Foot Loose

So last night's class we worked on applying certain sections of the siu nim tao off of chi-sao. More to this, it was emphasized on relaxing but heavy pressure and without resorting to any other attacks other than the one specified by the particular SNT section.  This means, you gotta rely on forward pressure, strong stance, mobile footwork, relaxation and sticking energy.

But another emphasis was highlighted last night - the use of the feet, ankles, knees to really drive home the emphasis of all the points mentioned above. I'm not talking about simply bending the knees or facing the feet in the proper direction - i'm talking about keeping those joints fluid so that every turn of the ankle, every twitch of the toes all combine to the forward pressure, the stronger stance, to the more powerful attack.  

In essence, to me, it seems it has much to do with keeping away from being "flat footed" yet not having to bounce around the opponent and may, to outsiders, appear "flat footed".  Really it's the complete opposite, your lower limbs are mobile, flexible and adaptable - just like your arms. 

Hard to describe on here without sounding obvious and generic (much like almost everything we try to describe, unfortunately). But think about this - you're in the moment, the attacker is really going to strangle you and you have a split second to go forward and meet him head on. You know that moment when you make contact with the limbs, and yet your toes raise up just a little bit on contact? that moment is being caught "flat-footed". The training last night is all about taking that away. Instead of raising your toes, the contact with the opponents force digs your feet deeper into the ground, giving you better grip to really unleash a powerful blow.

Being flat-footed is our problem, not the attackers, regardless of how hard the attack is. But in order to solve this problem, our ankles, knees, toes, hips must be aware and ready to make micro-movements in order to tackle the amazing pressure from the attacker.  

This is not easy to do.  Perhaps it's easier to get caught flat footed, toes raise, stance breaks and you fall onto the ground and resort to BJJ. Maybe that's why the popularity? Save that for next time..

Until then.

Flexibility

In our curriculum, much attention is paid to the stretching of our tendons, ligaments and muscles. In the Siu Nim Tao form, there is an emphasis on really stretching the limbs out, while holding the shoulder in or during the huen sao (circling hand) motions.  In our system, much time and effort in stressing this importance as the instructor encourages the student to really take the time to almost exagerate the movements - creating a physiological-conditioning purpose for these movements, rather than just practical fighting application or, in some cases, just going through the motions. 

However, little attention is paid to the lower half of the body - the legs and feet. Such conditioning should also be applied. Although there may not be an official form, it would be recommended to spend 10 minutes every other night on applying the same principles and goals to the legs - stretching the legs out, performing slow ankle rotations, and locking the knees.  

The kicking leg can be viewed (depending on the situation) as an extended man sao - making contact with the opponent as he closes in.  You cannot afford to meet his attack with stiff arms, so why meet his attack with stiff legs? 

Don't neglect stretching the legs. You can start with standard stretches that you do in karate class or gym class but spend a good 10-15 minutes stretching your legs WT style. 

Until next time.