Making internal arts practical
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:37 am
I like anybody's efforts to make Internal Chinese martial arts more practical
(There's a great opportunity for the "they are already practical you just don't understand them!" mystical crowd - Wayne, I'm looking at you - to jump in here...)
Yes, I think they are already practical, but there are certain practical realities of fighting that are often not addressed in IMA. We're not talking about rocket science, just simple things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EItSB4XwMU
Good effort by this guy.
Some things he says I don't agree with, but on the whole I like the gist of what he's saying.
What's interesting to me is that near the end he's ending up with something that is very like Xing Yi's Pao Quan, but with the arm held nearer the head.
Around 4.40- he's talking about keeping the arms near the head without that gap that people can throw punches through.
Usually you see Pao Quan done like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAIBgAUyJQ4
Notice that big air gap between the defensive hand and the head. I was always taught to remove that gap so it should feel like you're squeezing through a tight space - I asked my teacher why he said both ways are fine, but it was the most practical way to do it.
I don't think either way is better, but I think it depends on the range you're going for - closer range you need less gap - at a longer range the gap might be necessary.
So, in a case of Pao Quan - if you are working on the outside of their attacking arm, then a gap makes sense, but if you are attacking inside their attack then no gap makes sense. Our particular style of Xing Yi seeks to get on the inside a lot - attack within their attack, so you're hitting them at the moment they think they're hitting you.
Does that... make sense?
(There's a great opportunity for the "they are already practical you just don't understand them!" mystical crowd - Wayne, I'm looking at you - to jump in here...)
Yes, I think they are already practical, but there are certain practical realities of fighting that are often not addressed in IMA. We're not talking about rocket science, just simple things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EItSB4XwMU
Good effort by this guy.
Some things he says I don't agree with, but on the whole I like the gist of what he's saying.
What's interesting to me is that near the end he's ending up with something that is very like Xing Yi's Pao Quan, but with the arm held nearer the head.
Around 4.40- he's talking about keeping the arms near the head without that gap that people can throw punches through.
Usually you see Pao Quan done like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAIBgAUyJQ4
Notice that big air gap between the defensive hand and the head. I was always taught to remove that gap so it should feel like you're squeezing through a tight space - I asked my teacher why he said both ways are fine, but it was the most practical way to do it.
I don't think either way is better, but I think it depends on the range you're going for - closer range you need less gap - at a longer range the gap might be necessary.
So, in a case of Pao Quan - if you are working on the outside of their attacking arm, then a gap makes sense, but if you are attacking inside their attack then no gap makes sense. Our particular style of Xing Yi seeks to get on the inside a lot - attack within their attack, so you're hitting them at the moment they think they're hitting you.
Does that... make sense?