Goal-oriented training, post-workshop 2012 analysis

The first thing I should say is that the Yin Style Bagua workshops put on this year by Matt Bild were absolutely incredible. In over sixteen years of doing martial arts now, the last six doing Yin Style Bagua, this year's workshops were by far the best I have ever attended. Matt was incredibly efficient and professional in getting across his agenda, which in this case was to help us all develop clarity and confidence in using the art of Yin Style for the purpose it was made: fighting. Particularly, the workshop was designed around developing clarity in use of force and positioning to achieve a good and sure result against a realistic backdrop of another skilled fighter.

That brings me to the theme of today's post-workshop post, now that I've had a couple of weeks to sort through how my thinking about training has been affected. Training has to be goal-oriented, focused, and clear, and it is an utter obligation to be diligent and serious about this including being reflective about meeting the training goals. Goals also have to be realistic and functional. This should change everything about how we train this art.

Yin Style Bagua Knoxville seminar with He Jinbao, Day 1

This is lifted from the Yin Style Bagua Facebook page. Check it out if you haven't already. Anyway, our first day was awesome, as the post indicates! Local fighters and martial artists, come see what all the fuss is about and train hard like a superman!

Knoxville, TN, Workshop - Day 1

Isometric strengthening postures were trained to develop improved circulation and muscular strength. Three foundational strikes each from the Lion system chopping and hooking strike attack methods were then taught. Each technique was drilled to develop body coordination and waist power when striking. The strikes were then paired with various types of footwork and drilled for power while moving. Partnered applications of the strikes in various combinations were then trained to show changes in technique during combat. Emphasis was placed on tight integration of footwork to set up proper position and support technique.

He Jinbao and Yin Style Baguazhang International in Knoxville next week!!!

By this time next week, some of the toughest men and (hopefully) women in Knoxville will be finishing up with dinner and getting ready for an early bedtime after one of the hardest days of martial arts training in their lives. Yin Style Baguazhang International is coming to Knoxville again, for the third year in a row, and the workshop taught by incredible martial artist He Jinbao kicks off bright and early at 8:00 am next Thursday, October 20. Local martial artists that haven't yet decided to take advantage of this awesome opportunity to improve their fighting skills are highly encouraged to do so! If you live near enough to Knoxville to be able to make it, then don't miss it!

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: St. Petersburg, FL, Oct. 27-30

Although no one needs an extra excuse to visit beautiful St. Petersburg, FL, this year's Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, tour stop, taught by He Jinbao, gives us all one more reason to head to the sub-tropics. This U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level, like the seminar in Knoxville the week before, featuring different material so that those with the opportunity to hit both stops definitely should!

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Knoxville, TN, Oct. 20-23

I hold a special place in my heart and on my blog for the Knoxville, TN, visit of the Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, taught by He Jinbao! It's home! Our U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level. In Knoxville, though our training will actually take place in Maryville, just south of Knoxville, we look forward to a great seminar this year. Any and all are welcome! Definitely come see us and train with us! I'd like to extend a special invitation to any and all martial artists in the Knoxville area that want to experience real baguazhang, want to deepen the fighting arts they already practice, and that want to learn practical fighting techniques of awesome effectiveness... plus all the ones that really like hard, old-school drilling for skill.

The curriculum will be on the chopping, hooking, seizing, and grasping palms of the Lion System, and as mentioned before, it will be at an intermediate level, so while it isn't required, some familiarization with the Lion System will be very helpful. Consider getting the foundational videos to prep yourself, which can be found on a link on this post of mine about getting started in Yin Style.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Berlin, CT, Oct. 13-16

The Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, is coming to Berlin, CT, near Hartford! Like the other seminars on the 2011 tour circuit, it will be taught by He Jinbao. It makes the fourth U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International and features the Phoenix System at an intermediate level, getting into some of the deeper material including the subtle and effective transforming palm striking methods.

Like all of the Fall Tour stops, the Connecticut stop is open to anyone and everyone that is interested in attending. The curriculum will cover the dodging, extending, shocking, and transforming palms of the Phoenix System, and as mentioned before, it will be at an intermediate level, so while it isn't required, some familiarization with the Phoenix System or Yin Style in general will be very helpful. Consider getting the foundational videos to prep yourself, which can be found on a link on this post of mine about getting started in Yin Style.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Haverhill, MA, Oct. 6-9

The second visit of the Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, to Haverhill, MA, just north of Boston, taught by He Jinbao, is less than a month away! This third U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level. Here practitioners will have a great opportunity to deepen their understanding of the foundational system of Yin Style Baguazhang.

