Building Basics To Help Learn Advanced Techniques

James commented on a previous post about building into fancy techniques instead of trying to learn them upon starting your training. This is very much the case in good martial arts training. All techniques build from the basics and development usually happens in stages.

The Kung Fu practitioner always starts their training by building their stances. This is not done as a punishment, there is a point to it. Strong stances will allow the practitioner to maintain balance upon impact, drive from the legs to generate power and maneuver while staying solid on the ground. From solid stances, the practitioner is able to execute a powerful kick while someone with weak stances may lose balance when kicking because they are on one leg.

An example of the importance of stances came during a Kung Fu demo for the Hainan Association members. I was performing Black Dragon Sword when I stepped on a quarter of an orange that their lion dance team had left on the floor. Instead of slipping and falling, I slid across the floor standing on one leg as the technique required a crane stance. As I stopped sliding, I continued the form. The members of the Hainan Association did not realize anything had happened but one of the lion dance team members ran out and picked up the orange as I continued the form.

To continue on the along the road of progression mentioned earlier, once the person has learned how to kick properly and spent the appropriate time to be solid while kicking, they can easily move on to jumping kicks. The actual kicking technique is the same but the practitioner is now in the air. From here, the practitioner can build into spinning kicks, jumping spinning kicks and aerial kicking combinations. This is one example using kicking as the progression but the same can be done with hand techniques as well.

To illustrate how knowing basics can help with learning forms we can look at the components that make up the techniques. As a person learns a new form they will be entering into some unfamiliar ground. It is difficult enough to figure out how to move their hands without worrying if their feet are in the proper position in the stance. Add to that the proper speed of execution, transitioning between stances and intricate smaller motions to get to the next move and the forms can become very confusing. Knowing all the basics allows the practitioner to focus completely on transitions between the techniques and remembering the sequence of techniques.