One Second Before The Battle

[Tainan Mantis]

Just before sparring with your partner, like 1 second before the action actually begins, do you lead with strong hand in front or back?
Why?

[Ralek]

Kung fu sucks.

I am the Grand Ultimate Fist

[mantis108]

So do you, Ralek. What's the matter? Your freinds don't play with you on the main forum no more? Troll of all Trolls!

Mantis108

Contraria Sunt Complementa

[Kram1]

Something I picked up from non-mantis (Goju) is switching strong hand from lead to rear as the occasion merits. My Sensei heavily emphasised sparring, and this swapping sort of flowed from this. This gives you access to an entirely different set of techniques. The hard part was being in the right position at the right time. :D A back fist or a trap can be pretty hard from the reverse!

MArk

And So It Goes...

[Stumblefist]

Tainan:
Do you ever do foot to foot, hand to hand, in 4/6 fighting stance as a start position?
It's neat.
After the "go" someties the opponents don't.
I like to do a little wing chin or roll around the hand striking the face or ribs.
...
I keep my strong hand in rear, because it is my strong range of techniques, because it is most dependable for me. After all Bill Wallace only kicked with one foot, the opponents knew it and he still clobbered them.
During ebb and flow i will change it. I guess it's only the ready postion i feel best in my partiality.
Japanese Sword always keeps the right foot forward. Reason: The Heart - 2 inches means death.

But then again for lead hand techniques my left hand is my strong hand, particularly i knoocked a fellow to his knees with a lead thumb down backslap.

"This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me"

[EARTH DRAGON]

good question! I have always had my fast left hand out front, my left however it is also my power hand. I find that being left handed has its advantages, I usually start with my right hand back so my opponent thinks I'm right handed then after I get a feel for him I switch which totally throws them off and then wham! I throw my power hand in and land a left. It works well to confuse your opponent, but I would like to have the speed with my right that I do with my left.now if I could just get my feet could do that.

http://www.kungfuUSA.net

[Tainan Mantis]

I don't understand foot to foot, hand to hand.

I favor leading with the right power hand and starting with Tsai. Although there are several other techniques if the opponent expects me to start that way.

I have drills to start in one of three ways.
1.left side left hand lead
2.right side right hand lead
3.centered, my left to your right and my right to your left

I also believe in the Bill Wallace simplicity and so from each of the above 3, the variations are few. Just what is based on the 12 flexible.

In sparring, when I have a chance to pick I feel more comfy on the right, but from experience of me and friends, in reality you don't always get to pick which side.
This is one of the reasons why I feel that Beng bu is so complete because its drills deal with these 3 situations so well.

E.D. A lefty huh? I can't remember the last time I saw one of those. In Taiwan most children are forced to be right handed. But I have played with Wing Chun people for a while and they give me the impression that for them left and right are the same.
From what I've experienced they like to start in the above mentioned #3

[Stumblefist]

Foot-to- foot,hand-to-hand:

IT's an excellent way to start beginners into sparring, but advanced use it for starting as well. For beginners, foot movement is not allowed, after that one step is allowed.
---------
Technical Stuff: position in Si-liu-shi - 4-6 stance,40 percent weight on front, 60 on back foot, open hands fingers up, knife edge of palms facing opponent, one hand back one hand front guard. Feet parallel to each other in a straight line and pointing 45 degrees off center.