Like all of the Fall Tour stops, the Massachusetts stop is open to anyone and everyone that is interested in attending. The curriculum will be on the shocking, blocking, seizing, and grasping palms of the Lion System, and as mentioned before, it will be at an intermediate level, so while it isn't required, some familiarization with the Lion System will be very helpful. Consider getting the foundational videos to prep yourself, which can be found on a link on this post of mine about getting started in Yin Style.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Boulder, CO, Sept. 29-Oct.2

The Boulder, CO, Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, workshop with He Jinbao is right around the corner now, starting in just three weeks! The Tour stop in Colorado is the second U.S. Fall Tour this year by YSB, International, and it features the Phoenix System at a foundational level. That means that people that are new to the art or that want to expand their training outside of the Lion System need to be looking toward the Rockies to get a taste of this fast, whirling animal that emits whip-like power from the shoulder.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: San Fancisco, CA, Sept. 22-25, 2011

The San Francisco, CA, Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, workshop with He Jinbao is less than a month away, and it will officially kick of the U.S. Fall Tour this year by YSB, International. Those people interested in experiencing real baguazhang first-hand and doing so with the lineage holder of a very respectable system in the art should pay close attention to this one. Not to make it sound too much like an advertisement, if you've had interest in baguazhang, Chinese martial arts in general, or Yin Style in specific but don't know the first thing about it, this is the seminar for you!

Yin Style Baguazhang International U.S. Fall Tour 2011, Knoxville and beyond

He Jinbao of Beijing, China, with assistant and translator Matt Bild of Yin Style Baguazhang International are coming to the United States again in 2011 for the annual YSB U.S. Fall Tour of long-weekend workshops (including Knoxville, TN, for my local folks). If you don't know what Yin Style Bagua is all about yet, then you're missing out. These workshops offer a very rare opportunity train in real baguazhang directly with an absolute and recognized expert in the art, the lineage holder of Yin Style Baguazhang, in fact. Start here by checking out the official brief introduction to Yin Style Baguazhang video that showcases a bit from all eight animal systems, including He Jinbao demonstrating awesome fighting applications on some brave British volunteers.

Now that you've seen what you could be training at the seminar, continue reading below to get the key details about what's new in this year's series of workshops and for what is going on in each of the stops. This year's workshops will be presenting material out of the Lion, Phoenix, and Monkey Systems, as well as a continued introduction to the baguazhang jian (straight sword).

Can't go to Beijing for the intensive? Ramp it up at home!

As any and all but the newest members of the Yin Style Baguazhang community are aware, this is the time of year during which the annual journey to Huairou takes place for the Beijing, China, Yin Style intensive. Attending this intensive is considered by many practitioners to be something of a Yin Style Bagua pilgrimage, if not at least a rite of passage. Fortunately or unfortunately (who's to say?), not everyone can make the trip to Beijing and on to Huairou for the intensive due to expense or work requirements or a variety of other issues that "real" life presents. Having to miss this year's opportunity in China, however, should serve as a motivator to train harder than ever rather than as a reason to shelf your training until it becomes more pressing for your own workshops!

Fall tour prep training

My training, usually pretty good, is up. I'm almost always sore, sleeping like a (very uncomfortably hot) log, and evidently rather dehydrated (proved by unquenchable thirst and my first calf cramp in my sleep in over a year). I'm training like a fiend, or at least like how I figure a fiend would train, because of the upcoming fall tour, the Knoxville, TN, stop in particular.

Yin Style Baguazhang International returns to Knoxville, TN, in Fall 2010

Undeniably, it has been a long time since I've posted anything on here, and what better reason to take up the charge of writing on this blog again than to announce this year's Yin Style Baguazhang International Fall Tour, including its Knoxville, TN, stop. This year's tour promises to be even better than ever, repeating much of the same in the way of organization as last year, this time with all-new material. If you want to read the announcement from last year's Yin Style Bagua Knoxville tour stop, click here.

Saluting Stockholm

I've seen the pictures on Facebook:YSB now, Stockholm... and while I can tell you with certainty that I'm not busting it like MB's busting you, I am saluting you in my own small way.

Local Introductory Seminars in Yin Style Baguazhang in and around Knoxville, TN

In an effort to achieve two goals, our study group has decided that we're interested in offering the opportunity for us to come in and discuss some of the principles of Yin Style Baguazhang with friendly local or regionally located martial artists, preferably at their schools. To be clear, let me elaborate.

