to each his own. Usually when a student asks me how wide his horse should be, i usually tell them to what ever length is comfortable to them, just as long as they practice the same level horse each time.
We as well tell our students that in a sei ping ma, the knees should cover the toes, with the knees pointed outward. by pointing the knees outward you put a slight different amount of pressure on the outer edges of the foot, and this actually makes for a more “Solid” horse.
Joe best not be talkin’ bout my fat ass!!! LMAO
but once again, that’s the difference of the Lau Bun horse as opposed to others.
like i said, no wrong or right, just “your way” and i was only trying to explain that to CHaz.
One thing I would say regarding us “Florida” guys is that you notice our horse stance is low. How do you know this from watching the performance of a hand or weapon set. When it comes to fighting our horse is very high.
The reason for the lower horse when performing in public is to look better. Why would you perform for someone in the first place, you want to look good. What is forms competition at tournaments generally boil down to … what looks better.
Stances will always be exagerated when performing for asthetic purposes and be higher in live situations for increased mobility. Regarding mobility Joe and I have never had any problems moving when performing but for fighting it would be a bit stupid to sink into a low horse stance unless we wanted to get are arse kicked.
But like Frank said, what works for one may not work for another. Do what works for you that is the most important thing because afterall if we don’t do kung fu for ourselvese why bother?
Low stances of course might look better… And for a show you want to look strong and capable, that is what CLFNole really is saying…
With the horse, and even bow stance, the legs are training to help generate the power… And the bow really is a buffer that helps catch all the power the horse and waist generate and throw… The bent knee catches and protects us from falling over, thats why keeping the toes inward a bit really protects the stance balance…
It makes me thing of last weekend in Texas, I was speaking alot with Master David Chin… He spoke much of the horse and its importance in san shou… For rooting to avoid being thrown… and by practicing low stance to really help generate power…
So he believes as I with low stances… Just another way to develop more unitary power, and learn to use the depth of a stance for a solid foundation when u need it… Low to high in stance… At least you will have a greater range…
Thats why all this “IS Buk Sing different than Hung Sing” is kinda funny… Each statement so far about differences has been nothing of any difference…
Even the stances… I am sure the old cats did it narrow and high… But I would hope we are improving and not the other way around… A while ago we were talking of the old fight in Macauu between a tai chi master and a white crane master… If those guys were good… Then the kung fu now is improving just fine…
good h0rse is the key in san shou. not for looks (you not going to drop in a low horse to show off) but for stability and power. San shou take downs rely on strong legs. Simple take down where you face your oponent and pull his leg from under him, can only work well if you have a strong horse stance. The drop is in the legs, and its not really done by just bending over. I have seen people trying to do this take down by simply trying to bend over and grab the legs. You put so much straign on your back, its dangerious to do that in a fight.
Im with CLFNole regarding the performance and fight stance.
I think the method of training stance in CLF falls in line with the theory of extension.
Train low to gain strength and stability also if you can retain mobility at a lower position then it will be easier to use at a higher stance.
Similar to the idea that if you train with full extension you may only require half that in combat but you gain benifits like increased power etc. from practicing full extension.
With that said there are times people can be just to low and just to extended.
is that you notice our horse stance is low. How do you know this from watching the performance of a hand or weapon set. When it comes to fighting our horse is very high.