When a person went to a workshop with Master Moy they could find themselves working on any number of things. A good bucket full of donyus and toryus was a given but the one move from the set you could always count on getting a few hours of time was Brush Knees. The reason for that is few moves in the set do as much for a persons well being than the knees. It opens up the big meridians (Ren Mai and Du Mai) which is the first step in having good circulation of energy.

If he saw someone for the first time at a workshop and all they were doing was, “Open, Step, Push, open, step, push…. That was fine, get the frame down pat we can fill it in later. Now on the other hand if he saw your face around a time or six, he expected more.

With that in mind lets take a look at what he was looking for. From the top with both arms open. It’s important that both arms be kept equally alive. As the arms open at the top you will feel a stretch from the bottom of the back foot to the top of your head. Just release your back leg and it should just pop straight forward into stepping position. If it doesn’t then just step through. As your hips square the back leg, spine and pushing arms move and reach their extension together. The thumb of the forward pushing hand is centerlined along with the fingers of the lower hand. As the lower arm starts to swing down and up the forward leg pivots outward at the hip. Now it is important that the condition of your knees and the traction of the floor be taken into consideration. What you can do in cotton soled shoes on a smooth marble floor and what you can do on fresh asphalt in new runners are two different things. If you can safely do it, do the turn of your forward leg with the weight on it but if not then shift part of your weight back till you can safely to the turn. You won’t have to shift much weight back to do the turn. Keep in mind that the structure of the leg doesn’t change and only turns in the hip socket as you open your hips. You start your lower arm swing and spiral down as the forward pushing arm reaches it limit. How low you sit is not as important as how smooth your spiral is. That said men should try to sit as low as possible. As you spiral into your hip to sit leave the upper body where it is and sit away from it dropping at the rib line. As your lower body drops away there is a chance you will feel a warming sensation in the palm of your forward pushing hand. If this occurs then put a star in your journal with the notation to the effect of, “Starting to make this work!” While this warming sensation should occur in all moves of the set many people feel it for the first time doing Brush Knees.

The “Monkey Mind” is a mind that is un-focused and has difficulty concentrating and flits about constantly. When we do Repulse Monkeys it’s the monkey mind we’re pushing away. The move promotes concentration and clarity of mind. Many a student’s degree/diploma hangs on the wall because of the power of this move.

Points to keep in mind for Monkeys: As the arms swing to open at the top, the stepping leg goes straight back and lands on Bubbling Springs but doesn’t turn in until the hips are squared. The weight sits on Bubbling Springs in the front foot and will turn on it’s own as you push off of it. The push of the front leg will square the hips and bring the pushing arm forward. The thumb of the pushing hand is in line with your sternum at heart height. The lower arm is also centerlined and sits at navel height. The lower arm doesn’t sink on it’s own but when you sit it goes along with body. It’s important that both arms be kept equally alive. You sit in the middle like in a toryu. Like in Brush Knees men should try to sit lower.

Many different types of relationships have come off the training room floor. What is also too true is many people have injured themselves performing for that special someone. Braggadocio has no place on the training room floor. When doing the forms or exercises do them like no one is watching.

One of the best sure fire ways of injuring yourself is to skip four or five days then try and make up for it in one big push. Do something every day and your risk of injury will drop.

There seems to be some confusion over what to do when someone is told to drop their tailbone. Put your hands on the small of your back and play around until there is no curve and it’s flat. Cognations you just dropped your tailbone. Now it doesn’t stay like that all the time it’s constantly pumping back and forth transmitting power up your spine. There is a place in every move to pump it back and forth. This is also known as the sacrum pump. Note: A pelvic tilt/thrust that goes beyond flat and tightens the abdominal muscles which we don’t want to do as it compresses internal organs.

When you Hold the Ball it’s not just a crossing of your arms but a whole body event. As your spine contracts the upper body curves inward, the sternum sinks and the spine rises out of your back as your arms close. When the arms cross, the tailbone drops and the spine begins to expand, the sternum rises, the spine sinks into the body and the arms open. The movement in your spine or arms never stops.

When your chest is open, like at the top of Knees and Monkeys, your spine is sunk into your back and the sternum is pushed out of your chest. In moves like Step up to Raise Hands your sternum is sunk and your spine rises out of your back. So what is your spine/sternum doing at different parts of the Donyu/Toryu?

When watching someone do a move three times for you, the first time watch the feet, second, the waist/hips and lastly everything. It is a common beginners mistake to think that how you flap the arms around is important. If the stepping isn’t right then the waist/hips can’t do what they should making what the arms do immaterial.

