character two stability

[yak sao]

From time to time one of the things we practice in our little group of WT outlaws is a stance stability exercise.
Version one has one person in a character two while his partner gives him a steady push in the mid chest.
Version two is the same but the person holds various arm structures such as double tan or double fook with his partner pushing against those structures.
We also practice these from a forward stance ,a sideling stance and one legged stance.
My question : with the acknowledgement that in actuality we would not truly stand there, but would move, ie. step, stance turn etc., however, as a drill, how strong of a force do you feel like a person should be able to withstand while in a character two stance?

 

[mook jong man]

We do exactly the same type of exercises , but I will also push them in the shoulder to test their stance from the side and also push them in the back to test it from that direction too.

How strong a force a person can take depends on how well developed the stance is , the experience of the practioner and the size of the person putting the pressure on relative to the size of the practitioner.

I think a high level person should be at least able to withstand the force of someone bigger than them leaning in with the their whole body at close to a 45 degree angle before they start to get pushed back.

But with novice trainees they usually can take only a slight lean and from someone weighing about the same as them before they start to buckle.

We also test the stance ballistically by getting one partner with a kicking shield to run at the Wing Chun guy at full steam , the Wing Chun guy does a double Lan Sau and pivot when the pad comes into contact with his forearms.

There is an element of timing involved with the pivot , but the exercise does give you a reality check on how good your stance is , if you get rocked back quite a distance then it is obvious you need to work on your stance.

Like all stuff in Wing Chun , if you want to be good at punching then you must do a lot of it , if you want to be good at kicking you must do a lot of it , if you want to have a good stance then you must do alot of stance exercises along with SLT and pivoting.

 

[yak sao]

We do exactly the same type of exercises , but I will also push them in the shoulder to test their stance from the side and also push them in the back to test it from that direction too.

How strong a force a person can take depends on how well developed the stance is , the experience of the practioner and the size of the person putting the pressure on relative to the size of the practitioner.

I think a high level person should be at least able to withstand the force of someone bigger than them leaning in with the their whole body at close to a 45 degree angle before they start to get pushed back.

But with novice trainees they usually can take only a slight lean and from someone weighing about the same as them before they start to buckle.

We also test the stance ballistically by getting one partner with a kicking shield to run at the Wing Chun guy at full steam , the Wing Chun guy does a double Lan Sau and pivot when the pad comes into contact with his forearms.

There is an element of timing involved with the pivot , but the exercise does give you a reality check on how good your stance is , if you get rocked back quite a distance then it is obvious you need to work on your stance.

Like all stuff in Wing Chun , if you want to be good at punching then you must do a lot of it , if you want to be good at kicking you must do a lot of it , if you want to have a good stance then you must do alot of stance exercises along with SLT and pivoting.

That;s the conclusion I had come to...I wasn't sure if I was in the right ballpark or not.....I like the idea with the charging kick shield.

 

[zepedawingchun]

We also practice these from a forward stance ,a sideling stance and one legged stance. . . . . . how strong of a force do you feel like a person should be able to withstand while in a character two stance?

I have seen someone in YGKYM and/or a one legged stance holding back 4 to 8 people or more (6'+ and 200 lbs+ people pushing) and then move them back. I cannot do that many (on a good day 2 people), but understand the idea on how it is done. You want to make your body a conduit for the energy applied (a channel the energy travels through). The force passes through you to the Earth, and since you can't move the Earth, the force returns to the point of origin (people pushing). So they are basically pushing against themselves. It works as long as your structure is good, any weak point and it collapses in on you.

 

[jaidee]

Yeah, I can only take 1 at the moment.

However, Jim Fung was known to hold two people on 1 leg.

 

[geezer]

My question : with the acknowledgement that in actuality we would not truly stand there, but would move, ie. step, stance turn etc., however, as a drill, how strong of a force do you feel like a person should be able to withstand while in a character two stance?

In response to your question, I'd guess that the stronger your stance, the more options you have. If your stance is weak, you must turn to dissolve the oncoming force. If your stance is rooted and stong, you don't have to turn if it doesn't suit you, or if your opponent is giving you heavy force, but not committing himself fully. If he does commit himself, I'd let his force turn me, and let his force go (the "bullfighter" concept) so as to unbalance him. At any rate, your drills sound good to me.

 

[geezer]

Yak, in reference to your original question, check this out:

 

[yak sao]

How about when one of us hits the lottery we go and train with him for awhile?