one of our school owners found this video of our teacher on youtube, so i hope you guys find some good stuff in it: http://youtu.be/SLYEoPXr5lQ
Also, how in the world could a fan stop a kick? I don't know about you, but if I roundhouse kicked a fan somebody was holding with one hand it wouldn't even effect the momentum of my kick.
You misunderstand the technique. This technique wasn't aimed at blocking a kick, the point of this was a counter to the deadly "smell my toes" move. The fan aids in wafting away any residue odors.
Silly me. I guess after working almost exclusively dirty jobs my sense of smell is lacking. That man should condition his nose the way I did, working in a wastewater treatment plant!
not yet, as master yang covers most of this stuff in seminar. from what little i know of fan, the intent is to guage distance and tap a pressure point too, so the kick isn't fully invested in with the fan. some of his partners fall, but not all. all part of the kma microcosm of things. i almost forgot non kuk soolers come here too! good to see perspectives from the non-intoctrinated.
How'd that make it past the filter?...It's been awhile since I've been intoctrinated...still having nightmares though. :cry:
Ssangkall, I have some questions about what I saw, I hope they don't come across as critical. Think more that I am coming from my styles frame of reference for how we use the fan and I am having difficulty understanding some differences. I am not trying to imply my styles way is the right way, but some of what I saw really goes against my training. So, I want to compare notes and learn. If you don't know, I am coming from a Choy Li Fut Kung Fu and Yang Tai Chi background. We use the fan as a glorified stick basically. We often use it with the open end held closed and the end that doesn't open being the end towards the opponent more often than not. Also, while we will open it in forms for show and flash, we learn that in martial application, it should stay closed. I am therefore having trouble with how much the fan is used to actually strike while open. It does not seem to me like an open fan has enough structural integrity to cause any serious damage - even to a pressure point. I also find myself wondering if an opponent would really be that distracted by an open fan past the very beginning - if at all. On a similar note, even when held closed, it appears that it isn't held tightly at all- loosely and still a bit open. Again, I find myself wondering about it's effectivness being utilized with enough tightness to have a strong stick style strike. We learn to poke soft targets primarily, although I think there are a few temple strikes in one form. Strikes are towards smaller bones (hand for example) and softer targets. So, I am having trouble with the use of the fan towards the very middle of strong bones of the arms and legs - particularly in blocking kicks, as others have mentioned here. What is the reasoning for using such a small weapon against big arm and leg areas? Thanks
hey. im at 4th degree, and fan is at 5th, so all i know from it is being a demo partner a few times, and a seminar partner a couple others, so i was hoping this vid could help some pf the other soolers out there. BUT in my estimation, master yang tightens up at the end of every strike in technique practise... fan closed. opening of the fan is done for demos, and he will switch out the punch for a jumping back side kick on a whim. what you said about the short stick is similar in our style as well, and with the short stick we hold loose and snap right before impact. as for the limb striking, master yang is typically stiking the pressure point near the shin called 'sam eum gyo' (sp-6) or near the wrist 'yeol gyeol' (lu-7)... and that stuff hurts when it happens. just hurts a lot with the bamboo fan folded up. i think he has one made of pakdal namu/birch as well.
Fan techniques are some of the most criticized material when non-KS folks see it in demos. Remember that there were regions where carrying swords and knives in public were illegal. The fan was simply an improvised weapon that seemed to be harmless to carry around but were really weapons-in-hiding. They often were made of birch wood with hidden razors on the edges. Many of them were also thought to be soaked in poisons. The goal was to deliver the razor edges/poisons at selected pressure points for maximum effect.
That doesn't sound like it is useful for immediate effect, unless you are getting the blades in a postion to make them bleed out. The idea of it being a "glorified stick" is much more practical, IMO, and reflects their use in both Chinese and Japanese systems. Why is the demo partner not actually getting at the right distance? Is there a reason for it in the drill or is it bad judgement on his part?
So if you get attacked, you cut someone with your fan dipped in poison, they still continue to fight, maybe injure you, and get sick and die later?
Hmm I wonder why. Seriously though, can you see why non-KS folks would be critical after watching that?
Any improvisation of a weapon, no matter how primitive, is better than nothing. I wonder how many people die of toothbrush attacks every year? Cue ensuing jokes about brushing people's teeth to death. Then you look at prison injury stats and see that improvised toothbrushes that are sharpened become good shanks for stabbing.
i was expecting to see a tessen, most of which are a piece of metal made to look like a fan as far as i know
Perhaps. However some ways are more efficient and practical than others. This is an example of a tool being made into a weapon which has a direct and immediate impact on those it is used against. While it is mostly, I imagine, used for offensive means it's also something that would make you think twice about having a go at someone who has it. To use it like the fan in this thread is said to be used would probably involve using a wire tooth brush with the bristles dipped in poison. Yeah the latter might work at a push but the former is a lot more practical. Are there any examples of the fan being used like a Tessen you find in Japanese arts? Basically like a palm stick, impact weapon etc.
