Glasgow University Kung Fu Fitness Club (GUKFFC)

Club suspended

2013-10-07T16:25:00.002+01:00

Hi there,

Unfortunately due to student apathy we have nobody willing to take on the responsibility of organising venues and handling communications. Therefore the club is suspended until further notice.

If you are a Glasgow University Student and would like to help with the running of the club then contact us at gukffc@gmail.com.

If you want to be pointed in the direction of a new club then please contact gukffc@gmail.com with your area of interest e.g. self defence, flexibility, spirituality, etc and someone will try to point you towards a suitable club.

Regards,

J. Spencer

FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS

2012-12-19T10:35:00.001+00:00

FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS, ARE THE TRADITIONAL AND ORIGINAL ARTS

OF THE FILIPINO ARCHIPELAGO KNOWN AS KALI-ARNIS-ESCRIMA.ARTS INDEED

NOT ONLY A SINGLE STYLE OR SYSTEM BUT MANY DIFFERENT MARTIAL ARTS AND SCHOOLS,THEY ARE ALSO AN IMPORTAN PART OF THE CULTURE OF THE FILIPPINES.

INDEED THE ARTS ARE OFTEN AN INTEGRATION OF DIFFERENT STYLES AND TECHNIQUES IN AN OMOGENEOUS WAY, FINDING FOR EXAMPLE IN THE SOUTH OF THE ARCHIPELAGO AND MINDANAO AN ART THAT IS INFLUENCED BY THE PENTJAK SILAT FROM INDONESIA OR THE CLOSE MALAYSIA. IN SOME OTHER SCHOOLS ELEMENTS OF MUAY THAY ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE SYSTEM.PART OF THE KALI-ARNIS-ESCRIMA IS ALSO ESPADA Y DAGA, SWORD AND DAGGER FOR THE FIRST TIME INTRODUCED IN EUROPE BY THE ITALIAN SCHOOL OF FENCING AND NOW HERITAGE OF MANY DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF ESCRIMA.

KALI-ARNIS-ESCRIMA, IS A COMPLETE SYSTEM FROM WEAPONS TO EMPTY HANDS,

USUALLY EVERY SCHOOLS NOWDAYS INCLUDE SINGLE STICK, SINAWALI (DUBLE STICK), KNIFE, PANANTUKAN (FILIPINO BOXE), OFTEN CALLED ALSO THE DIRTY BOXE FOR STREET FIGHTING,DUMOG THE ART OF THE LOCKS AND FILIPINO WRESTLING, ESPADA Y DAGA, STICK AND DAGGER OR SWORD AND DAGGER, OF COURSE WHAT YOU DO WITH THE SINGLE STICK IS JUST THE SAME DONE WITH A EDGED WEAPON LIKE A SWORD OR BOLO, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR "TOOLS" USED DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE GUERRILLA UNIT.

PRACTICING ESCRIMA CAN INCLUDE BLADES TRAINING, CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT WITH STICKS OR KNIVES, EVERYTHING TRAINED WITH SAFE

EQUIPMENT, BUT ALSO PREPARATION FOR THE COMPETITION, FROM EUROPEAN TOURNAMENTS TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, OR SPECIFIC AREAS.IT'S ALSO PART OF THE TRAINING OF SPECIAL UNIT AND ELITE CORPS AROUND THE WORLD.

ANTONINO BATTAGLIA

INSTRUCTOR

KALI-ARNIS-ESCRIMA

CLOSE COMBAT

ISAM-FIAM

Tai Chi and the "Miracle" of Empty Force (aka "Kong Jing" or "Fa Jin")

2012-10-10T12:39:00.001+01:00

A very thoughtful discussion about the Empty Force:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS4DCJgpxpo

--
Paolo Shaolin
Kung Fu Fitness club

Chinese Police Self Defence

2012-07-17T11:33:00.002+01:00

A video of the Chinese Police self defence tactics, you'll notice some strong parallels with our training style. However bear in mind that such strikes would only be used by police in the West if the suspect was highly aggressive.

Wing Chun techniques graphical

2012-07-13T20:06:00.001+01:00

This is a very handy and graphical collection of the most basic Wing Chun techniques' names:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2kcYZJPsLU

Stronger Taiji boxer

2012-06-17T23:11:00.001+01:00

This is an interesting study about who can delivery the most damage with a Taiji punch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Fc5p-cWlPmc

obviously they are all Chinese sportsman.

