Summer Kung Fu Self-Defense Intensive: 27 July 2008
Montreal, Canada
Day 14
Summary
In today’s class, we continued to solidify the basis we have been building upon since the beginning of the course. Day 14 marks our passing from the building phase of your skill sets to working on muscle memory and refinement. Most of the self-defense techniques you have learned have been fixed - meaning that you did not move very far from one location; I purposely made it so so that you can focus on the new body movements without having to incorporate moving around too much. I think that most of you are comfortable with what you have thus far and as such, I introduced advancing and retreating in Horse stance, and moving in Horse Stance incorporating punches and the Bow Stance.
Body Conditioning
Standing Postures One, Two, Three
Stances: All stances and the Twisted Stance
Advance and Retreat in Horse Stance
Advancing
Advancing in Horse Stance requires that you move forward without raising - meaning that you should advance while maintaining a steady height. Maintaining a steady height adds to the “stalking” effect of your approach while preventing any unexpected advances by your opponent from catching you out of position to counter or alter your attack. Remember to be a linear as possible with your steps.
Retreating
As with advancing, retreating in Horse Stance should be done without raising. If an opponent is advancing to you and you move up before or while moving back, you allow them to close the gap much easier than if you moved straight back. In many cases I actually drop lower in my stance so as to add the momentum of dropping to my move back (and altering my target profile in the process). You must remember to keep focused on your opponent while taking less than a second to glance in the direction towards which you are retreating (running into unexpected objects is not pleasant). Also, you should consider retreating in a liner fashion but not in a straight line. Confusing? Well, move back just off the center line; here, moving away at 45 degree angles or less constitutes moving back while moving back at more than a 45 degree angle is better described as “stepping aside.” Test it out and you will see what I mean.
Self-Defense Practice - Practicum
While practicing the advancing and retreating we threw various punch combinations. When practicing on your own do both - punch and kick combinations, and just moving.
Basic Series One
This requires much more attention on your (collective) part. I think I made myself clear in class and do not need to elabourate further.
Punching
We did get a chance to practice Back Fist with a partner who provided targets at different heights. If there are any questions/observations you would like to share, please feel free.
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Items Not Undertaken
The following items were not looked at in the self-defense class.
Punching
Water Punch
Side Straight Punch and Outward Crescent Kick
Circle Punch from Cat Stance
Kicks
Inward Crescent
Focused Practice: Self-Defense from front kick
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Keep working hard.
Troy Marquis, BA, Sifu
Tai-Mar Kung Fu Self-Defense - Autodefense
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sifu’s Video Picks - a visual learning aid for your martial imagination
Montreal, Canada
Today I just added a new section to the site entitled: Sifu’s Video Pick. I will be choosing video clips that I think demonstrate aspects of Kung Fu and or self-defense that I think you would benefit from studying. Your self-defense classes are a realism that must be supported by visual learning aids in the form of Kung Fu and/or self-defense videos. A great deal of your martial arts development will come from your imagination and how you internalize the techniques you learn as well as the potential applications of those techniques.
At this point I do not intend to comment on the clips, but I encourage and would be happy to participate in any discussions or answer any questions you may have about any of them.
Enjoy the show.
Troy Marquis, BA, Sifu
Tai-Mar Kung Fu Self-Defense - Autodefense
Montreal, Canada
Summer Kung Fu Self-Defense Intensive: 26 July 2008
Montreal, Canada
Find Out How To Join the Self-Defense Class
Day 13
Summary
The focus of this class was to reify the body condition and stance training learned thus far, to introduce Twisted Stance into your stance training routine, and to work on basic punches and punching combinations. Although the I scheduled much more material for this training day, the way the class evolved, I found it more fruitful to focus on the practical application session thereby foregoing the other elements planned.
Body Conditioning
For body conditioning, we began with Standing Postures One, Two, Three and then we reviewed all the basic stances. Insofar as the basic stances are concerned, there has been a noticeable improvement in they way you are performing them and the “crispness” of their execution. Just pay more attention to the foot positioning for the Bow Stance (45 degrees - parallel) and remember to adjust the lead foot to accommodate the Cat Stance.
