Shaolin Kung Fu
Dec. 31st, 2009 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fitzwA really good Gongfu class (weapons/staff practice tonight). Mabu (horse stance) is improving (was able to balance the staff across my legs rather well this time), although my stance isn’t as wide as most of the other students. Xubu (Cat stance) jibegung drill needs a lot of work.
I think I’m finally starting to figure out how to make the “hurricane knees” jump in the Southern Staff form work for me. There are so many different pieces to that move that when I manage to get one working right, the others go all screwy (that’s the technical term, I’ll have you know). It’s basically a sideways-start (from horse stance), jumping 360° spin that lifts first the trailing leg and then the leading leg and lands on the legs in that order (back in horse stance), with the staff swinging through a vertical plane, rather than a horizontal one, while your torso does something similar, ending with a downward strike of the staff.
OK, now do that and actually land on your feet. :-D
BJ (one of the instructors) says that what I should probably work on is getting the muscle memory for one part strong, so that I no longer have to work on that one part. Then add the next part. I just have to figure out which part needs to be concentrated on first. Tonight, my focus was on the path of the staff; I think that that was working better than when I focus on my legs.
Note: This may work for the staff move, but there's a similar move without the staff, which may need a different way to think of it.
Have to practice. After all, we're scheduled to test for our next rank on January 9, and we’re supposed to know how to do this.
I think I’m finally starting to figure out how to make the “hurricane knees” jump in the Southern Staff form work for me. There are so many different pieces to that move that when I manage to get one working right, the others go all screwy (that’s the technical term, I’ll have you know). It’s basically a sideways-start (from horse stance), jumping 360° spin that lifts first the trailing leg and then the leading leg and lands on the legs in that order (back in horse stance), with the staff swinging through a vertical plane, rather than a horizontal one, while your torso does something similar, ending with a downward strike of the staff.
OK, now do that and actually land on your feet. :-D
BJ (one of the instructors) says that what I should probably work on is getting the muscle memory for one part strong, so that I no longer have to work on that one part. Then add the next part. I just have to figure out which part needs to be concentrated on first. Tonight, my focus was on the path of the staff; I think that that was working better than when I focus on my legs.
Note: This may work for the staff move, but there's a similar move without the staff, which may need a different way to think of it.
Have to practice. After all, we're scheduled to test for our next rank on January 9, and we’re supposed to know how to do this.