Wudang Taiji documentary

2012-06-17T22:57:00.001+01:00

There is a very well done documentary about the Taiji of Wudang that I highly recommend you watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJGjwo_GVj8

WuDang Five Animals Qi Gong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Up2Mnq7JSM

This is another documentary which explains every basic principle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBECfZq1Dz0

The basic lesson here is that Taiji looks "weak" to the average person because of the circular reflection but the powerful strikes that you don't notice are the one delivered with the most force.

A bridge to China - Public Talk on Dragon Boat Festival

2012-06-15T10:31:00.003+01:00

Our partners the Confucius Institute are running an event on dragon boat racing in China. This sounds very interesting and I for one will defiitely consider attending.

---

Would you like to know the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival and which day it falls on each year?

Why and when do Chinese people do dragon boat racing?

What do Chinese people wear and eat for Dragon Boat Festival?

I am sure you have tried delicious Chinese dumplings but have you heard of rice dumplings?

Please come and join us at this free talk on Dragon Boat Festival and you will find all the answers!

Speaker: Prof Lichang Su, Co-Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow

Session 1: 13:00-14.00, Wednesday 20 June 2012

Session 2: 13.00-14.00, Saturday 23 June 2012

Venue: Confucius Institute, John Mclntyre Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ

Admission: Free of Charge - first come first served!

The next two festivals are:

•Chinese Valentine Day (23 July 2012)
•Mid Autumn Festival (30 September 2012)

The Confucius Institute will deliver more talks around these dates, please check our website for date, time and venue.

Taster Chinese:

Hello: Ni Hao 你好                   Thank you: Xie Xie 谢谢             How are you: Ni Hao Ma 你好吗？

Good bye: Zai Jian 再见            You are welcome: Bu Ke Qi 不客气

I am sorry: Dui Bu Qi 对不起     It’s OK: Mei Guan Xi 没关系

Please call/email us to book your place now!

Telephone: +44 141 330 7730
Email: Confucius@glasgow.ac.uk
Website: www.gla.ac.uk/confuciusinstitute

---

A Killing Art: The untold history of tae kwon do

2012-05-29T00:39:00.001+01:00

This is an interesting book about the origins of the korean art.

It is written by a journalist so be aware that some of the factual evidence is a bit exagerated.

Anyway, the book tells how Taekwondo began in 1938 at the end of a wicked poker game in a tiny village in a remote corner of Korea. Today it is the most popular martial art on the planet practised by 50 million people; but few know its secret and violent past.

The book takes you into the lurid world of Choi Hong-hi the founder and his deadly enemy Kim Un-yong, who developed the Olympic style and became one of the most powerful, controversial men in sport.

The story follows Choi from the 1938 poker game (where he fights for his life), through high-class geisha houses (where the art is named); then into the Vietnam War where Taekwondo evolved into a killing art.

And finally how it became the martial art for the twenty-first century an art of: merciless techniques, indomitable men and justice pumped-up on steroids.

So don't get fooled by this apparently harmless hyeong (the quivalent of japanese "kata" or chinese "taolu"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHkN0_aH4vs

Remember that also compared to Shaolin Kung Fu this is a recent martial art and so is relatively green in comparison with other more ancient styles.

--
Paolo Shaolin
Kung Fu Fitness club

Film night - 26th May

2012-05-19T21:46:00.000+01:00

Hey all,
Thought we should mix it up and try a film night out rather than in.

http://www.stereocafebar.com/index.php?m=event2&c=view&id=196269:206690

"The Old Hairdressers in Renfield Lane is once again to be transformed into a grindhouse.

For this occasion we bring you a Fight and a Fright.Start your evening by watching Kung Fu legend Judy Lee (who also starred alongside Sonny Chiba in the Bodyguard) demurely kick seven shades of shit out of the bad guys in the 1976 Taiwanese film Assassin directed by Tu Chong Hsun and screened from a 16mm print.

