Anyone else use Yao Bu?

[Oily Dragon]

That look like a horse stance to me. What's the weight distributation?

- 30/70?
- 40/60?
- 50/50?

Are both feet completely on the ground?

Yes.

 

[Oily Dragon]

It’s not really “soft” more like supple or wrapping if I understand correctly.

It's right there in the hanzi, truly.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Well, you'd be surprised. People don't like hearing they don't know something. I got an awful lot of grief after a previous video where I described using Xie Xing as a strike. I was categorically told by a number of people that it was a throw and nothing else...

Gone are the days where a person says "kung fu technique does this" Sometimes you just have to show how it works through application.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Was that on this forum?

It's probably from the kung fu world. Accepting a new application for an existing technique can be "fighting words." The reason is that you have teachers and "masters" who have taught things and have in their mind that they know everything, so anything new from someone who knows less hurts their ego. Not all of them are like that, but there are some out there who have that attitude where someone who knows less can't "teach the teacher." They do not believe in "Student learns from teacher and sometimes Teacher learns from student."

I've been personally chewed out by a kung fu teacher who told me I didn't know what I was talking about when it comes to low stance and then he went on his rant about his coaching experience . It can be brutal at times. The best way I've found to deal with this is to simple show the application. Find a sparring partner and do the actual technique in sparring. If you can do that then you shut down a lot of nonsense.

 

[JowGaWolf]

• 1Contemporary wushu stances
  • 1.1Mǎ Bù (馬步)
  • 1.2Gōng Bù (弓步）
  • 1.3Fú Hǔ Bù （伏虎步）
  • 1.4Xuán Jī Bù （玄機步）
  • 1.5Zuò Pán Bù （坐盤步）
• 2Traditional wushu stances
  • 2.1Sì Liù Bù （四六步）
  • 2.2Jin Ji Du Li （金雞獨立）
  • 2.3Tūn Bù （吞步）
  • 2.4Qi Lin Bu （麒麟步）

1. Horse stance
2. Bow arrow stance
3. Striking tiger stance
4. Empty stance
5. Twisting stance
6. 4-6 stance
7. Golden rooster stance
8. 7 stars stance
9. Monkey stance

View attachment 28855

View attachment 28856

Oh so that's the Unicorn Stance. I always wondered about that stance.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Oh so that's the Unicorn Stance. I always wondered about that stance.

It's also called monkey stance.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

It's probably from the kung fu world. Accepting a new application for an existing technique can be "fighting words." The reason is that you have teachers and "masters" who have taught things and have in their mind that they know everything, so anything new from someone who knows less hurts their ego. Not all of them are like that, but there are some out there who have that attitude where someone who knows less can't "teach the teacher." They do not believe in "Student learns from teacher and sometimes Teacher learns from student."

I've been personally chewed out by a kung fu teacher who told me I didn't know what I was talking about when it comes to low stance and then he went on his rant about his coaching experience . It can be brutal at times. The best way I've found to deal with this is to simple show the application. Find a sparring partner and do the actual technique in sparring. If you can do that then you shut down a lot of nonsense.

I have learned as much from my students as much as anything else. I am grateful for my opportunity to teach them because they have taught me so much. They can pose questions I never thought of. They help to continue learning and growing. I have one who is already eclipsing me in several parts of the workout. He makes me so proud because he started martial arts training with me about 6 or 7 years ago.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Oh so that's the Unicorn Stance. I always wondered about that stance.

Even though my Sigung was Chinese he would tell us we don’t need to know the Chinese names because we don’t live there and we aren’t able to speak cantonese anyway. I do wish I had learned it though.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

It's right there in the hanzi, truly.

Am I incorrect? You are the expert in this arena, I defer to your definition. I want to know I understand that correctly or do not. I use it and can do it, but I am generally somebody that can do more than I understand.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

don’t need to know the Chinese names ...

This is why we may still don't know what Yao Bu is.

To use the Chinese name, sometime it may cause more confusing. For example the Chinese wrestling "inner hook" is called "得合 De He". 95% of the Chinese won't know what's the meaning of "得合 De He" because it's Mongolian name.

Even use the Chinese names, many instructors still use it wrong.

For example:

Correct - Taiji "well fed tiger move back to mountain" (饱 Bao).
Wrong - Taiji "carry tiger back to mountain" (抱 Bao).

The same pronunciation "饱 Bao" and "抱 Bao" has been used by the wrong word. It makes no logic sense that anyone would want to carry a tiger back to mountain.

Correct - Taiji "Shoulder extend to arm" (肩).
Wrong - Taiji "Move arm like fan" (扇).

2 Chinese characters 肩 and 扇 look alike in written and were mis-used by many Taiji teachers.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Even though my Sigung was Chinese he would tell us we don’t need to know the Chinese names because we don’t live there and we aren’t able to speak cantonese anyway. I do wish I had learned it though.

You can still learn.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

You can still learn.

If you know what a 'inner hook" is, why do you want to learn the chinese name "得合 De He", or the Japanese name "大内刈 Ouchi Gari"?

To learn an extra Mongolian word, or an extra Japanese word will have little meaning to my training.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Even use the Chinese term, many instructors still use it wrong.

I totally agree with this. I know my school butchered the language. Trying to repeat what is heard vs Trying to repeat what is heard when someone is there to correct errors. If we said a term incorrectly then it just got worse because no one was there to correct us.

