day 304: a busy Sunday of misc concepts out of crocodile

concepts:

• finger
• metal/water v. fire/wood
• center
• bridge/spanner
• structure

lessons:

• hsing-yi

Sunday was a little sparse. it was just me and Phunsak, along with new student, Jonathan (this is a different Jonathan, now making a total of 4 Jonathans who have or are taking lessons with Sifu: me, Jonathan Shen, Jonathan Wong, and the new Jonathan, Jonathan Sevard). Phunsak had missed the Saturday class with Art to represent our school at World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. as a result, we made this Sunday more of a make-up, going into more detail into Shanxi crocodile.

hsing-yi

as much as it looks simple, it appears there's quite a number of permutations coming out of crocodile depending on what principles you choose to incorporate into it. of course, i suspect that this is true of any technique in any style. Sifu has said as much in the past, saying that a technique is not just a technique, but can have any number of applications depending on 1) the situation, and 2) the intent. i'm guessing intent means not just what you want to see happen to the opponent, but also what kind of principle you want to emphasize in the movement. this adjusts the physics, or at least changes what physics you are exploiting, within a movement.

we didn't go into breadth of permutations today as more so than just play with some principles that Sifu wanted to focus on. we used crocodile as the framework to experiment, although following the above reasoning i think it was just convenient because it's what we're covering in class at the moment--i suspect we could have done the same experiments with any other technique.

we reviewed the material from Saturday, but went into more discussion regarding the notion of yin and yang in the hands. Sifu tied this into 5-element theory, offering the following pieces of knowledge:

• the index finger and middle finger correspond to fire and wood, and the ring finger and little finger correspond to water and metal
• fire and wood are considered yang elements, and water and metal are considered yin
• yang involves movements up, out, forward, but this can be interpreted as projecting or sending energy, and yin involves movements down, in, away, but this can also be interpreted as absorbing or receiving energy
  

taking the above, Sifu said you can construct a logic that any intent, or yi, for yin in a technique should involve receiving energy through the ring and little finger, and any intent for yang in a technique should involve sending energy through the index and middle finger.

Sifu said you can see this in crocodile, although it is more apparent in Hebei than Shanxi. with Hebei, both hands have the index and middle fingers slightly more extended than the ring and little fingers. the curled ring and little finger help to sense and receive energy, and the index and middle finger help to send energy. in Shanxi, both hands are open with all fingers extended, but the movement of the hands in crocodile still work with the sensing and receiving still asking for an emphasis on the ring and little fingers and the sending asking for an emphasis on the middle and index fingers.

i didn't ask, but i suspect, that this can also be correlated to ting, hwa, na, and fa. ting and hwa are yin stages, and so call for movements through the ring and little fingers. na and fa are yang stages, and so call for movements through the index and middle fingers. i'm not sure how this ties into water, metal, fire, or wood, since there's yin & yang aspects of each element.

i did ask if this is why with jian shu it's always stressed to reach out through the middle and index finger, with every thrust forward calling for the middle and index fingers of the sword hand pointing into the opponent and the middle and index fingers of the off-hand pointing back. Sifu said yes, and also commented that this is why the defensive moves involve following the direction of the ring and little finger--they may not trace a path conforming to those fingers, but they initiate in their direction.

Sifu had us try variations of this to test how effective or ineffective crocodile can be without visualizing these aspects in the hands. from what i found, it definitely doesn't seem to work as well if you don't sense/receive through the ring and little fingers and send through the index and ring fingers.

Sifu also had us to try scenarios different from crocodile. with one, he had our hands locked in an opponent's grip and we broke out of the lock by projecting power through our thumbs. in essence, the thumbs could also be used to send force.

next, Sifu had us work on integrating the rear hands with the hip. reviewing what we'd done Saturday, he reminded us that with crocodile the power of the rear hand comes from the turning of the hip. the force vector in crocodile has its magnitude coming from 2 components: the power coming from the legs pushing off the ground, and the power coming from the rotation of the hips. the former is linear, the latter is rotational. both, if timed right and structure is maintained, go into the opponent.

the last part is the trick. it's a little bit harder than i thought. Sifu stressed that the rear hand has to be in union with the hip, and the legs have to be pushing as you turn. i had some trouble with this, and couldn't seem to generate the power that Sifu had. for some reason, i couldn't get it to consistently work, while Sifu was able to apply the technique regardless of whatever i did to try and counter it. despite however structurally sound i thought i was, i could not consistently break the opponent down, and despite however structurally sound i thought i was, Sifu could still apply the technique to break me down.

i've noticed this before, and the last time i mentioned this to Sifu he shrugged and just said: "breaking your structure doesn't matter, i can still get the techniques to work." this has always befuddled me.

Phunsak and i ended up spending some time trying to figure this out. i think there's another way to look at this.

what Sifu said worked because it acted to create a structure to convey force through the body. but it's not enough to maintain structure. at least, it's not enough to maintain your structure. for that matter, it's also not enough to think about the opponent's structure. it's also necessary to think about the combined structure of both of you--that is, you have to think about the system composed of you and your opponent and the structure that is composed of both of you.

the combined structure forms the instant you and your opponent make contact. the point of contact becomes the bridge (or to use an engineering term, the spanner) connecting both of you. this creates a single body. whoever controls this single body controls the encounter. whoever doesn't becomes the victim.

i think this is an iteration of the concept "controlling the center." we've talked about this before in terms of combat concepts (reference: combat concepts)--that in physics, in a system of 2 moving bodies, the system of 2 moving masses has a common center of mass. whoever controls this center of mass controls the center of the system, and can thereby control the physics between the moving masses within it.

the difference here, however, is that we're seeing the idea applied not with respect to 2 moving bodies but with respect to 2 connected bodies. technically there's no difference, and so i take this as a "duuuuuuuuuuuh!" moment. in physics they're both the same. in engineering, however, the bodies must be connected to engage leverage, torque, moment, force, etc.

but i also think this is important because in forming the bridge/spanner you have to be cognizant of the common center of mass. we've learned from Sifu that control of the system's center goes to whichever fighter is able to place their own center closest to it. as true as this is for a system of moving masses, it also applies for a system of connected masses. which means that when you form the bridge/spanner with the opponent, you MUST do so in a way that places your own center closer to the common center of mass--and more importantly, keeps it there as the opponent fights back.

once you take the center, you have to keep the center. if you don't, it doesn't matter how good your own structure is, the opponent can still overwhelm you.

this is hard. because no opponent will let you take the center nor keep it. this means you have to know when to relax and when to stiffen to remove or form the bridge, and to know how to move and position so that you can do both. it also means that you do all this in awareness of where your center is relative to your opponent's center and to the common center made by both of you. and it helps to mess with the opponent so they can't challenge you.

Phunsak said this seemed right, and then said it's the same idea with some other moves he's learned in baji, systema, and aiki-jitsu. actions that don't seem like they should work can. we tried using this physics/engineering approach to the other techniques that Phunsak showed, and he confirmed that it seemed to work better--or at least, make things more consistent.

we stopped there for the day. this was a lot of stuff to think about, and i definitely need some time to get this sorted out. it occurred to me this is a recurrence of the problem i've had before regarding my center (you know, the trick Sifu showed us involving a partner making a fist near your chest and you being able to apply a wrist joint lock on them by simply looking down), and that STILL frustrates me. that also involves controlling the center, and i think it's important, because now i can see how the concept applies in terms of fighting.

ugh. frustration!

day 303: crocodile cousins

concepts:

• striking with the hip
• vertical v. horizontal
• yin v. yang
• renmei v. dumei
  
• gashuku
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• bagua
  
• kyudo
  

this past Saturday went in a fair amount of depth, and so we didn't go into breadth. i have a relatively large amount of material, so i'll try to condense things as best i can. incidentally, Simon showed up today after a long absence (apparently his schedule opened up so that he was able to make the Saturday class).

hsing-yi

the agenda for hsing-yi was Shanxi crocodile. however, it turns out there are a lot more subtleties in it than i thought, and we ended up spending a lot of time going through a lot of concepts that are not apparent from just watching the form.

we reviewed Hebei crocodile and then compared it to Shanxi. Sifu pointed out the major differences:

• Shanxi has different direction in intent. through the forward (raised) arm, Hebei projects more horizontally out, while Shanxi projects more vertically up. the rear (lower) arm in Hebei is engaged in more of a pushing motion, while in Shanxi it is more of a strike.
• the applications are different. while both have a range of applications, Hebei is more suited for pushing the opponent back and off-balance and Shanxi is more suited for opening up the opponent for a strike.
• the hand positions are different. with Hebei, the hands have the index and middle fingers extended (although not completely) slightly farther than the ring and little fingers (which are loosely curled). with Shanxi, the hands are open.
  

