Say Ping Ma

[Drake]

GM Doc Fai Wong recently wrote an article stating that in most cases, the story of multiple years only learning say ping ma was not true. He said that six months, or sometimes less, was all that was needed for a healthy, solid stance. He attributed the old extensive training in SPM to a sort of hazing, where the student's dedication and devotion were tested.

He went on to point out that too much horse stance training can cause the student to only be good at that stance, and that other equally important stances need to be trained as well.

Any opinions?

note: I paraphrased a lot of this, so read the article in IKF to see what he said exactly. I'm not speaking for him, but only expressing what I got out of the article.

[TenTigers]

I am sure that other things were taught along with sei ping ma, rather than just SPM for six months. If you taught SPM, along with other lein gung exercises, it would make more sense, similar to "three years sanchin" in Okinawa. It was sanchin plus makiwara, chishi,etc.

ps-when I say."Sei Ping Ma" in my class,
the entire class says,"Ping Ma!"

I can't get them to stop.

[Shaolindynasty]

My sifu told me that when he started in choy lay fut he spent the first 6 months learning basic stances. He said if he tried to ask questions his sihings would tell him to shut up and practice his stance.

He said they did this not only to train his stance but to also test him so they didn't waste their time teaching someone who wasn't dedicated.

[CLFNole]

For CLF I was told it was pretty common to work on stances for the first 6 months or so. My guess it would be more of practicing ng lun ma versus just static stance training but it could have included a mixture of both. In my opinion static stance training isn't very good for CLF as our footwork really needs to be lively but there are ways to practice ng lun ma where you can work both.

[TenTigers]

I agree. I should also add that training the ma, means footwork in general, rather than simply holding the sei ping ma statically.

[cjurakpt]

ps-when I say."Sei Ping Ma" in my class,
the entire class says,"Ping Ma!"

I can't get them to stop.

not that you support, promote or engender any behavior of that sort at all, of course...

actually, talking about repeating things: at my old TKD school we used to say "ki ma se stance" - which is a Korean (MDK) pronunciation of "ge ma sik" - ride horse stance; so in effect the are saying "ride horse stance stance"...which at one point years after I had stopped training there and was visiting, I pointed it out to them; from what I understand, they still say it the same way...

[sanjuro_ronin]

My sifu told me that when he started in choy lay fut he spent the first 6 months learning basic stances. He said if he tried to ask questions his sihings would tell him to shut up and practice his stance.

He said they did this not only to train his stance but to also test him so they didn't waste their time teaching someone who wasn't dedicated.

6 Months to find out if someone is dedicated?
Boxing does it better and quicker, they punch you in the mouth the first week you are there, if you come back, you're dedicated.

[Drake]

I am sure that other things were taught along with sei ping ma, rather than just SPM for six months. If you taught SPM, along with other lein gung exercises, it would make more sense, similar to "three years sanchin" in Okinawa. It was sanchin plus makiwara, chishi,etc.

ps-when I say."Sei Ping Ma" in my class,
the entire class says,"Ping Ma!"

I can't get them to stop.

Well, I think this is what he was getting at. He may be saying that the instructor would say "Here's say ping ma! Here's lau ma! Here's diu ma! Here's tau ma! Ok, say ping ma for two hours...go!"

Or in other words, not omission of teaching other stances, but an unusual amount of time spent on one.

[Satori Science]

My Sisook Gung told me that in Tam Fei Pang's school the first three months were spent doing just sei ping ma, that's all you learned.

It's funny though, because he is in his sixties and hasn't trained (with the exception of a little taiji for health over the last few years) since he was in his twenties. But his legs are still really strong and you can still see the strength in his legs when he would teach me stuff all these years later.

[TenTigers]

Ok, say ping ma for two hours...go!"

"ping-ma, ping-ma, ping-ma, ping-ma, ping-ma, ping-ma....."






....ok, maybe it is me.

[TenTigers]

ki ma se[/I] stance" - which is a Korean (MDK) pronunciation of "ge ma sik" - ride horse stance; so in effect the are saying "ride horse stance stance"...which at one point years after I had stopped training there and was visiting, I pointed it out to them; from what I understand, they still say it the same way...

kinda like when I cringe when people say, "Bo-staff."
In a way, we have to be glad that TCMA is not as big as Karate, or TKD. I am not ready to hear people say,"I practice the gwun-staff."

[lkfmdc]

TAO of jeet kune DO

WAY of intercepting fist WAY

:rolleyes:

[banditshaw]

When I first started Hung, the first 6 months I did a lot of stance training and walking in the stances(Horse,bow,scissor,cat) and basic punches and kicks. I learned the Tiger and Crane salute and how to apply that and some basic punches and kicks. Also a lot of sam sing. About 4 months in I started the Lau Gar Kuen set.

A small group of us used to battle how long we could hold the horse. But I have to say the lively stance walking seemed more productive than the static training.

[David Jamieson]

yeah, the whole sitting in one stance for 6 months is pretty much a load.

no one does it and it's likely that no one ever did.

So good for DFW for pointing that out. S'bout time. :)

[Sam]

Any fighting art worth it's salt should develop mind, body, and spirit. Training in endurance through stances is one way. Understanding and mastering forms, fighting application, sensitivity and strength training drills are another. Live controlled fighting (Stand up and ground work). Most styles and systems can work. It depends on the individual and what they put into it. Someone can have terrible technique but have such a fierce fighting spirit that they overcome a superior opponent. Do not underestimate your opponent or over estimate your skills.

[Yao Sing]

TAO of jeet kune DO

WAY of intercepting fist WAY

:rolleyes:

It's not only in martial arts either. According to Microsoft computers were powered by Windows NT technology (said so on the splash screen). NT stands for "new technology" so it was Windows New Technology technology.

[TenTigers]

someone needs to report that to The Dept. of Redundancy Dept.

[Drake]

I work hard at my kung fu.

[bakxierboxer]

I work hard at my kung fu.


Yes, "as appropriate", even though it's said that you "play" your sets/kung-fu. :cool:

[Mano Mano]

At my CLF sifu’s school lessons lasted for 2 hours minimum & at every lesson a half an hour would be dedicated to stance & footwork training. Whether you were a beginner or senior student.