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Post by Shifu Tolson on Mar 12, 2017 16:35:32 GMT -5
In Mantis, forms are made up of certain core elements. These core elements are found in nearly every form regardless of whether the form is from Seven Star, Plum Flower, or Grand Ultimate Plum Flower mantis.
After you have trained in mantis for about a year your should catch on to new forms quickly. You should be able to learn the movements of most forms in about a three hour session. People who we generally refer to as "form collectors", go from seminar to seminar learning multiple forms in a short period of time.
However, mastering a form takes much longer. Though some people with false modesty say it may take decades to "master" a form, this is silly. Even the dimmest of students should be able to master a form in six months to a year of daily training under a good instructor.
Now when I say "master" a form, I am speaking about:
1. Mastering the core elements
2. Developing fluency of movement
3. Understanding the application for each technique
4. Being able to apply the movements in fighting
Each of these are required to "master" a form.
The more experience you have in analyzing forms using the above four steps, the quicker you will be able to learn and master new forms.
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Post by Shifu Tolson on Mar 15, 2017 15:04:29 GMT -5
Mastering the Core ElementsHere are a few examples of core elements: Hook, Grab, Pluck & StrikePhoenix Pecks Three TimesLifting HandsOverturn Cart, Single Stick of Incense & Insert ElbowHelping Elbow To begin to master a form, you must first master the core elements.
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Post by Shifu Tolson on Mar 15, 2017 16:25:55 GMT -5
Developing Fluency of Movement
In the mantis families, there are two major methods of performing a form:
In the Hong Kong Seven Star mantis families, forms are often done at lightning speed with each movement receiving nearly the same timing as the one before it and the one after it. It is like performing an allegro musical piece made up primarily of sixteen notes. There are only rare pauses and each note has a quick, lively tempo.
Lee Kam Wing
Brendan Lai
Contrast the above Hong Kong Seven Star practitioners with Mainland Seven Star practitioners:
Yu Tian Lu
Lin Dongzhu
Mainland Plum Flower and Grand Ultimate Plum Flower mantis practitioners more commonly add numerous tempo changes and pauses for emphasis. Their movements can move from allegro to grave in the same form. Pauses typically highlight the completion of a fighting combination and help the student to understand the application of the form's movements. Here are some examples of this method:
Sun Deyao
Wang Rengang
Zhang Bingdou
Both styles of form performance are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to watch. Both styles are also good for tournament competition. It is up to the practitioner to decide which style fits his personality best.
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Post by Andrew Oliver on Mar 15, 2017 21:02:24 GMT -5
In Mantis, forms are made up of certain core elements. These core elements are found in nearly every form regardless of whether the form is from Seven Star, Plum Flower, or Grand Ultimate Plum Flower mantis. After you have trained in mantis for about a year your should catch on to new forms quickly. You should be able to learn the movements of most forms in about a three hour session. People who we generally refer to as "form collectors", go from seminar to seminar learning multiple forms in a short period of time. However, mastering a form takes much longer. Though some people with false modesty say it may take decades to "master" a form, this is silly. Even the dimmest of students should be able to master a form in six months to a year of daily training under a good instructor. Now when I say "master" a form, I am speaking about: 1. Mastering the core elements 2. Developing fluency of movement 3. Understanding the application for each technique 4. Being able to apply the movements in fighting Each of these are required to "master" a form. The more experience you have in analyzing forms using the above four steps, the quicker you will be able to learn and master new forms. In addition to what you already wrote, I would say that understanding the "lesson" or "theme" of the form is an important aspect of mastery. So what I'm about to say next is completely silly, but bear with me. There is a point to it. For me, I use the analogy of "dinosaurs" as a mnemonic in regards to the lesson. For example, I would correlate Beng Bu to a Triceratops. The Triceratops would have charged on a linear path goring it's victims to death, much like how the BB set overwhelms by rushing through the "opponent's" space. In fact, whether you use the Chinese characters 崩步 or 崩补, the analogy still holds pretty well. In contrast, I would correlate Lan Jie to a Tyrannosaur. T-Rex is designed to rip the flesh off of an animal using specialized teeth with serrations that grip and powerful muscles in the neck that allow it to thrash with great force. This fits well with Lan Jie's method of "the body moves but the hands don't move", especially in the " five continuous chops" and "lifting hands" of the first row. Hopefully the analogy makes sense, if not I apologize. |
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Post by Shifu Tolson on Mar 19, 2017 7:06:22 GMT -5
Understand the Application for Each Technique
This may seem like a given, but I have visited many schools, attended many seminars and watched Chinese teachers instruct classes where applications of techniques in forms were never discussed. This is not only shocking, but horrendous.
