[QUOTE=GeneChing;1298064]This is a tough question for me because my answer changes over time. To maintain your Middle Earth metaphor SevenStar, whenever I get a fav form, middle age sneaks up like gollum, bites of my finger, and then dives into the fiery pit of Mount Doom with it. Which is to say my ‘one form’ changes as my body has changed.[/QUOTE]
This has been my experience as well. I think it’s tough to answer with just one form because it changes over time. I’ve found that every form contains an aspect that’s worth studying deeply. For me, right now it’s the “second essential” form in our style.
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1297784]If you could only work one form for the rest of eternity, which one would it be and why?[/QUOTE]bruce lee was quipped at saying be like water… i say… be like nature. the only true form is that which comes from within ones own essence.
The purpose of Gong Fu is the unity of knowledge and action.
In the normal mode of experience we think of something and dictate to our body to perform the action desired.
In the extreme mode of experience our body dictates what we should think. It overpowers us with involuntary action and emotion.
But in the profound mode of experience both are in perfect harmony. Gong fu.
This is the purpose of all ritual. An action performed such that it is neither dictated nor resisted by mind or body. From this mode of experience inspirations will arise in the mind and new abilities will arise in the body. (in-spire; lit. to ‘breath in’ but also to be ‘breathed into’ from without)
Your body doesn’t understand words or principles, it understands action and stillness. This is the way the body reads and learns. Forms are the books and classics of the body. It is strong to limit yourself to one topic, but don’t limit yourself to one book. It is a mistake to become too familiar with a form lest you lose engagement of the mind, and similarly being too inexperienced with a form will put too much pressure on the body. To keep both mind and body in a state of harmony, movement must be equal parts known and unknown, expected and unexpected, potential and actual, fixed and changeable.
But how? Do the movements as though you are genuinely creatively reacting to your opponent, not as though they are some sequence of a dance, something already written. Though the pattern IS set, it is recreated not repeated each time it is performed. For this it is essential that the symbol, that is, the form mimics the action. That is to say the movement looks the same in form as in application. This is not to say that the principle of a technique cannot be extended to take on new purpose, of course it can and should, but it has been recorded as it is because that is a concrete example of how it may be used.
There is no need to train form to become a fighter. When we fight the action itself is overwhelmed by its intense purpose. To train form alone is to perform action for its own sake and is in itself a wonderful practice.
[QUOTE=MightyB;1299064]This has been my experience as well. I think it’s tough to answer with just one form because it changes over time. I’ve found that every form contains an aspect that’s worth studying deeply. For me, right now it’s the “second essential” form in our style.[/QUOTE]
What are you traiing in now? I remember before I left that it was judo and san shou.
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1299088]What are you traiing in now? I remember before I left that it was judo and san shou.[/QUOTE]
7 star mantis.
But I competed in San shou back in the 90s. I wasn’t that good. So I crosstrained with judo because I found out that I was terrible at take downs whilst getting my arse kicked in one of the aforementioned San shou events. I continued with judo for about 10 years because it’s really fun. Now I just do 7 star mantis.
In the mantis I study there are 3 forms called essential routines. My phonetic Cantonese is terrible but the names sound like “yet lo jet you, yi lo jet you, and San lo jet you.” I do the first but it’s not on my list of favorite forms, but I really dig the 2nd and 3rd.
[QUOTE=MightyB;1299090]In the mantis I study there are 3 forms called essential routines. My phonetic Cantonese is terrible but the names sound like “yet lo jet you, yi lo jet you, and San lo jet you.” I do the first but it’s not on my list of favorite forms, but I really dig the 2nd and 3rd.[/QUOTE]
In Mandarin, those would be the Zhai Yao (Essentials) forms; Yi Lu (first road), Er Lu (second road) and San Lu (third road) Zhai Yao. Of course you know that already. I trained Mantis (7 Star and 8 Step) for 10 years before switching to CLF. I always think of northern style terms in Mandarin, because I studied northern styles in Taiwan.
Another aspect is that training the same thing all the time for ages is sometimes not even good for that one thing. Often. I can’t count the number of times working on other things for a while and coming back later to something gave me a much broader or more detailed perspective on it that advanced my practice.
