Rooting

[red5angel]

Does anyone have any good suggestions for solo rooting drills? I was thinking about getting into stance near a post and pushing on it with my lap sau much like th rooting drills we do with partners in class.

[Martial Joe]

Do slt...

[rubthebuddha]

a lot.

[S.Teebas]

..and do it correctly. (strive to improve, dont just repeat what you already know).

S.Teebas

[Sihing73]

Hello,

One thing that I have found to have some use, though to what extent is debatable ;

Take up a stance and take a pole about 2-3 feet long. Place one end of the pole against your body, stomach, side etc, and the other end against the wall. Relax into the stance and exert a slight pressure against the wall through the stick/pole. This will give you some feedback regarding your stance. It will not, however, make your root super strong. It is only an exercise to aid you in your alignment and give you a point of reference.

Other than that Single Leg SNT or Single Leg Stance work is always a good thing also.

Peace,

Dave

[whippinghand]

Originally posted by red5angel
Does anyone have any good suggestions for solo rooting drills?

Kick a wall.

[Rolling_Hand]

Have you gotten enough of Yee Gee Kim Yeung Mah?

[straight blast]

In Australia rooting oneself is somewhat of a different thing. When I read something about solo rooting my first thought was "Watch out, you'll go blind".

Sorry about that. I can't add anything productive, but over here if you are told go root yourself it is not a nice thing...

P.S. If you root yourself too much you get hairy palms...

[Matrix]

Originally posted by straight blast
In Australia rooting oneself is somewhat of a different thing. When I read something about solo rooting my first thought was "Watch out, you'll go blind".

As you may already know, in Canada we have a clothing manufacturer named "ROOTS" They outfitted the Canadian Olympic team for Sydney. I heard the gear was quite popular in Australia.

Matrix

[red5angel]

What do you guys and gals think rooting consist of? What is it that makes a good strong root in wing chun?

[urban tea]

Interesting question.

I see kenneth chung do a deep horse. Tsui's guys don't sit deep at all, not even medium but they have a root.

A root comes from the spinal cord being straight which allows the energy that comes from the heaven to go straight down the spine and to the ground.

Relaxation and time is the key. Tai Chi Standing post works the same way. So does Hsing-I's stance and the shaolin horse.

But what I can't figure out is ....would LS's lineage have a stronger horse than TST's?? They both sink and feel the root.

[red5angel]

UT - What would you say is the difference between LS and TST root? Do TST guys sink low or is sinking some sort of spiritual thing/energy thing? I understand what you are saying about the nergy and all that. Do you think there is anything else to it?

[urban tea]

Ken's horse has the knees together and sinks low.

TST's horse looks like he's just standing there, knees bent a tiny bit and feet pointing towards the center. (triangle)

His students do the same horse.

The difference is..one hurts like heck and the other doesn't !! BIG QUESTION - which horse can uproot the other ? Why and how? We need a sifu on this board.

But TST makes his students sit in the SLT for at least 10 months before starting any don chi. He just comes by and reminds the person to relax.

Here's a story. One kid wanted to learn wc from TST. TST told him that he'd have to do a year of SLT, just sitting there. This kid is 16 years old. He wanted to do it. So everyday the kid came to the class and sat there doing SLT. He never asked one question to the other students or TST about when he will start to learn more.

He comes and does SLT for a few hours - 5 days a week. 10 months pass and the kid's patience is really amazing. TST comes up to him after 10 months and says, "Okay now I will show you don chi sao"

Kid says, "But sifu! I still have two more months to go!"

TST laughs. I admire the kid.

[kungfu cowboy]

I would absolutely love it if a major university would fund this:

Take Joe Shmoe, unlearned in wing chun. X-ray, MRI, PET scan, and photograph his legs and back before and after one year of wing chun training. Analyze the change in the ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle, tendon density, bone density, connective tissue, and blood circulation.

I bet the development of a good root involves basically a gradual change in all these things over time, as the mechanics of the body adjust to support the weight that the weird stance places on it, whose end effect changes the center of gravity, available power base, and makes you look like a funky chicken.

Of course there is also the aspect of teaching the mind how to link the upper and lower parts of the body together to redirect force from arms to back to ground and back again, which together in tandem with the physical changes create root.

[S.Teebas]

also the aspect of teaching the mind how to link the upper and lower parts of the body together

Isnt that the job of the body?...the mind can think it, but the body actually does it.