I have a friend who teaches Taijiquan under a famous Chinese teacher. She has practiced for decades, but does not know the practical applications of the movements. I ended up explaining the applications of the Yang form to her. Yet, I don't teach Taijiquan.
I attended two seminars with a famous Chinese mantis instructor who never gave any instruction in applications found in the forms I learned. When asked about applications, he said very little.
I attended another seminar with a famous Chinese mantis instructor from Hong Kong. Again, no explanations of applications of the form.
Fortunately, I have trained in mantis for decades. The applications of techniques are usually obvious to me. However, I felt sorry for beginning and intermediate students who paid $100 to $200 to learn a form and walked away knowing a new dance, but without the knowledge of how it worked with a partner.
Demand applications! If none are forthcoming, you are training at the wrong school or wasting your money on the wrong seminars.
At Mantis Masters Academy, every application is explained as each movement of the form is taught. Every combination is trained as the form is taught and every strategy discussed. We are not a Chinese dance class, we are a fighting school. We practice forms with an eye to practical use of the techniques found in every form.
Here is a video from a seminar that I taught in Cleveland, Ohio in 2016:
Never allow the "fame" of an instructor to cause you to part with your money for less than excellent instruction. Also, remember that every shifu promotes his or her teacher as next to God. If we admitted that some of our instructors were horrible teachers, would you still want to train with us??? Many Western teachers exaggerate the fame of their shifu, especially if they are Chinese, because they believe it "validates" their own ability. So, buyer beware!!!
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Post by Shifu Tolson on Apr 7, 2017 6:23:48 GMT -5
Be Able to Apply the Form's Movements in Fighting
A common critique of Chinese martial arts is that our fighters look like any other run of the mill martial artist when they are seen fighting in tournaments. As someone who has participated in tournaments (competing and judging) for over forty years, I would agree with this negative assessment of most Chinese martial arts schools.
Even worse, many Chinese martial arts schools do not even require there students to participate in fighting competitions. Yes, they do some dandy forms competition, but sparring is a no show.
In the Akron/Canton area of Ohio we have at least nine Chinese martial arts schools. Of those schools, two schools (a Northern Shaolin school and my mantis school) are the only ones that send their students to fight in local tournaments. This is sad in the extremest degree!
I understand that tournament fighting and situational defense are two different animals, but there are far too many skills that are needed in personal self-defense that can only be learned through sparring. Timing, understanding proper footwork and distance, taking a hard, unexpected hit, and stamina all must be perfected through sparring.
At Mantis Masters Academy, we pull combinations from every form. We work them on B.O.B. (Body Opponent Bag). We work them on focus mitts. We work them in partner drills. Finally and most importantly, we work them into our sparring.
My students do not look like your average "on shot wonder" sparring opponent. They pound their opponent with mantis combinations and mantis strategies. My students also consistently win. In the last three years one of my students has placed second if not first in every tournament in which they have competed.
Put up, or shut up. It is that easy. I would rather have a student that has only ever mastered one form and can use it with authority in fighting, than a school full of "forms faeries" that know an endless number of forms but cannot use the strategies and combinations found within them. I would see the latter as an utter failure on my part.
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