Training Progresses

Training is such a blast. As we’re no longer running the mountain with weight (that phase of leg conditioning is over), our time now is devoted largely to basic Long Fist training which includes fundamental stances, footwork, punches and kicks. Most of what we’re doing at this point are moves derived from Lien Bu Chuan, the first Long Fist sequence. Shifu (Dr.Yang) leads this training and does a great job to ensure that we’re thoroughly exhausted by the end of it. Above all else, I enjoy this training the most. This is my favorite part of the day!

One area that we’ve all noticeably improved in is our stance work and sense of root. Previously we held mabu (horse stance) while standing on single bricks (long way up). We fell so many times in the beginning. As we continued to train, our stability improved and we’ve since progressed to training on 2 bricks. Just yesterday Shifu encouraged us to try 3 bricks! After a few uneasy attempts (meaning terrifying falls!), many of us actually managed to maintain our balance. Standing on 3 bricks and doing jing (martial power) on 3 bricks are 2 different things, but it’s a start. If anybody is interested in developing a greater sense of root for stance work, training mabu on bricks is a great and practical method.