Pick the move in the set that you feel least comfortable with. Do it, ten times a day, ten minutes a day, ten hours a day, whatever works for you, until that is no longer your least comfortable move then move on to the next.

While we’re performing these movements the twisting, relaxing and tensing assists the heart in moving the blood through our bodies. Even though we are working our heart rate goes down as it doesn’t need to work as hard. The blood is removing the waste products (carbon dioxide, lactic acid). When the set ends our heart rate goes up as it no longer has our movements to assist in the removal of the waste. It is important that between the end of the set and the bow that we wait for our heart rate to go back down. This is why the pause at the end of the set is very individual and the only time you should all bow in unison would be at a demo where you’re performing not practicing.

In the punch just before the second Cross Hands Master Moy uses the same technique Doug Nettleton uses at the second Flying at a Slant. It’s more commonly called Back Stepping and can be grafted into any number of moves to avoid objects in your way. Its martial application is to make room for yourself to work in but when just about every club has a support post or two it’s a good tool to avoid them.

Sweep Lotus is a very useful tool in teaching how to do the rest of the kicks in the set. If the student leans back then there is no way they can slap their foot. If they turn their kicking hip forwards again they won’t be able to reach their foot plus they’ll be out of square to boot. It’s important that your upper body leans forwards to keep your balance and your hips stay square otherwise you lose the power of the kick. Slapping your foot is not mandatory or as important as the two points above. If flexibility is the issue then snakes, snakes and a few more snakes. Note: The hip of the kicking leg goes forward to step into Shoot Tiger after the foot has been slapped not before.

The foot work for getting into and out of Snakes in the set can be done a number of different ways. For people with knee issues the safest way is to emulate the method used by both Master Moy and Doug Nettleton in their respective videos. The foot work goes: As you shift you weight back you pivot on the center of the right heel 90° back. Pivot on bubbling springs of the left foot 45° to your left. Keeping your weight over the right leg start to spiral down. As you spiral down around your spine to face your left foot, while doing so time the pivot of the center of your left heel 90° to your left with the turn in your spine. Pushing off of your back heel and lead with your bai hui. Lift not just the crown of your head but the whole of your upper body. As your weight passes over your left foot pivot on the center of your right heel 45° forwards. Keep the push from the back foot alive. As you come up the spine from the tailbone to the bai hui rises up as one piece into whatever move is next. It’s not how low you sit but how smoothly you transfer energy into and out of the move. Sitting low is a matter of teaching yourself to relax into structure. Three Points to keep in mind: 1) Stepping and alignment must be precise. 2) Refrain from locking your hip joint and sitting on it as this will take to load off the muscles and put it on the ligaments. 3) Using the muscles of the lower torso to compensate for mistakes in the legs. If the muscles in your lower torso get tense re-think your stance/stepping.

Whether you’re doing the forms or exercises it’s not about knocking out “X” number of cookie cutter shapes before moving on to the next but rather changing them in mid stream to suit the needs of your body at that moment. To use a musical analogy, you may use the same methodology to tune an instrument but each time will be highly individual to that situation. So too with your training it’s not about doing it. It’s about using the exercises and forms to tune your body, look for tension in your body then play with the moves till it’s works for you.

At first glance Slanting Flying and Wild Horses look the same. While it’s true they share a number of common attributes they are very different moves. In both moves when you hold the ball the arms cross in front of your centerline. As your hips square the back leg, spine and pushing arms move and reach their extension together. The extended arm is again on the centerline to shoulder height with the lower hand by your thigh. In both the push comes from the back heel and it is VERY important that your stepping foot is on the ground before your ball opens and the spine/arms begin to expand. When you sit the deeper you can spiral into your hip your stepping will not only be more stable but you will generate more power. The longer the reach/stretch the more your back foot will pop off the floor when you release it, this contraction will help you stand up. They differ in that in Slanting Flying the energy expressed by your arm is forward and upward whereas in Wild Horses it’s sideways. In slanting flying the intent is on the upper arm and shoulder. Whereas in wild horses it starts at the base of the thumb and goes up the forearm. Neither is a finger strike but rather a throw. The theory is your stepping leg goes between their legs and the sweep throws them. One of the takes on the name Slanting Flying is you come in at a slant and they go flying.

It’s not uncommon for students to get cramps either in their calves or the soles of their feet. When this happens straighten your leg and reach with your toes for your knee and this will alleviate the cramping.

Have mini-workshops, get together with your friends, spend the day going up and down, back and forth. Take turns correcting each others form. Don’t forget to do the 109th move together as well.