make sure you are focusing on correct movement, first and foremost, or else you're just going to pick up bad habits, which will hinder your training and you will never understand why the "dragon pole" is used for in practice. of course it's hard to tell without seeing you do the movement, maybe post a video?
here's a few important points while practicing with the pole...
have you ever shoveled snow? or shoveled gravel? when i was a kid, i grew up in Chicago, i always had to shovel the snow in our driveway. i want you to picture yourself shoveling snow. you "drive" the shovel into the snow, then you lift it up and off to the side or over your head...with me so far?
now the "lifting" part is what we are going to concentrate on. now pay attention to your hand position, one hand is on the end of the handle and the other is about half way down the handle, right?
the end of the shovel has weight, the snow, so if you try and lift the shovel with your "front hand", then you are using the shoulders and forearms, bicepts, wrists (the upper body) to carry the load. in other words, you are using the "small muscles" of the body. and the job is going to be very painful.
but, if you focus on the "rear hand", the hand that's on the end of the handle, and you push that end down and use that same side hip to "get under" the weight, now you are using the core, hips, legs, back (the lower body) to carry the load. in other words, you are using the "big muscles" of the body. and the job is going to be much much easier.
this understanding is key to every single movement in wing chun. i've been planning to do a "shovel" concept video in the near future, so keep an eye out.
on a side note, when you fatigue a muscle or muscle group, you will feel D.O.M.S (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) roughly around two days after you workout, which is what you're feeling and is normal.
hopefully this helps and i didn't confuse you!
Jin
