For the record Andrew, I was taught a couple of wing chun specific leg-stretching exercises… at least I’ve only met them in wing chun. Not sure how effective they are though.
Stand on one leg (say right). Loop your left arm through from the outside of your left hip, back through past the back of your knee to the top again and seize you foot in your hand with your toes bent out (heel towards centre line). Extend your left leg and pull back at the same time with your left hand, whilst trying not to bend your back too much or fall over!
Vice versa (ie, your left arm from the inside of the thigh to the outside of the calf and grab the foot with the heel pointed out).
1 and 2 should be slow. 3 should be fast.
Stand on your right leg. Put your right wu sau in front of your bent left knee and pull back along centre line (thus pulling your left knee into bong gerk position).
Not very entertaining, and like I said, I don’t know how effective they are, but I do do them sometimes.
Well, I’ve only met them in wing chun… they come from either Yip Chun or Yip Ching.
I’ve also learned a wing chun specific arm-stretching exercise. From John D Virgilio’s line, or maybe just his guy in Tokyo, I learnt an arm stretch where you make a bong sau into a horizontal elbow, then you place a wu sau under and on the back of elbow to stretch the bong muscles along the centreline. Then you whap out a tan, with the tan going out and the wu sau coming in.
It’s quite nice, but again, I don’t know if it stretches anything better than any other exercise would.
I actually like that arm one despite not knowing how useful it is.
It gets you providing opposing energy, one arm going forwards and one going backwards, so there is resistance there but of course it will have its limits so you aren’t going to develop Arnie-style. It also gives you a good chance to practise relaxing your shoulders and try out some issuing energy.
It’s as close as you can come to chi sau against yourself! :eek:
The purpose of the Chum Kui is to utilise the Sui Lum Tao energy in movment and to use it in the single leg position, i.e. the transference of weight in the Chum Kui is 100% in the single lege so in the Chum Kui we learn how to transfer the 50 50 ratio into 100 in the single leg. I know some people do not view the Chum Kui as such, and there are endless arguments about the weight ratios in Chum Kui, but one only needs to look at the fundamental purpsoe of the Chum Kui to see the valididty of the 100% ratio. Also to properly absorb the Chum Kui, it should be performed at a medium pace, not quickly as is the case with a the majority of how the CK is performed. From my understanding the argument for a faster Chum Kui is that, that is how it is performed in various films depicting people such as WSL and CST, we must bare in mind however that they speed the form up for the benefit of the camera.
In the end it comes down not so musch about single stances etc it comes down to the principle of energy development, that is the true purpsoe in Wing Chun.
Fair enough, sorry if I came across like a smarta$$.
I’ve always been a beleiver in doing most forms at a medium pace, though there is value in doing them both slow and fast on occasion as well.
I agree with the energy development aims, but I think there is value in supplementary drills to develop attributes like balance, mobility and flexibility (and more).
No no you didnt come across like that. It is good that yu think like that about the forms, and I also believe in the supplementary drills also, as long as they supplement attributes as long as techniques.
This is very beneficial - in our school we often spar on one leg with one hand behind the back. This simulates a scenario where a limb has been incapacitated. It is also good for balance and stresses not to rely overly on the use of chain punches and two legs and arms in a fight.