Choice and Preference

[Itinerant_Phenomenologist]

I don't know how responsive you all might be to this query but curiousity gnaws at my quite viciously:

These are all hypotheticals, so please don't read more than what I state...

If you could only pick one part of the body to condition for Hung Gar, what would it be? e.g. palm, forearm, finger tips, knuckles, horse etc...

Every person is differently minded and finds particular elements better suited for their structure or circumstances. What would you all considered to be your absolute favourite techniques (2 or 3) found within the shape of Hung Gar forms? Note that I am well aware that shape does not equal application and that things change etc... but simply within the scope of the form and the idealized expression of power found in a form, what would you all personally feel best suited for yourselves?

Thank you for your time.

[Asmo]

Only one body part... Hmmm, I think i would have to say the forearms then. Second would be the hands, but I think without hardening you can still make effective palm or fist attacks.
BTW, what is hardening? Even if you would just do pushups on your fists, and train on a heavy bag you would already do quite some conditioning. Not like with iron palm of course, but still...

Favourite techniques. They chnage every 6 months or so for me, probably becuase I learn and explore so much still Things I really like and appreciate at this moment is throwing elbow, simple straight punches (PM, love your 3 punch drills, still practice them a lot), and a recent favourite is pek choi with my right. That one lands deep even in the hardest heavy bag. I certainly dont want to be on the receiving end of one of those...

Oh wait, with the conditioning you also included horse training now I see. I think horse comes even before the forearms.... Just going along with your questions, but its being stripped to much to be called hung kuen at this point with just horse training

[Itinerant_Phenomenologist]

I realized that I asked a question without answering it myself. Highly Unfair.

Conditioning I would have to pick forearms. I played the piano for 15 years and during that time I was particularly shy about conditioning fingers since a wrong slip would mean an inability to play for awhile. The stances are important, but since I got my tail bone injury, I've realized that I can still compensate for the stance. Forearms though... heart and soul of the bridge in my opinion so I would make that top priority in conditioning.

As to favourite techniques, I'll be honest and say that my linear techniques are lacking because I simply did not enjoy them. I trained them insofar as a TKD person might train a punch simply to create an opening for their kicks; in other words, I trained straight punches as an added thing, not the focus.

When it comes to what I have used most often and found most reliable, it would be the long techniques (Kup, Pow... to a lesser extent Gwah) as well as the butterfly palms since, with a strong bridge, a missed strike can still maintain the position as an extended defense.

I was never really partial to elbow techniques as being a favourite because if you are in a situation that calls for elbows... chances are the opponent is too close. Elbows are emergency situations only for me.

[Asmo]

Ping Choi is a bread & butter Hung Kuen technique though, its all over the forms (well, not in TSK then ). Also, as Hung Kuen is quite a close quarter technique I think elbows are quite useful. But I seem to remember you did some TKD before? Maybe its my memory mixing things up though, but it might be so that you feel a bit more comfortable on more distance.

Also, I have to add that my build is quite compact with relative short arms & legs so I benefit from getting up close and do my thing there instead of having a distance and let my opponent dictate what's happening from a bit of distance.

[PM]

well, hard to answer... we do not have that much isolation exercises (hardening the fists without horse stance training, waist movement etc.), we aim for specialisation within complexity, "universal fighters".

the foundational training of Hung Kyun consists of stance training, da saam sing and havy bag (= horse, bridge, fist). time to specialise comes later - fists, claws, forearms, legs... i currently spend a lot on my iron palm, but of course it consists of horse stane training as well, and i can feel the benefit in al of my other skills - fist strikes, claws, kicks...

Asmo, cool action photo of you in your profile pic! throwing elbow? ha ha, ok, good

[Asmo]

[Itinerant_Phenomenologist]

[Asmo]

[Asmo]