Hung Gar Kung Fu — Lessons 1 and 2 — No Really!

I wanted to tell you what I’ve been doing in my back to kung fu classes, but it occurs to me that without a little explanation, you won’t really understand it. So I’ve decided to give all of Reverbia some basic kung fu lessons in print.

Lesson 1—Basic Horse Stance

You can’t fight if you can’t stand. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Of course it does. So the first thing you learn to do is to make your legs strong. To do that, you stand in what is called horse riding stance. It makes your legs very, very strong. It’s not easy to do, but it is easy to practice. You can do it while washing the dishes. You can do it while watching television. But you have to do it right. Here’s how to stand in horse stance:

Step one: Stand with your back straight. It’s good to do this next to a wall the first time. Have your feet together.

Step two: Turn you heels outward at about a 45 degree angle. Leave them there. You are now pigeon-toed.

Step three: Turn your toes out at a 45 degree angle. Leave them there.

Step Four: Turn your heels out again at a 45 degree angle so you’re pigeon-toed again.

Step Five: Turn your toes out again at 45 degree angles.

Step six: Now turn your heels straight. Your toes are pointing forward.

Step seven: Now bend your knees as if you were riding a horse. The goal here is to stand with your thighs nearly parallel to the floor. This is not easy to do and will hurt like hell. There is an example in the image on the page.

Try to stand this way for a minute. It will hurt. You won’t want to do this. Do it anyway.

Try to work up your time to as long as possible. Shaolin monks used to start out standing this way while a stick of incense burned (about three hours). You should get as low as you can, but you can also practice a “high horse” while just standing around for whatever reason you’re standing around. Again, imagine you are riding a horse. Push your thighs out.

This stance aligns your chakras. It is important you keep your back straight. DON’T lean over. You will want to, but don’t. Standing this way makes you very strong because it causes your “chi” (vital life energy) to flow. You should feel a warmth begin to flow through your body after a few minutes.

Lesson Two: The Bow and Arrow Stance (Gung Gee Ma)

Related to the horse stance is the bow and arrow stance. If you have a tile floor, it’s good to practice the stance there for the first time. You can practice it anywhere, however.

Step One: Get in a good horse stance.

Step Two: Take your right foot and move it straight back so that the toe of your right foot is in a line with the heel of your left foot. So, in other words, your right foot is about one foot-size back from where it was.

Step Three: Turn your upper torso so it is pointed toward the right and straighten your left leg. Your shoulders are straight and face the right wall. Your right foot and left foot will be pointed about 45 degrees towards the right. Your shin rises up straight, making a 90 degree angle with the floor.

Make sure to keep your feet in the same place they were for the horse stance. Every person has their own horse stance width. Your legs shouldn’t be too wide or too narrow. Make your back leg straight and lock your knee joint. In our club, the leader will sometimes stand on the students’ back legs to make sure they are locked. You will see this stance in the image on the page also, so click on the image. Try to stand in this stance for a minute and work your way up to as long as possible. Practice this stance to the right and to the left, meaning with the right leg bent and the left leg bent.

Conclusion: In the classes offered at our club, students stand in these stances for about a half-hour. They also walk in the horse stance. Yes, you CAN walk in that stance. In the next lessons, I will teach you the basic punch (ping chui) and the two basic blocks, mok sao and long sao. This will make practicing in stance easier, believe it or not. Doing something with your hands takes your mind off how much your legs hurt. Let me know how you’re doing with these and feel free to ask questions.