forwards, with 1 partner being an "attacker" stepping in to kick the "defender," who stepped back to avoid the kick. each pair would exchange roles so that each partner had the opportunity to practice both launching and defending kicks.
we did this drill for each of the kicks, going through the drill multiple times, practicing just 1 kick each time. after we had gotten a sense of the mechanics for all the kicks, we then did the drill in a free-form fashion, with the attacker having the freedom to choose any number or combination of kicks within a single iteration of the drill. we did this several times to get a feel of how to launch and defend multiple kicks.
i noticed a number of things doing this drill:
- spacing--spacing is crucial, since it determines if your strike is delivered for maximum power. however, spacing is something that has to be instinctively estimated, which is difficult in the frenetic speed of a fight. in addition, spacing is not something that can be generalized to a person's rough parameters (i.e., their height, weight, etc.), since different people have different body types and different proportions of limbs. the only real way to develop the skill to gauge each of these is in 2-person practices simulating fighting speed.
- speed--this follows from Sifu's main point. speed is important. but it's speed in delivering the right form of the correctly chosen technique. this requires not only quick limbs, but also quick reflexes. this requires 2-person practice under simulated combat conditions, with partners reacting to unknown moves of a live opponent at fighting speed.
- combinations--it's good to learn to deliver kicks in combination, not just with other kicks, but also with strikes. it's also good learn to use them in combination with defense moves. i noticed Phunsak employed combinations with kicks and that it made defending against him much more difficult. Sifu also said that to learn to use kicks in combinations with other elements, we need to practice this in the 2-person set as well.
- sensing--sensing refers to the ability to read the attacker's intent, so that you can initiate defensive action or a counterattack. sensing, however, is an art, and something that involves experience in recognizing physical signals (i.e., the twitch of an opponent's arm, a shift in their stance, a flick of the eyes, a slide along your arm, etc.) and using a "6th sense" or instinct. this is difficult, especially at speed. the only way to develop this is in simulated combat settings with a partner in a 2-person set.
- shifting weight--shifting weight on the feet is something that has to be precise. a wrong shift may deliver power to the kick but end up throwing you off-balance and vulnerable to a counter-attack. right placement of weight allows delivery of power to a kick. in addition, proper shifting of weight affects the speed of movements in defense. however, there must be enough skill to do this at combat speed against a partner employing unknown tactics (i.e., you don't know if your partner is attacking or defending, or what techniques they intend to use)...which again (yes, this is a broken record) means practicing in a 2-person drill at full speed.
- decisiveness--i asked Sifu about this, and he confirmed my suspicions. it's important to be decisive in a fight. i've seen this echoed in the accounts of warriors in the past (Miyamoto Musashi, Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, Patton, Rommel, even veterans telling stories today), and i can see it in the 2-person practices now. techniques don't work if you don't commit to them. half-hearted effort means half-strength energy. hesitation in action means hesitation in speed. uncertain motion means uncertain odds. if you decide to do something (attack, defend, change tactics, etc.), you must do it. do not hesitate. because hesitation is slow, and slow is death. decisiveness is speed, and speed is life.
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