Forward stance

Forward stance (Gong Bu) is one of the three main stances in Chinese Boxing, along with horse stance and Back stance.

When performing forward stance the front leg should be bent to a 90 degree angle with the foot pointing forward, the front knee must be in line with the foot so when you look down at your front foot the knee just covers the big toe. Do not allow your knee to fall to the side; (this will put side pressure on the knee joint which could result in injury) the shin should be vertical when viewed from the front and side, the thigh parallel when viewed from the side.  the back leg should be straight but not locked out with the foot pointing to the side at about 45 degrees, the feet should be about one shoulder width apart and about twice as long as it is wide.

The back must be upright with the hips turned to face forward the weight distribution should be about 70% on the front leg and 30% on the back leg.

This stance should be practiced as low as possible to promote strength and flexibility.

Remember to relax the hip joint so that the hips and shoulders turn to face forward (if you had a head light on your belly button it should point straight ahead), do not lean forward, and keep the torso upright.

All blocks and strikes can be used with this stance.

When moving backwards or forwards in forward stance try to keep at the same height, don’t bounce up and down. If moving forward push off from the back leg driving the hips forward, bring the back leg in to the front leg so that the knees are together, remember stay the same height, then step out forward while keeping the weight back until the foot is placed in position then transfer body forward turning the hips so you end up in forward stance with the hips square. To go backwards push from the front leg to transfer your weight over the back leg so you can step back bringing the knees together, then step back, once your foot is in position turn the hips forward.

Struggling

My neck problem seems to be getting worse at quite rapid rate. I was awake most of the night in pain last night, so have not gone to work today, (I work for Royal Mail as a Postman). It’s hard to function on only 2 hours sleep! I never thought I would say it but I can’t wait to get my operation done and dusted so I can get on with my life without pain. (Boohoo more felling sorry for myself, this is a good place to vent my frustration) I’ve always had good and bad days but lately it seems more bad than good.

The neck problem causes pain and weakness in my left arm and down the left side of my torso, my left hand is also numb with reduced small motor function which is not good as I am left handed and find it very difficult to write and type! When the muscles become tiered which is all the time (feels like I’ve done 10 hours weight training) they cramp up.

All of this is very frustrating for me as I want to get on with my training.

Enough whining for one day.

Basics

Basic in the dictionary means, forming an essential starting point or foundation.

In the martial arts basics (or perhaps a better word would be fundamentals) form the foundation on which to build your art. If you don’t master the basics you will not progress far in your chosen art. Think of the foundation of a building , if it is not strong enough the building will fall down , if the foundations are very strong you can build a skyscraper on them .The same applies to martial arts, mastering the basic techniques will enable you to learn the more advanced techniques to a greater understanding. If the basics are weak all other techniques will also be weak as there is no foundation.

Basic techniques would include:

     ·         Stances

     ·     Blocks

     ·         Kicks  

     ·         Punches

     ·         Correct use of the waist and hips

     ·         Posture

Plus many others, I will go into more detail on each point in later posts.

What is an atheist ?

An atheist is a person that does not believe in the existence of any God or gods.

That’s it!

What is an agnostic?

An agnostic is a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known at the existence or nature of God.

The two are not mutually exclusive, you could be an agnostic atheist, this means that you think the existence of god is unknowable, so don’t believe in the existence of god without proof. Atheism is about belief, Agnosticism is about proof .

I guess I would call myself an agnostic atheist as I would change my view if there was ever to be any proof of God, but as there has never been any proof or evidence of God I believe it is reasonable to say that there probably is no God. I would also go as far as to say that if a God was ever proved that I hope it isn’t the god as portrayed in the Bible. With all the jealousy, genocide, murdering, child killing and misogyny the world would be a much worse place.

Trouble with my neck

Went training last night at Kixx , two classes Pushing hands and Wuzuquan.

I have to say I'm struggling a bit in the classes at the moment due to a problem with my spine which is causing a lot of pain in my left arm and side . I have osteoartyritis of the cervical spine sometimes called cervical  Spondylosis ,which means i have a huge pain in the neck!

I'm waiting for more surgery on my neck at C6/7  (called a Cervical foraminotomy), due to take place on the 23rd July 20012 at King collage hospital in London .Iv already had two surgery's done there in the past (Anterior cervical discectomy with fusion "ACDF" C5/6 & C6/7 ). I cant say I'm looking forward to the surgery but the time off work dose sound nice, it should be about 6-8 weeks. Hopefully it will sort out my neck so i can get back to some proper training again. Its very difficult trying to train with an arm that always herts and is very weak , it feels like iv done a thousand one arm push ups all the time! ( I'm having a whinge session ) .
That's enough of feeling sorry for myself .

A little about me

• 4^th Dan Black Sash, Northern Shaolin Chang Chuen Shu 

• BCCMA Level 2 Coaching Qualification

My Biography:
I started training in martial arts in 1983 when I was 16 years old. After two years of trying other classes I started training with Sifu Chris Ellerker, who helped me to reach my Black belt in 1988 and to become a member of the British Wu Shu Team competing in the Tai Chi category in the 1990 Wu Shu World Championships held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Since then I have competed in many national and international competitions in Tai Chi and traditional hand forms.
Some of the achievements I have obtained while competing are:

• Gold (Traditional TaiChiQuan Hand Form) BCCMA Southern Regional Champs
• Silver (Tui Shou Push Hands) BCCMA Southern Regional Champs
• Bronze (Northern Hand Form) BCCMA National Champs
• Bronze (Tai Chi Open Hand) BCCMA International & Invitational Champs

After much hard work and many years I reach my 4^th Dan Black Sash (Northern Shaolin Chang Chuen Shu) in 2010.
I continue to train with Chris Ellerker and at Kixx Martial Arts Gym  with my good friend Nigel Gillham

Styles of Martial Arts:

• Northern Shaolin Chang Chuen Shu (KIXX Chinese Boxing)
• Southern Shaolin Wuzuquan (5 Ancestors Fist)
• Modern Beijing Style Tai Chi 24, 42, 48 Hand Forms
• Yang style Tai Chi traditional 88 hand Form
• Southern Shaolin Wujiquan

First post

This is my first post as a blogger , my aim is to promote Chinese Martial Arts ,in particular KIXX Chinese boxing and WUZUQWAN (five ancestors boxing) more on this latter .

The views in this blog are mine and mine alone ,they do not represent the views of any other people or organisations i may mention in latter entry's.