The first weekend of April master had a seminar in Mèze the second time. This time there were close to hundred students. In such a big group there’s always a chance to practice with a new partner.
First we practiced swing hands a lot, gong tui, zuo tui. Sink first. You need to find good root. Ground yourself. It’s in your stance, posture. How you carry yourself. Later we took steps, long and soft. Stay in form. Heels on the same line.
Swing hands used to be my favorite warm up exercise. In the beginning it was a little surprising, when people joined my practice before a class, but at the end I think this is a nice gesture. I like to help finding the rhythm, anytime, welcome.
As a new we started four corners, dalu. First we practiced solo only the steps, one step at a time. Don’t teach too much, like master said. By going ahead of the movements, the progress can stall. Only after people were comfortable with the steps, we were taught the hands. Again first in solo and only later with a partner. If you try to absorb too much too fast, it’s hard to get back to the beginning. You can begin for the first time only once. All the other times are repetition, though it can and should be every time a new.
I don’t think it was a coincidence, that we got detailed corrections in the four corners, fair lady works the shuttle, yu nü ch’uan so, in the slow set as well. By starting from the steps, keep foot just barely off the ground, not too high. Don’t step back on the second corner, but turn first, then step straight forward.
As an exception not to teach too much, I’d still like to share a few points from these corners. While turning, the hand behind pushes the other, same level, waist high. After reaching the opposing corner, the direction shifts to the targeting corner, and pushes close to the body. On the last corner, while taking the follow step, the hands turn and lower at the same time, and when the toes touch the ground, the push starts to turn the whole body.
But what still applies to any practice, a student should first know the previous movements, before to be taught the next ones. If you don’t remember, what you’ve being taught, you can not practice alone. You should know, what you know, and practice either from the beginning or from where you already know.
After Mèze my teacher had a seminar in Helsinki. In his classes were two new students, who were in the beginning of third section, and they were taught the corners as well, so that was nice continuity to what we had just practiced in Mèze. Sometimes these weird coincidences, unexpected synchronicities, make me smile.