Step Thru vs. Cross

[Danjo]

Actually, adjustment is *required* because of the way people move under real stress, which is under conditions that restrict range of movement and produce tunnel vision and the loss of fine motor control. Making your movements larger helps you maintain fullness of posture.

That's what training is designed to overcome. The freezing up and panicking etc. and learning how to channel your fear etc. are all part of good martial arts training. I don't think that the argument that if you train to use massively exaggerated movements, that you'll move normally when you are panicking is a good one.

You see the same thing in Tai Chi, actually. If you look at the postures used in Chen style in particular you see training at these very low postures. In fact, every single CMA I have studied (Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Mizongluohan, Xingyi and Tai Chi) used this method.

Other forms of Tai Chi, however do not. Cheng Man-Ch'ing's style of Tai Chi, for instance, seemed to be very upright in it's postures. He was reputedly indefeated in contests, so the freezing up factor didn't seem to be there for him. Hsing-I that I have seen was not exaggerated along the lines of Shotokan, but rather more akin to the other styles I have refered to. The purpose of the various CMA arts and Sanchin in Goju Ryu etc. are clearly to excercise and strengthen as well as train. My point is that Shotokan seems to take this to an extreme and it seems to have been done for looks more than anything else.

I think Shotokan could stand to drop the low postures in step sparring and bunkai, but the method isn't an inherently bad one. Plus, it's been my experience that the crane or "C" walking step has lent itself to mis-execution because it's rather easy to cheat by dragging your leg to the position. It's the wrong way to do it, but it's reached wide acceptance. In fact, your front leg should be doing the vast majority of the work.

I think that your front leg is doing the work whether you're dragging the leg or not.

 

[eyebeams]

That's what training is designed to overcome. The freezing up and panicking etc. and learning how to channel your fear etc. are all part of good martial arts training. I don't think that the argument that if you train to use massively exaggerated movements, that you'll move normally when you are panicking is a good one.

That's not the idea, exactly. When I talk about fullness I'm referring to a specific concept called Peng in Tai Chi. People who do "health" Tai Chi (or any martial art) don't have the ability to express it well, because they talk about yielding and being gentle all the time instead of aggressively expanding their body's freedom of movement in and through an enemy. Large postures encourage the maintenance of Peng and also assist in helping you listen to your own body. The "unbendable arm" you see in demonstrations is sort of a useful illusion for demonstrating Peng; it's not it, but it kind of feels like it.

The ability to express energy in this fashion from almost *any* posture (not merely from those that adhere to overly specific rules of rehearsed biomechanics) is the hallmark of a good martial artist in Chinese and Okinawan systems, though each takes slightly (and in some cases, very) different paths. Okinawan systems use specific postures and kiko (qigong) to get it, along with kata training. Strength is a goal (because it;s always good to have more of it), but what's more relevant is the ability to issue energy properly in the face of physical and mental constraints. More difficult postures enable that and are not really "rehearsals" for a specific situation in the way an American Kenpo technique is. I think there's a basic difference of mindset, but that's a topic for another time.

Other forms of Tai Chi, however do not. Cheng Man-Ch'ing's style of Tai Chi, for instance, seemed to be very upright in it's postures. He was reputedly indefeated in contests, so the freezing up factor didn't seem to be there for him.

He also reutedly hit his son with a stick because his hands were too deadly, so I think much has been lost in mythmaking. His style is also one of the styles that emphasizes application the least, and when he learned Tai Chi, he learned Yang.

Hsing-I that I have seen was not exaggerated along the lines of Shotokan, but rather more akin to the other styles I have refered to. The purpose of the various CMA arts and Sanchin in Goju Ryu etc. are clearly to excercise and strengthen as well as train. My point is that Shotokan seems to take this to an extreme and it seems to have been done for looks more than anything else.

With Xingyi, it really depends on your goals for the session. When I did returning fist this afternoon I practiced it a couple of different ways. Again, which method is "standard" is a matter of taste. At my school we use pretty moderate postures, but I've sen older filmclips that use low postures. With Xingyi it's hard to tell because walking/bow is not used much at all.

Sanchin and low CMA postures are more than gross exercise, because they develop that "fullness" I'm talking about. You are correct in that it *is* possible to get hung up on this as athletic training alone, but that's more a function of the person, not the method.

In the end, it's really a matter of taste and preference.

I think that your front leg is doing the work whether you're dragging the leg or not.

Not necessarily. When you drag the leg the hamstring and glutes are acting in antagonism. A lot of karate folks like the feel of this because once you move past the lead leg there's a "springy" feel that provides the illusion of momentum and power, when in fact all the person is feeling is the release of tension that they themselves are responsible for.

You can see this kind of thing with a simple demonstration. If you lay newspaper down your walking path and you're dragging like this, you'll move the newspaper.

 

[Danjo]

Well, I'm not about to get into a debate about CMA with you guys since I'd LOSE I have very limited exposure to it (Five connecting forms of Hsing-I, Single Palm Change of Ba Gua, and One 13 movement short short form of Tai Chi) I learned these from a student of mine a few years ago and I'm sure that I do them badly. I've read some, but again, my exposure is very limited.

I see what you mean with the antagonizing movement and the momentum thing. Either way though, I'm not a big fan of this type of training. I thnk that structural integrity is essential, but that it should be from the stance you'll actually use rather than one you'll have to adjust.