any books or videos on Plum Flower post training

[orion_steel]

Do any of you guys know of any good info (books, videos, articles, whatever) on plum flower post training. I have also heard it called "May flower" post training, but i dont think that is actually accurate. I have also found a place that has a book on it but it was in chinese.

thanks!

[IronFist]

Not sure, but if you make some, keep them low to the ground. You can train the same on 3" posts as you can on 2 foot posts, except it will hurt less if you fall off of a 3 inch post.

It's cool and traditional and all, but I'm not sure how necessary it is to become a competent fighter (I'm pretty sure no pro boxers or MMA guys use plum flower posts).

[orion_steel]

yea, i had always wondered in the past if it was necessary training...but i figured that there was something that i just "didnt get", so i thought that i would give it a try.

that is one of the reasons that i wanted to find a book or something first.....and i dont to take up a 10x10 space in my yard and then find out that they are useless.

[IronFist]

I'd say don't worry about it unless you think they're necessary, which they probably aren't.

[JamesC]

Our school uses Plum Flower post training.

We simply spray paint the pattern on our floor and commence to stepping.

[Chief Fox]

We have some plum flower posts at my school. Basically they are cement blocks that we place on the floor. We modify our forms and do them on the posts and we even spar on the them too.

They teach you balance and they also teach spacial awareness. When sparring you can't always look where you are stepping, you just have to know.

They're fun to work with. I don't think they are a necessary tool but I do see some benefits to using them.

Also, if there is ever a tournament where you have to fight on posts over a pit of lava, I'll have a good chance at winning.

I'm planning on putting some posts in my garden this summer to practice on.

[IronFist]

They teach you balance and they also teach spacial awareness. When sparring you can't always look where you are stepping, you just have to know.

Yeah, but it sounds like they force you to step at predetermined locations. What if you need to step further away, or closer, to avoid being hit, but doing so means you would fall off?

[Chief Fox]

Yeah, but it sounds like they force you to step at predetermined locations. What if you need to step further away, or closer, to avoid being hit, but doing so means you would fall off?

Exactly, it forces you think about other options. I've stepped on my opponents foot as an option to falling off. But like I said, I don't think it's necessary training, although it is fun and it changes the rules a bit.

One time while sparring on the blocks, my opponent got a good shot in on me and I was slowly loosing my balance falling backward. The only way to regain my balance was to quickly shoot my one leg forward in the form of a front snap kick to the chest of my opponent. He then fell off and I did not. It's fun.

[TenTigers]

You can take paint cans and fill them with sand or cement-wrap them with red duct tape to make'em pretty! You might want to glue rubber on the top and bottom so they dont slip and so you dont slip off. They stack, so you can keep them out of the way.

[orion_steel]

thanks for all of the input guys. I have to admit that much of what you guys have said has already came to mind once or twice before.....for a while there i had just "gave up" on the idea........but then i watched Batman Begins and thought "hey, that actually woudl be kind of fun" and "that would look cool outside of our studio".........

[GeneChing]

It's actually 'mei' not 'may'. Meihua literally means Plum Flower. May flower is a funny half translation.

There is a lot of pole training in Lion Dancing and some in Songshan Shaolin, as well as some other assorted styles. It won't help you in pro-boxing or MMA because those are ring sports, not reality fighting. In the street, being able to engage obstacles is a useful skill obviously, so footwork exercises like plum flower pole training has some potential application. Be warned. Pole training is quite dangerous. It's an easy way to twist your ankle.

[Hendrik]

Do any of you guys know of any good info (books, videos, articles, whatever) on plum flower post training. I have also heard it called "May flower" post training, but i dont think that is actually accurate. I have also found a place that has a book on it but it was in chinese.

thanks!

You remind me I use to have a small book by late Ven. Hai Deng's students on Mei Fua Zhuang training, if I am not wrong, including the steps...

Also there are some footage in late Ven. Hai Deng's movie...


peace