This year we started our summer tour from Copenhagen the last weekend of May. This was the very first time master was teaching there. The class rooms were a little limited, so there were only a little more than thirty students, but the energy was surprisingly young and yang.
Because of the first time there, we started from the beginning, yubei, preparation. Straighten up. Point your toes forward shoulder wide. Relax your body. Open your eyes. Raise your spirit. When you start, push down first, in energy through the floor, even through the Earth.
Some specific corrections I remember in slow set were, that in tanpien shift your weight at the same time while turning your left wrist, in lower posture the left wrist is only a little lower than elbow while pushing forward, and in pipa the palms face each other, not down.
New students demonstrated fast set. One correction was to try to keep the same pace, to make the whole group look better together. Don’t rush, but follow the group. And do all the movements fully. There were quite a lot of trying to fa jin, but master emphasised more hua jin, turning. Like I’ve heard said: "If you can ting, you can hua. If you can na, you can fa", and in that order. By going too fast to the fa, you miss how to really get there, when to actually release the power. The same applies with stomping, you should first learn to do the movements without, and only after you can practice fa jin in your steps and jumps.
Also we practiced a lot of applications from the first section. Always focus on your partner. Don’t look around. Don’t let your mind wonder. Follow the energy, and take steps back as many as needed. No matter which side you finish to, but always the same side hand and foot are in front. Keep your posture until the end of the application. As well in larger groups, wait for everyone to finish at the same time.
And one general note is to practice, what we’ve practiced in class, as a warm up before a class. If you practice something master has not taught to you, he can not correct you.
The next week we had a camp in Lapland, but let’s get there in another post.