In addition, I find a huge difference between performing a form and analyzing and training its content. The latter is my preferred practice. I mostly return to the former to look for aspects of its content that hadn’t made it into my to do list of things to work on.
[QUOTE=bawang;1299149]once you stop caring about forms and do some real training your forms will look amazing.
people who obsess about forms look the worst. floppy rabbit feet/ruber leg syndrome/snail centaur syndrome.[/QUOTE]
The first step in learning the true martial arts happens when you get punched in the face with a hardness you’ve never felt before.
Then, the work starts on figuring out how to achieve that. lol
However if I had a gun to my head and had to pick I would likely choose Chen old frame with personal adjustments. Strong , solid techniques, inherent adaptability, and I like longfist.
[QUOTE=Faux Newbie;1299163]What on earth is a snail centaur?[/QUOTE]
like their torso attached to snail legs. tense arms flailing around and legs shuffle with energy of homeless guy.
[QUOTE=Lucas;1299164]None.
I would simply abandon all.
However if I had a gun to my head and had to pick I would likely choose Chen old frame with personal adjustments. Strong , solid techniques, inherent adaptability, and I like longfist.[/QUOTE]
In the normal mode of experience we think of something and dictate to our body to perform the action desired.
In the extreme mode of experience our body dictates what we should think. It overpowers us with involuntary action and emotion.
But in the profound mode of experience both are in perfect harmony. Gong fu.
This is true of all ritual. An action performed such that it is neither dictated nor resisted by mind or body. From this mode of experience inspirations will arise in the mind and new abilities will arise in the body. (in-spire; lit. to ‘breath in’ but also to be ‘breathed into’ from without)
Your body doesn’t understand words or principles, it understands action and stillness. This is the way the body reads and learns. Forms are the books and classics of the body. It is strong to limit yourself to one topic, but don’t limit yourself to one book. It is a mistake to become too familiar with a form lest you lose engagement of the mind, and similarly being too inexperienced with a form will put too much pressure on the body. To keep both mind and body in a state of harmony, movement must be equal parts known and unknown, expected and unexpected, potential and actual, fixed and changeable.
But how? Do the movements as though you are genuinely creatively reacting to your opponent, not as though they are some sequence of a dance, something already written. Though the pattern IS set, it is recreated not repeated each time it is performed. For this it is essential that the symbol, that is, the form mimics the action. That is to say the movement looks the same in form as in application. This is not to say that the principle of a technique cannot be extended to take on new purpose, of course it can and should, but it has been recorded as it is because that is a concrete example of how it may be used.
There is no need to train form to become a fighter. When we fight the action itself is overwhelmed by its intense purpose. To train form alone is to perform action for its own sake and is in itself a wonderful practice albeit an inherently mysterious one. It is mysterious because it is done for no specific purpose, by having no expected purpose many un-foreseen results will arise as if from nothing.
[QUOTE=bawang;1299165]like their torso attached to snail legs. tense arms flailing around and legs shuffle with energy of homeless guy.
bery good u converted to mighty chen style
r u doing the wobbly wobbbly[/QUOTE]
Herr ya broh! I hurt my back pretty bad in early 2016 by injuring my spine so it’s been a slow climb but I feel like the wobbles helps keep my spine strong. Instead of doing the pt I went to my Chen instead and I’ve been pleased with my results. I’m looking for someone to study under now. I started learning taijiquan from Gregory Fong Sifu RIP, so my standards are high and my schedule is jacked up so I’m just doing my own thing for the time being…
The Gong zi fu hu chuan,there are a lot of basic nuts and bolts kind of techniques . If you really pick it apart there is a lot to be learned from it, and training in it is good exercise anyway .
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1299152]The first step in learning the true martial arts happens when you get punched in the face with a hardness you’ve never felt before.
Then, the work starts on figuring out how to achieve that. lol[/QUOTE]
It’s the first time you block a trained fighter who’s trying to knock you the F out. It’s a surreal moment of “holy crap, this is happening”.
[QUOTE=MightyB;1299710]It’s the first time you block a trained fighter who’s trying to knock you the F out. It’s a surreal moment of “holy crap, this is happening”.[/QUOTE]