Mission Statement and Statement of Goals:
Mission: We, as the Knoxville, TN, study group, officially recognized by Yin Style Baguazhang International, are interested in seeing the growth of martial arts and martial artists in the area as well as promoting interest and growth in the art of Yin Style Baguazhang itself.

Goals: Our goals with these seminars are twofold -- to introduce Yin Style Baguazhang as a martial art to local/regional martial artists to enhance their training in their own arts or to generate interest in studying and training Yin Style Baguazhang directly.
Furthermore, we'd like to drum up enough interest to have more folks attend our (hopefully) annual seminar (see here for some details concerning the one that we just held) with He Jinbao of Beijing, our teacher and a true master of the martial arts with nearly unparalleled skill.

What is meant by local/regional:
Local: We live in Knoxville, TN, and some of the very nearby communities. If you live or train in Knoxville or a town very nearby, then we'd be happy to come by and share a little of what we've seen with you.

Regional: If you don't live really close to Knoxville but are within an hour or two away, we'd be willing to consider visiting your group or school as well.

What we can offer:
There are three things, really, that we can offer to local martial artists that already train in some style or another.

1. We can offer insight provided via our training in Yin Style Baguazhang into how you can improve your current training methods for real, remarkable results. We can do this by introducing some of the methods of training used in Yin Style Baguazhang and offering advice on how to tailor those methods to the arts that you already train.
2. We can offer a basic introduction to the art of Yin Style Baguazhang including a variety of its basic practices, methods, and some of its underlying theoretical framework.
3. We can offer Yin Style Baguazhang based applications and host the seminar in a self-defense-for-martial-artists perspective.
   

In all of these cases, you'd be guaranteed something different and interesting, and in the first two cases, an excellent workout would no doubt come as part of the package.

Ultimately, we feel that this art is very underrepresented given its effectiveness, and we'd like word to spread. Realizing it won't spread without someone spreading it, we feel that we can reach out and offer something to the local martial artists that they can really take home with them to enhance their training and potential. We'd also like to increase exposure of the art so that more folks will feel that it is worthwhile to take the opportunity to meet He Jinbao when he comes to this neck of the woods, his level of expertise in the martial arts being high enough so that certainly anyone that spends time training under his direction will be able to improve in their own practices substantially.

What we're not interested in:
Challenges:
I know it makes me look a bit the puss to say that we're not interested in challenges. We're offering to spread knowledge here, which you can reject freely if you don't like it. Our goal isn't to prove ourselves to anyone. I'm more than happy to have you leave thinking that I suck without anyone having to eat a knuckle sandwich to prove it or say otherwise. I'm also more than happy if you think I'm awesome, particularly if I don't have to kick you in the jangles to prove it to you. Personally, I tend to thank people for not kicking me in the jangles and like reasonable folks that feel the same way.

Making money:
Our goal with these seminars is not to get rich or even to make money. We would be, however, asking for a small honorarium or per capita fee for our time, and that money would only be used to offset our travel and training costs, which are rather modest and would therefore be reflected with a similarly modest fee (approximately $10 per attendee per hour or thereabouts). Furthermore, we're not interested in making money via invitation to the seminar with He Jinbao. We do not make money off those seminars: we are charged an honorarium/per capita fee for those (pay this much or however much you bring in, whichever is more) and do not retain any profit from them. Additional seminar income would be used to help us offset our expenses in hosting/lodging/feeding He Jinbao and his translator when they come to town. We're about getting more attention and interest in this art and recognize that direct access to He Jinbao is just about the most effective medium for that goal to be realized.

Gathering Students:
We do have a study group, and it does get together. It's nothing even closely akin to a martial arts school, however, and thus, while we do want our group to grow larger, it does not present realistic competition to an established, real (if you will) martial arts school. We currently meet once per week and have no set curriculum. We offer no ranks or anything of the sort, and we meet where it is convenient, as often as not in someone's yard or garage or in a public park. Generally, we get together and work on what we're individually working on in a community-like setting, and those with more experience help and direct those with less experience in that endeavor. This group is and always has been open to anyone that's interested in trying it out, no strings attached, no commitments to ever come back, no requests to put a halt to any other training you might be doing or interested in. Feeling competition from our group would be like an established church feeling competition from a small-scale Bible-Study group that meets once weekly. With the seminars, we are hoping to be able to come and share our slightly different perspective on the martial arts with folks that are interested in learning martial arts.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you're even remotely curious or interested in hosting us!

Fall Tour Seminar, Knoxville, Success!