Absurd (aka Horrible, aka Rosso Sangue) is directed by Joe D'Amato (credited here under the alias of Peter Newton) master of sleaze, exploitation and horror who is best known for his contribution to the Black Emanuelle series especially Emanuelle in America and Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals. He also directed notorious sickie Beyond the Darkness and also made a foray into historical drama with his Caligula movies. Absurd is the 1981 follow up to one of the most notorious video nasties Anthropophagus the Beast which sees Big George Eastman (who also penned this) return in the lead role for another blood soaked slice of violent and sadistic Euro horror.

There will trailers and a short screened throughout the evening so grab some cans and popcorn from our concession stand and enter the world of Strange Vice."

It's 7pm and tickets are £5, dunno about the popularity of these events but book early to avoid dissapointment.

---
Joel

Ba Ji Quan and Tan Tui

2012-05-12T15:44:00.001+01:00

Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its explosive power. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well known in other places today, especially Taiwan. Its full name is kai men baji quan (開門八極拳), which means "open-gate eight-extremities fist".
The major features of baji include elbow strikes, arm/fist punches, hip checks, and strikes with the shoulder. All techniques are executed with a short power, developed through training; among Chinese martial artists, baji is famous for its fast movements. Baji focuses on in-fighting, entering from a longer range with a distinctive charging step (zhen jiao).
The essence of baji quan lies in jin, or power-issuing methods, particularly fa jing (explosive power). The style contains six types of jin, eight different ways to hit and several principles of power usage. Most of baji quan's moves utilize a one-hit push-strike method from very close range. The bulk of the damage is dealt through the momentary acceleration that travels up from the waist to the limb and further magnified by the charging step known as zhen jiao.
There is a very interesting tutorial here to begin with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=v0UE2WHD8Vg
And some basic applications here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2tZ-FQmvLg&feature=g-vrec
I suggest a novice martial artist to begin with Tan Tui exercises before practicing the Ba Ji Quan method that can cause mild injuries especially if you don't have developed muscular power on your hips and also joint strength specifically on your ankles and shoulder.
A full Tan Tui exercies is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtAM9DCwPqo
The exercise is meant to balance the symmetry in your body by core movements both on left right upper and lower body.
It was developed inside the Norther Shaolin temple and is a basis for other styles inlcuding the Praying Mantis.
At first blush Tan Tui seems callously unimpressive. The moves are repetitious, stretched out, almost mechanical and performed up and back as though on a track; each segment is termed a "road." The original style was subdivided into ten such roads. Later, a southern version was introduced that split some of the harder roads into more digestible bites and expanded the set to 12 roads. Tan Tui was codified as one of the first universal kung-fu sets and therefore can claim a part as forerunner of contemporary wushu's standardized forms.

In true northern kung-fu long fist fashion, Tan Tui encourages the student to find his maximum range of motion before tightening and shortening up. Tan Tui disallows the beginner's tendency of bent limbs and tensed muscles to create power. It lives up to its name of long fist by making the student think in a new way, in a sense reprogramming his ideas of power generation and range of motion.

Tan Tui is said to have been created in the Ming dynasty by ChaShagmir (a distinctly Moslem name even in Chinese). Chamir, as he was called, was among those who went to the coast to protect the shores of China against raids by Japanese pirates. However, on this long journey he became sick from the harsh weather conditions. He was left to recuperate in a mountain village in GuanXian County. His hosts in this small village were so kind to him that when he recovered that autumn and watched them practice their kung-fu after harvest he decided to teach them the art he had devised. They were grateful and his art spread far and wide from this origin. People took the first syllable of his name "Cha" and thus the style known as "Cha Chuan" - Cha Fist, was born. Originally its basis, the Tan Tui set, was composed of 28 routines – one for each letter of the Arabic alphabet. Eventually everything was compiled into the ten road spring leg which remains with us today.
Certainly nobody would have known that Muslim had contributed to the syllabus of the Chinese kung fu!
--
Paolo Shaolin
Kung Fu Fitness club

Emin Boztepe on Knife Defence

2012-05-09T15:56:00.001+01:00

This is an interesting strategy for knife defense:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxk7dGY8KQ

he relies more on reflexes for counterattacking than on traditional block and control knife techniques. However to be fully secure you must really be fast. One good tip is to hit the bony parts, that really hurts!

