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| Original Source: www.kungfucinema.com |
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first encounter with a form of “Drunken Style” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zui_quan fist was back in the 70s or early 80s during
a martial art banquet in Toronto’s original Chinatown. The style was Choy Li
Fut and the performer was a young man named Joe Valadao, https://www.facebook.com/pages/JV-Martial-Arts-Studio Durham/198494280186622 part of the excellent
demo team from the Hong Luck Kung Fu club www.hongluck.ca
His
skills were mesmerizing. I knew that Choy Li Fut’s stances were deeply rooted,
and his stances were indeed low and strong, but I was impressed by how he could
manoeuvre from strong and secure positions to positions supposedly far beyond
his centre of equilibrium, and do so effortlessly with complete control
over his speed.
I
had a chance to witness another performance of the same form, just last year,
at a celebration of martial arts at the National Air Force Museum of Canada
organized by Sensei/Sifu Greg Magwood www.magwoodsmartialarts.webs.com Drunken Style is
athletically demanding and some of the
postures can amount to pure contortionism, which, I thought, would make it a young
person’s game. But here was Sifu Joe, decades later, rolling on the hard floor.
He was as precise and as masterly self-controlled as he had been back when I
first saw him perform.
An
important point to remember – there is no one Drunken Style per se. The concept, and the type of training
involved, can be found in various Chinese martial arts from Choy Li Fut to
Monkey Kung Fu. In most of these traditions, students are exposed to Drunken
Style forms only at a more advanced level.
Before
we begin with an analysis of Drunken Style, please be assured that every part
of every traditional form you may ever see is deeply rooted in combat. A finger
attack to acupoint TW 17 appears in a form because of someone’s past survival
experience; a sudden kick to the inside of an opponent’s knee is there because
an attacker’s knee snapped during a fight and the Choy Li Fut practitioner was
able to escape. That simple. And that complex.
All
traditional martial arts start with a foundation (stance work; rootedness;
breathing; focus; unifying the mind, body and spirit, etc.). Next comes movement, wherein we learn to
carry that rootedness from one step to the next. Once we can do that, we begin
to work with a partner , one step at a time. We then continue on to free style
movement, wherein we’re expected to use techniques freely and an impromptu manner…all
built upon our initial foundation.
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| Original Sources: jujitsuannex.tripod.com www.tumblr.com womensqigong.com www.kjartan.org aikido-saintaignan.fr |
What
Drunken Style does is to extend that foundational training to boundaries that
are extreme.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY
For
the traditionalist, the dantien (the area below the navel) holds the centre of
balance and power. We operate from that
core, even while sparring.
Drunken
Style, like Ba Gua, attempts to reach as far away from that core stability
while maintaining contact with the tandien. At an advanced level, martial art
practises like Drunken Style or the advanced Wudang systems create secondary
tandien, storing and releasing power from various parts of the body while
remaining fully rooted.
For real combat: realistic
fighting capability 360 degrees at all levels extended to the most extreme body
postures. You’re ready for anything.
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| Source: thebackfist.com |
PASSING FROM ONE MOVEMENT TO THE OTHER
“Don’t
bop your head up and down…roll your hips into the stance…grip the floor…breathe
deep into the dantien!” the instructor said.
It’s
a thing of beauty to watch a Judoka transition from one attempt at a throw
immediately to another without losing her balance or her timing. Tai Chi,
Aikido, Silat…smooth transitioning is a hallmark of martial root.
Drunken
Style will cobble together all manner of transitions… stumbling or
falling…while still maintaining the same degree of control.
For real combat: your
ability to adjust smoothly to all changes in the field of combat remains –
forgive the pun – unimpaired.
ENERGY LIKE WINE
The
idea that wine pours through the chi meridians is a meditation practise used –
you guessed it – at first in stationary chi gung, then moving chi kung. Wine
fills, and lots of wine fills heavily. The quality of internal energy, of the
heavy variety so desirable in iron hand training, spreads through every inch of
the body while the body itself remains relaxed.
For
real combat: ammunition is stored in every part of the body.
FAST AND SLOW
Most
Karate Kata contain variations of fast and slow movements. At a superficial
level, slow movements add a nice contrast to bursts of more rapid movements
especially if you want your fast movements to look really fast. However, if you
watch someone like Higaonna Sensei on YouTube, you’ll notice a host of “old
school” training concepts during his Kata’s slower movements.
Drunken
Style understands that chi flows in coordination with the body at different
speeds (as does Chen Tai Chi). Drunken Style also looks to control every inch
of a transition, sometimes at very slow speeds.
Advanced
martial artists also use their slowest movements to replenish their power.
For
real combat: learning to reload at various speeds (and that’s just one
example).
RHYTMN – ALL POSSIBLE RHYTHMS
For
martial arts to fully prepare its practitioners for “war” (martial art = war
art), a training regimen that practises the widest possible elements of combat
– terrain situations, timing, weapons, psychological factors, multiple
attackers, etc. allows its practitioners to prepare as much as possible for the
real thing.
Fighting
rhythm is an element of combat Drunken Style explores.
For real combat: there is
no one rhythm to a combat situation. You must explore them all.
EXPLOSIVE POWER
In
the Hakka Kung Fu systems, you “swallow” and then you “spit” the power
out. There isn’t a Tai Chi system that
ignores explosive power. Drunken Style works at developing explosive power from
seemingly uncoordinated platforms.
For
real combat: lethal power, with or without weapons.
HEAVINESS WITH LIGHTNESS
Lightness,
and the ability to relax, is absolutely necessary for the extreme mobility
demanded by Drunken Style. The heaviness, which I touched on in Energy Like
Wine, is essential for iron hand power. Both qualities combined lead to a
powerful system of self defense.
For
real combat: efficiency without wasting power.
UNPREDICTABILITY
Taekwondo’s
kicks – so fast and powerful – can come in from any direction in a split
second; the great knife fighters from the Philippines and Indonesia are as
nimble in their strategies as they are in their movements; the fighting system
My Jong Law Horn remains true to its “labyrinthine” roots. The unpredictable
fighter is difficult to defend against.
Drunken
Style thrives on unpredictability. The opponent’s senses become intoxicated with an overload of wrong
information.
For real combat: the field
of combat becomes a maze, your maze
IRON BODY
The
striking arts spend time on developing some form of the iron body. Kyokushin
Karate and Uechi Ryu are famous for taking full contact blows
In
Drunken Style, the body is hardened both specifically and overall through
abrupt falls to the floor. This is on top of the usual iron body conditioning.
For
real combat: armour.
CALMNESS DURING A FIREFIGHT
Remember
Matsuhashi Sensei’s comments about remaining calm in the recent series of posts
by Douglas Tong. Traditionalists all strive for a state of absolute calm during
the storm of combat. We meditate, and we train for “no mind”. No matter what a
Drunken Stylist’s exterior portrays, the core of her mind remains calm. A mind
locked on one thing, one emotion, one target, remains stiff; a mind that remains
unlocked is open to all possibilities...at very high speed.
For
real combat: less chance of a mistake, relaxed alertness…and after combat
subsides, the ability to transition smoothly back into a state of peacefulness.
CONCLUSION
The following link leads to a brief composite of a Drunken Style form -
http://youtu.be/xKJjnNPyeio
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