The seminar started with Sigong talking to us about the techniques used in applications of Chun Yuen Quan. They fall into two categories Hitting and Falling (or wrestling). Hitting includes punching, kicking, palm or elbow strikes while Falling includes grabbing, breaking pulling and pushing. An interesting and challenging session started when we were all divided into groups and we had to come up with many techniques and decide in which category they belong, which revealed the richness of so many techniques in many forms. Then we came all together and we each demonstrated a couple of them.
Then it was time to pick up our 9 section whips (or the string-held-balls we use at the beginning to avoid an angry whip out of control injure us). Sigong went through the previous parts and we polished steps and movements. In the new part for first time we need to rotate the whip in a horizontal circle in a familiar way like we used to rotate the damo staff and then turning it swiftly again to the side circle before wrapping it around the foot. Very interesting and challenging form.
by Michalis Akritopoulos
Student Comments
Good to look at applications in the forms – not often we do that for Chun Yuen.
The new bit is interesting with the horizontal circle.
Thank you, Sigong.
Paul Hogg
It was fun to continue with the 9 section whip today. It was quite interesting to think of where in the forms the different palms, fists and kicks and so on are. The whip seems to slowly be more well behaved. Looking forward to next time. Thank you, Sigong. Best, Tom Hogg.
The discussion and discovery of all the usages of the Chun Yuen hitting and falling techniques was challenging but enlightening. It really made me think much deeper about Chun Yuen skill as a whole. The 9 section whip is always fun, challenging, and even more so now with more changes in direction and usage of the foot. Excited to learn more! Andrew O.
Another enjoyable Nine-section Whip seminar. I really liked going through possible applications from the different Chun Yuen forms – an excellent way of revising one’s knowledge and hearing how others interpret the different techniques. It was good to get some details of the whip form down too. Thank you Sigong. Peter Hogg
Picking up what happens when the whip changes to the left hand in the upside down grip was tricky but I think I understand the movement now — there’s much more waist in there than I realised and the whip loses momentum but you get it going again, and the reverse grip is so that the momentum carries on in the direction it was going before, as opposed to when we changed hands earlier with the normal gip and the momentum was reversed. Not that I can do it smoothly yet at all, but having a clear picture of a coiling and whipping movement with the waist and arm is helpful! Changing from vertical to horizontal and back again is also tricky and I am using a lot of force to do it, which then makes the whip tangle in my foot — Sigong gave a great tip about changing from horizontal to vertical though, and I think there must be a going and coming of tension in the whip to make the change work smoothly. What a fantastic form with so many challenges! Thanks Sigong for a fun afternoon!
Lee B
Very much liked going through the various applications within the Chun Yuen forms as it’s not always easy see to the meaning behind certain movements. The whip form is getting much more complex and dynamic, and even more enjoyable; so looking forward to finding out what’s next. Thank you Sigong. Sam
It was good to go through the form again as the later half was quite difficult but I believe I now understand it. Great experience also with finding the techniques in the forms, makes us think about the applications and what the movement is supposed to be. Thank you Sifu
-Radu