Re: Tan Tui Related Material

Greetings,

Here is a really good three part article on toe kicks (See: The Old Okinawan Karate Toe Kicks). In the second annotation of part one, the writer shares his experience with the various kicking approaches of Tan Tui. Though he speaks much about Okinawan and Japanese styles. The information shared is pertinant to those practitioners who want to resurrect and perpetuate an aspect of Chinese martial arts, especially the kicking aspect, that has long been neglected. Here it is (scroll down):

http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/...word=toe+kicks


I hope you enjoy the read as much as I did.

mickey

Those articles were great. Some of the better material posted on this forum :D

I would respond to your post, Golden Arms. It's just that the tears will not stop flowing.

mickey

I think you didn't get a response from anyone because your post was about real, legit skills that are worth training. You are silly to think that most that read these boards would have any interest in doing anything with information like that ;) I thought it was awesome, we have a couple horrific toe kicks, and I have seen some stuff in Chuo Jiao that would make a person think twice before coming within kicking range as well.

If we compare lonfist Tantui:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt83nvRwq-4

and Chinwoo Tantui:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE4Qt-w3YgY

We can see some difference here. The long fist Tautui:

- kick with the ball of your foot (same as Karate or TKD front kick).
- the kick goes into a small up and down curve.
- the supporting leg is more straight, and
- the kick is higher.

The Chinwoo Tantui:

- kick with the toes of the foot (Same as Okinawan Karate front kick).
- the kick goes into a straight line.
- the supporting leg is bending, and
- the kick is lower.

Greetings,

Maybe I was just being silly.

With regard to the Long Fist Tan Tui, I always thought that the attacking weapons of the foot were either the toes or the instep, depending on the road [EDIT: I forgot to add heel and that these are the attacking weapons at the outset. I did not mention shin, knee, etc.]. There are tender spots on the torso that a kick with the ball of the foot will not affect. Other points in the Long Fist version include the solar plexus and the throat. Maybe attacking with the ball of the foot became popular because training the toes became unpopular.

In Gichin Funakoshi's Karate Do Kyohan, there is a section on striking weapons with the foot. The toes are mentioned as well as the ball of the foot.

Nevertheless, attacks with the ball of the foot can be devastating. Sport competition with safety gear amongst Karate practitioners have incredibly marginalized the wicked potential of kicking techniques. Emphasis now days is with the instep and heel.

I remember being taught not to kick an opponent; but rather, kick a hole in him. Hurt something good.

mickey

What kind of conditioning did you do to train your toes? I learned to work on a tire either mounted on the wall or on the floor (hitting it with a foot sweep type of motion, toes first). I have seen people kick boxes of weights to scoot them, as well as makiwaras.

Greetings,

The way I was taught to attack with the toes ways to use them in a stabbing action flexing the toes, the large toe supported by the second and third toes, forward into the target. When you are training chi, this can be enough. It hurts like heck. It is used to attack points, akin to the phoenix eye fist. Training this action on a bag can yield good results. I have also used my body weight in helping strengthen the toes, using a forward flexing action as described above on the floor and against the wall. The thing is to start slow and build up. Training chi is important with this particular method. I accidentally touched a point with my toe on my partner during a contact form and all I can say is that I am glad I had someone with the experience to pull the guy out of the trouble he was in.

mickey