Forget about the strokes for the time being , Lets talk about footwork , moving forward , backward, turning to the left and right . By now , u would have been able to maintain the 4 points(the 4 corners of the shoulders and the hips) thereby holding the upper torso as a square and creating the mass . Now , u need the correct footwork to deliver this mass around .
Soften the bottom of the feet. You will be surprised at how tense your feet can be . Softening the bottom of the feet allows the weight to sink into the ground, the softer its is, more weight sinks in , giving you more balance. There are some teachers or articles advocating gripping the ground with your toes in order to maintain more balance - I am totally against it .
While in motion ,it is important not to allow the shoulders to initiate the movement, be it forward or backwards or in any direction for that matter, the initiation must come from the hips . The moment you allow the shoulders to initiate , you are plunching towards that direction , you will lose grip of your own balance. So how big a step should we take ? The distance is best determined by stretching out the feet without moving your body, total stillness on the body . Generally , its only about one feet forward while maintaining shoulder width apart.. And when u land your feet , do not let the feet tense up . I would like to add this important point as in moving in a zig-zag manner. If u intend to move your right leg forward, u should first bring your right leg towards the left before moving forward and landing on the right, and vice versa with the left leg.
Alighning the knees with the elbows forming a straight line contributes to the wholeness or mass of the structure. Do not allow the knees to stretch beyond being perpendicular to the ground.
Zhaobao form is particularly concern with not over stretching the knee forward. We believe in "hiding the knees" , which is an expression behind keeping the knees straight and not bent.
Please kindly bear in mind the above pointers, this article is extremely beneficial in maintaining your center of gravity and in determining the magnitude of the force you will be able to deliver .
xie xie !! Have fun and practice hard !!
Taichibug
Alighning the knees with the elbows forming a straight line contributes to the wholeness or mass of the structure. Do not allow the knees to stretch beyond being perpendicular to the ground.
Zhaobao form is particularly concern with not over stretching the knee forward. We believe in "hiding the knees" , which is an expression behind keeping the knees straight and not bent.
Please kindly bear in mind the above pointers, this article is extremely beneficial in maintaining your center of gravity and in determining the magnitude of the force you will be able to deliver .
xie xie !! Have fun and practice hard !!
Taichibug
