Does anyone have any good suggestions for solo rooting drills? I was thinking about getting into stance near a post and pushing on it with my lap sau much like th rooting drills we do with partners in class.
Do slt…
a lot.
..and do it correctly. (strive to improve, dont just repeat what you already know).
S.Teebas
Pressure
Hello,
One thing that I have found to have some use, though to what extent is debatable 
;
Take up a stance and take a pole about 2-3 feet long. Place one end of the pole against your body, stomach, side etc, and the other end against the wall. Relax into the stance and exert a slight pressure against the wall through the stick/pole. This will give you some feedback regarding your stance. It will not, however, make your root super strong. It is only an exercise to aid you in your alignment and give you a point of reference.
Other than that Single Leg SNT or Single Leg Stance work is always a good thing also.
Peace,
Dave
Originally posted by red5angel
Does anyone have any good suggestions for solo rooting drills?
Kick a wall.
Have you gotten enough of Yee Gee Kim Yeung Mah?
In Australia rooting oneself is somewhat of a different thing. When I read something about solo rooting my first thought was “Watch out, you’ll go blind”.
Sorry about that. I can’t add anything productive, but over here if you are told go root yourself it is not a nice thing…
P.S. If you root yourself too much you get hairy palms…
Originally posted by straight blast
In Australia rooting oneself is somewhat of a different thing. When I read something about solo rooting my first thought was “Watch out, you’ll go blind”.
As you may already know, in Canada we have a clothing manufacturer named “ROOTS” They outfitted the Canadian Olympic team for Sydney. I heard the gear was quite popular in Australia.
Matrix
Rooting
What do you guys and gals think rooting consist of? What is it that makes a good strong root in wing chun?
Interesting question.
I see kenneth chung do a deep horse. Tsui’s guys don’t sit deep at all, not even medium but they have a root.
A root comes from the spinal cord being straight which allows the energy that comes from the heaven to go straight down the spine and to the ground.
Relaxation and time is the key. Tai Chi Standing post works the same way. So does Hsing-I’s stance and the shaolin horse.
But what I can’t figure out is …would LS’s lineage have a stronger horse than TST’s?? They both sink and feel the root.
UT - What would you say is the difference between LS and TST root? Do TST guys sink low or is sinking some sort of spiritual thing/energy thing? I understand what you are saying about the nergy and all that. Do you think there is anything else to it?
Ken’s horse has the knees together and sinks low.
TST’s horse looks like he’s just standing there, knees bent a tiny bit and feet pointing towards the center. (triangle)
His students do the same horse.
The difference is..one hurts like heck and the other doesn’t !! BIG QUESTION - which horse can uproot the other ? Why and how? We need a sifu on this board.
But TST makes his students sit in the SLT for at least 10 months before starting any don chi. He just comes by and reminds the person to relax.
Here’s a story. One kid wanted to learn wc from TST. TST told him that he’d have to do a year of SLT, just sitting there. This kid is 16 years old. He wanted to do it. So everyday the kid came to the class and sat there doing SLT. He never asked one question to the other students or TST about when he will start to learn more.
He comes and does SLT for a few hours - 5 days a week. 10 months pass and the kid’s patience is really amazing. TST comes up to him after 10 months and says, “Okay now I will show you don chi sao”
Kid says, “But sifu! I still have two more months to go!”
TST laughs. I admire the kid.
I would absolutely love it if a major university would fund this:
Take Joe Shmoe, unlearned in wing chun. X-ray, MRI, PET scan, and photograph his legs and back before and after one year of wing chun training. Analyze the change in the ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle, tendon density, bone density, connective tissue, and blood circulation.
I bet the development of a good root involves basically a gradual change in all these things over time, as the mechanics of the body adjust to support the weight that the weird stance places on it, whose end effect changes the center of gravity, available power base, and makes you look like a funky chicken.
Of course there is also the aspect of teaching the mind how to link the upper and lower parts of the body together to redirect force from arms to back to ground and back again, which together in tandem with the physical changes create root.
also the aspect of teaching the mind how to link the upper and lower parts of the body together
Isnt that the job of the body?..the mind can think it, but the body actually does it.
Mind over matter!
Must make new neural connections become habit! No mind, no body! Body follows mind! Leonard Nimoy is cool.
What/who is TST?
Rooting comes from aligning the body so that the center of gravity is stable and directly over the base of support (your two feet). It is the ability to feel external pressure and then make minute changes that are invisible to the naked eye (internal) so that the force travels down the spine and legs into the ground.
One’s intention is directed to both quiet the mind and provide proper focus. Mental clarity is important to aid in relaxation and open the senses. Intention and center of gravity are coordinated to direct force to and from the ground.
Sinking the knees is important in the beginning because it trains the student to lower the CoG for more stability and utilize the potential energy stored by bending the ankles and knees. Standing upright during training leads to a stiff horse and the inablity to cooridinate the legs as the prime movers in conjuntion with the CoG to issue and receive force. Gravity is a constant force and by relaxing and sinking we are training oureselves not to fight it. The position of the toes (in, our, parallel) affects the opening of the pelvis.
Eventually, one learns to adapt to multiple forces (gravity, opponent’s force) through relaxtion and minimal effort. The more muscle you use and feel (above and beyond the minimum necessary), the less rooting you are doing. Also important is the fact that we all have different bodies. The physical mechanics of how we stand and root must account for that.
Dzu
As far as Qi goes I will have to say that I am sort of agnostic about the subject. I have seen some pretty convincing arguments for it but have never personally seen anything to totally convince me.
However, with some of the excersises I have been doing regularly, and the training I have been doing, my root has become stronger. I believe KungFu cowboys explanation to probably be the most accurate.
Dont worry UT, I am not a disbeliever in what you say, there could be something in it, I am just undecided.
I do however think that a good root is the foundation of wingchun, in more ways then one. It is literally the foundation, without a good root your wingchun is empty, you have no connection to the ground and the ability to divert that energy is gone, leaving the energy to come to rest in your body, breaking your structure.
Rooting:
I see a big roundish flabby pink-coloured animal, making snorting and grunting noises while searching for potatoes, buried garbage, or truffles.