Liu Ho Pa Fa

[BDKF]

I have an instructional videotape of Helen Liang teaching Water Boxing. I am amazed by its movement and her apparent power in techniques as well as stances. I have about 10 years of martial arts experience in a soft style of kung fu. Is it possible to learn water boxing from this tape? Does anyone train in it that can offer me some advice or tips? Thanks.

[bamboo_ leaf]

I think that if your basics are good and you really understand the essence of your training, you should be able to pick up any type of movement that you like.

Like having a glass of water, the glass can be any shape as long as the water retains it’s essence it’s still water. IMHO the type of glass is not really that important.

Sorry i don't play that style, from some of the things i've read and seen in mag. it looks very intersting.

enjoy life

bamboo leaf

[Ky-Fi]

BDKF,
A few years ago Liang Shou Yu taught this form(or part of it--I haven't seen this video) at YMAA, and I took a 16 session class that Dr. Yang offered shortly thereafter. As Dr. Yang is not a master of this style, it was just an intro course to give us an idea of the flavor of it. Although we spent a few classes covering applications, I feel that this form(and softer styles in general)are harder to learn than some other styles(especially from videos), in that the applications are a little more hidden and harder to easily grasp. I still practice this form, and I think it's one of the coolest looking forms I"ve ever seen, but I have to be honest in saying it's kind of "flower fist, brocade kicks" as I practice it :)---my knowledge is just really shallow. Some of the flow and applications are similar to Taiji, and I could get a bit of a handle on those, but I think it definitely has a flow all it's own, that I didn't grasp that well.
If you've got a lot of experience in the soft styles, then I'm sure a lot of the basic principles apply, and you could get some value out of the video. And hey, learning it from video might be a good start to possibly learning it from one of the Liangs someday in a seminar or class. If you're curious as to more applications, I would also suggest picking up the book "Emei Baguazhang", by Liang and Yang, as I found that some of the applications in that one applied to the Liu He Ba Fa form too.

Oh, and as it was explained to me, in relation to other kungfu styles, this style is softer than Hsing I or Bagua--almost as soft as Taiji.

[swmngdragn]

Hello,

>>I have an instructional videotape of Helen Liang teaching Water Boxing. I am amazed by its movement and her apparent power in techniques as well as stances. I have about 10 years of martial arts experience in a soft style of kung fu. Is it possible to learn water boxing from this tape? Does anyone train in it that can offer me some advice or tips? Thanks.>>

If you are interested in modern wushu/dance, performance/visually oriented
material, then go ahead, and "learn" from the tape. Be aware that it is *not* the recognized martial style of LHPF. While I'm certain that Ms. Liang is a fine performance oriented artist,
there is no "power" in her performance of this set. I have seen Ms. Liang perform the set in person, and was not impressed in the least. Although she *is* beautifull to watch, and she performs modern wushu sets quite well. My advice? Find a practitioner of the *very* small, and easily tracable legitimate lineage, and study the martial art, and *not* the performance/modern wushu set.

Best regards,
R. Drake Sansone
(swmngdragn@home.com)
http://www.liuhopafa.com/
"Train, or go to hell." Terry W.