concepts:- applications
- history
- chao quan
- forest palm
- kyudo
chao quan
the chang quan lesson was pretty straightforward, with Sifu taking me further into the form. however, there were some sticking points this Friday, particularly in terms of rhythm and fluidity. i'm at a point in the form where there's an increasing level of changes in direction and changes in foot positioning, accompanied by a string of hops and jumps. the effect is a disruption in the flow of the form that's creating hurdles in terms of holding to a smooth transition between techniques.
as a result, i took the bulk of class time on Friday working through these sticking points. it didn't help that i had to work in the jumps. i commented to Sifu that chao quan now seems to become more physically demanding. Sifu replied this is only the start, and that there are more jumps coming up in the form.
we finished the evening with a discussion on general theory about fighting--not in relation to any specific TCMA style, but just in hand-to-hand fighting in general. i won't go into detail here, since all of it was stuff we've covered before in class, but i just wanted to see how the various pieces fit together into a comprehensive view of hand-to-hand combat. Sifu went into an extended commentary, and i mentioned to him he could probably write a book on universal fighting principles alone (i.e., independent of any single specific martial arts style), and he said he could, but that it's one of many books he'd like to spend time writing.
forest palm
the air this Saturday was particularly bad, and got worse as the day went on. near the end, i could actually see ash falling from the sky, and it began to form a layer on our bags and clothes.
Sifu guided us further into the form, and then took some time to demonstrate for us the combat applications for a couple of moves. because of the nuances involved, we ended up spending a good bulk of time working on the applications.
this actually was an interesting class. it turned out the movements and applications we were working on were similar--if not outright identical--to those in baji and piqua. we ended up joining the baji and piqua students to practice the techniques. this was interesting, because it demonstrated to me some of the points Sifu had made to me in my chang quan lessons--that all the northern TCMA are related to each other, and they utilize the same principles with often only minor differences in expression. you can see the threads of history in the various movements of each style, and how the threads trace a lineage of thought and perspectives stretching from the past to the modern era. it's quite fascinating from a historical and cultural perspective.
we took our usual lunch, which ended up devolving in a discussion about Jackie Chan and his relation to TCMA--that's the reason i put his photo at the top of this post.
kyudo
Phunsak attended the kyudo class with me this time. although, i should note, kyudo class Saturday night almost didn't happen. Sensei said he was a little hesitant, because by this time you could see the glow of the wildfires in the night sky, and could feel and smell the ash and smoke in the air. but we decided to go ahead anyway.
since there were 4 beginners this evening (me, Phunsak, and 2 others), Sensei took us aside to guide us through the basics and to provide a question-and-answer session. this was perfect, since it gave me an opportunity to really observe some of the nuances in the kyudo form, as well as regarding the formalities of the art. we also discussed the background of kyudo and its relation to buddhism, shinto, and Japan. i'm starting to get a much better sense of the form, and things don't seem quite so overwhelming as they did when i first started.
since Phunsak was crashing at my place, the two of us ended up staying until the close of class to observe the others practice their shooting. this kept us to around 10pm, at which point everyone went home.
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