Our Perspective On Wu-Kung

OK, so this is really my October Post! Remember, I was late Posting for September. This seems like a good time to tie some things together with some practical knots. We practice the 7 Circles System of Southern-Northern Shaolin Kung Fu Wu Shu for health and performance purposes. Self-defense abilities develop as a natural consequence of the movements and techniques in the System. When we practice the 7 Circles System of Southern-Northern Shaolin Kung Fu Wu Kung our intention behind the movements shifts so that Self-defense becomes the priority. In the 7 Circles System most of the movements practiced for Wu Shu are also practical and effective for Wu Kung. Some of the requirements of training for Wu Kung are more demanding than those for Wu Shu. But one of the primary differences is that in Wu Shu training you are in complete control of your movements. When training for Wu Kung the goal is to be able to face one or more opponents whose own choices will also influence your movements and intentions. In other words, in Wu Kung you must control yourself and your opponents. You must not only act (as in Wu Shu), you must also react.

Wu Kung means fighting or self-defense. Now that we have covered Chambers 2-7 of the 7 Circles System you need to understand how to put those pieces together into a coherent and effective fighting style that fits you like a glove. Mastery of the System is a long journey with continuous challenges along the way but you will also experience many successes to keep you motivated and progressing everyday in every way. I have been training for over 40 years and hope to enjoy doing so well into my old age. Being a true devotee of the Traditional Martial and Healing Arts is a lifestyle change that requires humility, kindness, patience, and diligence.

Picture yourself facing one opponent! Assume that no weapons are involved except your opponent’s body. Now lets assess Four Aspects of the Situation.

The Threat

The threat in this situation comes from the opponent’s body. He (or she) can strike at you with the five extensions of the body, their legs, arms, or head. The legs can bend to make their knees into effective striking surfaces but not without first moving the legs. The arms can bend to make their elbows into effective striking surfaces but not without first moving the arms. That means that at the most basic level there are five (5) anatomical weapons that you need to be concerned about. With a more sophisticated opponent there are nine (9) anatomical weapons that your opponent can use to hurt or injure you.

The Eyes

Many students make the mistake of looking into the opponent’s eyes. This can be a costly mistake for many reasons.

• The eyes are not one of the five or nine anatomical weapons that threaten you (unless you make the mistake of looking into the eyes of a kung fu and qigong master or well trained practitioner).
  
  
• You have probably heard the expression the eyes are the window to the soul. There is another expression you should be aware of. The eyes can project qi! Just like the cobra a skilled qigong practitioner can distract and even hypnotize you with their deep penetrating stare whether they are looking into your eyes or not. The piercing emptiness in their eyes can make you lose focus on what is important. A moment of hesitation is all they would need.
  
  
• Depending on the relative height between you and your opponent, looking into their eyes can move their feet (legs) out of your line of vision.
  
  
• Depending on the relative range between you and your opponent, looking into their eyes can move their feet (legs) out of your line of vision.

Your eyes should be focused around the midpoint of your opponent’s body so that movement in any of the anatomical weapons can easily be detected.

A Quick Anatomical Comparison

Once you know that you are facing an opponent it is important to make a quick anatomical comparison. Is the opponent taller than you? How much of their height advantage is from the waist down (in the legs)? An opponent may be taller than you but have shorter legs and a longer torso. You could have a legs advantage even though they are taller. What is the reach advantage or disadvantage when comparing the relative length of your and the opponent’s arms? The quick anatomical assessment will give you your first hint of the parameters of the opponent’s movements that put you at risk of being hit.

Establishing and Controlling Range

As you strive to master what you have learned in Chambers 2 thru 7 you will become better able to establish and control the range between you and your opponent(s). Stances, Stepping, Turning and Shifting are the essentials for controlling the range between you and your opponent. Ideally, in one step or shift you want to be far enough away to avoid any damaging effects of the opponent’s attack; and in one step or shift you want to be in close enough to effectively counterattack. This ideal is not always possible but it is an important doorway into Chin Na, the Art of Seizing and Holding.