He Jinbao and Matt Bild just left Knoxville yesterday morning after our first-ever, mostly successful seminar! The intensity of training was maintained at a pretty high level for most of the workshop, even if our attendance was a bit on the low side. All-in-all, though, I'm quite happy with our first stab at hosting those fine folks.

As for what was covered, it was a beautiful blend of solid foundational practices, with fantastic attention to small details, and some really new stuff: kicking practices courtesy of the Monkey System, which are completely different from essentially everything else that we've done in our trainings in the past.

I had a lot of time to think about things before and after the training sessions, and I think that the seminar itself provided me with a number of interesting topics to talk about in the near future on here, hopefully some stuff that will really help some folks out there with the training.

Probably, if anything, the only down-side to the entire ordeal was that our attendance was rather low. Recruiting for one of these things is apparently fairly difficult despite Jinbao's level of expertise. Thus, for the next year, because they will be back next year and we'd like to see a better turnout, we'll be trying to get around and introduce this art to folks via very affordable seminars.

This particular workshop seemed to strengthen our group, though, not just in terms of our training and knowledge but also in terms of numbers. Hopefully I didn't misread things when some of the folks that attended the seminar asked many very curious questions about our study group.

Two Weeks Until the Seminar

The 2009 Fall Tour kicks off here in Knoxville in just a day over two weeks. Yikes! The preparations still to do for the seminar and for my training... what a list! In any case, here's a slightly more detailed version of what's going on, just in case anyone stumbles upon this and is interested. For practical "I'm interested in coming" information, see my previous post on the matter by clicking here.

Very General Overview:
The first two days (Thursday, Friday) focus on foundational training and the last two days (Saturday, Sunday) focus on turning, forms, and applications. Both dadao (big saber) and shuai jiao (fast wrestling) practice are scheduled during the last two days. The seminar is open, requiring no previous experience in Yin Style Baguazhang, although having some background at least in the martial arts or fitness would be helpful. Interested parties can schedule to attend full days or half days (save the last half-day) individually or attend the entire seminar (recommended in all cases where it is possible). Contact us for details (see below for a link to contact information).

Thursday, September 24, 8:00a-12:00p
The morning session of this foundational day focuses on the Sweeping Palm of the Lion System. First is standing strengthening practice in the Lion representational posture and the sweeping palm posture. Then the remainder of the morning is devoted to practicing sweeping strikes and basic striking combinations. If you've never done any Yin Style Baguazhang and are interested and able to come to a Thursday morning session, this is the ideal place to start.

Thursday, September 24, 1:30p-6:00p
The afternoon session of this foundational day focuses on the Cutting Palm of the Lion System. The afternoon will proceed like the morning with "cutting" replacing "sweeping" for the first three and a half hours of this 270-minute session. Cutting is another excellent place for beginners to find something, so if you can't make a Thursday morning session but can make it in the afternoon, this is good for you. The afternoon session finishes with a new-to-essentially-everyone session in some of the basic kicks of Yin Style Baguazhang, lasting for one hour. The time in between the sessions, obviously, is a break for rest and lunch.

Friday, September 25
This foundational day follows the same framework as the previous day, focusing on the Chopping Palm of the Lion System and the Hooking Palm of the Lion System in the morning and afternoon respectively. The times are the same as Thursday's times for both sessions. These practices, while different from the material on Thursday, are also excellent foundational material, and in some ways they echo the themes of the material from Thursday. Thus, if you cannot make a Thursday session but can make a Friday session, this day would still be great for beginners to come to. The day will wrap up with another hour-long session of studying the kicks of Yin Style Bagua, sampling a few others from the system.

This is a photo from one of the foundational days in the recent London Intensive in which He Jinbao directs myself and another noteworthy practitioner in some fundamental practices. Applications such as these will be largely or entirely reserved for the final day of our seminar. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.

Saturday, September 26, Morning
The times are the same as for the previous days, but the focus on Saturday is different. The morning session starts off with circle-turning practice in the representational posture of the Lion System and then studies one of the forms from that system: Enfolding Cutting. Drilling the form and strikes from the form, likely with combinations included, is on the menu. If you're a beginner and interested in coming to this session, it may be in your best interest to contact one of us as soon as possible for a quick primer in this seven-movement form.

Saturday, September 26, Afternoon
This day's afternoon session focuses on another of the forms of the Lion System: Windmill Cutting. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this day's session will be on basic drills with the bagua big saber (dadao)

Sunday, September 27, Morning
The morning session on Sunday, with the same times as previously, is similar to that on Saturday morning: circle turning training and a Lion System form -- Moving with the Force Seizing. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this session will be the beginning of a structured, long applications session. We will hold this session at a different location from the others to have access to mats.