Sifu also pointed out the major similarities:

• the lower body positioning is the same in both, with power coming by pushing off the ground as you slide forward. this, in combination with the upper body, is the fa jing.
• the movement of the legs in the form involve a step and a slide. while the step looks like a single action into the opponent, it actually can be broken down into an entry and control stages--in essence, hwa and na jing. Sifu said that hsing-yi is more direct than other styles, and so it can be difficult to recognize the sequence of ting, hwa, na, and fa in the movements, but you can recognize them by seeing the purpose behind them.
• similar to other internal styles, if ting, hwa, and na are done correctly, the opponent will already be in a problem, and the fa will be a bonus.
• the forward arm aids in the entry, by opening the opponent's gate. for both Hebei and Shanxi, it's important to follow-through, with the finishing point being past the opponent. the point is to disrupt the opponent's centerline and get them off-balance in the entry phase, so that the follow-through is a continuation directing the opponent away.
• the rear arm directs the power. it has to be unified with the power coming from the lower body. to do this, the rear hand stays near (but not on) the back hip, and the rear hand goes with the rear hip as it turns forward into the opponent. while the front arm breaks the opponent's centerline, the rear arm attacks the opponent's center. again, it's important to follow-through past the opponent.
• in doing ting, crocodile has to be initiated with a yin movement. Sifu said this is consistent with all of hsing-yi, and also with all internal styles. the yin movement acts to sense (ting) the opponent's action and absorb/avoid its force vector. it also acts to position the body to release power in the fa phase--that is, it stores potential energy that will be turned into kinetic energy (similar to a pitcher's wind-up in baseball). in addition, it misdirects the opponent by giving them misleading signals as to which direction you're going. to have crocodile do this, it's important to visualize a crocodile looking at its tail, so that your body's entire structure turns to your rear end. this means more than the front arm turning to your rear, but your entire structure. it doesn't have to be an extreme turn, but enough that your force vector starts with a small magnitude generally pointing away from the opponent (yin).
• for both, while the force vector starts in yin, it turns with the hip and increases in magnitude with the pushing of the legs so that it reaches full power at the time its direction goes into the opponent's centerline. for this to occur smoothly, ting, hwa, and na all have to work to open the opponent's gate, disrupt their centerline, and expose their center. this turned out to be a challenge, as we found out when we began practicing its application. Sifu noted that there is a bit of timing involved, and so needs a measure of sensitivity in feeling out the opponent's movements.
  

i should note that the yin-yang discussion brought up some applications outside of hsing-yi. i experimented with the concept with Siwann-di, particularly involving some arm/neck locks that are popular in wrestling. Sifu helped us out, pointing out the various options between yin and yang points and helping recognize ways to think about the concepts in terms of applications.

bagua

Simon has apparently been learning bagua xiao kai men as part of his baji training. Sifu decided it would be good to review some of the applications as a point of reference to hsing-yi. for today, we just did black bear probes with its paw and black bear turns its back. both are similar with hsing-yi crocodile in terms of their lower body, and black bear turns its back is similar with crocodile in terms of how its force vector works.

something Sifu mentioned today that i had not picked up on before was the relevance of thinking renmei (front meridian) and dumei (back meridian) in the application. it helps to move the body in yin actions thinking about the renmei, and conversely helps to move in yang actions thinking about dumei. it may be a visualization tool, but it helps adjust the biomechanics to generate the appropriate physics for the applications.

Sifu also pointed out that with black bear turns its back it's not necessary to try and break the opponent's centerline. he showed how the application focuses instead on the yin-yang distribution of the opponent's stance and can utilize this to direct their center even if their centerline maintains structure. this was new to me, and i found it a little puzzling. i had some difficulty on trying to replicate Sifu's moves, and i think this is going to take more work to figure out.

kyudo

kyudo today was the gashuku. it actually lasted 5 days over the weekend, but i was only able to make the Saturday evening. gashuku is a period of intense training, and Sensei held it as a way of getting the dojo (and other dojos from anywhere in the country or world) together and thereby jump-start to another level in training.

my shooting is feeling more comfortable these days, and i'm not having as much difficulty in the draw as before. Sensei told me to be careful with my bow hand, since i'm gripping too tight and not allowing the bow to turn. the hand is supposed to be loose enough that when the arrow is released the bow can turn through a 180-degree range of motion.

Sensei said this isn't just for aesthetic reasons. he said the aim of the arrow is a function of where it leaves the string. if the bow is locked by the hand into an angle during the release, that means that the arrow will leave the string off the sight-line. this will send the arrow on a flight path deviating from the sight-line of the archer--essentially, you won't hit what you're looking at.

while you can try to lock the bow at the moment of release so it doesn't turn at all, it's very hard on the bow, and in extreme cases can break it. it's better to keep the grip loose and let the bow turn so that the moment the arrow leaves the string it is aligned with the sight-line.

this, of course, is a little harder than it seems. at least, it is for me. i find that my instincts are still to tense the hand on release, which makes my grip tighter. i'm having to retrain myself to loosen the bow-grip at the same time i release from string from the glove hand. i also think it has to do with trying to keep the bow under control as i draw, and the heavier the draw the more i have to work on keeping it under control. i suspect that this is probably a sign that my draw form is still problematic, since it shouldn't be so hard to open up.

it's a work in progress. but then again, aren't we all just a work in progress?

commentary: eating bitterness (吃苦)

this is a cross-posting from my other blog.

i'm writing about the Chinese idiom "eat bitterness" (in traditional Chinese characters: 吃苦). it's a pretty common phrase in TCMA, so i figured it was appropriate to also post it here. you can read it at:

• http://jonathaninthedistance.blogspot.com/2011/04/eating-bitterness.html

cheers.

day 302: Shanxi hsing-yi continued

concepts:

• loose
• snap
• kiu xing (sp?)
• jin xing (sp?)
• spine
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo
  

so i'm starting to get caught up, although i still suspect there's quite a bit of things that i've missed. it's hard to say. details that i think are important may not be thought the same by other people, and so whatever they relay to me may not be what i would have focused on. but i'll work with what i have.

hsing-yi

i'm going to combine all the Shanxi hsing-yi videos that we've done to date and bring things up to where we are now.

so far for Shanxi style we've done dragon, tiger, monkey, and horse. you can see what they look like:

Shanxi dragon: http://youtu.be/fKDe90afZVA


Shanxi tiger: http://youtu.be/9xc4v0-DEgM


Shanxi monkey: http://youtu.be/my2ODmxPSEA


Shanxi horse: http://youtu.be/oM5vK3HCbnc

in terms of notes, i already have what i managed to collect in previous posts for above animals with the exception of horse. for horse, Sifu gave the following:

• the wrists and hands have to be loose, with a heavy feeling, and extend but to a lesser degree than in ostrich (tai bird)
• the wrists and hands have to snap in the form
• the idea is that power is being transmitted from the ground through the body and out through the hands. tensing the wrists or hands acts to choke off the power. similarly, not snapping also throttles power.
  

on a more general comment, Sifu said that to understand the intent (yi) in each animal we can look at them (Hebei, Shanxi, or Henan) in terms of 2 components (someone will have to correct my spelling here, since i'm guessing):
kiu xing (sp?)--this refers to the hunting/predatory phase of an animal's movement, and so reminds you that you're supposed to utilize that kind of mindset and mimic that kind of behavior
jin xing (sp?)--this refers to the spirit or characteristics of the animal, and so reminds you that you're supposed to use that mindset in performing the animal

we spent the class practicing Shanxi horse, as well as the other Shanxi animals. which was good, because i need it.

kyudo

kyudo went well tonight. Sensei said that i'm "developing a nice release," and i took that as a sign of progress. he reminded me to keep my left hand loose enough to allow the bow to rotate, since this is the major issue preventing my release from being clean.

apart from that, i am also working on my extension in the form. this continues to be a major problem. i've been working on this in tai hai (practice without equipment) to try to get a feel of the movement, but there's a difference between practicing without equipment and then doing the form with the tension of the bow. the resistance of the bow induces all kinds of instincts that are contrary to the form, and so disrupts my draw.

right now, i think the issue is not the extension through the arms or legs. the issue is more with my center and my spine, particularly in terms of how i push off the ground and extend my spine from the center up through my neck.

Sensei noted that at full draw just before release i should have a visible opening up of the body through the back, neck, and shoulders. right now, i release while slightly hunched over, meaning that i release short of full extension. i suspect that the extension through the spine up through the neck (i.e., so the neck lifts the head) will help this, since it naturally adjusts posture in terms of the back, neck, and shoulders. i'll see.

day 301: okay, so things still shaky

concepts:

• hand, forearm, elbow
• xiao jieh, jong jieh, gong jieh
  
• hips
  
• shanxi-hebei-henan

lessons:

• hsing-yi

well, things are still shaky. i got sick (or i was still sick?), and it left me unable to attend Saturday classes, meaning it took out kung fu and kyudo. even though i still wasn't feeling much better by Sunday, i sucked it up enough to make it for about 2 hours before going hope to rest. as a result, this post is going to be brief, since it's just dealing with Sunday.