--
Paolo Di Prodi

Chief Instructor

Taiji in MMA Application

2012-04-23T12:41:00.000+01:00

Very interesting video and philosophy, it shows the right attitude to martial arts from teacher to student.

Taiji applied to hand grappling

Taiji and sticky ands introduction

Speed vs Accuracy

2012-04-03T18:56:00.001+01:00

The speed-accuracy trade off has been widely studied for almost a century. It is an important subject to address when teaching new skills and sport-related abilities. Although its definitions and studies have been widely studied, not many research articles can be found about sport-specific skills. Generally, the focus of studies is on laboratory investigations. Real-world sport skills involve more than simple tasks such as finger tapping or wrist rotation; it involves complex motor programs as well. Tasks where you use force as one of the variables, which is the case of our study, are not reached in laboratory experiments.

According to Belkin and Eliot, “emphasis on power rather than on accuracy would contribute to the most optimal production” of specific sports-related skills. Their literature review displayed a study case when tennis players were asked to receive a serve. It was found that “timing accuracy increased as serve velocity increased”. It does not follow the results of most of the experiments on the speed-accuracy trade off area. Speed-accuracy is a very interesting subject when performance takes place. A trade off was found in a study conducted by Gross and Gill. Speed was reduced when the focus was on accuracy and accuracy was reduced when speed was emphasized. When speed and accuracy were both stressed as important in the experiment, accuracy did not improve when speed decreased.

Fitts’ Law states that there is a proportional relationship between movement time and accuracy. It means that as speed increases, accuracy decreases proportionally. This has not been proved right or wrong yet but a question arises from this statement.

Is the speed-accuracy trade off a strict linear relationship? Fitts’ Law established a formal relationship with the time necessary to successful perform a task.

Belkin and Eliot found that increasing speed resulted in a slight increase in accuracy, but nothing relevant. In that case, the trade off was not found. The slight difference does not agree with the strict linear relationship laboratory studies proved so far. In addition, they found that when dealing with speed-accuracy issues, it is advisable to focus on speed and then adapt to accuracy than focus on accuracy and try to adapt to speed afterwards.

A study conducted by Smyrnis, Evdokimidis, Constantinidis and Kastrinakis, found as a result that when the target size is reduced, the participant takes more time to actually move when visual feedback is not provided. It agreed with Fitts’ Law with the aspect that when target size and distance are increased the total movement time is increased as well.

Cartman, Chua, Goodman and Byblow devised an experiment which tested if pre-cues influenced action preparation, affected reaction time and spatial accuracy. The study found that prior information does affect performance and action preparation. When knowing the “exact spatial position of the target in advance of the stimulus presentation” participants could do a part of the movement preparation in advance, this saves participants’ time after the “start” stimulus allowing them to only think about how to perform as accurately as possible. Reaction time decreases when task requires maximal speed movement but it does not change when maximal speed is not required. It follows a pattern of execution that is automated, so it does not change if optimal performance is not required.

See this book for more details

Unfortunately there are no studies applying Fitt's law to sport such as boxing, muay thai or any general combat sport.

The task is essentially identical to the other sports, aiming and executing, the problem is that you need to scan from several points, choose one and then go for it.

It all boils down to a simple rule: if you need to aim for a specific point -say a pressure point- which is usually very small that will take a longer execution time compared to a wider area -say torso- for which accuracy is not required.

There's also another element involved in the task which introduces a further delay perhaps constant:

the motion estimation -known as optical flow- which gives an estimate of the overall direction of your opponent's body.

A good training routine should develop the several elements in an isolated way and also a combined approach:

accuracy vs speed: the candle exercise is an example of a very small static target that needs to be reached with max speed in a short amount of time to blow out the flame
accuracy vs speed: starting from a bigger target, reduce the size but keeping the same velocity: using a big and a small pad alternatively and giving a "tempo" to the opponent
motion estimation: one partner in a static position hides the pad and chooses a random position each time to be hit
motion estimation: one partner does the same exercise but moves in a random pattern in 360 directions
reflex improvement: one partner gives a target for a very short time or attacks with a different technique

Similar approaches can be applied to non visual stimuli:

tactile: suppress visual cues via a bandage, suppress audio cues with noise or a pair of headsets
audio: provide only a vocal cue
etc..

If you don't have good reaction times, a good technique and power can waste your preparation and thus it is important to develop it.