Sunday, September 27, Afteroon
The afternoon session on Sunday is for applications practice, reviewing and learning to apply many of the techniques studied in the previous days' sessions. This is the sole session that carries a full prerequisite that you've attended something previous to it in order to attend. The session will be structured around the material we covered throughout the seminar and last for three and a half hours, the last hour of the last day being reserved for some fun tussling in shuai jiao, which is a bit like judo but faster and with a different philosophy. The goal here is less to develop skill in shuai jiao and more to get some practice with that kind of exercise and feeling the weight of a resisting opponent. We will still be in the matted environment for this session.

This photo is of myself and yet another noteworthy practitioner practicing applications. In this scene, I am taking him down with a basic cutting palm strike. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.

If you think you can or want to come and you haven't made that explicit to our tour organizer, please follow this link to his contact information and contact him as soon as possible.

Yin Style Baguazhang Is Coming to Knoxville!

I know I already mentioned this, but it bears repeating since it's a major goings-on in my training-related life (which is what this blog is about). Yin Style Baguazhang International is coming to Knoxville, TN, in just under a month! (Don't know much about Yin Style Baguazhang? Start here for the YSB International page!)

When: The seminar is going to be awesome for four consecutive days: Thursday, September 24, through Sunday, September 27, starting early in the morning (8-ish), continuing until lunch at 12, picking back up at 1:30-ish, and finishing in the evening between 5:30 and 6. That's more than eight hours a day of instruction from He Jinbao and Matt Bild.

Where: In West Knoxville, near the I-40/I-140 intersection. Contact us directly for more details. At the moment, some of the seminar will likely be held in Maryville (25-30 minutes south of Knoxville via I-140) as well since we will have much-appreciated access to a mat-covered floor there.

How Much: The cost will be $100 per person per day, which is a good deal since He Jinbao is the lineage holder of this branch of Baguazhang. This compares pretty favorably with what you'd find in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) seminar hosted by someone in a comparable position in the hierarchy (e.g. seminars with some of the Gracie family's students -- not a Gracie -- run in the $50-100 for two hours range).

Who: Anyone interested in experiencing the training practices of Yin Style Baguazhang firsthand with direct access to the best guys the art has. Folks with martial arts backgrounds that would like to develop or deepen their training are particularly likely to benefit. In fact, even if practicing Yin Style Bagua isn't one of your goals, your self-defense ability and overall martial arts training is very likely to be enhanced by this kind of experience.

What: The focus will be on the Lion System of Yin Style Baguazhang, which is also what this blog is about (don't know what Yin Style Baguazhang is? Click here to find out more!). The basic practices of the art as they pertain to that particular branch of it will be taught and explored in details. While the specific material on each day will be different, over the course of the seminar the following will certainly be addressed: striking drilling practice, combinations practice, forms practice, standing strengthening practice, turning the circle practice, dadao (Chinese big saber) practice, and applications of the techniques. Usually these seminars also leave open the opportunity for Q&A with the teachers, which is especially good when folks come and ask martial-arts-related questions. The opportunity to get direct, personal feedback from them is also available at those times as well.

What Else:

• In addition to He Jinbao and Matt Bild, several of the senior students in Yin Style Bagua from across the U.S. will almost certainly be in attendance, providing examples to follow and training advice for folks less experienced in the art.
• We're hoping for a pretty good turnout, so if you read this and are interested or know someone that might be, please follow this link and contact Bradley Moore for further specifics.
• Any and all are welcome to come if they are interested and can make it. Experience in the martial arts is helpful but not required, and it is worth noting that the workout will be rather physically demanding.
• Folks within a short drive of the Knoxville area that already train in an art and that are interested in tasting something new and good are especially encouraged to contact us and try to make it up for as much of the seminar as possible.
• Local schools or groups that think they might be interested and would like for Bradley and I to come by and give you a primer before the seminar are also encouraged to contact us (it would be helpful for you if you did that). You can do so here or by contacting one of us using the e-mail addresses here.
  
• Local individuals that thing they might be interested and would like the same kind of attention, contact us about coming and visiting our study group and its regular meetings in a park in Maryville on Monday nights. For the time being, our study group is meeting for free, so you'd only be out on some time.
• This is an internal martial art, but "qi warriors" probably won't find what they're expecting. Being realistic and pragmatic, Yin Style Baguazhang isn't advertising magical powers or anything of the sort; just intelligent, mature, well-designed martial arts techniques play center stage here. He Jinbao's skill is high enough to be worthy of some legends, though... at least in my humble estimation (which I'm sure I can find quite a bit of backup on from the folks who know him!).
  

