day 246: spear and cannon fist

concepts:

• kua
• dantian
• center
• balance
• posture
  

lessons:

• spear (chaang)
• chen cannon fist (pao quan)
  

this Sunday was focused primarily on the spear, since it was the first day learning spear. Sifu has talked about this in the past, and he says it's something he wants to promote since it's one of the other weapons competitions (other than jian) that he would like to see spread.

i'd managed to acquire one, but it turned out to not quite match the standard specifications for a spear. Sifu said we wanted the traditional spear, as opposed to wu shu spear. the wu shu spear is shorter (usually less than 7 feet) and has a tassel near the metal point. the traditional spear, or guen, in contrast, is much longer (at least 9 feet, often longer, with lengths going to 15-18 feet) and usually devoid of a tassel. in addition, the traditional spear is made from waxwood, with a diameter than tapers from around 1.5-2 inches at one end to .75-1 inch at the other. the overall spear weighs around 8-10 lbs.

the one i'd gotten was about 9 feet and around 5 lbs. Sifu said this was the right length, but a little too light. only thing is, finding one that matches the desired specifications is difficult in the US. Eric said there was a store in Vancouver, Canada (Kuen Way) that had the right one, but i found out they charged $150 for shipping to Los Angeles, and so i'm a little reluctant to pay that amount (particularly since the spear itself only costs $75). i'm scratching my head over where to find one, but i'll have to make do with what i have for now.

chaang (spear)

we began with the 8 stances--they're the standard ones corresponding to the ones we know: horse, bow-and-arrow, 60-40, 70-30, low, cat, dragon, and rooster. Sifu also showed us how to switch between left and right hands.

from there, we went to some basics related to spear control, with Sifu having us doing drills that involved rotating the kua and dantian to move the spear points in circular patterns, first clockwise and then counter-clockwise. the trick was to hold the hands stationary, and move the spear using only the kua and dantian (essentially using only the pelvis). for this, Sifu noted the following:

• the rear hand should be locked to the hip
• the front hand should be held out, but with the grip loose enough so that the spear shaft is free to slide forward and back
• the spear is displaying chan sieh jin (twisting) energy, with the rear hand twisting the shift as it moves
• the spear tip traces a circle, but not just on a vertical plane but also on a horizontal one, meaning that the circle follows an angle
• the kua and dantian form a horizontal ovoid, which also is not just vertical but also horizontal, and hence follows an angle
• the power comes from the kua and dantian, with the hands just serving as stationary supports
• spear movements should be tight, and small
  

i have to say that this was hard. really hard. it involves a level of coordination with my abdomen, hips, and lower back that i am not accustomed to, and definitely gave me a workout with muscles i'm not used to using. and don't even ask about my deltoids and trapezius. and try as i might, i had a really hard time getting the spear to move using my kua and dantian.

on this last issue, Sifu noted that's why the spear is considered as such a good training tool in TCMA--because in order to wield it effectively, you have to learn how to control your kua and dantian, both of which are crucial in providing the stability and power projection necessary for so much of TCMA. he also alluded to the fact that this is why spear is really good for me, since my kua and dantian continue to be issues...although, i have to say, this has been a well-known problem with me, with even my coaches noting that i seem to have coordination issues with my hip/pelvis area, to the point that it's pretty much a standing joke about me (e.g., "a little stiff where it counts, aye liljeblad? ha ha ha yuck yuck yuck").

things were also complicated by the fact that in order to maintain control over spear movements you have to maintain a center and good posture--both things that i am still working on. without either, the spear tends to move all over the place.

Sifu said that you want enough control that you can maintain consistency with precise movements--as much as possible. he related the story that Li Shu Wen had enough control that he could strike a fly with his spear. he noted that Liu Yun Qiao was able to follow the circumference of a hand ring suspended from the ceiling using his spear point. he and Josan (who's learned this before) demonstrated just how small the circles can get, to the point that the movements of the kua, dantian, and hands become almost imperceptible, and the spearholder looks like they're statues holding to a stable center with fixed posture and the spear is moving on its own.

more than this, you have to somehow maintain your balance while holding a long object that extends beyond your physical body. it's only 8-10 lbs, but it's situated on a long beam, creating from a physics perspective a moment arm with torque about the fulcrum point of your body aimed towards the ground. overcoming this in a controlled fashion requires total integration of kua, dantian, center, posture, and limbs.

this is all quite a challenge.

i can tell this is going to take a lot of work.

chen cannon fist

we spent the last part of class working on the chen cannon fist. we didn't go that much further into the form, but instead largely refined what we've done to date. since Ching Chieh missed most of pao quan, we also went back and reviewed some of the applications, with Sifu taking the opportunity to correct some details we were missing in regards to some of the movements.

we finished with that, quite a bit more sore than when we started.