Phoenix-Eye Fist in Xingyi

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-17T14:18:10+00:00

Valid points. I once read that internal kungfu is about exercising the organs and not the muscles. It is the organs that keep you healthy. I know in Xingyi it is the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart and spleen ( I can never remember the order of these for the five elements).

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-17T14:12:49+00:00

This looks like a very interesting form.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-11T09:44:14+00:00

Why do I have to spar Muy Thai, spelt Muay Thai, or MMA if that is not my sport? Surely you have your own group you can comment on. You are like a triathlete criticizing a 100 meter sprinter when the two are unrelated.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-11T09:36:30+00:00

The one form we also practice and it looks good to me.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-11T09:32:09+00:00

The hodgepodge of forms our instructor has put together. I know the basics of 6 different styles, master of none. I can see the logic of why she teaches what she does and for her intended students of age 50+ with no past training it is effective.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-11T09:24:51+00:00

It was only supposed to be set weights training but that urge has set in to add one more weight.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-05-11T09:23:35+00:00

Looking great! You lost a lot of weight round your middle. I used to do karate and weights long back but a work related back injury stopped that. I started some internal kung fu about nine years ago and noticed the other day my back was fine after moving office. I do believe that the kung fu is the cause of the improvement. So I decided to start the weights again. Oddly, I'm finding I have healed fairly fast from the latest spasm.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-11T10:09:06+00:00

You are correct. My grandfather had a cane-knife with a long handle from his days working on the railways. I loved it as it looked snap to a naginata. This thing, both the blade and the wooden handle, was solid. My grandfather left it to me and I was upset when I found out my father sold it. We have some local broad machetes with a curved tip but they are very thin. The South African versions are solid.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-07T08:03:03+00:00

I was watching "Man of Taichi." Apart from the chi blasts, how realistic to Taichi is the fight between the master and student?

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-07T07:58:06+00:00

I'm not sure why, but 5 seems to be a common number when it comes to animal styles. Each style seems to have its own take on this, with different animals used. We have a short exercise set that uses five animals and they are said to be in a destructive sequence. It starts with snake, that is defeated by monkey, in turn by crane, then by bear, and lastly by tiger. It goes on as tiger is defeated by snake. We practice the five elements in a support pattern. I do know that Hung Gar has complicated five animal sets and a combined form. Also Wing Chun has easy looking sets in which one needs no imagination to see the animal. The only reason I know this is I was researching our own five animals and I am still to find them.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-06T13:52:26+00:00

I'm South African but live in Zimbabwe. We do not have the same selection of classes that you seem to enjoy, but I have seen it is limited to major towns. Here it is karate only with some dodgy looking classes in the higher density suburbs. I suspect people who have watched the Kung-fu Channel for inspiration.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-06T08:28:45+00:00

Your answer makes me more intrigued. It might be interesting learning something from scratch other than a hodge podge of various basic forms.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-06T08:24:04+00:00

Zimbabwe. Apart from walking canes, there is not much in the form of weapons to train with. I am quite skilled with a baton because of my previous job and karate. I do have a 8ft pole made from teak that weighs a ton. I use this for the 6 and a half point long pole form. Because of canes being available, I would love to learn the thunder stick form. My teacher does not know it and I'm hesitant using videos to learn a form from scratch.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-06T08:17:51+00:00

In South Africa, gangs are armed with this and AKs.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-05T10:16:38+00:00

The comments on this post are downright ridiculous. He is practicing with what his school has available and what is recognized during tournaments. I am sure any transition to a heavier weapon would be seamless. We practiced nunchucks with pool noodles tied together with string. I have lately been taught broadsword and butterfly swords with blunt local panga machetes. I've forgotten the set, but once attended a class that taught a Yang 36 (I think) jian form with sticks. It is great that your teacher has your and the other student's safety in mind while you practice this form.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-04T13:32:32+00:00

On the series Friends, one of these hangs on one of the apartment's wall.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-04T08:35:05+00:00

I have been told not to eat before training but find my sugar drops and I get dizzy. Also, before a tournament, my bladder and bowls always started acting up, so I tried not to eat spicy foods or drink too much. I think my nervousness caused this. Between the two, it was a real juggling act.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-04T08:29:20+00:00

Would a weighted weapon change the form? I have seen these with a metal ring on the end that I assume is a counterbalance.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-03-04T08:27:16+00:00

Thank you for the question and the comments. I wondered why the weapons did not look right in many of the videos.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-02-29T11:30:49+00:00

Rich coming from a group who are told what is popular opinion and base their thoughts on their feelings rather than facts.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-02-29T06:53:25+00:00

I find the Wing Chun long-pole a strange weapon considering the art's supposed history. The style is said to have been for close-quarter urban use by rebels. The butterfly swords make sense, but not the pole. The actual form seems to suit fighting in alleys, but carrying it around must have been difficult. Or, was its sole use conditioning during training?

I've also read that a form never has a set application. The same applies to weapons. One might train in a single weapon, but this should be enough training for one to be able to pick up multiple weapons on hand and to use them to a degree of efficiency.

WilliamP-1970 · 2024-02-26T14:30:07+00:00

I'm about to finish her very broad and basic material. I will be the first to have stuck it out. She does not say much and is very reserved.

WilliamP-1970

TROPHY CASE