We hit with bones. Sounds a bit strange, but the bones of the body are what we use to focus the force onto another body. We have been training in drlls for the past few months that put our bodies, legs and hands in the right position to block, strike and move. Now that our hands are in position we need to apply the force with the correct parts of our body,, the bones. The knuckles of the hand, thumbs, fingers, the wrist bones, bones of the arm (radius and ulna) elbow, knee, ankle, heel are the main tools for the application of force against another body. It is important to understand how to use these tools, how to line up the body and other bones to increase the damage created. It is also necessary to sharpen these bones. We sharpen them by using them against other bones.. after a while they develop into effective weapons that generate a considerable amount of pain and damage. The training is not without some discomfort (pain),,, it hurts a bit. But we do this slowly until the discomfort (pain) is not a hinderance to the performance of the task. In a short amount of time, these bones will "sharpen". and something unusual occurs,,,, Blocks, strikes and atemis will require less force to accomplish the desired result. It becomes similar to swinging a ball-peen hammer,,, not much effort is required to cause pain and damage. So not every strike and block will need to be thought of as a knock out (home run type) effort. Tapping with these newly formed hammers create some very effective results, giving way to the freedom to focus on the more aggressive end result (if desired).
Movement in an altercation is extememly important. Training the body to move off of the center line while striking and disabling the legs is what advanced training is all about. We have been training in the seperate componenets of this task for some time,, this morning we combined many of the drills. It was amazing to see how easily the drills were combined. Tailhook, Fingerlickinggood and Contra found the moves much easier than they thought it would be. It was good to see the confidence increase with each rotation. Bodies were moving in a more natural manner leading to impressive attacks and defenses. We will soon be moving on to more of an active and "freeform" combat training. This will give the body and mind the ability to practice the techniques while adapting to the changing environment.
As YHC has stated before,, what the hand does once it reaches the body is Dimmak,, how the hand gets to the target is accomplished by different styles of the arts. YHC demonstarted some styles that will be covered. Mantis, Crane, Dragon, Iron Shirt (some call Iron Fist). Tiger ,Snake and Monkey were not demonstarted but will be part of the training. Each person will find a style that best fits their mindset and body type. Each has a different way of moving and striking/blocking ,, but the end result is the same,,, to get the hand (or foot) to the desired location so Dimmak can be applied. During training and practice,, the body will find the style that will become the main focus. The natural differences become interesting and sparring will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each "way" or style. YHC looks forward to this part of training as it becomes fun and more physically challenging. Sparring for 15 – 30 minutes is fairly taxing on the body.
Thank you for sharing this time to train in the arts. I am thankful for this group of fine men.