A typical Kung fu class

[Tony]

In the Kung fu I practice which is only twice a week, Tuesdays for 1h30min and Thursday for 1hr its always varied and we are always doing something different from week to week with the exception of practicing forms and some sparring! We start with a 15 minute warm up and sometimes my instructor will ask one of the senior grades to take the warm up and as I'm one of them it could be me! Usually the warmups begin with some light stretching and basically warming up the whole body with different routines, i.e rotating the knees, swinging the arms back and forth, stretching the legs, rotating the lower legs on one leg, some light jogging around the training hall, lifting the knees infront, then kicking them back as you run, shuffling from side to side, running backwards, some press/push ups, sit ups and after the warm up, going into drills, practicing multiple hand strikes, stance work and kicks and often my Instructor will get some of us to pair up and we will work with each other practicing techniques he has shown us!
I was just wondering what a typical training session is like for all of you as it would be nice to get an idea of all the different styles and approaches to training!
Tony :asian:

 

[7starmantis]

Your warmup sounds very similar to ours. I actually attend class 6 times a week but they are usually an hour class, with the excpetion of a few that are 1 /12 hours. We do an incredible amount of outside the class training however, and I work at the school which provides me a nice little edge . As far as the class, we warmup/stretch for about 15 min. then we do our basics. This is our very basic forms including our 8 basic punches, kicks, and so on. Its about 7 short forms that we do continuously for about 15 min. Then we either work on some form training or partner up and work on application to techniques from the forms we are doing. thats a good 30 min there, and the extra classes we do fighting after that, chi sou.

7sm

 

[Tony]

Wow 7* I envy you! because I could really do with more classes so maybe another 2 or 3 to make it 4 or 5 times a week would be great! I do as much practice as I can outside of class training! We did have classes that ran on sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays but I think they were stopped because hardly anyone turned up to train! Sometimes i would be the only one there!
We are also having monthly courses in weapons and other various stuff!
But since beginning my training I have enjoyed every minute and its a nice friendly class! A friend of mine who is a bit older than me has been doing Taekwondo and has been training in that for about over a year now and they train 3 times a week! But I do prefer Kung fu, as I love all the stuff we do! No lesson is the same and My instructor is a friendly funny guy!
I would love to know what else you do in your classes 7*, they sounds very interesting!

 

[7starmantis]

I would love to know what else you do in your classes 7*, they sounds very interesting!

If your ever in town come check one out with us! We focus mainly in our school on the fighting aspect of it all. All of the forms we do we break down into seperate techniques so you learn the application to everything. Its really a great class, I consider myself very lucky to be learning what I do.

7sm

 

[plumflowerfist]

My training goes as follows.

I meditate. Then I stretch out. No time limits. I finish when I feel I have stretched. Then I do all 12 of my empty hand sets. Thats why we have them. No drills in front of a mirror. Tau Luo, thats all. Now my students (I have 4) they do not know all 12 sets. So they do drills.

 

[Tony]

Do any of your classes involve sitting in a very low Horse stance with a stick resting on the thighs, while the other students are performing their forms!? Thats what we had to do last night! we would perform our staff form and the people watching would be in the low Horse stance with a stick resting on their thighs and then we would swap!

 

[7starmantis]

My training goes as follows.

I meditate. Then I stretch out. No time limits. I finish when I feel I have stretched. Then I do all 12 of my empty hand sets.

That is a luxury I wish I had. I guess you pay a certain price when running a "commercial" school. In my own personal training I follow your practice there, but in class its not possible.

Do any of your classes involve sitting in a very low Horse stance with a stick resting on the thighs, while the other students are performing their forms!? Thats what we had to do last night! we would perform our staff form and the people watching would be in the low Horse stance with a stick resting on their thighs and then we would swap!

Actually as a mater of fact, we did that last night in our class as well. Thats kind of weird! We don't make it a habit for every class, but we certainly did last night, and man was it painfull!

