Walking Hsing I
Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 at 10:40 AM by Sifu Smith
This morning I was training from 5-6 am and was walking Hsing I hands. It has always been emphasized on walking hands to improve understanding, firmness and softness. Building stamina, and massaging the fluidness of the movement. For any of your kungfu to work it is beneficial to practice walking hands. The students that practice walking hands, such as single whip, develop an understanding that is difficult to attain.
Walking hands creates 'body knowledge'. When you walk through it so often, with the right mind-set (very important aspect), then the body (bone and tendon) will digest the expression, regardless if it is tai chi, hsing i, or any kungfu. It reminded me of watching Michael Jordan shooting freethrows with his eyes closed. His body knew exactly what to do.
How long do you walk? It can vary greatly. With Sifu Chin and to this day, it is common for us to walk one hand for 1/2 mile to mile, then another hand. Sifu Heintzmann, myself, and other students have spent many hours walking a single hand, but it must be done with the mind-set to activate the bone. If you want to learn a hand, I would easily recommend 15 minutes 3-4 days per week until the 'un-natural becomes natural'; as Sifu Chin would often say.
Walking Hsing I