Biomechanical Differences in Hung Gar and Choy Lee Fut: Part 2 - Hung Gar

Three of the core training methods in my Hung Gar training have been static stance work, technique drills, and repetitions of forms. Over the years that I've trained in Kung Fu, I have heard lots of people from various martial arts backgrounds wonder about, debate, and even flatly ridicule these training methods. 

In general the arguments against standing in a stance, repeatedly doing a technique drill without an opponent, and repeating forms boil down to the idea that these things are not "training to fight." Honestly, if there is not some sort of sparring going on along with these things, there is a lot missing when it comes down to fight training, but each of these things plays an important role in Hung Gar training.

In regards to static stance training, which involves standing in one position for an extended period of time I have heard lots of strong arguments against it and mostly weak arguments in favor of it. Those who say it is a waste of time say that one should be practicing movement, not standing still, and that the stances are useless in "a real fight." I've even had one instructor who said that no one actually uses the stances, they are just for leg strengthening. Is stance training a waste of time? Most people in favor of stance training talk about leg strengthening and self discipline training. Personally, as someone who has managed to hold a one hour horse stance, I can say it does train the self discipline, but there are better ways to train leg strength. Standing in stance develops muscular endurance, but doesn't increase the amount of force the legs can apply much, and doesn't develop explosive power from the legs. Honestly, I get more benefit in those arenas from running than from standing in stance. The purpose for stance training goes back to that guy who told me that nobody uses the stances. Standing in stance does the same thing that the swimming drills I am working on for my triathlon training do. It imprints a position. It teaches the body to remember the exact, proper position one should end up in when doing the movements dynamically. The reason so few people really use the stances is that few people have done enough stance training to properly imprint the positions into their mind so that they come automatically and effortlessly.

Technique drills in Hung Gar are drills of a movement or short combination, done repeatedly, with an abrupt stop at the end of each movement. The arguments against again touch on the "real world" use. People say that in a fight you don't freeze with each movement. The reason for these drills again is the use to imprint the proper technique. This time, the stances move dynamically, so you are training explosive power of the whole body. If you have trained your stances, then when you train a new drill, your stances are already ingrained in your mind. You can start and stop in the right stances, all that is left is to train the technique, building up from the foundation of those stance drills.

Forms training builds up from the drills. In a Hung Gar form an entire collection of techniques is strung together. Some of stances are held for a period of time, some of the movements are done slowly with tension for strengthening purposes, and there are combinations strung together. Doing the forms properly, slowly, building on the imprinting done in stancework and drills further develops the ability to move accurately, correctly, and explosively.

Once sparring is added on top of this, one should be able to use the techniques and stances in sparring. In sparring, they become live and dynamic, they lose the abrupt stops and the freeze frames. The importance of stances is no longer in standing in them, but landing in them for a brief moment when a technique is performed. To make this happen, to make one's fighting techniques powerful and true to the system, a lot of imprinting is required.

Biomechanical Differences in Hung Gar and Choy Lee Fut: Part 1

Having trained in both Hung Gar and Choy Lee Fut, and having seen Hung Gar practitioners who do some Choy Lee Fut as well as some Choy Lee Fut practitioners who do some Hung Gar, I have long been intrigued by the different ways in which these two martial arts generate striking power. Of course, both styles will produce power in different ways at different times, I am looking at the typical striking methods the styles are known for. I have had the pleasure to have training sessions with some of the biggest names in each style. Lam Chun Fai, Don Hamby, Mike Marshall in Hung Gar, and Chan Yong Fa and Mak Hin Fai in Choy Lee Fut. So I have had the opportunity to see each style close up by true masters of the styles.

Through my relatively new athletic activity, running, I have developed an interest in biomechanics. I actually realized that what always intrigued me about martial arts was biomechanics. Now of course, I don't have a lot of equipment with which to take a lot of measurements of what is going on in the body during a martial arts technique, so this is all based on observations of the movements of masters, as well as observations of what is going on in my body as I train.

