Unicorn Stepping

[Judge Pen]

This method of stepping has been referenced in a couple of threads here, but I'm not familiar with it. I think I have an idea, but I was wondering if anyone could help me with a nice diagram, video reference or clear description of "unicorn stepping." Thanks.

[Eddie]

simple - cross, cross, horse :).
found in CLF and most southern styles.

[kungfujunky]

cross step back or forward?

judge it sounds like the stepping in the female immortal where your beaking and ridgehanding while cross stepping and then end in the horse stance....

[kungfujunky]

lung the spot on judges clip of the kwan dow is most certainly not a unicorn step.

judge did the form almost exactly as i do with only a couple minor differences. with such a long and heavy weapon taking your stance down into a deep horse is just not useful.

there are times when that form gets some deep bow stances but not horse.

so that debate is done lol

[The Willow Sword]

This stance is formed by taking a step forward and crossing one leg infront of the other by creating a 90 degree angel while turning the waist and squatting down.
When in this stance the front foot is flat on the floor while the heel of the back foot is raised of the floor leaving the ball of this foot touching the ground.

image is a drawing of the unicorn step.


Peace,TWS

[Judge Pen]

Thanks. It's close to what I imagined it to be, but I wanted to make sure.

[Fu-Pow]

Nope that's not the unicorn step in the picture of Lam Sai Wing. That's kau mah or twisted horse aka dragon stance. The unicorn step is two succesive kau mah's. Stepping in one direction and then the totally opposite direction.

[The Willow Sword]

actually that IS the unicorn step. the stepping is similar to twisting horse,however, the unicorn stepping as i understand it is an evasive move. twisting horse's posture is closer to the ground. TWS

this is Nau Ma, see pic below.



http://www.hungkuen.net/training-basicstances.htm Site i referenced. i have done these stances in the form work that i do now so i know what i am talking about. maybe you have a different way of doing the stances but this is essentially how i have been doing them.

[Ben Gash]

It is my understanding that when you say "unicorn stepping" as opposed to unicorn step then you are refering to the sequence commonly seen in Hung Kuen when doing butterfly palm, where you step into unicorn stance one way, then unicorn stance in the opposite direction, followed with a horse or bow step.
As performed (with a skip) at 3:04 in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUrtTFdo_Q&mode=related&search=
and at 0:27 in this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxM40O6r4HI&mode=related&search=

[Yao Sing]

'm familiar with that type of stepping but I've never heard it referred to as Unicorn Stepping. But then I was never taught the names of a lot of the stuff I learned.

A lot of peeps mistake that for Drunken. It's a cross step and you see it a lot in Wah Lum.

[Fu-Pow]

actually that IS the unicorn step. the stepping is similar to twisting horse,however, the unicorn stepping as i understand it is an evasive move. twisting horse's posture is closer to the ground. TWS

this is Nau Ma, see pic below.

http://www.hungkuen.net/training-basicstances.htm Site i referenced. i have done these stances in the form work that i do now so i know what i am talking about. maybe you have a different way of doing the stances but this is essentially how i have been doing them.

It's not what I call it, it's how it's commonly known. The picture of Lam Sai Wing is a "stance" not a "step", known universally as kau mah or twisted horse or some such variation of.

The unicorn step or unicorn stepping is a Southern Kung Fu way of moving from side to side in kau mah. The picture of Lam Sai Wing is probably showing him doing part of the unicorn stepping and the author inadvertently labeled this as a "stance" which unicorn step/stepping is NOT.

[shuaichiao]

Funny how names differ from style to style. I always called the stepping most of you are referring to as crab walking. In the Chang Chuan I learned from Dr. Yang If you twisted from horse stance to cross leg stance then we called it sitting on cross legs but if you stepped into that position we called it unicorn stance.

[Fu-Pow]

What I'm really curious about is how that name came about? If anyone has seen the Kei Lun/Chi Lin that is similar to the Mo Si you don't typically see that stepping at least as my CLF school performed it.

FP

[Fu-Pow]

Funny how names differ from style to style. I always called the stepping most of you are referring to as crab walking. In the Chang Chuan I learned from Dr. Yang If you twisted from horse stance to cross leg stance then we called it sitting on cross legs but if you stepped into that position we called it unicorn stance.

Northern kung fu has its own vocabulary, some different some similar.

Also I think it is important to distinguish between bo/bu (step) and ma (horse ie stance) or this can lead to a lot of confusion. The step is the action where as ma is the final static position.

In other words, there is more than one kind of step that can lead you to the final position.

[Judge Pen]

I've always referred to this step as either a cross-step or dragon walk. I had not heard of a unicorn step until this forum.

[David Jamieson]

This is why transliterated terms don't help. lol

It's a cross step.

man, all the time wading in the minutia to figure out what "unicorm stepping" is.