Sunday ended up being a review of hsing-yi, since Kieun, Cheng-chieh, and me all needing to fill in the material we've missed over the past few months. We focused on going through the Hebei 12 animals, which everyone else has already finished, and managed to go through the Shanxi 12 animals that everyone just started.

i'm not going to comment much in this post, since i'm still sorting through the material. but i will post the videos of the stuff i missed that we covered Sunday. because there is so much stuff i'm trying to catch up on, i made a fair number of videos on Sunday. to help keep this digestible, i'm going to limit the videos here to the Hebei 12 animals that have been missing from past posts, and hold off on the Shanxi 12 animals until next time.

Hebei 12 animals tai bird: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjcoYOyEnaA


Hebei 12 animals eagle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6dP-Ny6ekA


Hebei 12 animals bear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhTzx7_u3U4


Hebei 12 animals eagle-bear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAZHY2MHASI

i should note that eagle and bear are supposed to be done as a combination. for learning purposes, however, Sifu says that they are taught separately to help students understand the physics of each before trying to merge them. Sifu reminded us of the following:

• eagle: here, the emphasis is not on the hand, but rather through the elbow. the hand serves as a way of understanding the direction of the force vector, which goes from the hand in a direction through the elbow. this allows the weight, hence the magnitude of the force vector, to sink through the forearm and elbow. Sifu said that we can break down the physics in terms of xiao jieh (sp?), or tip; jong jieh (sp?), or branch; and gong jieh (sp?), or root. ordinarily these terms relate to the body and are used to help identify the role of each part in applying the principles behind techniques. here, the tip is the hand, the branch is the forearm/elbow, and the root is the shoulder/torso. the main force and general direction comes from the root, finer direction comes from the branch, and the reminder comes from the hand. as a result, theoretically a technique properly done can be applied using just the torso, but for most people it helps to focus by using the hand to remind themselves that power is projected through the forearm/elbow, and thereby helps to adjust the torso to allow this.
  
• bear: last time we'd stressed the importance of having the scapula be the contact point with the opponent and the physics of creating a cantilever as we shrug the shoulder and sink. today, Sifu noted that we also have to pay attention to the hip, which drives additional force into the shrug. the important thing is to have the hips go square relative to the opponent so that the legs push against the ground with the force turning with the hips in alignment with the shoulders.
  

the eagle-bear combo changes the form of each, but Sifu observed that the physics of both complement each other so long as we remember what we want the body parts to be doing in terms of the physics.

we also spent some time discussing the curriculum. Sifu's plan is to go through Hebei and Shanxi styles of hsing-yi, since he's studied both and their curricula are similar. they share the same 5 lines, 5-element theory, and lian huan, with the major differences being the 12 animals. he hopes to spend a little time introducing Henan style, but since he's not as familiar with it and it's so different, we're going to just focus on getting its flavor. Henan does not have 5 lines or lian huan, and instead just goes direct to teaching students 10 animals.

that was pretty much it for Sunday. i'll offer more material in subsequent posts as i work on getting caught up.

day 300: wait, where am i? oh, god, i'm lost. whatever

concepts:

• bear
• eagle
• shanxi-hebei
• extension

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo

well, i'll preface this by saying that i'm pretty much lost. i've had another extended break period that was somewhat involuntary. i got sick, recovered just in time to do the LA marathon, then go sick again, recovered once more, and then got sick again. it may be the same illness that just won't go away, or it may be that i've just been exposed to a lot of sick people with different kinds of diseases.

regardless, i'm now largely lost as to where we are and what we're doing. really lost. oh sure, i know we're learning hsing-yi and wrapping up the 12 animals (of which, incidentally, i missed half, or 6). and oh sure, i know we're learning kyudo and working on gloves (even while i'm still working out everything else about the art). but in terms of lessons and details, there's just been so much i've missed that i might as well be on another planet.

i think we'll have to do what we did before, and make one of the next Sundays a hsing-yi make-up section. i know Kieun and Cheng-Chieh are in situations comparable to mine, so it'd probably benefit all of us.

hsing-yi

i pretty much stated where i am above. i will say that we spent about half the class working on the last animal in the Hebei style 12 animals. it's not actually 1 animal, but a combination of movements of bear and eagle.

for the remainder of class we turned to Shanxi style. Sifu reminded us that there were 3 major versions of hsing-yi: Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan. technically, Shanxi was the original, and Hebei and Henan developed after. however, Sifu noted that you can't see this from the curriculum, since the 3 all experienced changes over time, with some more than others.

Henan was the most well-preserved, since the Muslim community was largely insular and mostly kept the art within the community, preventing its practitioners from interacting with other practitioners from other branches of hsing-yi. Hebei, in contrast, was where hsing-yi became more popular, and its exposure and propagation led to changes in the way it was taught and the content that was taught. Shanxi practitioners responded to this by making changes in their hsing-yi, and as a result it also moved away from its original form.

having said that, Sifu said you can still see different teaching philosophies at work in the contrasting curriculums. he pointed that in Hebei the 12 animals are largely meant to train the body and help the body adapt to certain kinds of physics, and so you can't see the applications easily and what applications you find work differently than what happens in training. in Shanxi, however, the 12 animals are still done closer to the original hsing-yi roots, and so the emphasis is less on training and more on actual applications. Sifu said we'd compare with Henan, but for now we'd go through the Shanxi and compare to the Hebei.

we began with the Shanxi dragon. this is definitely different from Hebei. Hebei involves jumping and a deliberate emphasis down. Shanxi, in contrast, is almost no jumping and the direction of intent is not strictly down, but at an angle. also, with Shanxi, the application is clearly evident from the movement, with an eery resemblance to black bear probes with its paw from bagua. Sifu showed that it's a little different, but that there is some overlap.

i have some other notes from today, but i'm going to hold off until i get things more organized.

kyudo

kyudo this evening actually went okay considering the time i've missed. i'm starting to feel more familiar with certain aspects of the form, and it's freeing up my mind to concentrate on other issues that i've had with shooting. Jean pointed out that right now my major issue is my extension, in that i'm not going far enough at full extension. she said that i should be able to open the bow more at full extension than i am doing.

Sensei has commented on this about me before, and i'm only just now getting to the point where i can understand why this is happening. i think the issue is to focus on the elbows and shoulders expanding outward, and letting the chest and back follow. to do this, i have to allow the chest and back to be loose. right now, i can feel them tensing, and thus locking into place, leaving me unable to go expand beyond the range of motion in my shoulders and elbows. if i can get the chest and back to relax, it should allow the shoulders and elbows to lead them out, and thereby gain additional reach from the opening of the chest and back.

of course, this is easier said than done. i spent the entire class working on this, but it's a bit of work to unlearn my habit of tensing the chest and back and to instead focus on just relaxing. a lot of this, i suspect, is that i can feel the tension in the string and the bow, and the natural instinct is to tense up in response (much as a fighter feels the muscles tense up in response to feeling an opponent tense up). the appropriate response of relaxing is actually counter-intuitive.

but at least i'm feeling some progress, so that's positive.

days 298 & 299: horse and crocodile

concepts:

• explosive power
• moving with the center
• expanding from the ground
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo
  

i'm going to merge the posts from 2 separate Saturdays into this (actually 1 Sunday and last Saturday, since we skipped 1 Saturday due to the San Diego tournament). for hsing-yi, there's not much to say, other than that we're following the progression through the 12 animals, keeping to 1 new animal each week. i made kyudo classes both weekends, so my comments will apply to the classes as usual.

some announcements to note: Sifu's birthday was February 9th, which we celebrated during class and the post-class lunch, and Art's birthday is February 26th, which we plan to celebrate during dinner since it's a big one (it's his 70th). also, Sifu says we should plan on a potluck/disciple meeting in early March, with details to be finalized soon.

hsing-yi

for the past 2 classes, we covered horse and then crocodile. i'll provide the videos of each below so you know what i'm discussing, with commentary for each:

horse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBpcuxa3kM4

for horse, Sifu noted the following:

• as much as it may not look it, the movement is a permutation of line 5 in the 5-elements hsing-yi, with the difference being that whereas line 5 involved a turning motion to the side, horse involves a drilling motion straight ahead. there is also a difference in that for horse the power involves movement forward.
• horse is explosive, with Sifu stressing that the power has to discharge from the body. this means that you don't maintain tension, but have to tense and then release the energy through the body.
• power comes from the movement forward, but in a way that is not tied to the steps alone but instead from the combination of the steps with the advancement of the center. Sifu said this is important, since it maintains the structure and allows you to use the reaction forces from the ground.
  

i found this somewhat difficult. for some reason, i'm having trouble coordinating the stepping with my center, and as a result i'm not projecting power as i move forward. i've been practicing this, but i think it's going to take a little work. i think the key idea is to think about moving the center, and that will maintain the structure as i step. i'll have to see.

crocodile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUlr5L4cEj0

for crocodile, Sifu noted the following:

• don't use the arm only. the power in the movement comes from the body, with the turn coming from the spine and the power coming from the ground. the arm is simply an extension of the structure formed by the torso moving about the spine, and the structure has to stay solid.
• your body turn has to follow your eyes, such that the eyes initiate the movement and lead the body. this helps to maintain structure and ensure that the movement comes from the structure.
• much like horse, you have to move from the center.
  

this one seemed a little easier for me, but i suspect because it is similar to movements in bagua, long fist, and tai chi and so i have some muscle memory to work with. it seems to be a permutation of the physics applied in the other styles.

kyudo

kyudo lately has been getting better, in the sense that i don't seem to be so completely discombobulated with the form and i am able to work on specific things that result in corresponding improvements. having said that, it's still a work in progress, since there are quite a number of things to sort out.

the draw is getting much easier for me, and i am not struggling with the bow as much as i used to. i'm also getting a better sense of the alignment problem in my shoulders, and am having an easier time sensing when they're turning square into the target as opposed to staying perpendicular. i think the key is to turn my head while visualizing that my chin is trying to align with my left shoulder.