It is usually not included directly in martial art systems as it is implicitly included in the fighting form, unfortunately most of the exercises are taught empirically and very rarely written on paper.

It should also evolve with Science, we know much more about the brain today rather than 100 years ago and thus it is good to integrate scientific concepts in the system.

You could also develop your own system to improve your reflexes, for example Bruce Lee used to practice his reaction times in front of a TV everytime there was a change in the scene.

I will try to do more exercises on this line, because their importance is underestimated.

Paolo

Hand Conditioning

2012-03-30T16:51:00.002+01:00

Hand and palm conditioning

Shuei Jao Escapes and Wu Dang

2012-03-30T16:12:00.001+01:00

Very intersting escapes from elbow locks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m86QhcK5psw&feature=related

you can see how flexibility plays an important role.

Wu Dang staff Taiji Form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vldcZl2-Gw&feature=related

Wu Dang sword fight form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhSTvOB--ZI&feature=related

Wing Chun

2012-03-30T16:10:00.001+01:00

This is a very nice video tutorial made by master Lawrence Tan:

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

This is Ip Chun interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6oPgV0tJrM

the son of grand master Yip Man (the one who originally thought Bruce Lee).

Nice Yip Man son (in his 84's) performing a fight scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jod2TyUOnXs&feature=related

As anything there is a debate whether he was marginally involved in keeping his father's style as he didn't spend so much time to learn it, only when his father was close to die.

Just a bit of gossip.

This is a nice explanation of the 4 principles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHd5UHiKvWY

Chi Sao and Taiji relationship:

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

There is also an interesting take in Hero:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf09twdQU-c

where the Feng Sheng (spiritual fight) is shown (see after 4.19 mins).

It is said that the mastery of kung fu develops a sort of third sense: even before the fight the brain predicts
the outcome of the combat. Essentially what happens in terms of cognition is that you evaluate your opponent in relation to your ability and guess what is the most probable outcome, in a similar way how chess players decide their next move.

This kind of skill - if we can call it that - can only develop with training and possibly real life situations. It is mostly sub-conscious control which allows fast reaction times rather than conscious prediction.

Shaolin Grading

2012-03-30T16:04:00.001+01:00

The first Shaolin grade:

warm up technique (8 movements)
"4 road" stepping form, the one we did recently
first and second basic shaolin form (this is new)
chin'na (first 4 techniques)
t'ui fa kicks (first six kicks)
hung gar (first form until we did)
combat form (entire first form this is almost finished)
chi kung basic 4 techniques

Optionals:

nunchuck (ehr jie gun)
first kick form
first 4 fall techniques

Revised initial assessment

Warm up exercise 8 movements

(7 of which are contained in this video, up to 1:10 the last one is feet shoulder width apart, arms forming a square above the head by touching the elbows with the arms, then lean down, keeping a straight back, and bend knees crouch and stand up leaning back slightly)

Shaolin basic form
Tui Na (kicks) 4 types
Chin' Na (joint locks) 4 types

You will get more points if you remember:

Hung Gar form first and second block
Chi Kung entire exercise

Remember when you execute a form keep mind definition and power. Imagine somebody taking pictures for every movement.

Chi Kung Form

2012-03-30T16:03:00.001+01:00

This video is quite good because it shows clearly the 3 types of breathing used in hung gar:

closed mouth inspiration expiration
open mouth thoracic expiration
open mouth diaphragmatic expiration
combination of them

This is another family variation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee_BVaM85m8

It has been shown that doing dynamic training with the brass rings or any static weight, does not improve the force-velocity performance of athletes in any sport. This is because any weight only produces a force equal to the earth gravity and thus is only beneficial for weight lifting applications.

The second issue is that connective tissue gets damaged progressively and only is registered by the organism when it is too late, this also takes more time to recovery. Nevertheless the hung gar rings are nice to see but shouldn't be a common practice.

This is the Lam Chu Fai family style of Hung Gar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XF9mzwbh40&feature=related

also known as the butcherer style because essentially Lan Chu Fai was a butcher himself and legends says he was able to carry the pig meat entirely with his upper arms which were known for their ability to break anything.

Hung Gar Form

2012-03-30T15:39:00.000+01:00

We practice the Chu Chi Ling form.

