Hi. I was wondering about two different versions of Xingyi's Water Lizard form(Tow Xing) I've seen. In some variations, I've seen the palm of the extended hand facing OUTWARD, whereas in others I've seen the palm of the extended hand facing UPWARD. Some examples: The picture of the Xingyi master demonstrating the form on Andrea Falk's Wushu Centre site has the palm of the extended hand facing OUTWARD: http://www.thewushucentre.ca/photopages/ztgui.jpeg
I've also noticed Felipe Bido perform the Water Lizard form this same way on the Emptyflower.com website, as well as Sun Lu Tang in his book Xing Yi Quan Xue.
In contrast. I've seen Sifu James McNeil in one of his Hsing-I videos demonstrate the Water Lizard form with the palm of the extended hand facing UPWARD, as well as Marcello Teixeira on his website: http://www.xingyitchuen.com.br/english/tow.html
I think Mike Patterson performs it this way too(palm upward), but I could be wrong. There these just purely stylistic differences? Do they represent different fighting applications of the form. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks