by nyang » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:56 am
stretching and increasing mobility/range in your hips is key in any attack or block with the opposite side of your rear-leg. there are advantages and disadvantages. for example, using the opposite side as your rear leg is a good way to force yourself to turn your waist when you finish the technique and thus automatically protect your groin area at the same time. there is also more connection with the back foot for rooting and power generation from the ground (more applicable to Long Fist and Taiji, i suppose). disadvantage is, the opposite hand takes more time to reach your opponent, and more effort to get in front of you. it is also a bad way to be if your opponent angles around you and seals your body in a twisted position.
if you punch or block with the same side of your front leg, you may get more extension, but the re-direction of power settles in a bit differently because you have to turn the waist back to protect the groin while your shoulders turn the opposite way to maximize your reach.
it's generally not recommended to build habits. so always executing techniques with same side as front leg is a bad type of habit. have the option of being able to use both hands. that way you can randomize your techniques and surprise your opponent. any habit formed generally becomes a weakness, once your opponent becomes aware of it.
the more you do something, the more familiar it becomes and the more your body will loosen up to it. i think it's a matter of practicing enough that your body becomes comfortable with using either hand no matter what leg is forward. in Shang Xia Zhi, the lower torso needs to be constantly loose and moving but maintaining protection of the groin, especially when the stance settles after moving. the movement definitely cannot be stiff. White Crane is soft-hard. so the waist needs to keep rotating, along with the rocking.
keep in mind that we always start out training the basics first. we learn Shang Xia Zhi stationary first, then in stance, moving in a straight line, hopping in straight line, and finally angling. the ultimate stage will be freestyle attacks and counters on either side, hopping or angling when appropriate and no longer all the time. a lot of sequences we learn in martial arts tend to bias either our left or right side. keep in mind that in a real situation, you should be able to use both sides equally well. sequences are merely practice tools, to help you remember techniques and to train good habits. the very last stage (particularly in regards to Shang Xia Zhi) is freestyle sparring. it gets closer and closer to real fighting as you become more advanced, and by then, it probably won't look like the sequence at all anymore.
Nicholas C. Yang
President, YMAA International
Assistant Director, YMAA Retreat Center
http://ymaa-retreatcenter.org