[Fu-Pow]

man, all the time wading in the minutia to figure out what "unicorm stepping" is.

Now hold on a second....unicorm stepping and unicorn stepping are entirely different. In the unicorm step the pinky toe points south east in the the unicorn step its south west.

FP

[Fu-Pow]

As performed (with a skip) at 3:04 in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUrtTFdo_Q&mode=related&search=
and at 0:27 in this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxM40O6r4HI&mode=related&search=

Yep, exactly....

[Ben Gash]

You know, in my Choy Li Fut and various northern styles, there's a differentiation between Twist horse (which by definition twists), and those where you step into it without twisting. What is sometimes described as Unicorn stance (and I have used this meaning in my previous post) refers to a cross stance where the "flat" foot passes across the "tiptoe" foot. In Choy Li Fut this has the highly PC name of cripple horse :rolleyes: Where the "tiptoe" foot moves behind the "flat" foot it is commonly known as stealing step/horse.

[Green Cloud]

Thest three stances are very similar but have diferent functions, the Kai Lin bouh (unicorn stance), Nau mah (cross stance), and Tau bouh (stealing step).

[Fu-Pow]

Thest three stances are very similar but have diferent functions, the Kai Lin bouh (unicorn stance), Nau mah (cross stance), and Tau bouh (stealing step).

Kei Lun Bouh and Tau Bouh are steps, not stances. Nau Mah is final position (ie stance) of both.

Mandarin (hanyu pinyin)
bu4

Cantonese (jyutping)
bou6 fau6

[1] [n] step; pace [2] [v] walk; stroll; on foot [3] situation; state; degree [4] banks of rivers, ponds, etc. [5] fortune; doom [6] a unit in length in ancient China of about 5.5 feet [7] a Chinese family name

[Green Cloud]

Hi fu pow, not to get into samantics but any movement or step in a generic sense is considered a stance. As far as the Nau mah is concerned it's just a cross stance, but when you're doing the Kai Lin bouh there's more of a twist and lock, like a cork screw the stance is complete when you're sitting on the floor or on the back of your foot.

You see wu shu peeps doing it all the time, but it definately differs from the cross stance.

[Yao Sing]

I've seen the Kai Lin Bouh in CLF but don't understand it use. Wah Lum has cross stepping and cross leg stance and low and ground stances but no Kai Lin bouh.

What would be the purpose of locking all the way down?

[Green Cloud]

If someone is trying to nock you over, you are simply yielding or giving way like a gate or a revolving door. I don't use it often since it erquires a bit of energy but it beats falling on your back. the KLB lock your center of gravity so now you can begin your lower gate attack.

[Fu-Pow]

Hi fu pow, not to get into samantics but any movement or step in a generic sense is considered a stance. As far as the Nau mah is concerned it's just a cross stance, but when you're doing the Kai Lin bouh there's more of a twist and lock, like a cork screw the stance is complete when you're sitting on the floor or on the back of your foot.

Are you talking about CLF or lama?

The CLF that I know the Kei Lun Bouh is essentially what Ben Gash posted of the video of Lam Chan Fai.

CLF is in many ways the feet of Hung Gar with Northern Hands. The footwork is almost identical.

Also, I concede that Mah and Bouh are sometimes used loosely but to be semantically correct a ma is a ma and a bouh is a bouh. Ma means horse anyways so we're already talking about some obscure (to the rest of chinese speakers) martial arts terms.

[Eddie]

someone told me a story once that the unicorn had fire coming from his feet or something. the unicorn was very virtuous, and it didn’t want to step on any ants or little insects, so it crossed its steps to avoid stepping on things. If that makes sense…

[The Willow Sword]

uhhh as i mentioned earlier it is an EVASIVE movement. hope that clears up the confusion:)
TWS

[Green Cloud]

Are you talking about CLF or lama?

The CLF that I know the Kei Lun Bouh is essentially what Ben Gash posted of the video of Lam Chan Fai.

CLF is in many ways the feet of Hung Gar with Northern Hands. The footwork is almost identical.

Also, I concede that Mah and Bouh are sometimes used loosely but to be semantically correct a ma is a ma and a bouh is a bouh. Ma means horse anyways so we're already talking about some obscure (to the rest of chinese speakers) martial arts terms.


I was actualy just speaking in general but we do it in Lama and CLF keeping in mind that we are not from the same branch.

I'm sure most of this stuff gets lost in translation from style to style but when I do the Kei Lun bouh we twist into a cross stance, some people refer to it as a twisting horse.

The cross stance Nau mah is done by just crossing over the front leg as if you were on a balance beam.

the end result is the same and the stances look identical when loking at a picture of both stances.