The White Crane punches are nothing like the karate reverse punches. the long-arm is something pretty alien to karate tournaments. Doesn't really fit in.
Mr. Long use to say "Don't let the wind blow you." So, this guy's unique way of maneuvering your attention without telegraphing anything of value, was using his "wind" to move your attention to his benefit. It was quite an experience to spar with him. But this was another example of the ways in which White Crane could be molded to fit a particular need, to accommodate a particular set of assumptions about where you were fighting and why. It might be fine to sink down into a fancy on-guard position in some cases. In other cases, you might not want to let a potential opponent know anything bout what you are up to decide to unload on him
But it seemed to me that most non long-arm styles had a kind of dead spot between those two ranges that the long-arm filled. So White Crane had three different ranges -- One for kicks, one for long-arm, one for short hand. If someone was at the longest range... then kick him. If they were at a closer range, then hit him with the long-arm, and if he was close by, use the short-hand. And of course the footwork (always the footwork) helped to make adjustments in those ranges by not only opening up unique angles, but placing the opponent into the best range. White Crane, as I saw it, was 3 dimensional on many levels, intricate and thought provoking. Like Mr. Long use to say... "Pretty sophisticate."
What you hear in today's episode is the story of someone who was destined to be the martial artist they became.
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