Sifu initially raised the fireman's carry following the lei tai tournament in Baltimore (reference: day 48). he noted there was 1 competitor who was particularly good in executing the fireman's carry, and that he'd found out this person had been a high school wrestler. Sifu noted that the wrestling technique was very similar to the bagua technique we've been learning that leads into the fireman's carry: purple swallow skims the water.
thing is, some of us (John Eagles, Phunsak, and me, in particular) have experimented with purple swallow skims the water, and have found it difficult (reference: day 52). in varying ways, we all found out (and Sifu confirmed) that the technique isn't necessarily purely about the fireman's carry, but rather for a number of different actions: a throw, a push, a trip, or a carry.
this makes sense. if purple swallow skims the water simply was just a fireman's carry, then it would have been translated that way. as it is, based on the experiments John, Phunsak, and i have done, what the technique does depends on the orientation of the practitioner and the opponent.
if the practitioner is oriented the same direction as the opponent (i.e., both people are facing in the same direction), purple swallow skims the water leads to the practitioner reaching down between the legs of the opponent at an angle not quite under the opponent's center of gravity. this makes it difficult to lift the opponent into the fireman's carry. it does, however, make it easy to trip the opponent backwards, push the opponent with the shoulder, strike a pressure point in the knee or thighs using the hand, or strike the crotch.
in contrast, if the practitioner is oriented facing the opponent (i.e., both people are facing each other), purple swallow skims the water leads to the practitioner being much closer to the opponent's center of gravity, making it much easier to lift the opponent into the fireman's carry. moreover, it still offers the practitioner all the options from the above.
based on this, it would appear that facing the opponent is the best method. but there is a catch: it is actually much more dangerous. citing Sifu's reminders about dragon gate versus tiger gate, an attack against the tiger gate is one that goes into the front area or inside of the opponent, meaning the practitioner comes within reach of the opponent's arms and legs. an attack against the dragon gate is one that goes to the back area or outside of the opponent, meaning the practitioner avoids the reach of the opponent's arms and legs.
launching purple swallow skims the water facing the opponent goes into the tiger gate, while launching it facing the same direction the opponent goes into the dragon gate. by facing the opponent, the practitioner actually exposes the head to the opponent--much more so relative to the dragon gate. this vulnerability can be mitigated by the fact that purple swallow skims the water, if preceded by hawk chasing sparrow, involves holding the nearest opponent's arm as you dive under it for the knees. however, this still leaves the opponent's other arm, and also the legs, free to strike your head. as a result, using the technique is dangerous via the tiger gate, and so is more safely done using the dragon gate.
unfortunately, you can't do the fireman's carry via the dragon gate. as i've mentioned above, based on our experiments it just places you too far from the opponent's center of gravity to effectively lift them. the best you can do is to come under them so that they come onto your back, from where you can knock them off-balance just enough to drop them off your back onto the ground--in essence, a backwards throw.
as Sifu confirmed, if the goal is to do a fireman's carry, you really have to go via the tiger gate.
i've managed to find some YouTube videos of this in wrestling, where it seems a very popular move:
video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8mFPjZD8WU
video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz5yPdY9WNU
observe the following points regarding the above:
- they all initiate it by facing the opponent, and then--just like purple swallow skims the water--going down to the knees
- they vary the technique, at times going low while still standing on the feet--just like purple swallow skims the water--and at other times dropping to the knees
video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fffcmd2-9UE
video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD_68L2RkhY
observe, here too, that while there are variations, the principles are still the same as wrestling: getting close as possible underneath the opponent's center of gravity, which allows you to maximize your force to lift the opponent up. this is more feasible--although more dangerous--by beginning facing the opponent.
on a related note, i should point out a discussion that Phunsak and i had last class. even if you are in position to launch the fireman's carry, you can still change your attack. you are not stuck with it once you have committed to it. you can instead change the direction of the fireman's carry to perform an underhand takedown going directly into the opponent's legs.
this is a common wrestling technique, and you can see how similar--and hence, how easy it is to transition from--the opening moves of the fireman's carry. i've found some illustrative YouTube videos:
video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEvD0f3y6oo
video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClG2VGOt60c
video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZggaJFnY5U
i find these videos interesting, because they suggest concepts that are similar to bagua (having multiple options from a common opening, having different methods of exploiting the same principles, varying techniques to better match specific scenarios, etc.). this would indicate that these ideas aren't exclusive to bagua, but rather are concepts upheld in fighting in general. in which case, they help to understand the aspects of the bagua techniques which are more truly martial (i.e., combat-relevant), and also helps to understand just how the techniques can most effectively be applied.
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