 Little Four Hands
Shaolin's earliest
existing manual of empty hand fighting, The Pugilist Methodology
Essential Reference (Quan Jing Quan Fa Bei Yao) asks,
"Why do you move diagonally when using the dodging footsteps?"
It is in order to avoid that which comes straight towards you and
to evade that which charges at you.
Avoid his charge and fly diagonally when his force is difficult to
stop.
How can you defend yourself from a straight attack without dodging?
Go sideways and immediately go straight.
Occupy his space so he'll be injured by a fall."
In Praying Mantis Boxing there is a form called
Little Four Hands which trains how to charge your
opponent and how to
evade his charge. It all relies on the hooking hand.
When I teach this method to students, usually starting
on the first day of class, I use the order of
1. Solo form; Little Four Hands
2. Two person hand drill
3. Two person form; Little Four Hands
The Solo Form
Here Raquel demonstrates the solo form Little Four
Hands. The names of the four attacks should be shouted
out as they are performed, for this reason the Chinese
is a terse one or two syllables for each technique.
The four attacking techniques are
- Quan Chui-Hook Punch
- Ji Tou-Attack the Head
- Ti-Kick
- Da-Strike
|
 |
 |
|
Bao Zhou-Embrace the Elbows |
1. Xia Zha-Low Smash |
 |
 |
|
2. Gou Shou-Hooking Hand |
3. Quan Chui-Hook Punch |
|
 |
 |
|
4. Ji Tou-Attack the head |
5. Ti-Kick |
 |
 |
|
6. Da-Strike |
7. Tun Zhang-Pushing Palm |
 |
 |
|
8. Yan Zhou-Covering Elbow |
9. Xia Zha-Low Smash |
The last technique is the same as the first. From the
last move you can continue training without end in both
the solo and two man form.
Gou Shou-Hooking Hand
.JPG)
In order to
"... avoid that which comes straight towards you and to
evade that which charges at you..." While still
being able to counter attack one must use the hooking
hand.
In our class we start the two person
training section of class with gou shou-hooking hand. Simple to train and easy to
understand. It is best to
train at least 100 times per class on each hand. When
both students are proficient in the drill it takes a
little over a minute to perform 100 repetitions per
hand.
 1.
Jared on the left and Alex on the right. Jared begins by
placing his palm on the shoulder of Alex. |
 |
 |
| 2. Alex hooks
Jared's hand |
3. Notice how Alex turns his waist. As he is
turning his right hand should pull closer to his
waist (not shown) |
 |
 |
| 4. Alex's hand smoothly shoots
out and pats Jared on the shoulder. That is one
down for Alex, 99 repetitions to go. |
5. Jared now repeats the drill
by hooking Alex's hand pulling it to his waist
and reaching for his shoulder. From here they
can continue without end. |
Little Four Hands the Two Man Form
When last I was in Brasil I had the
opportunity to visit Coach Jander's school for his grand
opening. While I was in his new school I took the chance
to have some pictures. We photographed Little Four
Hands. The arrangement of Little Four Hands is such that
when you start the drill you begin with the third and
fourth attack of the form, namely; kick and punch. This
is the charging attack. A technique common to many
martial art styles.
The solo form opens with xia zha-low
smash,
the defense to Jander's attack, and counters with the
hook punch straight punch combo, another attack common
to many martial art styles.
There are two characteristics of this
drill unique to Praying Mantis Boxing.
1. The reliance on the right hooking
hand in order to deliver the left hook punch.
2. The interconnected method of training
with no pause, the more you train this drill the faster
you move.
 |
Jander attacks me and I swing my hand down. My head is
not well protected. |
 |
Jander strikes at my unprotected head. I reach out with
my hand and hook his wrist. If his hand recoils from
the punch I will utilize that recoil to help propel
myself forward. |
|
|
Jander Ducks my hook punch and tries to push his palm
into my ribs. I don't let go of his right wrist. |
 |
My right hand punches toward his face. He steps back
and defends.
To continue the drill I would kick toward his groin
and perform the attacks that Jander started the form
with. |
From here this form can continue without end giving
the student the ability to examine the subtle details of
technique.
Inside Jander's School. Left to Right Elen, Jander,
Kevin (me), Andre, and Marcio
Outside Jander's school in Sao Paolo Brasil
The beginning method of Praying Mantis Boxing is an
excellent way for students to become acquainted with
training the proper speed, power and targeting of
techniques. The responsibility of the Shifu is to make
sure the students are using full speed, full strength
and are striking close enough so that if one student is
too slow they will get hit
The form in a handy reference paper
More
Articles |
