I have not posted anything so far, so I will start for this week.
This week's practice consisted of three general exercises, each of which will be outlined below.
I. Retreating moi shu with counter
Assuming each partner starts in a standard right horse stance, the offensive partner initiates with a centerline punch with no step. The defensive partner counters with an inward moi shu, again without a step. After this initial exchange, the offensive partner attacks with another centerline punch, going over the blocking intersection and changing the horse during an advance as the defensive partner changes the horse while retreating and countering with an inward moi shu, and the process is repeated once, and both partners should end in the right horse stance. At this point, the defensive partner takes the offensive, and initiates with a centerline punch over the block intersection without advancing, as described above.
II. Single arm punch, block, counter exercise
The partners can each take either right or left horse stances, depending on their desire to train on the long or short side. Neither partner takes a role of purely offense or defense, though one side initiates with a centerline punch, which the other blocks with an inward moi shu followed immediately by a centerline punch which the first partner should then block by circling the arm and performing an inward moi shu, followed by a countering centerline punch, etc.
III. Two arm punch, block, counter exercise
Both parters should be in a similar horse stance (closed formation) with one partner taking the offensive role. The offensive partner initiates with a centerline punch, which is countered by an inward moi shu by the defensive partner. Immediately after this, the defensive partner counters with a centerline punch, using the momentum gained from deflecting the attack to aid in a quick rotation of the arm. The offensive partner should learn to use the momentum of the defensive's counterpunch to rotate back and perform a inward moi shu, followed by an overhand centerline punch from the opposing arm, which the defensive partner deflects with an inward moi shu, etc.
Thoughts on the three exercises
Concerning the first exercise, I have three general thoughts. First, the non-movement initial phase can be confusing, as the body tends to like to repeat patterns. Second, the pattern can be repeated for a longer period, if the partners want a longer series of similar motions; note that even motive steps yield the starting stance and odd numbers the opposing stance. Thirdly, the exercise is a fairly good tool to learn discipline in initiating the short range centerline punches actually from the centerline (a hard habit for me to form, owing to learning how to punch from the hips whilst learning another style) as well as learning to gauge how to run this centerline punch over the point where the arms intersect during the block.
Concerning the second, I really have no comments, other than it is a decent way to lead into the third.
Concerning the third, I really found this to be a satisfying exercise that moves beyond just the basic moi shu and centerline punches learned independently. In particular, being left handed, I find that my right arm, especially if it is the forward arm, is somewhat weak. I often find myself leading with the forearm as opposed to the elbow, which leads to an awkward opening in my mid-body defense, and is otherwise something on which I ought to focus. It is also very easy for one partner to lend speed to the exercise, and therefore some sloppiness, as momentum is transferred back and forth between the two partners; it takes some conscious effort to slow down the process again and regain precise control. It is also very important, if one wishes to maintain momentum, to begin pulling the punch as soon as one realizes that the attack is indeed being deflected, otherwise one has a tendency to shift forward and be in a poor position to defend. Lastly, if one is feeling like stopping, absorbing the momentum of the attack into the back leg evidently will do so, but I did not work on this. I imagine this latter point can be important if one does not wish to continue a pattern of attack-counter-counter-etc, and instead wishes to take control of the situation if the opponent is off balance or overextended.
4 comments:
Sweet, Jess. It will be good to both keep track of the exercises we pick up, and also our thoughts as we progress.
To the end of informing ourselves at a later date, I'll reiterate that these seem to be the first exercises that are interesting to do in their own right. Short steps, long steps, and switching the horse are totally necessary, but don't have much intrinsic interest. The punch moishu exercises are a little better, particularly once you start to be able to actually do it, but what's really cool is watching the more advanced students run though longer and more complex exercises. It's nice to be taking a step toward that. Oh, and that two-hand retreating block was kinda fun as well.
Also, after a month or so, it's nice to be beginning to develop some small bit of facility. Finally now when someone shows me something I'm beginning to feel like I can at least see what they're trying to say. Having someone trying to teach me and only being able to react with "Okay, and... huh?" was somewhat frustrating.
Jess, you should totally throw up a links section, and link the school's page. Maybe get some pictures of old masters up. Play a little Carl Douglas in the background. =D
Indeed, it shall be a good way to keep track of our progress and have a quick reference.
So, Adam, do you want to lay odds on exercise 3 being made into a mobile exercise next week? Is this the foundation of five point? It appears to have some elements of it, but we are certainly not at the point where we ought to be learning five point. Not yet, at least. I believe we still have two block types to learn, and we have never really practice the gua shu punches yet.
Do you have a speed bag in your basement?
So here it is Saturday morning, and Jess and I were practicing the material from last week.
We were out in my yard doing the moishu-counterpunch exercises and I was noticing that if I moishu really close in to my body it hurts! It turns into kind of a hard style thing where I whack his punch with my fore arm.
After doing that for a while and noticing that it kind of sucks, I started to reach out my defensive posture a little more, and perform my moishu as a pulling back kind of action, blending with his strike rather than meeting it.
That's when I noticed just how small a moishu is - or can be. Once you reach out with it, that moishu can be just a little shove with your elbow. You reach out and your elbow is right there and you just give their punch a little push and all of a sudden they're all off target.
It was a little realization for me.
My Saturday morning review was telling. I tend to default to a hard style, close in block. As Adam has indicated, this means that there is a kind of painful reminder that something is not exactly right. from this, I have found two faults with my technique. The first is that I tend to move my elbows not quite right, which lends to the painful, close-in blocks. I need to relax and extend a little more to be more effective, and try to shed all the trappings of the harder style I learned before. The second observation is that, because I am a bigger guy with a broader chest, I absolutely need to work on my shoulder flexibility in order that I can be more effective in small deflections of attacks and intercept them earlier.
I have also noticed that, because of our general body shapes, Adam's and my style are beginning to show a little difference. In the context of this week's exercises, I noticed that where Adam tends to circle his arms much wider than me when in on the offense (exercise 3), I tend to pull my elbows back a bit (probably related to one of the points above) and circle my forearm in a much narrower field, just enough to circle his elbow and begin the deflection. I imagine this will change with increased flexibility. Still, though, it is nice to begin to see subtleties in style developing, as it indicates an internalization of certain concepts for which neither of us probably has adequate vocabulary to describe just yet.
A final thought. This style has so far been a wonderful pleasure to learn. I enjoy the self-teaching to an extent. That is to say, the instruction is great, but the ramifications of exercises are often omitted, and the student is allowed to explore the possibilities. Of course, it is always good to talk to an instructor on reflections, and I guess that is why in kung fu flicks there is often the visit to the master, where things are simply discussed.
It's a fun path to travel.
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