I did some correspondence with Sifu Sergio some years back and we were discussing the long pole from Yip Man lineage.
It was his belief that the pole form from the YM lineage is the first section of an 18 section form. Whether that is all that YM knew of the form or he only taught that one section is up for speculation.
But I would love to see that form...is the Tang Yik pole form the "lost form"?
This could be interesting. The age old question "is more better?". Looking forward to hearing more on this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I hear that Tang Yik pole is very good and that it contains more than standard VT pole. What are the differences and why do they make for a better pole form?
It should be the other way around. You can useThe spear was done on both sides and the pole only on one.
John, I think KPM meant both to the left and the right, not both ends.
I hear that Tang Yik pole is very good and that it contains more than standard VT pole. What are the differences and why do they make for a better pole form?
I am not sure of your frame of reference. So if you would like to post a few videos of what you consider to be good representations of Ip Man Pole, I would be happy to point out what differences I see.
I am not sure of your frame of reference. So if you would like to post a few videos of what you consider to be good representations of Ip Man Pole, I would be happy to point out what differences I see.
I am not sure of your frame of reference. So if you would like to post a few videos of what you consider to be good representations of Ip Man Pole, I would be happy to point out what differences I see.
I did ask Sifu Tang about the length of the pole. He said the very long 8 and 9 foot poles are only for training. Back in the day they may have been used in defense when more than one guy with a pole could stand side by side. The issue with a long pole is that once an opponent gets past the point, they can be hard to deal with! The longer the pole is, the more of an issue this becomes! Sifu Tang teaches that the optimal length of the pole is 7 feet long. This is long enough to give you good advantage against other weapons, but still short enough to counter someone who might get past the point. Weight is also an issue with the length of the pole. If the pole is too heavy, then it is harder to move around very quickly to keep someone from getting past the point. The longer and heavier poles are therefore used for conditioning and the shorter and lighter poles for actual training and fighting. Sifu Tang has a pole that is only 5 feet long. But it is solid stainless steel and is a beast to train with!
It was the same in the western world. In the late medieval and early Renn periods in Europe armies fought with formations of Pikemen. A Pike was essentially a pointed pole about from 9 to 12 feet long. They stood in formations shoulder-to-shoulder to keep the enemy from being able to close in. The "Dopplesoldat" were large men armed with 2-handed swords that were in the front of the infantry formation. Their job was to move forward and try to sweep the Pikes off-line with their large swords so the foot soldiers could close past the points.
So from that perspective, if your lineage trains exclusively with an 8 or 9 foot heavy pole, then likely it sees it as a conditioning method and not a real weapon.