Get right real close, feet contact opponents toe to his heel, yours to his alongside each other parrallel on the 45 degree, hands touch at the wrists. Wait for the "go" or wait for one person to decide to move.
You can try all kinds of grabbing, counter-grabbing punching combinations, attack or jump back or simply wait to let the other person make the first move. My favorite is wing chun circling around the wrist to the inside and rebound energy punching or back-slapping , also in wrist to wrist action in ebb a flow where the stance might be higher, grabbing with baji body-dropping (not stomping).
My start in freestyle is usually the Bruce Lee boxing heel-up stance with my left lead. Usually, but there are other start-ups i've pracised, like leaving openings. There are some sucker bets like facing and raising both hands up and in front facing the opponent square, or facing in a very low cat stance. And when i say sucker i mean the careless attacker gets suckered in these.
Left/right is kinda funny because when i examine it there are many things i do better with my left than my right.
-------------------
Aikido techniques do every side staring with first right foot forward Counter mirror image (classical sword stance). right then left. Then Mirror stance right then left. Now, get this, the strategy and technique have to be altered for the same principle (or so-called technique) in mirror stance and it has to be automatic and natural and adaptive. There are many many compications... if his hand is here and his foot is there... ad infinitum.IT's no wonder it takes so long to absorb Aikido basics!
...........
I drill punching both lead right and lead left. My basic power-punching is from Crane, Boxing-kungfu and Baji. If i need a quick solo get-ready, i'll do some boxing punches, a crane form or some Baji.
My leads (punch and kick) on the left are better than the right because i've practiced them more.
What techniques i use will come from the 2-man drills or from the forms or basic movement patterns.
I stick to what i'm good at and what I've practiced and what is spontaneous.

"This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me"

[This message was edited by Stumblefist on 10-16-01 at 04:03 AM.]

[Tainan Mantis]

Aikido, Mantis and White Crane is quite a combo.

[Stumblefist]

Tainan:
My Mantis teacher is Zhou GaoShan. He inherited several styles. Mantis adds some technique depth and precision to the wildness of my Crane. The training methods may be more important than the techniques. Also the mantis has more explosive forward going power, but the crane has more body dynamic powers.
..
I'll use crane as a quick warm-up or get ready, slow then fast. The reason is that it is full body and full stretching and looser or more relaxed than mantis concentrating on speed.
..
Aikido is the best chin-na that i've found, maybe jiu-jitsu is or was better but i think modern Aikido with Ueshiba and Shioda have developed it. It looks like the Japanese just took the lead there. Besides I love using the katana. Aikido uses sword work fundamentals, also uses sword. Now what i want to add is some BJJ (Aikido on the ground.).
..
Also i do Chen Tai. The do some simplified routines in the mantis groups Taiwan and start the day with it in the mountain training temples for summer and winter break. But i like the "old home" and got started on it in LuoYang.


"This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me"

[This message was edited by Stumblefist on 10-16-01 at 09:30 AM.]

[This message was edited by Stumblefist on 10-16-01 at 09:32 AM.]

[HuangKaiVun]

I'm NOT a Mantis stylist.

In my style, we go right or left equally.

Either way, we try to present only the side of our horse stance to the opponent.

[Stumblefist]

GIS student?
Seng Men? ... southern style?
.....
fighting stance is horse stance?... maybe if i knew the style, i could understand that.

"It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me"

[HuangKaiVun]

probably.

[Tainan Mantis]

Your teacher is my Shr bo. I went to have tea at his house with a bunch of his students in Tainan in 1989.
Do you visit him in Kaohsiung often?

[Stumblefist]

TM: Yes, i know the relationship.
Master Zhou lives in the mountains. If you went to a house in Tainan perhaps it wasn't his house. Unless it's a secret from me. ;)
Yes, i visit him often in Taiwan when i'm there.
He usually doesn't go anywhere. Students go to him. He doesn't supervise the basic training either, nor the mountain-temple camp training. That's the coaches's job.
Usually takes 2 years before a student gets an invitation to lunch and instruction at the teachers home. Altough if they go to the holiday-time mountain training they will go to his house before leaving, be introduced and he will record their names.

I go to his house and sleep in one of the tatami rooms. Usually the visiting female students do the cooking. I do the eating and drinking his medicine wine :) (Well ok I do cleaning too. :) )

Were his students recordng his lectures at the tea? Usually someone is. He is a fountain of knowledge and MA wisdom.

"It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me"

[Tainan Mantis]

Well, I couldn't speak Chinese at the time so maybe it wasn't his house. I was new to Taiwan, and it was a tatami floor that everyone sat on. What ever was said I couldn't understand. The house was later torn down and a Buddhist temple put up in its place.

[nobody]

i say when your training, work you off hand harder the your power hand, that way you can compensate. when both hands feel the same to you, thats when you know, you will never be in a tight spot