Twisting the Towel, Fetch Water and Six Sealing Four Closing on Jan. 21, 2017

Today, we focused on the details of 3 foundation exercises:

1. Twisting the Towel
2. Fetch Water
3. Six Sealing Four Closing

They are similar when you view them as having differences in the placement of the hands for the exercises.

Twisting the Towel

Twisting the Towel

1. Even horse stance
2. Head up
3. Back straight
4. Don’t move the wrists, keep them straight and stretched out
5. Imagine there is a vertical rod going from the top of the head down to the ground (this is not the spine).
6. Palm faces the ground at 45 degrees when it is close to the body.
7. Palm faces the ceiling at 45 degrees when it is away from the body.
8. Push the right foot to the ground to squeeze the right hand out.
9. Consider a triangle with 3 points at right hand, left kua and right kua. Lock the right hand and the left kua, squeeze the right kua into the line formed by the right hand and left kua.
10. Push the left foot to the ground to squeeze the left hand out.
11. Consider a triangle with 3 points at left hand, right kua and left kua. Lock the left hand and the right kua, squeeze the left kua into the line formed by the left hand and right kua.
12. Every part of the hand and forearm must go through the same dot on an imaginary line that it is sticking out of the belling button.
13. Don’t bend the upper body forward as the hand is squeezed out.
14. Shoulder should not move forward in the same direction as the hand, it can only go down to the kua.
15. No movement/tossing anywhere.
16. Dang should be round to create an arch in the legs.

Fetch Water

Fetch Water

1. Half horse stance (assume right side stance)
2. Lock the right knee
3. Lock the left shoulder
4. At the beginning, the right hand faces the inner thigh, left hand on the belly.
5. Don’t move the wrists, keep them straight and stretched out
6. Consider a triangle with 3 points at right hand, left hand and right kua. Lock the two hands and squeeze the right kua into the line formed by the right hand and left hand.
7. At the end, the right hand faces out, but there is no movement at the wrist. The direction of palm changes because the elbow moves towards the dantain, and there is a rotation in the shoulder.
8. This trains opening of the front kua.

Six Sealing Four Closing

Six Sealing Four Closing

1. Half horse stance (assume right side stance)
2. Lock the right knee
3. Lock the left shoulder
4. Right hand with palm faces out (Like the 3rd count of the positive circle)
5. Left hand across the chest
6. Don’t move the wrists, keep them straight and stretched out
7. Consider a triangle with 3 points at right hand, left hand and right shoulder. Lock the two hands and squeeze the right shoulder into the line formed by the right hand and left hand.
8. Consider a triangle with 3 points at right hand, left hand and right kua. Lock the two hands and squeeze the right kua into the line formed by the right hand and left hand.
9. The above two triangles share a common side. Either right shoulder or right kua can be used to lengthen that line to squeeze the front hand out.