Sensei noted that i'm still pulling too much using the upper body, and that this is leading to me falling forward into the bow as i should, resulting in a deviation of the arrow off my sight line which has been a continual issue for me (my arrows always seem to go to the right of the makiwara). he said i need to draw from the ground, so that even as my upper body expands my lower body is expanding into the earth. he believes that this will stabilize my form and allow me to generate more power to draw the bow--both things that will allow me to maintain the form and direct the arrow to my sight line.

but things are getting better. i'm actually enjoying shooting now--as opposed to before, when i was dreading it.

i think the long gaps of time off last autumn actually may have helped me. my suspicion is that over the course of last year i had developed a lot of bad habits, and that they were subconsciously piling up on each other in a compounding cascade of problems impeding my form. i needed to deprogram myself of them, and i think the time off operated as a "reset" or "reboot" switch that let me clear my head of all the bad habits in my subconscious and start over with a clean slate.

it seems to have worked. at least now i feel like i'm making progress.

day 297: a little harder than it seems

concepts:

• dragon
• tiger
• monkey
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo
  

this post is for last Saturday. things got a little busy again this past week, and so i'm a little slow posting.

hsing-yi

we followed the customary agenda for the class with a review of the 5 lines and the 12 animals we've done so far (dragon and tiger). Sifu had another pop quiz, with everyone doing the 12 animals individually in front of the class to check on form and fine-tune movements. this was straightforward, and so i won't go into any more detail here beyond what i've previously posted.

the new animal for today was monkey. Sifu said that this employs the characteristics often associated with the monkey in Chinese culture: an animal that is attentive, inquisitive, active to the point of being hyper, and always engaged in misdirection and unpredictable activity. if there was ever an animal that could be perceived as having ADD, this is it.

in keeping with the Chinese take on monkey, Sifu noted that TCMA uses of the animal refer to the same qualities. he repeated the point he's made in the past that TCMA doesn't mean you actually behave like a monkey (i.e., roll of the floor, make monkey sounds, etc.), but that you employ some of the characteristics relevant for fighting. for TCMA, this means the qualities described above, in particular:

• the hands and arms do not always engage to project power, but instead act to sense out the opponent or confuse the opponent;
• you are not actually always using the hands, but instead more the arms;
• the footwork is light, and always active;
• the body is supple and loose;
• you are always changing direction;
• you are always unpredictable.
  

the form for this involves actions that are vaguely reminiscent of mantis (tang lang). Sifu reminded us that mantis (tang lang) uses monkey footwork, and so that this should be familiar for those students who studied mantis before.

i should also note that the form for monkey is much more intricate than for dragon or tiger. it involves moving into position facing 6 different directions. Sifu noted that for each direction, you can change the intent in the movements, so that each direction you are emphasizing different techniques.

this was a little harder than it seemed, and i found myself getting lost. this is going to take some work--at least, more than dragon or tiger.

i'll put the video of the form here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85sqPL0vhsg


kyudo

kyudo this evening had a lot of new people. out of the 18 people in attendance, i think 10 were either new or visitors.

things went okay for me this evening. i'm starting to find it easier to draw the bow, and i've been able to feel my way around the form more. Sensei asked me to work on my alignment, since this would help send the arrow out straight.

i've been aware of this problem and have been trying to correct it, but i think tonight i finally started to get a sense as to what's been wrong. viewed from the top, my shoulders are turning to face the target (not square, but are tending that direction). this is a problem, since it prevents full extension of the bow, and it also means that the arrow goes at an angle out of the bow. as i go into zanshin, i need to make sure my shoulders follow a line perpendicular to the plan of the target face.

this, however, once again, is a little harder than it seems, since it requires that i acquire the body sensitivity to know which way my structure is facing while i am moving through the form. this is going to take some work.

day 296: backtrack a little

concepts:

• 5 lines

lessons:

• hsing-yi

there was no Saturday class because of the San Diego tournament, so this post is actually for Sunday.

we didn't cover anything new Sunday. we decided to spend it going back through the materials that Cheng-Chieh and i had missed. for today, we spent it working through the details of the 5 lines. i've written about the 5 lines and the 5 element theory behind it before, so i won't repeat it here. the main focus for me today was to refine and polish the movements.

i realized that i hadn't made a video of the 5 lines, and so i did make one today. you can see the 5 lines here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG3hWtus6fU


this actually took a fair amount of time, and we ended up going a little long. but it was useful, since it filled in a major gap in material that we'd missed. at least now we're a little closer to getting caught up to where everyone else is, although not quite. but it'll make next Saturday easier to digest.

day 295: dragon, tiger, & recalibration, oh my!

concepts:

• vertical v. horizontal
• front wheel drive/rear wheel drive
• yin-yang
• ting/hwa/na/fa jing
  
• recalibration

lessons:

• hsing-yi 12 animals
• kyudo
  

today was largely straightforward with just a direct progression on the curriculum. one thing to note is that there is a tournament in San Diego on Saturday, January 22, meaning that there will be no class (and so no post). there will, however, be the usual Sunday morning class. i should also probably note that this was technically the first kyudo lesson of the year, since last week was a cleaning day and before that classes had been canceled for ceremonies around the LA area.

hsing-yi 12 animals

since this was just the second Saturday back, we did a repeat of the class format from last Saturday, going through a review of the 5 lines and the lian huan form. things were a little bit smoother today for both, as i started to remember things better. having said that, i think there's still quite a bit of fine-tuning that i need to do for things to look right.

the review took up half the class, and we consumed the remainder with the 12 animals. Sifu held a pop quiz for everyone, asking each of us to do the dragon individually in front of class and then giving us pointers. for me, he noted that i need to focus more on sending pressure downward as i land, since the techniques in dragon involve vertical vectors going into the ground. currently, my movements don't manifest any effort downward. Sifu said that if done right, dragon appears to have an explosive acceleration down into the ground even more than it displays an explosive jump up.

as a pointer, Sifu said that the way to get the downward explosion is to engage the front wheel-rear wheel drive with my hands. in dragon, as you jump up the rear hand comes up and forward and the forward hand comes down and back. Sifu said that the rear hand essentially is the rear-wheel drive and the front is the front-wheel drive, where the switch in hand positions means a redirection of force through the arms, so that the switch of the rear hand to the front also means using it to direct force forward and down. the sending of the force forward and down needs to coincide with the downward portion of the jump.

you can see the video of the dragon here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hyV4-5pn0


after dragon, Sifu taught us tiger. he said that tiger differs from dragon, in that while dragon primarily involves movement in a vertical direction, tiger involves movement in a horizontal direction. the technique in tiger is more of a pushing action, but in a way that is more explosive and has vector components forward and downward.

Sifu noted that for the technique to work, you don't push with open hands for much of the movements. instead, you keep your hands closed, and wait to open the hands until you project force. the technique involves moving forward holding the forearms out with the hands closed and facing palm-up. when the practitioner has reached an appropriate position relative to the opponent and decides to release power, the practitioner then turns the forearms so the closed hands face palms-down. at this point, the practitioner not only finishes by moving the body forward and down, but also extending the forearms and opening the hands. Sifu said that the opening of the hands is the final impetus allowing extension of the arms and body, and adds a last bit of force to the technique.

