Tim and other Gao stylists here:
Does Liu De Xiu's system have kicking excercises in cluded in the Hou Tien sets? I have been picking some of these up from a friend of mine who studies in Tian jin (I forget the instructor's name at the moment) and I have found them to be very cool.
So, if you have done or seen them, any opinions of them or ther thoughts?
Line 6 in the YiZong system.
There's also a whole set of Jibengong kicking basics in the system.
Very good stuff.
Chad-
Mr. Luo is really good at sweeps,stomps,leg trapping and the like. In my experience he makes it really simple, basing all leg usage off of the concepts learned in circle walking.
Most importantly, he trains foot and leg sensitivity to the same degree as the hands and arms. So his kicks are rarely big barrelling club-like swings. They are more precise and easily changed.
He often says that Ba Gua uses three hands, one of which is actually a foot. Meaning that the legs should be as agile as the arms are. When he sweeps or kicks his shins are very hard, they hurt real bad.
Plus he has an uncanny knack for angles so he ends up sweeping or stomping you in a direction where you have very little stability.
One other thing is that he tends to connect with you first, off balance you slightly, then apply the leg move. Say he makes arm to arm contact, grabs, pulls and kicks you in the torso. Or he engages the upper body, yanks you off balance and uses Ko Bu to sweep your foot in a direction that you can't defend. I don't think I've seen him do a leg move without first distracting and engaging you with the arms.
I think he's going to swing thru the midwest on his tour in the next couple of weeks. Chad, you gotta check this guy out you'd love what he's doing!!!
Even if you aren't interested in studying his whole Gao system, his ideas are very inspirational for anyone who likes Ba Gua.
-Jess O
PS:
Madison, Wisconsin: July 21-28
Contact Mr. Robert Yu (rlyu@wisc.edu)
Jess,
Nice ta hear from ya.
I have seen the tape with Tim and Luo on it and was very impressed. Much of it is very compatable and/or identical in application as our style so I am totaly going to check him out at the first opportunity.
The kicking drills I am learning from the Tainjin Gao style are pretty much as you describe Luo's kicks. They are all very applicable, un fancy, and used in conjuction with hand techniques.I was just wondering if there are simlar excercises in Luo's system as I know it differs from my friend's in some respects.
Visitor: What is this set like? The drills I have been learning are 8 repetative line forms. I don't think there is a linking set but it would be very easy to link them in any number of ways with eachother.
There are, in fact, linking forms for each of the lines.
Buddy,
So you are familliar with these drills?
Tim,
Have you ever seen thee types of drills before?
Somewhat. Tim is the man to talk to here, though.
The sixth line of the Houtian forms are kicking oriented. The forms are:
Qu (low skipping front kick)
Chuai (back kick)
Bai (outside crescent kick)
Gua (inside crescent or hook kick)
Ti (front kick)
Cai (stomping cross kick)
Tang (scooping side kick)
Zhuang (front thrust kick)
These are the same basic kicks done in the same order as the standard Tianjin forms, with slight variations.
As Jess pointed out above, the forms train the practitioner to coordinate his hands, body and steps with the leg movements.
Baguazhang kicking techniques are almost always applied with the hands either:
- striking high as a distraction while the kick goes low.
- contolling the opponent's arms or upper body so he cannot easily escape or counter the kick.
- puhing or pulling the opponent's arms or upper body in the opposite direction of the leg techniques to form a coupling effect that throws the opponent.
Tim,
So, in Luo's style they are all done as one form? Interesting. You are right though that is the exact same order as the one's I'm working on.
I am curious, What are the variations/differences you percieve between the two styles's kicks? Also, In the Tianjin kicks, many of them are almost the same in the way they are practiced (qu,bai, ti) except the hight or position of the foot is different. For instance, bai and qu are almost identical but for the position of the foot and a small variation in the chamber of the leg. The bai is not a full crscent but rather a lower forward cutting motion. Is this the same?
Thanx everyone for the responses.
In the Gao style all the Houtian forms are first taught as separate forms that are repeated on the left and right in lines. Later, each line is taught as a linked form.
I found the some of the kicking techniques in the version taught by Zhang Junfeng are done bigger and higher.
Hi Tim,
where can I find instructional material about the kicks you mention (Houtian forms)?
Thanks a lot,
Mauro.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is any information in English.
Maybe someone else has more information.