Differences and Similarities

By request, I'm going to address some of what it is that I "got" about the similarities and differences between the sweeping and hooking palms as mentioned in my article. Really, the two palms are quite different, and that's important to note. In actuality, when you look at all of the forms of the sweeping palm and the hooking palm and take a careful look at the striking methods, you'll see that they're pretty diverse in both cases. Still, they're quite overlapping as well. Something similar exists for the cutting and chopping palms, I think. These things, it seems to me, are done particularly in the basic strikes, which are chosen to be representative, so as to help reinforce the ability to find and execute the forces of the strikes (which in lots of ways are similar in the big picture and yet different in the details).

The big themes of sweeping and hooking, in theory, are, I believe:

• Sweeping endeavors to create a sticky, scraping force and moves in a wheeling fashion. An opponent hit by a sweeping strike, particularly one that glances off or that is used to open the opponent, should be dragged off balance a little by the strike. This is accomplished by an idea of wheeling and scraping. Sweeping strikes also hit directly, cutting into the opponent like a sword.
  
• Hooking endeavors to move the opponent as if they were being snagged by a big hook. The name is dual in meaning: the arm is shaped like a hook and the arm is used like a hook. To use a hook well, one would have to stretch out and then come back, push and then pull, if you will. The idea is that the arm should be carrying the opponent somewhere as if he's been snagged by a hook, so there's a real idea of moving the opponent around with a hooking strike.

A couple of examples, I think, are useful to make things more clear. Ideally, what you need to do is pick a couple of the really similar strikes and do similar applications with them, trying to find how it feels different. First, let's think of inward sweeping and inward/severing hooking in the simple application that you've opened the opponent already and stepped in to throw him, leg behind his leg. The sweeping strike moves in a wheeling motion and therefore should turn the opponent some, but since it seems to hit more directly, I tend to get more "straight back" in terms of reaction from my opponent unless I *really* try to spin them around. It's not as straight as something like a chop, but it's pretty straight. In contrast, severing hooking seems to really spin the opponent because it's almost like you're lifting him up with the structure of your arm and really thinking about moving him out and away from you with a slight jerk back at the end. The opponent's reaction is very round.

In the second example, there's an application that's relatively accessible using any of rising sweeping, rising cutting, or opening hooking (the first and last on this list being quite similar in execution with that same slight difference) where the opponent's arms end up crossed while you stand behind him and put pressure on his arm and throw him down. It's in the Forcing Hand dvd, for instance, but the exact move isn't important to this discussion. Doing that move with sweeping until it's relatively comfortable, then with hooking until the same, and then going back and forth really underscored the difference. Hooking has a very strong "I'm carrying this guy around" feeling to it where as sweeping does not. Sweeping has more of an idea of knocking the guy out of the way but in a manner where there's still connection.

I don't think this is very clear, but I'm going to let it stand. It's quite difficult, I'm sure you can appreciate, to discuss movements and kinesthetic sensations in text, and as far as applications go, they never come out well when written down (at least I don't seem to think they do). The point is that the two palms feel different even though they have techniques that are done very similarly, and that those similarites boost development in the gross skills while those differences hone the mind to pay attention to and use subtle differences to achieve different results in the same or different situations. As far as I know, the only way to "get" it is to realize there's a difference, train how you believe that difference might manifest, try it out, revise, refine, and then train it and try it again and again. Baguazhang is not redundant (that would be inefficient and unneccessary), and so if they feel the same to you, then you're doing something wrong, i.e. it's incorrect to say or think or feel that "opening hooking is just like rising sweeping with a closed fist and slightly more bent arm." While on the outside, gross level that's largely true, there's different intent there that can only come about by looking for, focusing on, and then training the subtle difference in strategy and technique between the two strikes. Still, the similarity is strong enough to achieve the following two goals, in my experience: 1) getting beginners started with the hooking strike, and 2) to have a strong overlap in the "finding the force" effort in both strikes.

Published

For the first post in my second centi, I'm glad to announce I'm published:
http://yinstylebaguazhang.com/lindsay_london2009.html.

That's my experience in London this summer nearly as well as I can say it. It's pretty clear that getting the opportunity to go to a seminar like that and taking it is really an unbelievable chance that would be awfully hard to pass up!