Sifu stressed that we are not supposed to lock our elbows at any point in tiger, but instead keep them slightly bent and loose. he also cautioned that we have to apply the technique with the entire body as a single structure (i.e., the legs, hips, spine, torso, shoulder, upper arms, elbows, forearms, and hands all holding as a single unit), so that when we move we do so as a single unit. he said this was necessary to allow the reaction force from the ground to transmit efficiently (i.e., without any loss) through the body and into the forearms and hands. without the body in a single unit, energy is lost at the disjuncture points (i.e., energy is lost at flexing joints, poorly aligned structure, tense muscles, etc.).

the main pushing action in tiger is through the legs, so as to generate the reaction force from the ground. this is the main source of power in the technique, and is the force that we are trying to direct using our body. any power from the upper body is less than whatever power we generate using our legs to push against the ground. as a result, any pushing motion in the upper body should only come at the end of the technique after the reaction force has already been sent into the opponent (i.e., after the main force vector has already been delivered), which is why the forearms turn and the hands open only at the very end, since this helps you to focus on holding your overall structure to keep your body as a single unit.

done properly, the feeling the opponent receives from tiger should be like a mass entering through the gate (not around or under or over, but through) to destabilize the opponent's structure, and which then drives through the opponent's centerline so that the opponent moves backwards and down. the key is to destabilize the structure, after which point the opponent is unable to use their power to counter your force vector.

the destabilization occurs by using the force vector of tiger so that it acts as a yang element filling in the yin component of the opponent's structure, which requires that you move into a position relative to the opponent so that this can occur. Sifu said this is where we have to remember the ting-hwa-na-fa progression, and that tiger (nor any of the other 12 animals) is not always about fa, but is also about ting, hwa, and na, with the forearms in tiger serving as our sensing elements leading our bodies through the progression of jings.

after showing us tiger and leading us through the movements, Sifu had us work on tiger on our own, telling us to just concentrate on the general feeling of the technique. he said we'd work on polishing tiger in the next class.

you can see the video of tiger here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWrhA_ZdqMo


we finished with that. i skipped the post-class lunch to run errands.

kyudo

kyudo went surprisingly well tonight, considering i'd essentially missed almost 6 weeks of classes. admittedly, Sensei made the class a little easier for everyone, since it was the 1st class back from the winter holidays and we also had a fair number of visitors observing. after the 1 round of formal shooting, he let us go into open shooting so he could spend time giving basic lessons and meeting with the visitors.

for me, Sensei said i'd made progress, and that i was now able to release much better than i had last year. now, however, he said i had to work on the last part of zanshin, with a final expansion of the body out before i released the string. currently, i'm at the full range of my shoulders and arms at release, but Sensei says that i can get additional range by having an expansion through the back, spine, and neck, which would allow my shoulders and arms to extend further out.

of course, once i tried to do this, i promptly had a return of struggles releasing the arrow. Sensei said that this is typical--your body gets used to drawing and releasing a certain way, and so any change in one area promptly disturbs everything else in the body. this requires a constant recalibration of all the shooting actions as the practitioner works to improve specific aspects of the form.

with this in mind, i can see that i'm still a work in progress.

day 294: real review

concepts:

• 5 elements
• yin-yang
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi 5 lines
• hsing-yi lian huan
• hsing-yi 12 animals
  

this Sunday class was devoted to review of hsing-yi. since 3 of us (Ching-Chieh, Jo-san, and i) had missed so much of it, we decided to just spend the morning reviewing everything we'd missed.

we worked through the 5 lines, lian huan, and dragon from yesterday. i also took advantage of the time to ask Sifu about the 5-element theory, which had been covered during my absence.

Sifu said that the 5-element theory was meant to be a learning device for students. in the solo form, which follows the destruction cycle, it helps remind the student about the general concepts and requirements in the movements. in the 2-person form, which matches the destruction cycle with the creation cycle, it helps demonstrate to the student how the techniques in each line can be applied.

he stressed this meant can, and not must. too often, he noted, practitioners get caught believing that the each technique must be applied to counter its specific counterpart as specified by the destruction-creation pairing. this is a big mistake, since it restricts the practitioner from understanding the principles involved.

Sifu reiterated the idea of yin-yang balancing that he's presented to us in previous discussions on combat applications. thinking about techniques, in the sense of trying to match a catalog of techniques in response to incoming technique, is a losing proposition in the context of full-speed fighting. it is better to simply react to whatever is given, and that this is facilitated by being able to sense an opponent's yin-yang balance and applying force where necessary (i.e., yang to their yin) and yielding to force where necessary (i.e., yin to their yang). the 5-element 2-person form just served to provide examples of this, and is not meant to act as a recipe requiring a fixed response to a specific attack.

Sifu said we should focus on the solo 5-element application. here, the 5-element theory is meant to help the practitioner understand the nature of the physics in each of the lines, and what part of the body serves (if only for purposes of mental visualization) as the origin point of the movement. from what i can construct, this is the correlation of elements to moves:

• pi (axe) : metal : lung--this reminds the practitioner that the physics of the movement is akin to swinging an axe down, with the contraction coming through the region of the body containing the lungs
• zhwan (drill): water : kidney--this reminds the practitioner that the movement originates for the region of the body around the kidneys (i.e., the fist starts from around the kidneys and the moves out)
• beng (arrow): wood : liver--this reminds the practitioner that the technique starts from the region of the body around the liver
• pao (explosion) : fire : heart--this reminds the practitioner that the movement should be visualized as coming from the heart and expanding outwards
  
• heng (horizontal) : earth : spleen--this reminds the practitioner extends out horizontally from the spleen

we spent the remainder of time reviewing the 5 lines and lian huan, and ended around 12:30.

day 293: getting organized again

concepts:

• lian huan
• 12 animals
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi

oh okay. it's been about 2 months since my last post. that's because i missed 2 months of class, courtesy of a tsunami of work that took me out of commission altogether in terms of extra-curricular activities. i did manage to make 1 class, but i had to spend so much time catching up with everyone that i figured it was pointless to even discuss it.

things seem to have quieted down for now, and i have a little bit more time--at least, enough to resume activities again. but i have to point out that given how far behind i am i'm probably not going to have anything substantive to talk about for awhile.

to a degree, it's just as well that i'm returning now. some other students have returned after extended absences (Ching-chieh and Art), and so we're essentially working together to learn the same material. there's also some review for everyone as a whole, given the holiday break. hopefully this will be enough to get on track.

before class, Sifu made some administrative comments. the San Diego Tournament is the weekend of January 21-22, and so we're planning to drive down for that. seeing that it's so close, we'll just make it a 1-day trip with no hotel stay. it means that we'll have no class that weekend. there's also another disciple meeting planned for sometime in February (the date TBD), which we have to keep in the calendar.

there was no formal kyudo class this evening. today was the annual clean-up of the dojo, where the everyone spends an entire class session cleaning the dojo and shares a post-cleaning dinner. this was pretty non-descript, other than that everyone had a good time and lessons will resume next Saturday.

hsing-yi (xing-yi)

since this Saturday was the first day back from the winter break, we ended up taking things a little easy to help everyone refresh their memories. we made it an informal review day, with Sifu taking only the end part of class to begin with the hsing-yi 12 animals. this was perfectly fine with me, since it let me fill in some of the things that i had missed.

we began with a review of the 5 lines. this was straightforward, and involved just doing each line once going through the 8-step checklist for hsing-yi structure and then doing each line dynamically. the hard part, however, was tying in the 5-element theory for each one. i'm still scratching my head over this (i missed all the classes covering this part of hsing-yi), and so decided to go through it again on Sunday.

following this we continued the review by doing the lian huan form. this was good for me. i hadn't really gotten it the first time, and had missed out on the refinements from last semester. the form itself is not that long, but it can be deceptively tricky in terms of transitioning from one posture to another and following the proper sequence of footwork. i recorded the video and you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixxhd9Pv6D4

once we'd finished with lian huan, Sifu came back and began teaching the 12 animals. he reminded us that the 12 animals is associated with the Hebei and Shanxi styles of hsing-yi, and that the Henan style uses 10 animals. the 12 animals are:

• dragon
• tiger
• horse
• monkey
• crocodile
• ostrich
• swallow
• snake
• eagle
• bear
• rooster
• hawk

i should note that different lineages have different sets of 12 animals. i don't know which lineage has the above set. each of the animals has an associated movement with some specific expression of principles. similar to the 5 lines, each movement has different applications depending on the physics applied. the physics is a function of the intent (yi).