Lam Chun Fai performing Hung Gar

Hung Gar typically has a short, explosive, abrupt striking style. Punches drive from the heels up, using the muscles in the legs, core, and arms in chorus to create power. When throwing a straight punch, The rear leg, hips, core, shoulder, and arm line up to create a stable brace behind the punch minimizing the amount of shock absorption in the punchers body, thus maximizing the amount of force transferred into the target. By "target", I of course mean, "the other guy". In a series of punches, the abrupt stop at the end of the punch creates a bit of separation between punches, so each punch tends to be a separate entity. The analogy I think of when thinking of Hung Gar is a shot fired from a gun. An explosive production of energy forces the bullet forward, if the gun is not braced, some of that energy would also go backwards.

Chan Yong Fa performing Choy Lee Fut

Choy Lee Fut typically has long, fluid, connected strikes. There tends to be a lot more reliance on rotation from the core. Often in Choy Lee Fut, the rear heel leaves the ground and the back knee bends, this takes away the stable brace of Hung Gar, but allows a different biomechanical process, namely more rotation from the core. Rotation from the core is key to Choy Lee Fut, but it is important to know how to do so dynamically and fluidly. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the body will act as a spring. If you stand with your right shoulder facing a wall (or any direction) then without moving your feet turn your body so that your left shoulder is as close to facing that wall as you can, then relax, your body will spring back towards its original position. This is the essence of Choy Lee Fut. The more dynamically you load the springs, the more dynamically they will unload. This is why punches in Choy Lee Fut flow from each other. My analogy for Choy Lee Fut has always been a wrecking ball on a cable, but that doesn't account for the spring action. So, I would like to supplement that image with this one.

He-Man.

My old He-Man action figures were designed so that when you twist their waist, they would spring back, just like Choy Lee Fut.

This analysis is of course oversimplifying the mechanics, as each style has a variety of ways to move, but this description is meant to serve as a generalization of the different approaches of the two styles. One method is not better than the other, they each have their time and place, and they each have their strong points and downsides, but understanding the differences highlights the importance in different training methods for the two styles. In my next posts I will be highlighting the purpose of different training methods of the two styles.

Why?

Some times I just have to wonder why  I do all this stuff that I do. Particularly things like teaching martial arts and starting up crazy programs like the ten tigers program.

Seriously, do I think I'm something special? Do I think I'm that much better at this stuff than the next guy teaching martial arts up the street or in the next town over? Do I think people want to follow my program and listen to me talk because I'm just that cool?

The fact is, the reason I do it is basically the opposite of all of the above. I don't think I'm special, or better, or cool. If anything, I may be a little to hard on myself (or way too hard on myself).

I do these things because in some way, I need to.

I need to teach martial arts, I need to share the things (far more than kicks and punches) that were taught to me by my instructors. I value the lessons I learned from them, and from others so much, that I need to pass those things on, and I choose to pass them on in the vehicle of martial arts. Martial arts training is a very good tool for this job.

I need the Ten Tigers Program. I need the accountability it provides me to myself and to my peers, I need it to be in the public eye, because if it is not, I can slack off. I need to succeed in front of my peers, and when  I fail, I need to fail in front of my peers. It keeps me real.

Someone said to me, as I was posting lots of stuff about getting the Ten Tigers thing back on track, and getting me back on track, that I must be doing well based on my posts. He was wrong. I was seriously backsliding, doing the minimum to get by, and I was sick of it. The whole reason I got this thing going again is because sometimes, I just need to give myself a kick in the pants!

The Master or The Servant?

I've dusted off the Ten Tigers Program and I've jumped right in. . . too quickly.

In the first few days I remembered how good it felt to do all that physical stuff, then remembered how bad it felt to do Too Much Too Soon.

So, the plan is thus:
 
  1. Rest and Recover (thus letting my numbers get behind)
  2. Start up again with lower numbers (thus letting my numbers get further behind)
  3. Gradually ramp my numbers up to the point that I can start getting caught up.

