The NanQuan seminar

As a reminder of the nanquan training at our workshop in Stockholm, here come some descriptions and explanations of NanQuan that I told or should have told during the nanquan seminar.

Some NanQuan footworks

  1. DingBu – BanMaBu – GongBu
    T-stance + semi horse stance + bow stance
    Don’t stay long on T-stance, it’s just a transition stance. The transition from t-stance to semi horse stance should be clear, fast and steady. Semi horse stance should have 2/3 of the weight on the rear leg. The upper body should be kept still. When shifting from semi horse stance to bow stance, the body/head should stay at the same height (not going upward which is a common error). The waist-turning should go fast and be initiated of the rear foot (heel pushing back, straight the knee, and turn the waist)
  2. QiLinBu
    cross step + cross step + semi horse stance + bow stance
    The cross steps should be taken fast and clear (no sliding). A common error is to have too much weight on the front leg because of the movement which is a forward one.
  3. PaoQuan’s footwork
    Try to go forward with your feet staying on the same line as you move forward.
    Lift the straight leg and stamp down it forward and move your other leg to form a bow stance on the other side.
    Let your body falling forward in order to initiate that footwork.

Some NanQuan key points

  1. The power point (PP) – hands and bridges (=forearms)
    When you’re practicing TaoLu and especially NanQuan, you should know where the executed technique has its PP and try to express it when you’re doing the technique.
    For ex.: PaoQuan, PP: forearm (the parry) and fist (the uppercut), GuaGaiQuan, PP: forearm (Gua=parry/strike) and fist (Gai=strike).
    The rear foot should preferably not slide (the power comes actually from the waist-turning too). A common error is to let the rear foot slide on the side quite a bit.
  2. Clear stops
    A characteristic of nanquan is its clear stops at the end of movements which have to end in steady stances. In order to make the stop clear you will have to synchronize the different parts of your body (eyes, arms, and legs) and make them stop at the same time or almost. Sometimes the synchronization can be delayed between the lower and the upper body with the latter stopping a bit after because of the transportation of the force (from the lower to the upper body).
  3. Sink when making steps or striking –releasing the force
    It’s also one of the differences between the nanquan and changquan styles where the changquan tends to lift the body when doing a technique. In the same way than when you’re training sparring, NanQuan will aim to have a good foundation by sinking the body. By getting a good base you will be able to produce force when striking with the floor as a support.

And here is the routine that we trained together, HeQiang’s NanQuan routine: