concepts:- angles
- directions
- triangles
- center of gravity
- palm change 6, 2-person (A versus B)
- palm change 7, side B
- palm change 8, side B
Phunsak worked with Kieun on the revised 2-person form, and then when Sifu arrived they met to review it. this took a number of minutes, but at the end Sifu nodded his approval and then instructed Phunsak to teach the new side B to class and then have us work on the 2-person form. Sifu then left to start the baji students with their lesson plan.
palm change 6, 2-person form (A versus B)
the revised version of side B wasn't dramatically different. the initial half was the same, the only revision was the second half, which involved more iterations of circular arm motions-- a total of 4 but with the first 2 in bow-and-arrow stance, the second 2 in 60-40 stance, with the motions being those from side A (reference: day 13). this leads into the same 1-legged brush of an arm from palm change 4, side A (reference: day 4).
you can see palm change 6, side B here:
the YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kqqGtpk6ks
this was relatively straightforward, and seemed to go quickly. Phunsak went directly into the 2-person form.
this ended up taking a bit longer. evidently, palm change 6 involves a higher percentage of joint locks relative to the other palm changes (which was partly why Sifu had been dissatisfied with the earlier version of side B--it hadn't involved enough joint locks). a lot of the joint locks, along with the escape methods, are very subtle, and so something that Phunsak had to point out individually as we went through the form.
you can see palm change 6, 2-person (side A versus B) here:
the YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XKz8HetaT4
Phunsak made the following points:
- the 1st joint lock is when side A tries to bring side B's arm over the shoulder. to be done properly, side A should be twisting side B's arm so that side B's palm is facing up
- to escape the 1st joint lock, side B should push side A in the shoulder, but not at the joint but instead at the shoulder blade (this produces a greater effect on side B). this reduces side A's leverage power.
- the 2nd joint lock follows side A's escape from the 1st, and involves side A bringing side B's arm over the head to the other shoulder, either to repeat the leverage on side A's elbow or to force a post lock
- to escape the 2nd joint lock, side B steps forward and straightens the arm. this reduces side A's power and also helps throw them off-balance.
- the 3rd joint lock comes when side B is attempting head strikes, with side A placing an arm bar on one of side B's strikes.
- to escape the 3rd joint lock, side B twists the wrist to break side A's hold
- the 4th joint lock follows immediately from the 3rd, and is engaged by side B as soon as side B escapes the 3rd joint lock. the 4th joint lock is from xiao kai men, and is basically an extension of the snake from mother palms.
- to escape the 4th joint lock, side A brushes side B's grip, using the 1-legged brush technique from palm change 4 (mentioned above).
Sifu eventually returned, and then made some points:
- side B's initial attempt at the 1st joint lock doesn't have to be a joint lock, but instead can be an opening into a throw. he said this is basically comparable to the classic judo throw. rather than engaging the joint lock, side B can simply step back with the leg nearest side A's center of gravity and then reach forward and down along a circular path with the hands holding side A's arm. this forces side A to either sacrifice their elbow into the joint lock or to sacrifice their body in the throw, either of which would still result in injury
- Sifu cautioned that while comparable to the classic judo throw, this was different. he said in judo, the step into the throw is a step into the opponent's front. this is possible in judo, since the sport forbids head strikes. however, in street fighting, the step into the opponent's front exposes the practitioner's entire head and back to the opponent's free arm, and thus allows the opponent to choke, grab, or strike the practitioner's head. Sifu reminded us about the idea of dragon gate (the outside of the opponent's defense, usually their back) and tiger gate (the inside of the opponent's defense, usually their front); the tiger gate is always more dangerous than the dragon gate, because the tiger gate puts you into reach of the opponent's limbs. the judo throw goes into the tiger gate, whereas what the 6th palm change has side B go into the dragon gate.
- side B's escape from the 2nd joint lock must not extend the center of gravity too far forward. Sifu said that the escape involves a basic step forward just enough to force side A to extend the arms. this is sufficient to weaken their grip. according to Sifu, students playing side B tend to make the mistake of reaching so far forward that they place their center of gravity over their front foot, which creates an unstable situation that side A can exploit by simply following side B's extension to pull side B forward and off-balance. instead, side B just needs to step forward, enough to break side A's grip.
