day 94: refinement of 64 palms & more pao quan

concepts:

• footwork
• movement
• disguising signals
• light touch
  

forms:

• palms 3 & 4
• pao quan
  

before class began today, John, Phunsak, and i resumed our discussion from last week on the chen tai chi throwing technique that i'd found frustrating. Phunsak said he'd been thinking it over the week, and he saw it as a 2-stage process. i spent some time working on this, with slightly better results. i did notice, however, that when i switched partners to John, that the technique was dramatically easier to employ than it was against Phunsak. this may have something to do with their respective body types and centers of gravity, which leads to wonder if this is one of those times where a specific technique may be appropriate against one opponent but not against another. i'm going to have to think about it a little more.

Sifu called class together for announcements:

• the combined seminar on chin na and tui na (sp?) has been definitively set for the weekend of Feb 16 & 17, with the location being at Cal State LA. Eric apparently is able to secure a room for that weekend.
• we're closer to settling on deerhorn knives, with a definite preference on dimensions and points. in addition, on Mike's contact, it appears that Mark Mancuso can supply the weapons. we took a head count and Mike says he'll see what group discount he can get.
• we're also apparently considering a placement of an order for staffs, since some people have had theirs break. this order will be smaller, but i think i'll go ahead and get one--assuming the quality is good.
  

palms 3 & 4

we began class with a run-through of palms 3 & 4 in a circle, using the same drill from last week (reference: day 91). Sifu asked me to record him doing the Yang tai chi long form, so there could be a video for the UCLA class, as well as for the other people in the weekend class practicing Yang tai chi--you can see the video on my previous post (reference: days 92 & 93).

i managed to join the tail end of the palm change, with John joining me for company. eventually, Phunsak and JJ joined us as well.

Sifu, finishing with the baji students, came back to watch us, and then stopped everyone to make a number of refinements to our form. he made a number of comments:

• the techniques in the palm changes, in line with his comments of the past few months, are not fixed. they can be changed depending on the actions of the opponent and the choice of the practitioner. as a result, when doing the palm changes, the general motions of the techniques will vary from one repetition of the palm change to another depending on what we visualize ourselves doing (e.g., one time we can see a technique as a type of strike, another time a different type of strike, still another time a variation of a joint lock, etc.). as Art said some weeks ago: don't get married to the form.
• the choice of application--or intent--in a technique will call for changes in footwork and movement to accommodate effective expression of the application. using the 3rd palm change, Sifu showed that the spin can lead to options, with him demonstrating a throw, a joint lock at the wrist, an arm bar at the elbow, or combination arm-bar and head-lock. each one, however, calls for a different amount of extension in footwork, and a different amount of rotation in the spin--the throw and joint locks at the wrist can be done close or far from the opponent, and with only partial spin, while the arm bar and head-lock call for closer positioning and full rotation into the spin.
• as a general issue, Sifu said we were getting too heavy with our movements. he said that in bagua it is crucial to disguise signals, and that heavy movements (i.e., movements with force) generate clear signals for the opponent, making it easier for them to read and react. he said heavy movements need to be minimized or eliminated. rather, we need to focus on a light touch, with just enough contact to sense our opponent's actions, and only enough force to position ourselves in ways to exploit weaknesses in the opponent's structure. even when entering a gate, we need to maintain a light touch. it is only at the moment we decide to project an application that we exercise heavier touch--and by the time the opponent reads this, it will be too late for him to do anything. Sifu demonstrated this again with palm change 3, and showed how it is much easier to defend against when it is used with light contact.
  

we resumed the palm changes with this, but this time working in pairs to review the applications. John and i were enamored of the combination arm-bar and head-lock, and worked on trying to apply this. personally, i find it surprisingly brutal, since a simple twist in the arms through the shoulders can result in the opponent's elbow and shoulder snapping out of place. after playing with this for awhile, we took time with Phunsak and JJ to go through the ways in which a practitioner can switch from one application to another based on whatever position arises in facing a hostile opponent.

pao quan

during a break in our practice, i asked Phunsak to help me a little bit more with pao quan. i had him watch my form, and correct some questions i had about movements as well as their applications. he also took me a few more moves into the form.

by this time, the class was coming to an end for the day, and the rain was starting to approach, so we decided to wrap things up. Sifu reminded us about tomorrow and called class to a close.