Full form video:

Set of tutorials:

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZyBOswMX1A

I have to say that some other hung gar schools have criticized Chu Chi Ling style but that is typical in kung fu.The truth is that it is a simplified form with effective applications.

There is another popular style maintained by Lam Chun Fai:

http://www.hunggar.it/it/lam_chun.htm

which has a deeper lineage of knowledge

You can see some videos here:

http://www.hunggar.it/it/video_gallery.htm

I was planning to do a workshop with one of the teachers next year, once we have learned enough hung gar.

Don't be tricked by the apparently slow speed of learning the form, the actual speed looks more like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP-acRbxwpc

The problem is you can damage your body if you do it quickly, most of the exercises are non isometric movements. But once you get the form correctly you can speed up.

This is a good video about the application of the Hung Gar Tiger crane form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu29xqjzmJM

And Tiger Crane choreographic fight:

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

Knife Defence & Wrist Grab Releases - Class Discussion

2012-03-20T02:27:00.002+00:00

Following on from class today here is the video I mentioned dealing with knife defence:

And here is the very simple wrist grab release.

1:03 of this next video is the full nelson hold and a somewhat creative way of getting out of it.

Train hard, Joel

Free martial arts movies on YouTube

2012-03-11T23:42:00.001+00:00

In your downtime why not pretend to be studying by watching a few movies :)

http://www.youtube.com/movie/kung-fu-hustle

Documentary about Bruce Lee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdYwerv0NE&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1

Cynthia Rothrock:

http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=1YFWdKZyqYo&feature=mv_sr (Rage and Honor)
http://www.youtube.com/movie/rage_and_honor_ii

Jackie Chan:

http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=a1YT3uoMhRg (Wheels on Meals)
http://www.youtube.com/movie/36-crazy-fists
http://www.youtube.com/movie/hands-of-death
http://www.youtube.com/movie/the-eagles-killer
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=3w61EMr8P0c (Fantasy Mission Force)
http://www.youtube.com/movie/ten-fingers-of-death

Not really martial arts but Hulk Hogan!

http://www.youtube.com/movie/3-ninjas-high-noon-at-mega-mountain

Bolo Yeung:

http://www.youtube.com/movie/blood-fight-final-fight
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=BGmXkE9iXjg&feature=mv_sr (Bolo the Brute)

Jean Claude van Damme:

http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=_W0YgNWCL0U&feature=mv_sr (Streetfighter)

Apologies that you can't click on the links, it seems blogger isn't smart enough to insert a link automatically. It's a test of your iron finger skills.

Chi Peng Ch'uan Fa

2012-03-11T23:21:00.001+00:00

There are 5 type of basic punches in Shaolin:

Cheng Ch'huan: straight horizontal punch
Li Ch'huan: vertical front punch
Yang Ch'huan: uppercut punch
Peng Ch'huan: reversed punch (hit with the knuckles)
Tsai Ch'huan: vertical low punch 45 degree down

Chi Pen Pu Fa

2012-03-11T23:15:00.000+00:00

The leg stances are very important, as master Chang used to say "legs are the roots of the tree", if you don't have a solid balance you can have the strongest boxing skills but will easily be put off by an opponent.

Here is the list for reference:

Ma Pu: horse stance, front vertical body alignment like riding a horse, body weight is 50-50 ratio
Pan Ma Pu: half horse stance, one foot is 90 and the other foot is 45 degree, body weight is 60-40
San Chi Pu: feet are 90 orthogonal, body weight is 70-30 ratio
Kung Chien Pu: side stance with feet on the same line body is 80-20
Kung Chien Pu Yao Pu: side stance with front hips, the archer throws the arrow
Tsuo Pu: the monkey steals the peach
Pu Tui: the snake on the grass
Tu Li: crane stance, one leg holds the weight and the other blocks an attack
Tin Pu: cat stance, feet are 90-45 and the body weight is only on the back leg

Every sequence should be performed first left and then right, symmetrically.

It's good to keep the stances for a long period to improve your posture and strength.

Taiji Posture Correction

2012-03-11T16:06:00.000+00:00

There are some good videos I found which also contains some good drawings to describe the posture of the different stances.

Here is an example of taiji movements with an iron ball