- side B's escape from the 2nd joint lock must be done at an angle. this is basic geometry. side A's strength is greater directly forward, since this allows greater biomechanical advantage. as a result, side B has a greater chance of escaping side A's grip by angling their escape so that side A loses biomechanical advantage.
- side B's divert and grab by the cloth must always be in a direction down using the legs, without extending the center of gravity. Sifu said the tendency is for students to begin by pulling back, or pulling down using the back. either way, the result is that 1) the opponent is able to engage in a pulling match against the practitioner, 2) the practitioner's center of gravity is held high, and 3) the opponent can pull the practitioner off-balance by pulling them down. Sifu said the technique must have side B grab the side A's arm, then pull in a direction diagonally down using the legs. this lowers side B's center of gravity, keeping them stable, while simultaneously pulling side A's center of gravity forward over their feet, throwing them off-balance or, at the very least, making them disoriented.
- the 4th joint lock, which is reminiscent of a sawing motion over the opponent's upper arm and elbow, is less effective if done in a direction along the opponent's arm or perpendicular to the opponent's arm. either way, the opponent has a greater ability to escape the joint lock. Sifu said the technique requires the motion of a snake in a diagonal direction roughly 45 degrees from the opponent's arm--not only from above, but also from the side, so that the diagonal not only goes horizontally, but also vertically. Sifu said to imagine following triangles across and through the opponent's arm.
palm change 7, side B
after we had worked on the 2-person form for palm change 6 for awhile, Phunsak checked the time. seeing that it was getting near the end, he said he'd show us side B for palm change 7 and palm change 8 so that we could practice it while he and Sifu were out during September.
he noted that palm change 7, side B was pretty simple, and that we could probably figure out the 2-person form just from looking at it. he demonstrated side B, and i figured i should do several iterations of it with him. he, Keiun, and i ended up going through it together.
you can see palm change 7, side B here:
the YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKfRrTU2SGA
palm change 8, side B
Phunsak went on to show us palm change 8, side B. this was a little more complicated than palm change 6. Phunsak also noted that palm change 8 had been changed about as frequently as palm change 6, and so we needed to be recognize that it may be changed again--just like palm change 6.
despite that, i decided to follow him through it again.
you can see palm change 8, side B here:
the YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPSdYuOE5Y4
by this time, it was time to end class. Sifu gathered everyone around--including the baji students--for some important news: his family was moving to Hawaii. he'd told me this some time ago, as had Phunsak and John Eagles, so this wasn't news. but this time he gave more details.
he and his wife had already sold the house in Los Angeles, and were using 2 weekends in September to ship everything to their new property in Hilo. he said that he planned on being in Los Angeles for 1 more year, and (depending on his teaching contracts with UCLA and Cal State LA and Cal State Long Beach) maybe 2 years. but after that, he is going to be full-time in Hawaii. he said that he would still visit Los Angeles to conduct seminars, and that we were welcome to visit him in Hilo for lessons (he is building a kung fu studio at his house there).
he also noted that if we wanted to learn anything from him, this next year or so would be the time to do it. in addition, he said that at the end of the year he was going to hold ceremonies to accept people either into the Wutan Sifu certification program or disciple program, with formal paperwork being sent to the Wutan headquarters in Taipei, and with additional sponsorship from Master Su Yu Chang (another disciple of Liu Yun Chiao, currently in New York City).
Sifu also said we'd be missing class for 2 weekends in September, since he'd be gone to help his wife move and Phunsak would be gone starting September 11 for 4 weeks to make his yearly trip to Thailand.
Sifu finished by telling us about his classes at UCLA and Cal State Los Angeles. he is teaching tai chi at UCLA for the year, with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning with start of their fall quarter. he is also teaching tai chi at Cal State Los Angeles, although it may be something else depending on what other courses the school is offering. i think i'm going to take the UCLA tai chi classes, since that is something i am interested in.
with that, we ended class for the day and went to lunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment