Many fans of Chinese Traditional Kung-fu around the world are paying very special attention to various movements of different schools of the Quan. Most people would be asking how the sets of movements the other had learned at the very beginning in normal conversation especially those beginners.
Are the movements useful in learning Kung-fu?
Yes.
Could those be decisive factors in practicing Kung-fu well?
Might be either correct or not.
How one regards the functions of Kung-fu movements and, how he learns, practices and applies them in actual uses could reflect his Kung-fu level.
I. “Po Jiao Ba Gen” in Shao Lin Combat Techniques
Zhu Tianxi learning Shao Lin Quan is attributed to his love for Chinese Kung-fu. At quite a young age, he started learning traditional Kung-fu originated from the Yellow River basin being formed for thousands of years. The Kung-fu was later the various kinds of Shao Lin schools of boxing. In the earlier years of 1960s, Zhu Tianxi had apprenticed himself to Shi Degen, a contemporarily famous master in Shao Lin Temple, to practice Shao Lin Quan Fa (Kung-fu skills). He has been synthesizing all the essences from both Big Shao Lin (Chinese boxing from the Central Plains along the Yellow River basin) and Small Shao Lin (Chuan Quan movements ih Shao Lin Temple). Therefore, together with his hard work, all the factors make him a well-known exponent of Chinese Shao Lin schools of boxing.
Zhu Tianxi sending his forces has astonished many people having seen or experienced his Kung-fu practices.
In this article, we would show you a specific movement called “Po Jiao Ba Gen”(kicking in a splash and pulling out the root of your opponent). It is one of the Quan movements of Shao Lin Quan.
Zhu Tianxi says:
"This movement is one of the Di Tui (a skill to kick the part under your rival's knees) in Tui Fa (kicking movements) of Shao Lin Kung-fu. It is very easy to defeat your opponent by having a steady centre of your gravity, a fast speed as well as your great strength.
In fighting of San Da (free fighting) nowadays, most people like to use Bian Tui (a flogging movement in kicking), they hold the idea that "hands resemble two doors, while your feet are used to fight." They think that Bian Tui is speedy and powerful being easier to overcome their opponents. However, they neglect that "lifting a foot in the air makes an half emptiness giving your opponent a great chance right to attack you." In the fighting of Shao Lin Kung-fu, once your opponent is kicking you with his foot up, you'd better shift quickly aside make a stride forward, and at the same time, attack his other foot with Po Jiao. In this case, there is no time for your opponent to change his movement but to be badly hit.
During the process of Po Jiao, there is a speed when you shift aside and step forward, while you are making a stride forward, there is another speed produced. At this moment, the speed of Po Jiao is the combination of both the speeds in stepping forward and doing Po Jiao. In the fighting, the speedier you fight, the greater powerful your hitting will be. It is called the power of speed. Therefore, if we combine both shifting aside and Po Jiao in one, a stitch in time can save nine.
Meanwhile, as you stride forward in oblique direction when you shift aside, you also send force obliquely when you do the Po Jiao movement. It will be more difficult for your opponent to defend. As coming straightly and thrusting across being the theoretical basis of Shao Lin Quan, people often gain the advantage over their opponents by using it.
Notes:
1. Chuan Quan movements of Shao Lin Temple are basically a collection led by people in different Dynasties.
2. Po Jiao is a traditional saying among people in the central plain region of China. It means a foot sweeping movement. It is a kind of Shao Tui Fa (skills in kicking) in Shao Lin Temple.
3.Ba Gen means to lift the root of your opponent, that is to say, to make him not able to stand steadily and fall to the ground because he would loss the centre of his gravity
II. “Shuang Dang” of Wu Zu Quan
When my opponent is trying to catch my shoulders with his hands or attacking my chest with his fists, I will have his movement away by moving my hands upward and then make use of this condition to attack his chest in a very agile way. This movement in Wu Zu Quan is used to move your opponent's attacking away and at the same time attack him in a flash without any pause. Applying this movement, you could attack any part of your opponent's body with Cun Jin (fierce force in a very short distance sent out in a flash) being the most common attacking in Wu Zu Quan.
Shuang Dang: (open you hands and turn them round in a very agile way) in playing Wu Zu Quan is usually applied in the following situation.
III. Classical Forms of Dai’s Xin Yi San in
Che(withdrawing) Jian (trampling) Gu (pole) (Meng Hu Jie Zhua-a fierce tiger is cutting the opponent’s claws)
When your opponent is moving forward and plunging into your heart with a pole held by his hands (Picture 1), you draw your Dan Tian (an acupoint located in your navel) back and your chest backward and, straighten your back to have your left foot in emptiness but keep a complete flexible stance, hold your pole with your fight hand and slide your left hand along it to attack your opponent's left wrist in order to get his pole swaying away from his left hand off. Taking an advantage of the opportunity, step your left foot forward and tow your right onward with the center of your gravity on your right one. Meanwhile, tread out your left foot forming a tiger stance and scrape your opponent's pole with yours in your left hand to make his attack overreached. Along with this, push your pole forward with your left hand to hit his right side of waist and rib region sweeping from the left side to the right.
