This is what I expected...
Good, good...this is what I thought too. What about origin of the step? Anyone got that answer?
i could kick myself . . .
. . . for not knowing all 72 (sorry, that was lame). But seriously, "72 kicks" is a form in Xie Peiqi's lineage from Yin Fu (I'm pretty sure), as well as in Jiang Rongquiao's style (from Zhang Zhaodong in the Cheng Ting-hua lineage). Having said that, I've only read about the sets, and have never seen them performed. The Sun Xikun and Nine Palaces styles that I'm familiar with don't have such a set.
Why 72? Maybe it's got something to do with Taoist numerology . . . 8 (bagua) X 9 (Nine Palaces, etc.) = 72 . . . . I don't know. I would suspect that the number 72 includes left and right variations of the same kick, as well as different angles of attack . . . would be great to hear from someone who's learned one of these sets.