The Wu in Wushu, Part II

Again these are notes from a discussion with my Uncle and is meant to answer many of the questions students have asked me.  In regards to practicing Taiji, Bagua, or Wushu....as we said previously....you must practice basics in order to improve....not the form.  Practice it how?  He pointed out you must practice the technique accurately, generate the power with the entire body, and know it's application.  Many of my students have often said well I don't like violence, or I don't want to fight I am here to improve my health....................my Uncle's reply to this was that then you don't really understand what Wushu is.  First Wushu's purpose is to improve your health,develop your coordination, and increase your own physical potential.........fighting ability is a by product of this practice, but cannot be ignored.  The last part is also a big point of contention between those practicing traditional Kung-fu and contemporary Wushu.  But to do Wushu properly, you must be able to copy the movement accurately........and not just approximately.......or as some people tell me, I will work on the stances later,right now I just want to learn the form...............no can do!  If you can't use it or generate the power how can it help you improve your health? Further, if you are not accurate....how will it improve your coordination........to that end each individual move must be practiced over and over again.......at least l000 times for most normal mortals......that does not convey mastery.......that can only come when you can apply it with both hands at will....and do so with full body power.  Forms have become the focus of Wushu nowadays........but originally there were no forms just techniques.......and so to be good at wushu that is all you practice.......modern forms were used to catalog movements available to you in a particular system or style.  So to improve your technique each individual move must be practiced and understood.........so if you get to class and can't remember the move you are not practicing properly and will not make any progress. Further, you should be able to start anywhere in the form and complete it.  Some students  have asked me about doing the form on the otherside...........if you have time, a good practice.......in Bagua there is no choice...you must be able to do it on both sides..........in Taiji and other styles.....you can get away with practicing each move individually with both hands. My Uncle also pointed out that traditional Martial Arts training was practiced sequentially and that you could not skip steps because then you would miss an important skill......each form has a particular key to show you how to use it.......you must find that if you are to truly master it's use. 

that's why you cannot pick what form to learn, the master knows what steps you must take to develop your abilities......it is not about collecting forms.  And you cannot determine when you think you have mastered the technique....unless you meet the standard set by the style can you really master the form.  One of the favorite replies to practicing Snake Creeps Down......is that I am too old or too stiff to do it................yes if you don't put any Kung -fu into it you will never be able to do it....................to this my Uncle laughed.....right ,sifu has two arms and legs and so do you....no reason why you can't do it......it's a question of: are you willing to endure the pain and spend the time doing it..........that's the spirit of Wushu.....if you learn this he said it would bode well for your daily life...............nothing is beyond your reach, just a matter of hard work and sacrifice.  My Uncle also said that a student should not think that they can master every form....you should in fact concentrate on one or two forms...................and then just try to remember the others........no one can have the energy and time to practice every set perfectly.  In Bagua that means...Dingshi Bazhang, Laubazhang.....64 Palms, and Swimming Dragon......if you know these well the rest of the forms are based on these........in Chen Taiji, it's 24 Chen and 32 or 38 Chen......again these forms contain most of the moves in the advance forms......For Modern wushu...it has to be Chang Chuan 6, and Cha Quan 4........then at least one set of the compulsory competition forms.......for Shaolin.........Tan Tui, Shaolin 6,8,5...............for Tibetan white Crane.......Six Power Form, and In and Out Fist.....etc.  Now keep in mind these are the forms but you still need to figure out how to generate the power......in Taiji I mentioned Peng power.........which means to go foward I must first go backwards.....left to go right and right to go left...up to go down......open to close and close to open..........the punch goes foward but the body must bow backwards in order for the power to go foward......it must literally explode outwards....the body acts like a bow and launches the movement.........to do that you must learn to relax the entire body......and be able to move it like a dragon......the entire body ripples as the power goes outwards......and you must be rooted to the ground in order to transfer this power from the ground......so your stance must be solid and cannot move.......this is true whether you are doing Chang Quan or Taiji or Bagua.

Ok, starting to get sleepy..........I have already typed this twice.......first time the server timed out and I lost the blog.....pooh!!  I am still not having the greatest fun with the tech.......haven't been able to blog for awhile because my brand new Vista PC can't get online.........don't know why or how to fix..........it's maybe having compatibility issues with firefox....but who knows.....so I have had to go back to my slow XP PC.......................next time I getting a MAC....boo to PC!  Ah well, nite all!  Peace and Practice!!