These Four Aspects of the Single Opponent Situation remain essential even when facing multiple opponents. Of course, Establishing and Controlling Range becomes much more challenging when facing multiple opponents. Good topic for a later Posting.

Live Wu-Te

Seifu Sharif

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Keys to Lesson Plan 2: 7th Chamber – Blocking

I’ve been busy editing my publications into eBooks for the Google eBook store. This is really my September Post, a little late but no less important for improving your enjoyment and progress in your Kung Fu training. The 7th Chamber speaks of some of the most important things you can learn to do with your arms. Your arms and hands are your most instinctively based tools of defense. The speed with which your arms and hands can move instinctively to swat a fly away from your face is really quite amazing. Of course, sometimes you move so fast you end up hitting yourself in the face or head. Catching a falling object, bracing yourself from a fall, or reaching out to save someone else from a fall – they are all pretty incredible moments of mindless speed and dexterity if you think about it. The 7th Chamber is about harnessing that natural speed and dexterity into a series of movements that are designed to create a self-directed force field around the vital parts of your body.

Our Strategy, in the 7 Circles System is to develop a fluid and powerful force field capable of opening and closing doors. The Doors are the pathways to the vital and vulnerable areas of your body – your opponent’s targets. When a block closes a door to stop your opponent’s attack, it should also open a door or pathway to some vital and vulnerable area of their body. When you close a door with one arm to stop your opponent’s attack you should also be opening a door for your other arm (or your blocking arm) to attack. The 7th Chamber introduces our Two Basic Blocking Styles, Moving Barrier Blocking and Target Specific Blocking. The specific Systems are called Plum Flower Fist/Palm Blocking and Mighty God 8 Fist/Palm Blocking.

Lets look at Target Specific Blocking first!

Our Mighty God 8 Fist/Palm Blocking System uses the Conventional & Black Tiger Fist or the various Palm Hands to attack the opponent’s attacking arm or leg from any of the four (4) primary and four (4) secondary directions. Making contact with the opponent as they commit to their attack can redirect the energy of their attack back into them compounded by your own release of Qi into the contact point. Target Specific Blocking (TSB) can completely disable a limb from further use as a weapon against you. Remember what is happening! You are drawing energy from the earth through push-back and moving that energy through your body and arms, reinforcing it with your breath, and delivering it to the point of contact – a small spot on your opponent’s arm, hand, leg, or foot. An effectively delivered TSB can end the confrontation. The downside is that your target, a moving arm or leg is a relatively small target. The block is too easy to miss (mainly to the lower arms and legs) in a fighting situation, especially with multiple opponents. If it emerges from no mind, in the moment, and connects, you will be glad you used it. If you miss the cost could be high so we always reinforce a TSB with a secondary force field, something you will learn in class.

Low to the ground, spinning like the tornado, pushing and pulling like the tide, empty as the air, solid like a wave, moving on the currents of unseen forces, opening and closing doors with a mystical dance. This is the inspiration behind Moving Barrier Blocking Style and the Plum Flower Fist/Palm Blocking System. Although described as a four (4) direction blocking system Plum Flower Fist/Palm Blocking is really the first step in building a fluid and powerful force field capable of opening and closing doors. You should approach the one hand, two hand, and alternating hands training methods with good posture and a relaxed state of body and mind. Moving Barrier Blocking is about using circular movements (centripetal – toward the center, and centrifugal forces – away from the center) to redirect linear and other circular movements. MBB is about making space for fullness of the opponent to enter a void that you have created for it, and then filling the emptiness that is created in the opponent when they enter into the void.

Thousands of hours of perfect practice over the years will help you to develop a fluid defense driven by instinctive speed. Your arms and hands will begin to act like tentacles trapping, deflecting, and intercepting the opponent’s attempts to reach your vital and vulnerable areas. You will be able to open and close doors with grace, precision, speed, power, and effectiveness.

Live Wu-Te

Seifu Sharif

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