Sifu noted that the 12 animals are also exercises, in that they provide a training purpose in terms of conditioning (muscular and cardiovascular) for the practitioner, and so represent an additional layer of development beyond the 5 lines or lian huan. he also noted that the way the 12 animals are applied in fighting are not the same as how they are practiced in terms of conditioning, since the purposes are different (although related).

for today, since we were near the end of class, he only showed us the dragon. rather than explain it, i'll post the video of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hyV4-5pn0

Sifu made the following points:

• look down at the front hand when in dragon stance
• look up vertically when jumping into the air
• lift the hands to forehead level when jumping
• it's not just a conditioning challenge, but also a coordination one
  

that was it for the day. we made a few attempts at dragon, and then went to lunch.

day 292: housekeeping

concepts:

• footwork hsing-yi
• versions of hsing-yi
• hsing-yi v tai chi v bagua
• 5 lines
• 5 elements
• linking form
• totou renshu
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo
  

okay, so this is very late. things have been really busy as of late and i lost track of things. just to show how busy things are, i missed several saturday classes due to other priorities with respect to work. i'm posting this to fill in the 1 Saturday i made, but i'm also posting as a matter of housekeeping to record the material that i forgot to put into previous posts.

hsing-yi

i'll run through everything that i forgot to put into previous posts. i'll begin with footwork. hsing-yi, just like other martial arts, has specific footwork that is emphasized within the style. the hsing-yi footwork is pretty familiar to anyone who's learned TCMA, although it's somewhat surprising in intricacy considering the stereotype of it being simple. Sifu listed out the 6 types of hsing-yi footwork as follows:

• dragging (to bu)--the rear foot drags along the ground following each step forward by the front foot
• step-through/scissor (jian bu)--this is a shift, with the rear foot stepping forward to become the front foot
• triangle (san jiao bu)--this is the same as the triangle step in mantis, with the steps moving at an angle relative to the opponent
• turn/circle (ko/bai bu)--this is the turning, with a pivot foot that is pointed in the direction of the turn
• monkey/springing (ba bu)--this is a light spring step
• chicken (shin bu)--somewhat similar to the dragging, except that the front foot is heavy and the rear foot is light
  

Sifu noted that the 5 lines involves all of these, so that as you go through the 5 lines you end up doing all 6 types of footwork.

next, Sifu some time ago discussed the various types of hsing-yi. there are 3 well-known types, each of which arose in a different region of China and has features distinct from the other 2 (somebody will have to correct me on this, since we went through this pretty quickly and my notes were rushed):

• shanxi--this is the original, and arose sometime during the Qing dynasty. the curriculum is based on 12 animals, but no elements. here, hsing-yi was tied to the concepts of "heart intent"
• henan--this is the islamic hsing-yi, and is sometimes called hsing-yi liu he. it has a curriculum based on 10 animals, but no elements. the term hsing-yi liu he connected "heart intent" to "body/limbs"
• hebei--this introduced 5 element theory into the curriculum, and was associated with hsing-yi quan, which brings the concepts of "heart intent body fist"
  

Sifu followed this with some more comments about what distinguishes hsing-yi from tai chi or bagua. the comparison he gave is as follows:

• hsing-yi: the visual metaphor is of catching a tiger, and receives with strong contact. offensively, the intent is akin to chopping a door (i.e., going straight through the opponent's gate despite its defenses)
• tai chi: the visual metaphor is to catch a fish, and so receives with light contact. offensively, the intent is like using a key (i.e., you use techniques to open an opponent's defenses and penetrate his opponent's gate, just like a key opens a door)
• bagua: the visual metaphor is like pushing a grinding stone (like the ones donkeys pushed to grind flour), and so receives with no contact but instead receives by moving your own body. offensively, the intent is to go through a window (i.e., you work yourself into a position where you can find an opening in the opponent's defenses and enter their gate)
  

i also finally got the names and the description of the power issuing and movement for the 5 lines:

• line 1: pi quan (splitting, like an axe)
• line 2: er quan (twisting, chan zieh jin--i.e. silk reeling, like a drill)
• line 3: bung quan (smashing, like an arrow)
• line 4: pao quan (pounding, like an explosion)
• line 5: heng quan (crossing, like in horizontal motion)
  

we've also discussed these in relation to 5-element theory, with the lines following the creation cycle of the 5 elements, where each element helps denote the kind of power issuing/movement that should appear in each line:

• line 1: metal
• line 2: water
• line 3: wood
• line 4: fire
• line 5: earth
  

Sifu noted that 5-element theory also works to show the defenses to each one. each element can be defeated by another element, and that this indicates what types of power issuing/movement can defeat another. Sifu says that you can see this by following the destruction cycle of the 5 elements, so that each element in the destruction cycle acts to defeat each corresponding element in the creation cycle.

we also finished 1 iteration of the linking form, going through all 15 postures. it's a relatively short form, and can be done very quickly. Sifu noted, however, that there are additional layers to the form, so that while it superficially appears short and simple it actually has quite a bit of complexity. he said we'd work on this over the next few weeks.

kyudo

kyudo was tough this evening. i'd corrected some areas that had been giving me problems in the previous weeks, but i've found that with kyudo a change in 1 area produces a ripple of changes in others, necessitating a re-calibration of everything every time you make an adjustment with 1 part. this evening i got so frustrated that i went back to the air form (totou renshu) to just get a sense of the form back.

i told Sensei that what made this frustrating was that a few months i could not get the arrow to release from the strong, and now the arrow was releasing on its own before i can even reach full draw. Sensei noted my frustration, and said that he'd gone through similar periods himself in the past. he advised me that i was doing the right thing practicing totou renshu, and that i should probably do it more on my own during the weeks between classes, since it should help correct some of the mechanical problems he saw in my draw.

day 291: rusty

concepts:

• lian huan/linking

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo

this was the first weekend back since the Las Vegas tournament, and so the first real day back to the regular schedule. as to be expected, there was all kinds of rust, and things didn't go so smoothly. but i wasn't the only one, since a lot of other people seem to have the same issues. this made for a slow day.

hsing-yi

we spent the first half of class reviewing the 5 lines, going through the progression of 8 criteria for each line. i found that i'd forgotten some of them, and had to remind myself what they were. i ended up referring to my notes to jog my memory. it was a bit of a struggle, and it looks like a good number of other people also had some problems as well, making for a glacial pace.

the second half of class was spent working on the the linking form (lian huan). Sifu said we'd start it today, and finish it up fairly quickly--apparently, in hsing-yi, the linking form is quite short compared to other styles. having said that, Sifu said that learning the form is fast, but mastering a lot of its points takes a bit longer, and that we'd be spending more time on this. for today, however, Sifu took us through 1/2 the form.

kyudo

i fully expected kyudo to be excruciating tonight, and it proved to be just that. it wasn't that i'd forgotten anything (i actually managed to remember everything about where i was). it was more about what i hadn't known to begin with--there was a period of time when i could not get the arrow to release from the bow, but then i started to have the opposite problem of the arrow releasing before i can even draw the bow, and i can't figure what happened in either case.

this evening was a trial-and-error of trying to figure out what was happening. thing is, one of the things i do know about kyudo is that any adjustment in 1 part of the form causes a ripple effect in adjustments in other parts of the form, with your body making changes to accomplish the draw, with the changes occurring whether you want them to or not. one of the other things i know about kyudo is that minute changes tend to become magnified, and so little adjustments that propagate through the rest of the body end up producing a cascade in error.

things got bad enough that i went back to basics and started working again with an elastic band, just so i could concentrate on the form and find out what was happening. Sensei has told me what is happening, but the problem for me is that i can't correlate sensory signals to what is wrong or (for that matter) what is right. a lot of it is because this involves alien movements that my body is not familiar with, so there is no reference point for my mind to connect to in terms of recognizing good versus bad, with the result being that my body tends to all sorts of things with negative consequences.

this is going to take a while to figure out.

day 290: back again and Las Vegas tournament

well, i'm back posting again. i was out of the country for an extended period of time, and so missed a good portion of classes for both kung fu and kyudo. this is the reason why nothing's been posted here for so long.

i came back a little more than a week ago, but just in time to go to the Las Vegas tournament to help referee 2 events. as a result, there was no kung fu class and i missed the kyudo class. as a result, this post only deals with the tournament.

the tournament this year was much smaller than before, i suspect because 1) the economic recession has made it very difficult for people to travel, and 2) it was Labor Day weekend and many people had made holiday plans. but the turnout was still sufficient to maintain activities across 2 days, and sufficient to host additional events. for me, this meant i was a referee for not only jian shu, but a new experimental competition called "extreme push hands".

the jian shu was pretty straightforward, so i don't have much reason to discuss it here. i will say that the quality of competition has gotten much better, and that competitors have gotten to the point that they are getting better at applying jian shu techniques in the context of full-speed full-contact sword fighting--something we didn't see before, and something that Sifu has always said is what we want to see.

i'll devote more of my comments to extreme push hands. i should note that extreme push hands is essentially push hands liberated, with competitors allowed to move their feet and to engage techniques (throws, but no strikes or joint locks). the idea is to return to push hands to its historical position as a stage in the training progression leading towards full-contact fighting. this is largely experimental, since something like this has not been done regularly as a dedicated event in the U.S., and the rules are still being worked out. as a result, things were new and unfamiliar for both the judges and the competitors.

having said this, i still found it fascinating to watch, since it revealed a lot about the concepts within TCMA and just how important they are. i will list my observations about what i saw regarding the concepts as follows:

ting jing

i think all the competitors were trying to apply ting jing. i can see that ting jing as "listening" is analogous to navy submarine sonar--there, they"listen", but they have 2 DIFFERENT ways to listen:

"active" listening (where you send out energy and then listen to thereflection back) and "passive" listening (where you simply take inwhatever information you receive). active listening has benefits in that you can quickly contact the enemy, but the problem is that it instantly reveals your position and intent to the enemy. passive listening has benefits in that you do not reveal your position orintent, but has a problem in that it requires much more skill and training to develop--and it's easy to fool yourself. from what i can tell, it is possible to use active listening as a way of misdirecting or fooling the enemy (e.g., you send a "ping" that reveals a location and intent different from your actual ones).