7sm

 

[Tony]

That is a luxury I wish I had. I guess you pay a certain price when running a "commercial" school. In my own personal training I follow your practice there, but in class its not possible.


Actually as a mater of fact, we did that last night in our class as well. Thats kind of weird! We don't make it a habit for every class, but we certainly did last night, and man was it painfull!

7sm

Also something else we do at the end of the class, we will perform our forms individually infront of the whole class! Everyone else may have to stand in Horse stance or on one leg, lau ma. And after that person has finished that particular form my instructor will go round everyone and ask them what they thought, so you get feedback from the whole class! Sometimes we will have to go in little groups and perform forms together, maybe 3 or 4 people! And I am very impressed with the 2 little black sashes, a brother and sister who are good with forms, and the fact that their father is the assistant instructor is quite handy too! The little boy is already a European champion in forms!
Last night we were also doing some padwork! The class was split in half! One group lined up to do one technique on the pad my instructor was holding! and then the group had to do a different technique on the other pad the other person was holding! We would have to alternate legs each time! then we had to do hand strikes like punches going into horse everytime and doing it very quicklu, then striking the two pads my instructor used with mantis hands, so striking with the wrist, but the younger students were allowed to slap the pads! Its always varied which I like. My instructor tries to keep it fun but hard at the same time!

 

[RHD]

Our classes run like this:

1-warm up before class starts
2-foundation skills such as stances, strength and power developement exercises, and basic bridging skills
2-put the mats down and drill on one or more of the following:
chin na, shuai chiao, situational self defense, techniques from the forms, fighting oriented flow drills, footwork...I rotate these things as evenly as possible
3-new material, including foundational skills, technical skills, and forms
4-practice new material with partners

Classes are 1 1/2 to 2 hours, the focus is on actual usage.
Mike

 

[Tony]

That is a luxury I wish I had. I guess you pay a certain price when running a "commercial" school. In my own personal training I follow your practice there, but in class its not possible.


Actually as a mater of fact, we did that last night in our class as well. Thats kind of weird! We don't make it a habit for every class, but we certainly did last night, and man was it painfull!

7sm[/QUOTE

oh tell me about it! Sitting in a very low horse stance is quite awkward! Event the little black sash (I think he is about 8 or 9) had to do it and this other girl with me! until the other people had finished their form! I think I need to work on my stance work more! I try as much as I can when I'm at home! I might even try when I'm watching tv!

 

[Tony]

Our classes run like this:

1-warm up before class starts
2-foundation skills such as stances, strength and power developement exercises, and basic bridging skills
2-put the mats down and drill on one or more of the following:
chin na, shuai chiao, situational self defense, techniques from the forms, fighting oriented flow drills, footwork...I rotate these things as evenly as possible
3-new material, including foundational skills, technical skills, and forms
4-practice new material with partners

Classes are 1 1/2 to 2 hours, the focus is on actual usage.
Mike

It sounds very siimilar to my class, but we don't have mats and when we have done any self defence stuff from our forms we merely do it on the hard floor! thats why my instructor has made us all drill breakfalling! I think a lot of the chin na is in the forms. Some time ago my instructor made us partner up and pick out 8 moves from a form and every one else had to do it from other forms! Not easy, it really makes you think! Our instructor says this is a thinking mans Martial Art! We are learning where the applications of the forms come in! I have a friend who does taekwondo and doesn't like the patterns he's learning as he sees them as useless and doesn't fully appreciate them as good for fighting practice!
By the way what style do you practice?

 

[RHD]

...we don't have mats and when we have done any self defence stuff from our forms we merely do it on the hard floor! thats why my instructor has made us all drill breakfalling!... I think a lot of the chin na is in the forms. By the way what style do you practice?...

