Thanks a lot Dacheng, nice and useful info particularly on the chopping use (for me). You're right, it's a two way street. I kind of stopped watching the clips if I'm honest, because there's only so much of the same kind of thing you can watch. More questions in future, cheers.
Dacheng, On the last page there's a couple of clips of jianwu. Could you give us your take on the uses and scope of this training method. What do you think are the intentions behind it, and are there different ways to approach this and play this method. Does it become the pinnacle of yiquan "shadowboxing" in the combat sense, should it ?
Originally jianwu was something what Wang Xiangzhai learned from certain Huang Muqiao, whom he met during his travels. And it seems that that jianwu was rather kind of health practice only, hence the name - health dance. Then it became incorporated into yiquan, where "health dance" received some more of combative meaning, so sometimes it is called quanwu (fist dance), wuwu (martial dance) or jijiwu (combat dance). There are different schools of yiquan, with a bit different approaches, so I will only talk about our approach. So, while we use such names of training methods as zhan zhuang, shi li, fa li, tui shou, san shou, jianwu, these are more like just some labels and not the really important information. From insider's point of view, I would rather divide our practice into two groups: - solo, - with partner, Solo practice includes mainly parts which are labelled: - zhan zhuang, - shi li, - fa li, - jian wu. But from insider's point of view, I would say that what we do, is just working inside a spectrum of movement possibilities - from extremely short movement (so it becomes relatively static, and is called zhan zhuang) to longer movements and from slow movements to extremely fast, explosive, powerful movements. Starting point is working with some simple movement exercises, gradually moving toward more complex movements. At beginning it's single movements, later we link them together with changing order. It can be done with only slow movements, which are called shi li, or only fast movements, which are called fa li, and could also be mixing slower and faster movements. It can be done in fixed position, to make it simpler, or with steps. At beginning very basic steps, then making footwork more varying and free. The movements at beginning are just basic movements of standard exercises, then are becoming more adaptable, more free - while maintaining the principles/feeling as in simpler, basic exercises (mind-body coordination, perception of strength). Also experience of practice with partner (tui shou and san shou) becomes gradually better and better expressed in this kind of free solo practice. So actually we say jianwu, but it is not always the same thing. Sometimes better term would be mixed shi li, sometimes mixed fa li, sometimes it's mixing shi li with fa li. Sometimes it might be more close to what is called shadowboxing in the western boxing, with more clear combative ideas, and sometimes it would be more about beauty and feeling well, so health dance would be better description. So actually during practice, it is not about defining jianwu, and trying to adhere to this definition. From the point of view of actual practice, you do something like this, but each time the aim could be different, depending on your level, skills and actual problems in practice. Examples: working with ability of smooth linking movements, ability of repeatedly issuing explosive power in rapidly varying positions and situations. Sometimes you can do this with very clear awareness of fighting situtation, and sometimes it's like jumping between situations which as if completely changed in a split of second. And sometimes you just playing, like "swimming in the air", cultivating good mood and health.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Z3ckyjUK8"]Yiquan - xuanfa shili/fali - YouTube[/ame] This is xuanfa - "whirling" - action used for turning opponent around vertical axis, which you can see on many clips with yiquan pushing hands.
Pushing hands - sitting variant withouth legs support [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9DResTE4Eg"]Yiquan - sitting pushing hands - YouTube[/ame]
Some wooden staff from seminar in Moscow in May. More clips soon [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvcCPSYG8_U"]Yiquan wooden staff - YouTube[/ame]
Again Jianwu - yiquan "dance" [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8OhA1kDoA0"]Yiquan Jianwu - YouTube[/ame]
From Yao Chengguangs 4 days seminar in Moscow, Russia [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93vhzcsGqqU"]YouTube- Yiquan - Yao Chengguang in Russia[/ame]
Xu Lu demonstrating some fa li [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEX3BpwDa8"]YouTube- XuLu YiQuan palm force[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3zo9iD1ODo"]YouTube - Yiquan Academy training in China 2010[/ame]
Hi, This is one of shi li - "testing force" - slow movement exercises. Yao let's students feel directions of forces and proportions between forces in three main directions, and how they change during the movement.
From our winter course, February 2011 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBT37KrJT6k"]YouTube - Yiquan Academy winter course 2011[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN5Kx8vatzM"]YouTube - YIQUAN.COmpetitions fixed position tui shou‏[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoJiATdAgJI"]YIQUAN.COmpetitions fixed position tui shou tests - YouTube[/ame]
Yiquan Easy San Shou [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iL07_tvoj0"]YIQUAN.COmpetitions Easy San Shou - YouTube[/ame]