also, i noticed that when competitors did try to "passive" listen, some took it literally and stopped moving, and promptly got punished. the better competitors still maintained movement, while still listening (i.e., you can passively listen while still moving yourself to avoid the enemy, much as a submarine passively listens while maneuvering around an enemy submarine).

hwa jing/na jing/fa jing

i'll skip the fa jing, since the event was more about the other jings. while all the competitors tried to receive, neutralize, redirect, and control, i think they didn't do so in recognition of the full context of the match. in contrast, the better competitors had a much more instinctive understanding of the jings within the entire frame of 2 competitors trying to find hwa and na. in essence, it is important to understand the relationship of the moving bodies--that is, to sense (ting!) the center(s) (i.e., your center, the opponent's center, the relationship between the 2, and the nature of systemic center). this means hwa jing and na jing are not so much about receiving, neutralizing, redirecting, or controlling the enemy, but about receiving, neutralizing, redirecting, controlling thecenter(s). and once you have the center, everything becomes elementary.

i think this explains why the better competitors expended so little energy--the mind was doing all the work, but the body was simply working with the opponent's energy and letting it go by.

disengage/engage

most competitors consistently started off with a bullfight scenario, and only switched when they found themselves about to lose or when tired. the winners, in contrast, were almost never in the bullfight, but instead constantly disengaging and engaging.

what contributed to this was that the other competitors were "active" listening, which tended to draw them into a bull fight scenario (i.e.,they'd reveal their position, instantly find themselves on defense,but unaware of the center, and so automatically respond with a struggle to regain their composure against the only thing they could see--the body in front of them). what also contributed was that i suspect most competitors thought the only way to listen was to be in physical contact and in close contact.

the winners, in contrast, because they were mixing "active" & "passive"listening, were devoting much more time and resources to movement and positioning, thereby avoiding bull fight scenarios. as a result, they constantly mixed up disengage/engage, adding to the misdirection and confusion in the opponents.

mind

it really got me that everyone other than the winners wer expending a lot of energy. i think this happened not because the winners were more physically fit, but because the winners knew what they were doing and everyone else was simply reacting (and constantly being on the reaction side of an encounter is always more draining than being the proactive one). because the winners knew what they were doing, they were much more efficient with movements, and everything they did had a purpose contributing to the goal of winning.

which goes to the point: the mind is doing all the work, and the body is simply using the opponent's energy. the mind does the listening, the mind tracks the center(s), the mind handles hwa jing and na jing. the body was simply staying out of the enemy's way, misdirecting them, and then letting them go by. it also means that you don't have to really have an arsenal of memorized techniques,but instead all you have to do is control the center(s) and direct the opponent past you.

like i said, very interesting stuff. it gave me some things to think about, and to try and incorporate into my own development. i'll have to give it some attention when i practice.

day 289: practice and problem-solving

concepts:

• right hand release

lessons:

• kyudo

this past Saturday was more kyudo-focused. Sifu was on a trip to give a seminar in Canada, and so kung fu was just an informal meeting for anyone who wanted to get some practice in. it was rather warm, so it made for a tiring afternoon. i won't go into details, since we largely just went through various permutations of the lines following what Sifu had told us last week.

kyudo

kyudo this night was at Sensei's house, where he hosted an all-day retreat for senior students. i showed up at 5pm, since that was the time he'd set for the class as a whole. this evening was a more relaxed environment, with the focus being refinement and work on our technique.

this was actually exactly what i needed, since i seriously have to sort out the ongoing issues with my release. Sensei worked with me on this, helping recognize a number of things:

• the wrist of the release hand, when the form is done properly, naturally follows a rotation as the bow is raised and then drawn. the issue is to make sure that the wrist follows the action of the bow, and doesn't lead it. i seem to be trying to anticipate things, and so am doing the opposite and making my wrist lead the bow.
• the wrist doesn't initiate the release, but once again follows the expansion of the bow. if anything, the wrist follows the elbow, which follows the bow.
• the release hand itself is not supposed to grip the string or the arrow. it's supposed to simply hold a form that allows the nocking groove in the thumb to hold the string. gripping with the release hand prevents the arrow and string from moving--which they must do as the bow rises and then opens.
• when the elbows open properly, the hand and wrist naturally turn in a way that allows the string to come out and release.
• the release can come with a snap of the fingers, but the snap doesn't initiate nor lead the release. instead, the snap is something that naturally results from the last expansion before the string goes to release the arrow.
  

i worked on this for the evening, and things seemed to be getting better by the end. but i'll have to see in the next class.

day 288: variations in intensity and speed

concepts:

• intensity
• speed
• variations
• release
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi
• kyudo
  

this past Saturday was Sifu's last before he went to give a seminar in Canada. he's missing this coming Saturday, but will return after then.

hsing-yi

for today's class, Sifu introduced variations into the 5 lines. he said that there are different ways to perform each line, with differing emphases in terms of intensity and speed in each of the movements to reflect different applications of each posture. as a result, practice should be done using these different variations, to help train you for applications and to better understand the options in applications.

following the customary hsing-yi session, we started class off with standing qi-gong, and then went through each line slowly marking off the 8 checkpoints at each stage in each posture. we through all 5 lines doing this, with Sifu checking everyone individually--and also giving a pop quiz to test everyone's memory of the checkpoints.

after this, Sifu said that use of slow movements was only a training tool for the early stages of hsing-yi, with the purpose of training being to ingrain proper form and awareness of the dantian. the next stage was to do the same 5 lines at higher speed.

we proceeded to do a 2nd run-through of the 5 lines, moving at a more regular pace, going not entirely high speed but more progressive. the idea here, Sifu said, was to get comfortable proceeding from one posture to another so that we could maintain proper form while moving.

next, Sifu said we could start applying variations in intensity and speed. each stage in each posture can be done with its own emphasis (i.e., how much force or effort is applied--for example, hard or soft) and own speed (i.e., fast or slow). this means that each movement in each posture can be done with a force and speed unique to the other movements in the posture, and also means that 1 line can manifest changes as you proceed through it. Sifu said this is the next stage in training, with the goal being to start bringing the practitioner closer to actual application.

Sifu led us through some examples of this with each of the 5 lines, and then asked us to create, and then try, our own variations. we spent the remainder of class on this, which by this time had gone until 1:30. we had enough time to try a few variations, and then we all ended class for lunch.

kyudo

the past Saturday's kyudo was a bit of a struggle. i've been having problems with my release, particularly in terms of my string hand releasing the string to shoot. this first started to manifest itself some weeks ago, and really became a problem when i was at Rancho Park. i haven't had this problem in the past, so this is a recent development and suggests i've started doing something wrong.

Sensei noticed this and said that both my hands were problematic, and that i needed to adjust both. my tenouchi (left hand) was gripping the bow the wrong way, and my right hand wasn't following a proper path allowing release. he said that ideally, the release should come on its own as you go through the final expansion in zanshin, and that there should be no need for the hand to do anything to release the string. right now, he said my right hand is having to dip and twist in order to release, which is bad for the string and bad for the bow--this was proven, since i ended up twisting the bow this evening.

since turnout was a little low for the evening and there were a number of new students, Sensei stopped the formal shoot early and had a session on tenouchi. we reviewed the proper the way to hold the bow, and i realized that my left positioning was too tight and out of alignment.

i also took some time out for some solo work sans arrow or shooting, to check why my right hand is doing. i think that part of the problem is that i'm changing my form between practicing the form without the bow versus with the bow--without the bow i'm able to get the right hand to do the right thing, but with the bow my form breaks down, with the physical pressure of the bow causing me to struggle with my form.

this was a bit of a frustrating night, and i'm going to have to really spend some time working on my hands.

day 287: hsing-yi in concept

concepts:

• qi-gong
• 6 harmonies: external/internal harmonies
• 5-element cycles
• pi, zhwan, bung, pao, heng
• footwork
  
• hsing-yi v. tai chi v. bagua
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi

this past Saturday roughly followed the same pattern as the previous Saturday (June 26). it was July 4 weekend, so turnout was a little ragged, but we still have a decent-sized group considering that it was a long holiday. i skipped kyudo again, since i had other plans set up for the day.

hsing-yi

taking up the same order from last week, we began with qi-gong. Sifu told us before that this is a pretty standard thing in hsing-yi, and that it asks practitioners to always spend a good portion of training in qi-gong meditation--particularly the standing pose, with arms out embracing an imaginary ball. Sifu reminded us that the point was to help develop sensitivity to our dantian and center of gravity, and that requires developing an awareness of our breathing, our mind, our body, our senses, and our surroundings in relation to our dantian and center. the ultimate aim is to eventually maintain this sensitivity without conscious effort, so it is inherent to anything we do.

after this, we proceeded to work through the 4 lines we've learned to date, repeating the same process as last Saturday of reciting each of the 8 principles and what they mean in connection to each posture in each line. this is a workout, since it requires we maintain posture for the time duration required to cover each of the 8 principles. Sifu said this was the point in hsing-yi, not only to develop sensitivity to the proper form of each movement but also to help condition the body to the requirements of each movement.

