day 88: chen tai chi long form (kicks!) & kuen wu jian (fluidity)

concepts:

• kick tools
  

forms:

• chen tai chi long form
• kuen wu jian
  

i forgot to mention that another long-absent student returned: Andre. Phunsak seemed to know him pretty well, and he's apparently another advanced student who's been gone for awhile, but he's decided to resume training, and so is refreshing his memory by coming back.

i also forgot to add another announcement to yesterday's Saturday set. Sifu said he wanted to organize a class trip next Saturday evening to Ching-Chieh's dance performance, which is introducing the Sun-Shier Dance Theatre from Taiwan to Southern California. they're performing at UCLA for 2 days (Friday & Sunday, the 18th & 19th). her leave to Taiwan was to collaborate with them on a project, and this is their presentation to the U.S. the plan at the moment is to have everyone meet Saturday evening and ride over to Westwood for a meal, then go to the UCLA campus for the 8pm performance. we'll sort out the rides at the Saturday class.

chen tai chi long form

we began this Sunday with a resumption of the chen long form. Sifu warned us that we were getting to a section with a lot of kicks, and that they involved a lot of balancing.

we're in the heart of the form right now, and the section of kicks we're doing involve transitions in and out of heel kicks, knee strikes, and leg hooks, with most of them requiring moving from one action to another while standing on 1 leg. in addition, all of this is coordinated with upper body movements that are integral to the techniques.

we went through a number of combat applications of the new techniques in the form. in particular we spent time discussing the kicks. Sifu made a number of points:

• kick tools: i'm referring to the striking surfaces used in each kick. Sifu said other martial arts often use the top of the foot, the outside edge of the foot, or the shins as kicking surfaces. tai chi, in contrast, uses different areas. tai chi uses the heel, the inside of the foot, and the upper knob of the tibia.
• kick range: other martial arts use kicks that extend forward as long-range strikes reaching farther than the arms, or as close-in strikes within grappling range. in tai chi, the preference is for kicks that are within arm-length, or close-in.
• the leg is not supposed to be straight while kicking, but is supposed to be slightly bent, even at full extension.
  
• heel kick: Sifu commented that the common perception is that the heel kick is directly forward. however, it can also be downward, so that it strikes while dropping down. particularly for kicks to the kidneys, the heel should be going at a downward angle (not directly down, but at an angle into the kidney).
• thigh kick: strikes to the thigh tend to be interpreted as kicks to the quads. but the real target is the sciatic nerve which runs along the border of the outside quad and hamstring. strikes to this should be done with the inner part of the foot.
• knee blocks: the misperception here is to block a low kick using the shin or knee. but this is dangerous as it exposes those parts to the opponent's kicks, particularly those using their shins, thereby creating a confrontation between whose bones are harder. the better block is with the outside upper knob of the tibia, which is harder than the lower tibia, fibula, or foot.
  

i had some issues with some of the techniques today. not that i didn't understand the principles--i could see them well enough. the problem was in coordinating the upper and lower body in a way that created the physics. this was a little perplexing, and i'm not sure if it was because i was missing information or if i was just tired from the previous week. i'm going to have to work on them a little more.

kuen wu jian

after the long form, we proceeded to go farther into the kuen wu jian form. Sifu also made some points about the techniques:

• the grip is dynamic, meaning it changes in the course of the form. it's supposed to go from a firm grip to a soft one, as well as adjusting thumb and finger placement, depending on the technique. this happens during the course of a fight, and is necessary for control and transmission of power.
• the striking and blocking surfaces are different. typically, the blocking surface of the sword is the flat portion of the blade, while the striking surface is the tip and edge--for a jian, it is more the tip.
  

i was running out of steam by this stage, so my ability to follow along got a little spotty. i was, to say the least, not very fluid. i focused on just learning the movements, with the goal of practicing the finer points later on after i've gotten a chance to rest up.

we finished by recording the 2-person form for palm change 8 (reference: day 87), and ended the day.