 

[Oily Dragon]

Am I incorrect? You are the expert in this arena, I defer to your definition. I want to know I understand that correctly or do not. I use it and can do it, but I am generally somebody that can do more than I understand.

It depends on where you find it, like KFW pointed out.

Every little hanzi is actually a composite of several indie scriptural themes. In the southern traditions, you have gong, yao, bik, jik, fan,etc corresponding to hard, soft, sending, crowding, sending, splitting.

The yao (Cantonese for soft, supple) concept is differentiated from gong (hard) in the same way yin and yang are (in fact, gong is yang, yao is yin), but in practice since you are doing these movements isotonically in the fist sets, it's never 100% one or the other. There are a bunch of kuen poems about this along the lines of "hard but not too hard, soft but not too soft".

The Yao step (bu) from changquan probably isn't related to the southern Yao (southern Shaolin bridge), but I was curious if there was a connection. Doesn't seem to be a lot of material out there on the Yao Bu (as Damien pointed out, often this stuff is just taught as-is the way it was passed down).

 

[Oily Dragon]

I totally agree with this. I know my school butchered the language. Trying to repeat what is heard vs Trying to repeat what is heard when someone is there to correct errors. If we said a term incorrectly then it just got worse because no one was there to correct us.

Now you understand why I stay up late at night studying 1,000 year old Asian symbols, alongside the styles themselves.

The challenge!

Honestly, most native Chinese speakers won't know what the hell you're talking about even if you pronounce it perfectly.

"Kung Fu slang" is how my first sifu described it. He's the furthest thing from Chinese, but you spend 40+ years correcting yourself, you should make progress.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

It depends on where you find it, like KFW pointed out.

Every little hanzi is actually a composite of several indie scriptural themes. In the southern traditions, you have gong, yao, bik, jik, fan,etc corresponding to hard, soft, sending, crowding, sending, splitting.

The yao (Cantonese for soft, supple) concept is differentiated from gong (hard) in the same way yin and yang are (in fact, gong is yang, yao is yin), but in practice since you are doing these movements isotonically in the fist sets, it's never 100% one or the other. There are a bunch of kuen poems about this along the lines of "hard but not too hard, soft but not too soft".

The Yao step (bu) from changquan probably isn't related to the southern Yao (southern Shaolin bridge), but I was curious if there was a connection. Doesn't seem to be a lot of material out there on the Yao Bu (as Damien pointed out, often this stuff is just taught as-is the way it was passed down).

Thank you!

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

This is why we may still don't know what Yao Bu is.

To use the Chinese name, sometime it may cause more confusing. For example the Chinese wrestling "inner hook" is called "得合 De He". 95% of the Chinese won't know what's the meaning of "得合 De He" because it's Mongolian name.

Even use the Chinese names, many instructors still use it wrong.

For example:

Correct - Taiji "well fed tiger move back to mountain" (饱 Bao).
Wrong - Taiji "carry tiger back to mountain" (抱 Bao).

The same pronunciation "饱 Bao" and "抱 Bao" has been used by the wrong word. It makes no logic sense that anyone would want to carry a tiger back to mountain.

Correct - Taiji "Shoulder extend to arm" (肩).
Wrong - Taiji "Move arm like fan" (扇).

2 Chinese characters 肩 and 扇 look alike in written and were mis-used by many Taiji teachers.

Thank you!

 

[Oily Dragon]

Thank you!

You're welcome.

I was reading the other thread and remembering how many silly tiffs I've waded into with kung Fu students over pronunciation. Which is why when you ask if you're wrong, my general response is going to be "na". It takes time and effort to figure this stuff out, just like actually learning a foreign language. First time i said "hanzee" instead of "hanza" to a pretty Hakka girl, I felt so stupid until I corrected myself and her eyes lit up with recognition.

Like, Siu Nim vs Siu Lim. Same exact thing one is mainstream Cantonese, the other is southern Min native to specific areas of Fujian, Taiwan etc.

But try telling that to a rabid Wing Chun lunatic whose first language was English. Talk about an empty your cup situation. I've been lectured so many times (by students, not teachers). I got used to checking my answers . No offense intended to rabid Wing Chun crowd, btw.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

You're welcome.

I was reading the other thread and remembering how many silly tiffs I've waded into with kung Fu students over pronunciation. Which is why when you ask if you're wrong, my general response is going to be "na". It takes time and effort to figure this stuff out, just like actually learning a foreign language. First time i said "hanzee" instead of "hanza" to a pretty Hakka girl, I felt so stupid until I corrected myself and her eyes lit up with recognition.

Like, Siu Nim vs Siu Lim. Same exact thing one is mainstream Cantonese, the other is southern Min native to specific areas of Fujian, Taiwan etc.

But try telling that to a rabid Wing Chun lunatic whose first language was English. Talk about an empty your cup situation. I've been lectured so many times (by students, not teachers). I got used to checking my answers . No offense intended to rabid Wing Chun crowd, btw.

I appreciate these things more than words can express. Thanks again. Often, when I would question whether I was doing something correctly, my Sifu would say “don’t worry if you are right or wrong, you are wrong”. So I just assume I’m wrong and look for the right, easier that way.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

“don’t worry if you are right or wrong, you are wrong”.

There is no right or wrong, but trade off.

Will you steal

- $100? Of course not.
- a country if you have the opportunity? Of course you will.