Twisted Stance
In the stance training routine, the Twisted Stance follows the Crane Stance but it need not always be so. The Twisted Stance is one of the most versatile stances and it is a main ingredient in many advancing/retreating movements. A good example of the Twisted Stance is in the Self-Defense Coach logo on the login page. The standard weight distribution for a static Twisted Stance is approximately 50/50 for each foot; hence, your body is positioned about centre. However in practice, your weight distribution and body position will depend on what you were doing before the Twisted Stance and what you plan to do after it.
Examples
If you are retreating from an opponent, you weight might be more on the foot furthest from you opponent given that you were in rapid motion in that direction. If you are advancing towards an opponent, your weight passes along a continuum - from where you were to where you are headed - and your weight might rest on the foot closest to your opponent; then there is the question of which direction you are looking and which direction your shoulders are facing in relation to your opponent. The combinations are not endless but they are many. I demonstrated this a bit in class and there were not questions. If you have any questions now, please do not hesitate to ask.
Chair Training
We will be doing this exercise for the remainder of our intensive. The benefits of this training are immense and I encourage you to do it at home at least once every two days. Set goals that are realistic, i.e. 30 seconds each set, and then try to increase your time and form from there.
Punching
There is not much more to be said about your punches. You need to take care not to lock your elbows and to concentrate on hitting with the correct part of your fist.
Combinations
The combination we looked at was a Back Fist, Long Fist, elbow smash series. Each of these movements flows naturally from one to the other so the tendency to become complacent and just fling your fists is ever present - and must be resisted. The difference between static practice and the self-defense practice - practicum revealed the problems inherent in striking a person several times. If the Back Fist is aimed at your opponents head, their head will move back thereby making a Long Fist strike to that same spot, difficult. Hence the Long Fist must have another target which is usually the opponents body core. If you strike the upper part of your opponents body, you will encourage their movement away from you which renders the elbow smash useless. Hence the ideal strike point for the Long Fist is below the sternum (or in the stomach) which will bend your opponent towards you and place their head in a better position for the elbow smash. Of course none of this is guaranteed because fighting is not a hermetic, pre-planned experience where a compliant opponent working to make your martial art expression look good. Be prepared for the variables.
Elbow Smash
In this instance of the elbow smash, the power comes from the rotation of your hips so do not look to your arm for assistance. Essentially, your arm is a “dead limb” brought to life by the rotation of your body. This is not a complex move so not much needs to be said - however - to make it hit your opponent requires practice - so practice.
Finally, you should add an element of personal disgust/indignation to your strike thereby adding the right hint of glazing to your move. Remember, what you feel is often reflected in your self-defense so control is key. I explained and demonstrated the move and the emotion in class so this concept should be somewhat clear to you.
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Items Not Undertaken
The following items were not looked at in the self-defense class.
New Punch
Water Punch
Focused practice: Water Fist
Blocking
All blocks learned
Partner training
Kicks
Front Kick
Inward Crescent Kick
Self-Defense Practice - Practicum
Self-Defense from front kick
_______________________________________________
Keep working hard.
Troy Marquis, BA, Sifu
Tai-Mar Kung Fu Self-Defense - Autodefense
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Click Here To Find Out How To Join the Self-Defense Class
Self Defense - Autodefense Training Location: 27 July 2008
Title: Self Defense - Autodefense Training Location: 27 July 2008
Location: Angrignon Park, Montreal
Description: Self-defense training will be held at our usual location. Please do not be late. Consult the [Day 14 Self-Defense Training Agenda] for what material we will cover during class.
Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2008-07-27
End Time: 10:30
Summer Kung Fu Self-Defense Intensive: Day 14 Training Agenda
Montreal, Canada
Find Out How To Join the Self-Defense Class
Kung Fu Self-Defense - Autodefense Training Agenda for Day 14 (27 July 2008)
The following is a tentative outline for the topic to be covered for this day:
Body Conditioning
Standing Postures One, Two, Three
Stances: All stances
New: Advance and retreat in Horse Stance
Basic Series One
Punching
Water Punch
Side Straight Punch and Outward Crescent Kick
Circle Punch from Cat Stance
Focused practice: Backfist with a partner (moving hand target)
Kicks
Inward Crescent
Focused Practice: Self-Defense from front kick
If there is time we will work on the trees.
This agenda is subject to change without notice.
Troy Marquis, BA, Sifu
Tai-Mar Kung Fu Self-Defense - Autodefense
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Click Here To Find Out How To Join the Self-Defense Class