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Category Archives: we train
Stances in Gong Fu – and Proper Training Thereof
This article was originally written in German by Jochen Wolfgramm of Bailung e.V. You can find the German version on as well as on . This is a slightly edited and translated version, which we wanted to feature for you.
Of course there is a wide array of approaches concerning correct stances and this is one of them. Gongbu 弓步 for example can be executed as a practice to enhance leg musculature, to improve the back posture or to stretch the pelvis area. There are also variations concerning foot positioning to relieve pressure on the knees or to make the stance more demanding for leg muscles. We want to encourace practicioners to question the way they perform stances and to accept the fact that there is no single best way of excecuting a ‘correct’ stance.
Introduction
All Gong Fu styles have at least one thing in common: stances and the importance thereof. Some styles may have some stances more or less, but mostly they just distinguish themselves by their naming.
As a basic principle in any style, you have to work on your stances through extensive and scrupulous training. Therefore, in many styles you can find a set of stances, often called Ba Shi 八式 – eight stances. These sets help train the most important and basic stances for the style and to remember them correctly. The training is mostly static with long intervals of standing in each stance.
Furthermore the training of Bu Fa 步法 – stepping methods is used to train stances dynamically.
In the following part of this article we’ll go deeper into important criteria of stances and their training. Continue reading
We train: Tong Bei Combos & elastic Arms
Another 2 clips of Kim, doing some Tong Bei. In the first video he shows some Tong Bei combos, after the break you find an exercise of Tong Bei elastic arms.
We train: Mantis Basics
Our brother Kim, who is instructor at Zhen Wu Antwerp, is showing some nice mantis basics from babu tanglang. The first video shows some basic drills (ji ben gong). After the break you find a clip of basic stance training.
We train: 苗刀 Miao Dao and BBQ on the rooftop
真功夫 On Traditional Training in Gongfu
This article was originally published on my school’s blog in German as Über traditionelles Training im Gongfu 真功夫
Gongfu is similar to the education system we already know. First you go to primary school, then to middle school, high school and then to university. For some a certain level of education is enough, others go even further and get their PhD or start teaching and become professors. There’s people who study faster and others who are slower, but without having gone to primary school, no one goes to high school and without finishing that you won’t go on to get your degree. In each level you learn things that will be important to continue studying on the next level – or at least this is how it should be.
This is why it’s up to t he teachers – on all levels – to prepare the students for the next level. They shouldn’t waste the students’ time, but try to show them the way to good gongfu in a useful and effective manner. But it’s also the duty of the student to think about what he learned, train diligently and not waste his or his teachers’ time. Therefore it’s important that both – teacher and student – have the right attitude towards gongfu training. Now, what is a suitable mindset for training gongfu? Continue reading