Nice CLF Clip

[extrajoseph]

The length is not fixed, if it is shorter you work more on speed and accuracy, if it is longer you work more on strength and ging.

[CLFNole]

Correct me if I am wrong but with very long poles (say 8' or longer) you want to keep it close to the body but with shorter poles in the 6'-7' range it does not need to be as close, not far and open from the body of course but not the same as a really long pole.

[extrajoseph]

Stand with your arm raised and fingers stretch, the length from the ground to the tip of your fingers is your personal standard length, from there you can add or subtract according to your training routine. Even when it is short, if you hold it away from your body too much it will be easy for your opponent to knock it out your your hands and it prevents you from becoming one the the staff, the body and the staff should move as one and not two items.

[extrajoseph]

Look at this guy doing the gwan jong from 0.53 - 1.18, he is using a short staff but still hold it close to his doby and his body rolls with the staff as though the stick is just an extension of his body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbHSY8bSZmY

[CLFNole]

I agree...what I was more or less getting at is everytime I have seen one of the old masters play a really long staff they have it virtually hugging/touching their body...but with shorter staffs that are lighter and easier to maneuver it is not kept as close at all times.

Kind of the difference between the Poon Lung Kwun form and Sheung Garp Dan Tow Kwun. I know what you mean about keep the pole too far away from the body as I have seen this done with both staff and spear and there is a lack of connection with the movement of the body but thats not what I was asking originially.

Thanks.

[CLFNole]

Look at this guy doing the gwan jong from 0.53 - 1.18, he is using a short staff but still hold it close to his doby and his body rolls with the staff as though the stick is just an extension of his body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbHSY8bSZmY

This is what I was referring to when I said "close" as opposed to hugging/touching the body that you see with the really long poles. I try to play my staff similar to how Wong Sifu was doing it on the jong.

[extrajoseph]

OK, I see what you mean. There is single-headed Poon Lung Kwun form and a double-head Poon Lung Kwun form, the length is longer and hold tighter to the body with the former as compare to the latter. I guess what I am trying to say is the staff and the body should move as one, and power is generated by the waist and the stance transmitted onto the staff as an extension of the body, and not like only the arms and the hands are moving the staff.

[CLFNole]

We are on the same page with regard to your thinking.

The better video of the form I was originally referring to was on the Return to the Origin II Demo, the one with the large red banner saying to Spread CLF to the Four Seas (or something like that). I really liked the way this older sifu played the set, the staff was really long and he had great jing with the staff. I was really just curious of the name and if the staff had to always be that long but you answered all the questions.

Have you seen the Dai Pah set that was part of the same demo. It is done by a younger performer and he spins the fork like crazy during the form. I was curious if that is traditional becuase I never see the old masters spin the fork crazy like this guy did. It almost had a wushu feel too it becuase of the excessive spinning.

[extrajoseph]

Well, young guys like to show off and spin their thing, old guys know you only need one good twist to trap what is coming.