There were a few we wanted to check with Sifu about...
One was re: the right hand in snake creeps down... and another was: the left hand during the right heel kick to kick-with-punch.... whether it goes limp....
Oh, the gouge, which I haven't learned... but I know was a point of some questioning.
I believe there were others. Anyone care to address?
Also,
As Anton pointed out, each move or position is either a yin-style or yang-style... so that will be helpful to keep in mind; we are expressing either small & tight or more extended movements.
2 comments:
The right hand in Snake Creeps Down stays in the Crane's Beak position until the left hand is in the palm-down position. From there, it either goes into an open hand for the chin lift or into a Phoenix Eye Fist for the 7-Star Punch at the end.
As far as the left hand with the right-sided kick & punch, the wrist relaxes but doesn't go outright limp. There should be a continuous structural curve from the fingertips through the hand, wrist, and forearm.
Anton was correct in that you can think of Tai-Chi as a series of Yin & Yang movements. You are either advancing or retreating, pushing or pulling, closing or opening. And there are plenty of instances where you're doing one thing with the lower part of your body while doing the opposite with the top part.
Great questions! Folks, please keep your thoughts and questions coming! This is how we all learn.
Per Kate's original post:
"We remained unsure about 3) the timing of the gouge in Section 4 that follows after "Paw down, back fist, poke...Grab, twist and then... Do you a) gouge as the right hand goes up and then make a fist as the right hand turns to punch down? or b) do you make a fist as the right hand rises up and then gouge as it comes down, making a fist towards the end?
It's so interesting and illuminating to discuss these points and then receive clarification from Sifu.
I wanted to say more about the class on Saturday, but I haven't quite been able to put it into words...yet. Meanwhile, I'm working on calling out the form at a consistent pace and with a consistently loud-enough volume.
Looking forward to Saturday, as always."
And my answer...
The gouge happens when the arm reaches full forward extension. The idea behind it is to either throw an overhand right "finger poke" to the face or eyes, or reach forward and grab the collar or shirt of your assailant and yank him/her forward in an uprooting fashion.
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