Hi Tony,
We use the mats becasue they're available where I rent space from. Also, I try to teach the throws and takedowns so that there isn't much of a breakfall for the person going down. We have to be real careful with this though!
Chin Na is most definately in the forms. I teach some Chin Na concepts to beginning level students so that as they learn the more specific movements of the system I can say "see, in this move you are also doing (whichever Chin Na concept)". So far it's been a productive method for instruction because it exposes students to a much greater depth of application at an earlier stage. Some teachers I've known teach Chin Na only to advanced students, as if it's some big secret.
I'm a Hung Gar person. How about you?
Mike

 

[Matt Bernius]

Our classes are somewhat similar in format. The beginner class runs for approximately an hour a half. That's folled immediately by another class that will run but to two plus hours at times. So in cases like last night we're in the Kwoon from about 6.30pm to about 10.00pm.

Our format runs along these lines:

1/2 hour of stretching and exercise
Movement training (stepping, etc)
Basic hand and feet techniques (kicking etc)
Partner drills (typically involving trapping or other techniuqe exchanges)
Rotating subject

The rotating subject is typically one of three things:
1. Self defense
2. Sparring
3. Forms (usually we only work on forms one day of the week).

That accounts for the usual beginners class. Sometimes one for the elements is dropped. The advanced class then usually takes one of the above subjects (basic techniques, partner drills or the rotating subject) and deeply delves into it for the remainder of the time.

- Matt

 

[Tony]

Hi Tony,
We use the mats becasue they're available where I rent space from. Also, I try to teach the throws and takedowns so that there isn't much of a breakfall for the person going down. We have to be real careful with this though!
Chin Na is most definately in the forms. I teach some Chin Na concepts to beginning level students so that as they learn the more specific movements of the system I can say "see, in this move you are also doing (whichever Chin Na concept)". So far it's been a productive method for instruction because it exposes students to a much greater depth of application at an earlier stage. Some teachers I've known teach Chin Na only to advanced students, as if it's some big secret.
I'm a Hung Gar person. How about you?
Mike

Hi Mike

I study Shaolin Long fist Kung fu but there are Animal elements such as Preying Mantis, Choy li fut and Eagle claw as our system is affiliated to the American Eagle claw association. So you teach Hung Gar, wasn't that the style Wong Fei Hung was a master in! I remember from seeing all the the Jet Li Once upon in China series of films! I'm sure I will learn a lot more once I get to Black sash as I'm only blue at the moment but my grading is very soon!

 

[RHD]

Hi Mike
So you teach Hung Gar, wasn't that the style Wong Fei Hung was a master in! I remember from seeing all the the Jet Li Once upon in China series of films!

Yes, Wong Fei Hung was the most famous master of Hung Gar. In fact, he is credited with reorganizing Hung Gar into its present form. However, Jet Li's depiction of both the man, and the fighting system are purely fictional!
Mike

 

[7starmantis]

Some teachers I've known teach Chin Na only to advanced students, as if it's some big secret.

In our school its probably about 6 months in (which is most deffinatly a beginner in my book) before you start learning some Chin Na. Mainly though its not because its a big secret but more to allow the student time to adapt to the basics before attempting to build on them with Chin Na.

I do love chin na though!

7sm

 

[RHD]

In our school its probably about 6 months in (which is most deffinatly a beginner in my book) before you start learning some Chin Na. Mainly though its not because its a big secret but more to allow the student time to adapt to the basics before attempting to build on them with Chin Na.

I do love chin na though!

7sm

I love it too. One of the reasons I teach chin na concepts so early on is that they are so integral to Southern kung fu. A lot of movments in Hung gar depend on your ability to "sieze and hold".
Mike

 

[Tony]

i'd certainly like to do more Chin Na, but I guess as we have our Grading coming up its not possible right now but they should be in the forms!

 

[CloudChaser]

the beginner's class is about 1.5 hrs long w/5-10 minutes warm-up... then, punching/kicking drills followed by the 2 foundation shaolin forms... other exercises vary depending on time, but can include reflex/coordination training using rubber knives, leaping skills, sticky hands, attacking/defending from lying/seated positions, etc...

intermediate/advanced classes are about the same length but involve more weapons exposure and working more on forms with greater attention to detail

students progress at their own pace and desire with testing limited, if at all...