Taught a total beginner on Sunday. My guest and I both train in boxing and Muay thai boxing, but he doesn’t feel he has enough stretching techniques and other fundamentals. We do almost no stretching in muay thai and boxing. I invited him to train with my friend Mark and I who get to together on Sunday for Chinese martial arts. He has no Chinese Martial arts experience, but he has been to China and lived in Korea and Japan, and his wife is Chinese. I focused his training on the following:
Workout summary-
Etiquette, philosophy, and motto: wisdom, benevolence, sincerity, bravery.
Warm ups 1-14,
1. Neck- up-down in half circles 2. bend forward and back arms crossed, 3. Fingers interlaced stretch to toes left and right 4. elbow to toe and twist 5. Hip and knee circles 6. fight stance front stretch kick, 7. outside stretch kick , 8. cross stretch kick 9. Front kick 10. Side kick 11. outside heel kick 12. back leg swing heel kick 13. drop stance elbow towards foot. 14. slap back.
Bar stretching- 1. front- elbow to toe (left and right) 2. Side bending hip open (left and right) 3. scale stretch 4. horse stance (feet out) stretch.
Supplemental stretching- 1. pushing wall heel stretch, 2. spine -stretch twist on floor 3. butterfly stretch 4. frog stretch
8 basic stances- 1. horse 2. mt. climber (bow stance) 3. Kneeling stance 4. empty stance 5. balance stance 6. drop stance 7. half sitting 8. Rhino view moon.
Moving kicks-
1. front stretch kick
2. inside stretch kick
3. Outside stretch kick
4. Toe kick
5. Heel kick
6. Side kick
7. Combined toe kick, side kick (left and right side)
8. Side stretch kick
Moving stances:
Ma bu (horse stance) gong bu (bow stance)
Mark and I demonstrated the following forms so he has a understanding of Chinese forms and some history. Our guest really liked the Hsingyi.
Forms and history:
Shaolin- style that came from Buddhist temple so monks could stay fit and defend themselves and the Buddhist temple.
Tai Chi Chuan- Taoist martial art based on tai chi “Grand ultimate” symbol (yin yang) combining hard and soft. Old style is Chen family style. Yang Family is most famous after fighter Yang Lu Chan taught the Emperor’s guards and grandson Yang Chen Fu taught publicly around China.
Hsingyi Chuan- another Taoist style meaning “mind and will boxing” consisting of more aggressive forward moving style, primarily used by bodyguards.
Pa Kua Chang- Taoist style based on 8 kua symbols that uses palm techniques. Known for its circle walking and spiraling movements.
Palm strike work:
1. Du chang- shaking palm (similar to a jab or cross but with open palm
2. Dragon back- spinal wave with striking with double palms
3. Throwing palm- like throwing a baseball or over hand right
4. Slapping palm- like hitting a flat table
5. nei wan kai he- two arms coil inward and outward to stretch body and shoulders
Palm work on focus mitts.
Hsingyi practice
Open into the San Ti (3 powers) stance.
Basic drill- rise, drill, overturn, fall.
Qigong practice (qi/chi cultivation)
Concentration drill- counting backward from 60 to 0
Lung exercises:
1. Cleansing breath- inhale through nose, exhale out mouth as long as possible. 3x
2. Filling breath- inhale and exhale evenly and deep from nose. 3x
3. Holding breath- inhale and hold relaxed as long as possible, exhale through nose. 3x
4. dan tien breathing- breathing long and deep from the lower diaphragm
Self massage-
Patting massage- Face, scalp, legs, arms, lower back and kidneys, swing arms hitting body, reverse breathing at dan tien.