If I never get caught up, I am not going to let that beat me up. This program was designed to be my servant, not my master.

Martial Arts Did Not Change My Life: Part 2

I am a very good candidate for someone who could argue that martial arts saved/changed their life.

When I was young, I did not fit in. I did not understand these other creatures I was walled up with for seven hours a day, five days a week. When I tried to be myself, I was invisible, when I tried putting on a mask and fitting in, I stood out like a sore thumb. I was laughed at, pushed around, picked on, knocked down, and belittled by other students. I was blamed for the trouble by teachers and the principal. I was told by my father (bless him, he thought he was being helpful) I needed to "not wear my feelings on the cuff of my sleeve," which felt in my mind like, "it is your fault you are being picked on."

My parents signed me up for karate lessons at the Paducah Parks and Recreation Department with Sensei William Darnell. Sensei Darnell taught Tae Kwon Do, Isshunryu, Zen Kenpo, and Flowing Circles. He also taught me all sorts of other things. When I struggled with a self defense technique, (I remember this 28 years later), and I said, "I can't do it." He said, "Yes you can, and don't you ever use that four letter word in here again." Then he stuck with me until I got it right.

My mother supported me, took me to classes, asked to see what I had learned. My father finally found an avenue through which he could connect with me. When things took a turn for the worse for me in school, my lessons learned in martial arts classes were there like a light at the end of a dark tunnel. What I learned from my Sensei, the knowledge that my mother was there quietly supporting me (she always was, I just didn't see it before) and finally having that connection to my father were a guiding light in my dark times.

It would be easy (and marketable) for me to look back and say "Martial Arts changed my life, and probably saved my life," but if I did,

That would be an insult to my first instructor, and every one I've had since.
That would be an insult to my father.
That would be an insult to my mother whom I miss terribly.

The lessons taught to me by William Darnell using a tool known as martial arts, the knowledge of my parents' support, seen thanks to the lens of martial arts, the confidence I gained through my hard work and dedication facilitated by the tool of martial arts, are the things that saved my life.

Confusing the Tool With the Work

In martial arts training, one should be careful to know what one's goals are, and what are the tools used to achieve those goals. Many people mix these up.

When the two are confused, it becomes important to pass a belt test, it becomes important to be a 3rd degree black belt, it becomes important to have the title "Master".

An example from one of my other pursuits is my goal of running a 5K race in under 20 minutes. That goal is a fake goal. It doesn't really matter how fast I can run a 5K. What is really important to me is that I get outside and get myself into great physical health. While out there doing the work to get my body in shape, I get time to be by myself with my thoughts. I get time to test the limits of my physical speed, and the limits of my endurance. I get to face the enemy that is ME. In doing all that I am keeping my mind and spirit healthy. 

So, the 20 minute 5K pales in importance next to all this, it does, however have importance. It has a job. The purpose of that 20 minute 5K is to motivate me to get up in the morning, get going, and push myself. I hope that I never forget the real goal behind the fake goal.

I have seen countless people confuse the FAKE goals of martial arts with the real ones. Martial arts training can be a tool you can use to achieve real goals. The fake goals are those silly belts we were, the silly titles we attach such meaning to, the ranks and prestige and all that fluff. Those are FAKE goals. The real goals of martial arts for me include strengthening the body, facing adversity, having fun, building coordination and discipline, and the list goes on.

The litmus test is this:

If you would train diligently regardless of the promise of a belt. If you would train as hard whether or not there was a test coming, if you would pursue mastery knowing that no one would ever call you "master", then those things are your fake goals.

Fake goals are good to have. The danger is believing they are the real goals.

Kung Fu Did NOT Change My Life.

Kung Fu did not change my life, or change me, or save my life.

It won't do it for you either.

Thinking it will is like thinking a bicycle will make you lose weight. The bicycle will do no such thing. The exercise you get from pedaling the bicycle can help you out quite a bit though.

Like any tool, it is all in how you use it. Kung Fu can be the tool you use to change your life.