Heel out:
- When moving out, the heel must make contact with the ground/floor. This is also called to shovel out, as if you push the shovel into the ground.
- When making this move, the knee must be straightened to be tight. You will feel uncomfortable doing this. This is part of the training. It won’t make sense to you at this time.
- The front kua must rotate so that the shoveling out of the heel only pulls the whole leg out. It does not affect the torso.
- The front center line (from under the armpit to the front of the kua must form one vertical line) must push vertically down. It cannot bend forward from the top.
Toes back/in:
- There must be movement from the front knee.
- The kua must be locked so that the torso is not affected.
- The retreating action, or pull up action if rear foot is involved, can only apply to the big toe. The rest of the toes simply follow.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hope you will teach more things like this, Shifu. I believe this is very important. It is things that look simple that are important. When told vaguely everybody thinks they know. It is not easy if the rules are laid out clearly. Most don’t know the rules to start with. Maybe this is why the “theory is precise and the method is complex.”
Shoveling out should be a passive action. It is not an action in which one pushed the foot out like a shovel. To be more exact, one’s torso from the neck down (the head must be suspended) pushes downward causing the front foot to shovel out. The leg has no power on it. It is just like a shovel. This type of power is unstoppable. When withdrawing, the torso must keep erect and without any action or protrusion, the front knee pull the foot back to a certain position and stop there.
There are two sticks in this case. One stick from from head to rear foot which is vertical. The other is a 45 degree slanted stick from front heel to front kua. The two sticks are modulated by the kua.