[QUOTE=sanjuro_ronin;1174802]Very much so, going from "big to small" really develops the engine much better than diving it at "small".
I am sure some can make it work from the start of course.
The commonality of many southern systems is that, start big and end small.QUOTE]

I agree. It's hard to imagine doing it the other way. Imagine the difficulties spending years on, say, a short Hakka system and then trying to loosen up for longfist. TWC is well organized as a teaching method and first develops gross motor skills which can be used under pressure.

I recall one person mentioning that he believed that the southern short hand systems are all just "expressions" of an original long hand one.
Interesting. Wondered about that myself. It would explain why systems of supposedly northern origin do not resemble what remains in the homeland.