Straight Form (Wah Lum)

[SoCo KungFu]

So I was looking at the recorder....its got a cord for AV to a TV...though not quite sure where its supposed to plug to as it doesn't seem to have the right receptacle on the recorder. And it has a plug for the power cord...and another one that I dunno what its for..says DV....so how do I get my vids to the compy?

Maybe I need to take it to radioshack and see if they got the stuff...

[Yao Sing]

What exactly do you have? You need either a video capture card installed in the computer or an external capture device that connects (usually) by USB to comp and S-Video or RCA jacks to video source (camera, VCR, etc).

[SoCo KungFu]

What exactly do you have? You need either a video capture card installed in the computer or an external capture device that connects (usually) by USB to comp and S-Video or RCA jacks to video source (camera, VCR, etc).

Ummm...I hate technology.....

I have the recorder...a cord with the red/yellow/white for the TV...the recorder is one of the ones that say digital but its mini tapes...JVC mini DV (I think I bought it around '04 or '05..so not THAT old).

Like I said its got a receptacle for the AV and another that says DV with a lower case "i" and a circle next to it (whatever that means)...I'm trying to find the book...but I think I threw it out with the last move because I was like...I won't need this anymore...yeah I know...self face palm

[yu shan]

My Shifu told me there is some mantis in straight form. One is the "windmill" mentioned, this is Fanche. Shifu says fanche is both forms and techniques, but a better way of saying is method. My teacher explains it as movement and application as opposed to complete forms. There is attacking with fanche and retreating with fan che.

As for the young man putting up his attempt, my guess he is a solo practioner. And like others have mentioned, maybe a friend has shared his training with him. The friend is not going to make corrections, just shared the movements and went home. Now he has no one to make corrections and teach him the real way. True you could easily rip him a new a$$hole for his poor training, but maybe this is all he knows. I trust he has no Shifu, let us pray he does not. I have to agree with Mantid, video can be good and can certainly be bad as well.

I`m a dinosaur in the video world, God knows. But I have set a goal for myself this year to get my teacher training video of him and I. And hopefully with his blessings, post things up here. I have made a note to maybe post some visuals of fanche training.

Yao, you sound like you are on the right track.

[Yao Sing]

"Yao, you sound like you are on the right track."

That's why I'm where I am today.

I was going to bring up the fact that Fanche is Mantis but the overall feel of the set is southern to me so I left it at that. As you know WL typically has a mix of both in the same set. There are only a few completely Mantis sets, most are a mixed bag.

It's all good to me and they fit together well enough that the transitions are smooth and there's no dramatic power generation conflicts.

I've got to get my Wah Lum version of Sup Baat Sow taped and posted up for comments. I've also been migrating WASP to a Wah Lum version. Still have to get to work on fusing Big Mantis and 7 Star Bung Bo too. Serious lack of ambition lately. That should be fun though.

This might be blasphemy to some of you guys but I find it interesting and enlightening plus it suits me. Since I'm not passing on any lineage I'm free to go with what works for me.

[yu shan]

Sounds like you are giving your kung fu a lot of thought Yao. I have been thinking about brushing off the cob webs from big mantis, sort of a side project. Lack of ambition? Come on now Yao, there is too much kung fu to train to be going thru this!

[Yao Sing]

Oh yeah, SoCo KungFu, you don't have what you need to capture video to your computer.

You'll need a capture device, usually connect to PC through USB and video source through RCA jacks.

[yu shan]

Corwyn

I train the forms with your 3 step process as well. Getting to step #3 is important, tanglang is suppose to be done fast. Another course is break the form down into small roads. Lets say 3 - 4 moves in stop and start over again, then you go to the next few moves. I like to do this with the class, we move down the floor and get a nice cardio workout. The of course there are the many drills and applications to go over. You can easily spend years on one form.

[Frogman]

Straight Form
Straight form is a great form that’s a lot of fun, and can be very aggressive when done correctly. It is also one of the first forms learned once you reach the intermediate level. I remember when I first learned it, it seemed like it was long enough to warrant a lunch break. Of course now a days it’s over so fast I have to wonder if I left something out. The windmills or swim for life as I like to call it is one of the hard techniques. Over the top striking straight down on the head. It can be used to deflect an on coming attack to break thru to your opponents inside, or as mentioned attacking the head or shoulder area. When used against me in the past during sparing I would just move straight in close to my opponent which will neutralize this attack. Watch out for the cum choy!!!

