It started with a video


You know- I don't want to start trouble- especially not with my post about respecting other styles, but I have found that my time being absorbed in Karate has made my kicks feel all stiff and without power.

Really- no offence meant against Karate. I just like my techniques to feel a certain way just as I love the smell of ginger and something else I cannot yet name in a Chinese kitchen.

Few things in the world feel as satisfying to me as a Chinese Kung Fu workout. So- I have started to focus on the Kungfu component of Wenshiuquan. To explain briefly what the Kungfu component of my style entails might reveal that it is actually a most crucial component as it concerns the generation of speed and power.

It is really funny that I have been able to grade all the way to 1st Kyu Brown in Karate, but had never really been able to punch powerfully. My kicks had stopping power, but that was only because legs are inherently strong limbs.

The moment I have learnt developing the explosive force of Kung Fu punches and kicks, though, things have gotten really interesting... 

For one thing- My punching bag's spring base broke after one kick too many...

I have found my punches can actually do damage (to the point where it has become easier to hurt people and harder to control as opposed to earlier when I could not hurt anyone and had a hard time at kumite because of it. Trust me- kumite is a lot more fun if your partner is at least a bit wary of you.).

So- in short- Kungfu works for me.

So- I have spent a couple of mornings revisiting the basics when I saw this video on Youtube:  


David Torok's Butterfly Kick

https://youtu.be/gzOUV1av3ok


Hey! I realised. I have never learnt this kick before! So- I decided to start learning it. Well- my attempts as they are at the moment are not worth posting here, but- having forced my hips to twist a bit sharper than usual did give me the ability to do two kicks- actually sweeps- that I have not done in a long time: 

Jade Xu's Front Sweep

https://youtu.be/Cg3WwHU9uBc


Jade Xu's Back Sweep
https://youtu.be/K9DEsdLNzKs


These two videos are excellent tutorials and these techniques have proven much easier for me to learn than the butterfly kick.

Still- I practice it regularly now, because- even though I can't quite manage to do THAT kick just yet, I got this one back in the meantime:



I guess staying in a comfort zone can eventually rob you of techniques that you have learnt and abilities that you have developed. The only way to maintain these is to keep pushing further. 

So- let's all kick things up a notch!

Stay well and train hard, everyone! 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tai Chi Movement #3- Wave Hands like Clouds

Image
I have just started searching for examples of this movement on the internet and realised that among all the people doing Tai Chi out there I might just be the only one who would apply Cloud Hands the way I do. I have found different variations of the movement itself as well. This makes my writing about my version and its application a bit unfair as you will be missing out on some really elaborate applications. Now- how I always did this movement is starting from a posture like the Lute Playing posture like the picture below- or the Spread Wings posture like this: From either one of these ready postures I then rotate my front foot and let my body follow while my leading hand makes contact with an imaginary thrust and I then complete the rotation by passing the attack while I guide its force past me with minimal effort and my free hand follows the blocking hand to wind up for an outward strike. When the rotation and step is complete I shift weight
Read more

Blindfold training

Image
Now here's something I have not yet written about. :D I have been interested in the Zen side of Japanese martial arts since the age of 16. It was about at this age when I began with Qigong as well. As a young karateka back then I did not have the confidence, strength or aggression of my classmates and looking back- I think it was a good thing. Because of that classes scared me. Now- had it not been to exposure to the mental training techniques provided to me by Zen- I would not have seen this hostile dojo environment as the ideal testing grounds for the things I have read. This is one major factor to which I attribute my development as a martial artist. One very important training tool that has always served me well and that continues to do so to this dat is Zen Meditation. This, in itself, has provided me with a number of benefits about which I can write in detail. One of those- was the development of intuition and sensory acuity. It is actually wonderfu
Read more

The Reverse Crescent Kick in Taijiquan

Image
Hi, blog readers. As suggested by Travelling Lakan in our Martial Arts Forums group on G+ I write this weekend's post about the reverse crescent kick as we find it in Taijiquan. I admit that I have not seen a spinning version of this kick in Tai Chi forms, but using the principles of Taiji technique I have constructed a spinning kick for us to use in this discussion. I was not able to get examples from the internet of this particular kick off the internet, so I made videos under the strict supervision of Master Patrys. She supervises all of my Saturday workouts and makes sure that I do not slack off when training. :D I have not seen this kick in Shotokan before. To give you an idea of what a reverse crescent kick is I can use Ryu from the Street Fighter game series as an example. Ryu has a special attack called the "Tatsu Maki Senpuu Kyaku". I have yet to ask my Japanese friends for an accurate translation, but we gamers got to know it as the "Hurrica
Read more