once we'd finished the review of the 4 lines, Sifu stopped to provide us with more of the theory behind hsing-yi. he began by returning to a prior topic of 6 harmonies. we'd learned the 6 harmonies as being hands-feet, elbows-knees, and shoulders-hips. this time, however, Sifu said this was only 1 side of 6-harmony theory. he said that 6 harmonies does not refer only to body coordination, but also the mental, with there being 3 external harmonies (for the body) and 3 internal harmonies (for the mind). the alliance of hands-feet, elbows-knees, and shoulder-hips actually only represents 6 body components in 3 relationships which constitute the 3 external harmonies. the 3 internal harmonies involve 6 mental components of disposition (or heart), intent, qi, and power, with the 3 relationships being shin (disposition/heart)-yi (intent), yi (intent)-qi (energy), and qi (energy)-li (power). Sifu commented that hsing-yi considers these 6 harmonies to be crucial in terms of fighting ability.

from there, Sifu added more detail regarding 5-element theory. much the the 5-element theory we've learned previously (particularly with qi-gong) followed the production cycle, which follows the sequence of metal-water-wood-fire-earth. in hsing-yi, however, there is also the use of the destruction cycle, which follows the sequence of metal-wood-earth-water-fire. the 5 lines follow a progression corresponding to the production cycle (i.e., line 1 is metal, line 2 is water, etc.), but later on there are parts of hsing-yi that follow a progression related to the destruction cycle.

this correspondence in progression is not superficial, since it also indicates the nature of the power projection the practitioner is supposed to employ in each line. for the 5 lines we're learning, Sifu introduced the following connections to 5-element production cycle and power projection:

• line 1 : metal : pi (movement like an axe chop)
• line 2 : water : zhwan (movement like water drilling into an object)
• line 3 : wood : bung (movement like an arrow piercing through a target)
• line 4 : fire: pao (movement like an explosion)
• line 5 : earth : heng (movement that is horizontal)
  

with this in mind, Sifu had us return to the lines, doing a quick review of lines 1-4, and then going on to work through line 5. this time, he also stressed that we be mindful of where we're supposed to be in relation to an imaginary opponent in each line, with our footwork following the necessary trajectory. for lines 1-3 this means a linear route forward and back, while for lines 4 & 5 this means a zig-zag pattern.

we went on to a cautionary note from last week's discussion. before, Sifu had noted the reason hsing-yi was considered an internal style even though so many of its movement look so forceful. this time, he expanded on those comments by placing them in relation to other northern style TCMA. he stressed that all TCMA, as well as all martial arts, have elements of both yin and yang movements, in that they all use techniques that are hard, explosive, and forceful, as well as soft, non-explosive, and light. he demonstrated some techniques in baji, which is typically used as an exemplar of an external style, and showed how even in baji there are still components of yin and yang. he proceeded to do the same with chang quan (long fist), and then also in hsing-yi, tai chi, and bagua.

because of this, Sifu said that the distinction of internal v. external styles (if we really insist on it) is in the direction upon the movements in styles are directed. he reminded us of his points from previous weeks regarding the attention of hsing-yi on the center, and the constant focus on bringing things into your own center. he said the other internal styles (like tai chi and bagua) also do this, although using different philosophies. he observed that you can break the internal styles based on the nature of movements they use to approach an opponent's gates, which i'll summarize as follows:

• hsing-yi : "catch the tiger" (movements have strong contact with the opponent) : chop the door (movements open the opponent's gate by chopping them aside using narrow arcs drawing into the center)
• tai chi : "catching the fish" (movements have light contact with the opponent) : use the key (movements open the opponent's gate by using misdirection into the center to guide the opponent's guard aside)
• bagua : "donkey pushing the grinding stone" (movements of the body, so that there is no contact with the opponent) : go through the window (movements to avoid the guarded gate and locate an open one)
  

as a point of reference, Sifu once again compared this to baji as an external style, and showed how in baji the movements have strong contact by the chopping motion involves a wide arc designed to go into the ground so as to produce more power from the reaction force from the earth.

Sifu said you can see these philosophies play out regardless of the orientation relative to the opponent, with the concepts being the same regardless of the choice of approaching the opponent's dragon gate (their back side), tiger gate (their front side), and snake gate (their leading side that faces you).

we finished at this point, with some staying a little longer to review. i had other plans for the day, and so skipped on the post-class lunch.

day 286: spear and cannon

concepts:

• movement
• circles
  

lessons:

• spear (chaang)
• chen tai chi pao quan
  

this Sunday i made a request to review pao quan (cannon fist), since i've been struggling to get through it. we ended up devoting a little time around the spear lesson, since Arnold (a student from Sifu's CSULB class who's been coming to Sunday class to learn spear) is not learning tai chi.

spear (chaang)

spear today was focused on combining footwork with the spear-tip drills. we began by reviewing the spear-tip drills (i.e., moving the tip in a circle, semi-circle, and crescent) with static footwork. Sifu had us visualize 9 imaginary points on a vertical plane facing us arranged in a 3x3 matrix, so that we would move the spear-tips around each of the points, working our way in a random order from one point to another.

we then reviewed the footwork with the spear being fixed. Sifu reminded us that on the step-over pattern, we cross-over on the front when moving forward by could choose to cross-over either front or rear when moving backward. we also did the skip step and shuffle step, going both forward and backward.

after this, we united the two and started doing the spear-tip drills while moving backwards and forwards, again visualizing the 3x3 matrix of 9 imaginary points and moving the spear-tip around each as we stepped.

chen tai chi pao quan

while Arnold was gone, Sifu and Phunsak worked with me on the chen pao quan form. i'm having trouble with the end portion of it, since we hurried through it before Cheng-chieh left. i managed to get a little bit more comfortable--at least to the extent that i can remember the movements, but i'm pretty sure it's going to take a lot of practice to polish things up and get things looking the way they should.

day 285: organizing the hsing-yi curriculum

concepts:

• ding, ko, yuen, bao, chwei, chu, ting, du
• 5 elements
• center/dantian
• ting, hwa, na, fa jing
  

lessons:

• hsing-yi

i skipped kyudo this evening and will have to miss again next Saturday, due to various family reasons. as a result, this past Saturday and next Saturday's posts will both be limited to just kung fu.

hsing-yi

i managed to get a better sense of the curriculum today. essentially, we're in the phase of the curriculum covering the 5-elements, with each line we've been learning corresponding to each of the elements in cycle of 5-element theory, specifically the destruction cycle (metal wood earth water fire). so far we've learned 3 lines (4, including today), meaning that there's 1 more. beyond this, however, there's the 12 animals, and then there's combining 5 elements with the 12 animals. in addition, there's also qi-gong.

today's class began with standing qi-gong, and then a review of the 3 lines. Sifu had us go through each of the 8 principles for each posture in each line, so as to get us into the habit of checking our form and helping us remember the principles. we through them reciting not only their names (ding, ko, yuen, bao, chwei, chu, ting , du), but also their meanings and what body parts they referred to. we did this slowly, since this stage of the hsing-yi curriculum calls for actions to be done at a deliberate, careful speed.

after reviewing the 3 lines, we did the 4th. the 4th line is somewhat distinct from the others, in that it doesn't follow a line (like lines 1-3) but instead progresses on a zig-zag pattern. that, and the transition is a little complicated, since it involves standing on 1 leg.

something that i also picked up on today was the fact that all of the lines involve centering, with all actions somehow involving a vector component going into the dantian. Sifu said this is one of the central aspects of hsing-yi, in that much of the physics in the techniques are predicated on using your center or bringing actions into your center. he pointed out that it's not always evident in the moves, but it is something very much present in terms of intent (yi). he noted this is why hsing-yi puts so much emphasis on its qi-gong, since it trains the practitioner to be aware of the center and to gather everything (qi, yi, the self, the opponent, etc.) into your own center.

another concept that i also noticed reappeared was jing, specifically the progression of ting, hwa, na, and fa that we've covered in the past. it came up when someone asked about the differences between fa jing, which seems to call for a projection of power, versus hsing-yi's perspective on the center, which calls for bringing things into the center--the 2 seem contradictory to each other.

Sifu said that they're actually consistent. he argued that hsing-yi asks the practitioner to utilize motions gathering things towards your dantian, and that this is something that can be done with movements related to ting jing (listening/sensing), hwa jing (receiving/redirecting), and na jing (controlling). even with fa jing, there is still consistency, in that power can still be projected with movement gathering things to the dantian--it is possible to employ actions that are explosive but which involve (even if only in part) a vector component following a direction to your dantian.

Sifu added that this is part of what makes hsing-yi somewhat deceptive. the opponent will think that your application of fa jing will be in an outward direction, and hence will react in a way to respond to that. as a result, they do not realize the vector inward to you, and will be vulnerable to becoming destabilized in that direction.

we spent the rest of class practicing the lines. i left a little early (12:30), so i missed out on the post-class lunch.