What is our teaching style? If you come to train with us, what should you expect? In this short video, Master Iain teaches Prisca on a cool, misty morning at the top of Doi Kiew Lom mountain. It is a genuine lesson which happened to be going on while our video team were present. The video shows Master Iain teaching the most difficult move in the Shuang Yang White Crane internal Kung Fu routine - ‘The Lion Cub Opening Its Mouth’ - including a detailed explanation of the footwork and stance work. Also ‘the Roc Spreading Its Wings’ and ‘The immortal pointing the way'. He begins by explaining the footwork for the lion cub opening its mouth, demonstrating stepping to the side and then stepping back and forward in a bow and arrow stance. He then explains the hand movements, which involve making circles and defending the face. Master Iain emphasizes keeping the elbows tucked and the arms tight. He moves on to another move called the roc spreading its wings and demonstrates turning back to the front and pushing the fingertips forward: the immortal pointing the way.

Key Points

  • Footwork: step with purpose,
  • Hand Movements: hands moving in big circles.
  • Maintaining Form: keep your elbows tucked, movements tight.
  • Smooth Transitions.

Full Video Transcript

We're going to start off by just having a look at the footwork. So here you can have the knees together and the first step into the lion cup opening its mouth is just a step to the side here. And we're going to face 45 degrees to front. So you step into a bow, and arrow stance here. That's great. And then the left foot steps back next to the right, turned out a little bit, ready to step forward into a right foot bow and arrow, facing directly to the front again. So just move it across. Step 45 degrees, step back, step to the front. Yeah, that's great. And now we'll do that with the hands as well. Step, make a big circle, step forward and out into the lion cup, opening against some mouth. Step to the side, another big circle. Drive forward at a back leg, back straight tailbone pointing down. When we do this, drop the hand. We don't want to cross the hands over again. So we slide the hand down to the belt channel and then it comes up to defend the face. We come into the belt channel here and out again and we change over the right hand on the center line.

But as the left circles, the right moves back to the belt channel. Out of the way, cross blocks the face in back to the belt. Channel out again into the lion cup, opening its mouth. And try that one time. Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. We can keep the elbows quite tucked, quite compact. So here it's not out to the side, it's kind of parallel with the body. One here, the elbow's quiet tucked two in, as this is a defensive move. Keep the arms quite tight. If the arms come out to the side, it's too open. Keep the other eyes in front of the body most of the time. That's great. And now carry into the rock spreading its wings.

Yeah.

*Yeah, that's good. We'll just add one more from the rock spreading its wings. Turn back to the front again. Tuck the hands to the belt channel. Push from the back leg, drive the fingertips forward. This is called the immortal pointing the way. Okay, so the elbow points down to the earth. You rotate the wrist, the elbow still pointing down. There it is. At the bottom in. There's no need to stretch out too far to the front from here. Come into the waist. Yeah. Then pierce forward. *

Yeah. Okay.

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