Dau Gong or Cuo Gong

[Jeffoo]

I've seen as many different spellings on this as I have variations of this form.

Anyway, I just got a pile of Wong Hun Fun's books in and noticed that in this form, every kick he does, he grabs his toes and holds that kick for just a second. I have seen this as a shin kick, a push kick (the way I learned it) and even a jump front kick before.

As many know forms were invented as conditioning exercises to train ones body to fight, that's why so many traditional forms have to many repetitive moves in them.

Aside from the obvious flexibility benefit to grabbing the toes, does anyone else have input on why the form was done this way?

[Qixing Tanglang]

Probably made it easier to hold the pose while the picture was being taken. Don't know anything about cameras other than my point and click digital, but I am guessing camera's those days took a little more time to set up and get the right shot. Quad would have burned good without holding it.

Combatively it is meaningless to grab the foot.

Kick can target a few different areas including groin, knee, shin, etc... If too close can easily change kick to a knee.

From our Luo Guangyu family the form is called 躲刚. Pinyin phonetic is DUO GANG. DUO means “to hide” or “hidden” and GANG means ‘hard” or “direct/inflexible”.

Cheers,
N

[Jeffoo]

yeah...he makes a point though of making it an obvious grab in Dau Gong (yes I've seen as many different spellings for this as I have variations of doing the form), while later in the book there is no grab on the jump kick in Sap Ba Sao.

My only guess is he does it for the added flexibility training.

I have a team of Chinese students at University of Michigan that are helping translate this, so maybe there in the text somewhere it's explained.

[Piercinghammer]

Jeffoo:

I have always wonderd the same thing about the Kicking posture given in the
book by Wong Han Fun. A good point was made about old camera's and such, having to hold the the posture for a photo. I have a book with both sets Dao Kang kuen and Sup ba sao, but my copy is only line drawings of a person doing
each set. Is there another copy of this book that is composed of photo's?

Thanks

Mike Biggie

[Jeffoo]

Hi Mike,

Yeah I have the line drawings as well. The foot is clearly grabbed in each of the postures where there is that kick. Later on in the same book is Sa Pa Sao. At the point where there is a jump kick the foot is not held. Nor is the foot held in any of the other books either in pictures or line drawings. That's why I found the technique so curious.

I've done the form a few times by grabbing the foot. It's not easy at all!

None of the other books have this technique. That's what was so curious.

[Steeeve]

Jeffo

In Duo gang and the black tiger cross ....we could see this grab of the foot after the Kwa
(simultaneous up parry and strike)

The applications is to grab the head(hair or the shoulder and so on )pull down toward you and kick to the throat, or other target availaible....

Ur welcome http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/mantisboxer/

Steeve

[Young Mantis]

Although the book illustrates this technique as a grab of the toes or foot, in actual practice, the palms 'slap' down on the top of the foot and actually past to either side. We do not actually grab and hold the foot.

The slapping part is for conditioning much like how most of our straight punches will punch through the other hand. The hand movement is also a break or release if the right hand was grabbed in the previous move. This is described briefly in the text in that the upper body is performing an escape while the lower attacks. This is also illustrated in the Ling Daw Gong or Partner Daw Gong form.

Vance Young

[Steeeve]

I agree young mantis

a couter seizing to the arms who grab us and a toe pointing kick to the armpit could be a applications

in the form we slap the hand to the top of feet....no grab of the toe ...

I saw some doing it with left palm striking the right top of the feet kicking......but traditionnaly the right palm strike the righ kick

A counter grabbing or a seizing claw(lou) follow by a low attack....or hight

Thats could be also the tactic of fake hight attack low or fake low attack hight

In fact when we look for applications of the traditionnal forms .....we have to be eclectic to understood the many applications possible for many situations


Steeve

PS not very good in English

[Qixing Tanglang]

Combo after Gua Block with Straight Tong Chui punch....

Watched a few WHF lineage videos of Duo Gang online, and the same two things just talked about above in all of the forms: 1) Left Slap / Right Kick into Filling Punch with Seven Star stance, and 2) Left hand strike / Righ Kick into Filling Punch with Seven Star stance.

Is this fair to say? I am not from WHF family lineage.

Cheers,
N