The dude in the video sadly is wearing the uniform??? That doesn’t mean he is an official student, but if so his Sifu might want to go over first form a few more times then try straight form again. Both are extremely sloppy and I agree with the fact he posted it, he has to live with it. At the same time many of the mistakes he’s making are common hopefully not all at once but the lack of rooting is the first thing I see. Trying to get to the next move before finishing the one he’s on, and just swinging his arms around showing no intent of what he thinks he’s trying to do. I’m sure his basics are no different. I have seen students that even when they try hard and practice a lot they just don’t get it… No doubt this can be found in any style. For his sake I hope he realizes it one day and can make the necessary corrections. Unfortunately he probably thinks it looks great.

Black Mantis, Are you a WL student?

[Black Mantis]

Yes I am. This is my first taste of martial arts and I must say I love it so far. Its funny how these forms and even the info seems to be like an onion. You learn something on the surface, but then you see someone else do that same form and it looks different. Then you see sifu do it and it looks different still. The dynamic tension, the "slow & low" to build strength, the "all out" for cardio, the "slow, but powerful". Wow its just so many different ways to do a form and I love taking it apart and making it my own. I give out of breath right before the eagle caw to ping choy, but my endurance is improving. This form does seem long to me, but I look forward to when i can get through the whole form with intent and power and speed and still be able to stand upright when I'm done with it (minus the gasping for air). LOL.

[Frogman]

Black Mantis,
That’s awesome. You sound very enthusiast, straight form has a lot of different parts that can be worked on tweaked then worked on some more. We did forms review in class the other night and when I did SF I thought ok I got this… Yea, still needs some tweaking, lol.

On a side note,
1. The first arm grab to elbow break, back elbow, spin to low block---I shortened my back leg a little (for balance) and used more waist to spin into the low block. Then using my momentum and energy from the waist, I power into an uppercut

Step behind elbow turn uppercut, no block. Your left fist rests on the hip then fires right after the spin this might explain why you feel the need to adjust your stance. Still, I have found that most of my balance issues have been due to changing the height of my stance during transition, or incorrect foot placement. A factor that is difficult to recognize when you do the form but any one watching should be able to see it. Have your Sifu or a Sihing check your form.
I’m lost on the double gwa choy, I have chow choy double elbow, gwa, low hook, turn heun choy, gwa again, low hook, turn low chop, kick, kick. If this is the sequence you’re speaking of….? I love this series and you can generate a lot of power by pushing from the feet.

Being out of gas by the time you finish a form just means you were trying hard enough. In all it sounds like you’re on the right track and I’m glad you started this thread, I have not posted in years but this thread gave me something to think about.

Thanks,
Tommy

[Yao Sing]

He's talking about the move after the double elbows just before you turn with low block striking with Huen Choy. Then the Gwa, turn, chop block, Weong Chang Tui, Gwa May Tui. Sounds like you do single Gwa there instead of the double.

I'll reserve comment on the "grab to elbow break, back elbow, spin to low block".

[Citong Shifu]

You know, you guys are really opening my eyes to a few things. I never thought about using that technique as a defense, but it does make sense to me. Here is the hyperlink to straight form. The fellow doing it seems a bit rusty, but I guess it can serve as a good reference point.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...nelID=70463535

Holly crap, what was that? Oh well, better luck next time...

[Black Mantis]

Frogman,
Step behind elbow turn uppercut, no block. Your left fist rests on the hip then fires right after the spin. . . I have chow choy double elbow, gwa, low hook, turn heun choy, gwa again, low hook, turn low chop, kick, kick.

I notice subtle differences in terms of how we learned the form. Instead of blocking, you uppercut (after the first back elbow) and you low hook instead of low block (in the sequence right before the huen choy). Small differences. We might have learned differently.

I would love to see serious version of this form. When I clean it up, maybe I'll post it on the site for you guys to critique.

[mantid1]

The two upper cuts sound like identical techniques out of Hung Ga forms.

I think the first one is called "fist punching the sky" and the second immedieate punch would be called "continuosly punching the sky" or "Lianhuan Tong Tian".