Training Variations

[RenDaHai]

Hi J,

I understand your difficulty and the frustration involved. I myself spent over 10 years in Songshan and I can tell you even within the Shaolin temple there are also many variations and there is no correct version of anything.

The first thing to understand is that, as Jimbo said, there really isn't a standard. These are aspects of culture that have persisted for many generations and so there are many ways of doing things.

The second is that, as you are probably discovering after spending some time in China, Chinese traditional culture sees processes where western culture sees things. In the beginning of LianHuanQuan you may see one person doing a palm with a heel kick and another person doing a punch with a toe kick you categorize them as different moves, but there is no essential difference.

What we call "moves" in Kung fu are described by the character 勢 in traditional Chinese. There is no way to translate this character, but the best attempt I have seen is "giving form to momentum". What is important to understand is that this character represents both physical momentum AND psychological momentum. So a "move" in Kung fu represents an attitude of body (weight distribution, stance, shape) and of mind (meaning, intention). With these parameters a single "move" may have many variations in terms of outward form but all converging on a single purpose in terms of action in the world.

I realise thats probably confused you more and I apologize for that. In terms of practical advice all I can do is re-iterate what Jimbo said above. Do it the way your current teacher does it. Imitation is the only way to learn at the beginning. Don't think there is a golden standard. Even the Shaolin temple is not infallible. Don't worry about the outward variations. Also focus on what Gene said, the real skill is within the "change" itself.