Left side and right side balanced form

[johnwang]

After you have done your form, you just do your form on the other side. Your form may become twice as long, but you can train both sides equally.

Whoever had created this form in the following video had "both sides balance" in his mind. The form creator might create a short form. Since he included both sides, a short form turned into a regular size form.

- sequence 1 (east).
- different side sequence 1 (west).
- sequence 2 (east).
- different side sequence 2 (west).

A 2 sequences form then turn into a 4 sequences form. It's an excellent way to create a balanced form.

What's your thought on this?

[Bao]

We've had this discussion before. And I'll just repeat what I've already said: It's pointless to practice a mirror-version of a form.

First: You will always be right-handed or left-handed, your body is not even. You can never use both of your sides equally good.

Second: In all IMA, all forms are already balanced and utilize both sides of the body equally much. How come? Because you always use all of your body coordinated together as a whole. If you do something with the right side of the body, you are still using your left side just as much as the right side. If you don't understand this it means that you don't understand whole body coordination.

[johnwang]

It's pointless to practice a mirror-version of a form.

I' a right hand person. But my left foot sweep is much stronger than my right foot sweep. My left side clockwise tornado kick is always weaker than my right side counterclockwise tornado kick. Non-balanced form training does affect my body through of my lifetime.

If you train this form in the following video, you can only train:

- left foot sweep (at 0.37), and
- counterclockwise tornado kick (at 0.45).

You will never have chance to train

- right foot sweep, and
- clockwise tornado kick.

[origami_itto]

I drill individual movements on both sides. Have not invested the time to string together a whole form on the other side, but it is recommended and I intend to get to it right after I rebuild the transmission on the chevy.

[edededed]

Both sides I think is good for balanced training (and good for the brain - like using left hand to eat with chopsticks, etc.).

Many styles (taiji, xingyi) choose to specialize in one side instead; a few (bagua) aim to do everything on both sides (even weapons).

My right tornado kick is not great, but my left tornado kick is even worse!

[everything]

it's useful to be ambidextrous or ambipedal in nearly every sport. I guess you wouldn't use it very often in many of them, like golf, bowling, javelin, archery, pole vault, table tennis, etc. Maybe all combat sports and contact sports need some of it.

[johnwang]

My right tornado kick is not great, but my left tornado kick is even worse!

When I was

- young, I believe to have 100% on one side and 50% on the other side was OK.
- get older, I start to care about both sides balance.

Today, I do everything on both sides. After I have done Peng, Lu, Ji, An on one side, I then do it on the other side.

[edededed]

When I was

- young, I just followed what I was taught
- older, I now allow myself to think sometimes, too

I never even tried left side tornado kick for almost 30 years after I learned the right side tornado kick...

Some arts' strategy is more predisposed to ambidexterity - e.g. bagua focuses on mobility and attack/defense from weird angles, so ambidexterity is a focus; others don't need it so much.

[wayne hansen]

It is not important to balance the postures left and right but to be balanced in each posture
If you think they need to be balanced left and right I hope you are putting a second steering wheel in your car and driving equally on both sides of the road in both forward and reverse

[johnwang]

I never even tried left side tornado kick for almost 30 years after I learned the right side tornado kick...

I felt the same way too. One day I suddenly realized that I have never done left side tornado kick. It was not my "must train skill" such as front kick, side kick, roundhouse kick, ... I could do it but I could not lean my upper body backward 45 degree as I could do with the other side.

[edededed]

For sure! Also jump front kick, rear sweep, etc.
I have to focus to do the left side for many still.

Generally in CMA it seems that only short forms are commonly done on both sides.
A nice one is babu tanglang's qishou (七手).
Most bagua "forms" (老八掌 連環掌 etc.) are really just short combinations x 8, so also easy to do both sides.

[origami_itto]

It is not important to balance the postures left and right but to be balanced in each posture
If you think they need to be balanced left and right I hope you are putting a second steering wheel in your car and driving equally on both sides of the road in both forward and reverse

So this leads me to several questions...

First, do you practice/teach single postures, or just the form?

Second, assuming you practice single postures in isolation to improve them, do you only work one side, or do you do both, or does it depend on the posture? Like brush knee you would do both sides, but single whip just gets the one, for example.

Third, what about push hands drills? In the single hand, for example, would you just do the right hand, right foot forward, or do you work through all four permutations of single hand contact?

I find that my rear leg tends to do more work, so I work on switching it up to be more balanced muscularly speaking. With most strikes, I am still much stronger on the right, so I want to build my left up more. I mean what if I'm in a situation where I can't use my right side the way I'd like?

I realize that maybe that will limit my ability. Maybe it's better to be like the archer with the radical asymmetry. I feel like symmetry is more in line with my overall fitness goals. Plus what you learn on the left informs improvement on the right. This is science. You're increasing the sophistication of your neural connections by practicing like this.

Cars would be great with wheels on both sides, that way you could just take control without having to pull over and switch seats on long road trips. Student driver cars had those when I was growing up, very handy. I think they would do it more but for the expense of duplicating the whole setup of wheel and pedals etc, but I'm pretty sure that rig also came with a brake pedal.

Airplanes, though, they recognize the benefit of having that option ready and available.

[windwalker]

We've had this discussion before. And I'll just repeat what I've already said: It's pointless to practice a mirror-version of a form.

First: You will always be right-handed or left-handed, your body is not even. You can never use both of your sides equally good.

Second: In all IMA, all forms are already balanced and utilize both sides of the body equally much. How come? Because you always use all of your body coordinated together as a whole. If you do something with the right side of the body, you are still using your left side just as much as the right side. If you don't understand this it means that you don't understand whole body coordination.

agree

Whole body can mean different things to different people...

1. the whole body focused at one point moving in a straight path
2. all parts of the body expressed at all points as in a sphere

the 1st straight line force
the 2nd centripetal or centrifugal force

It is not important to balance the postures left and right but to be balanced in each posture
If you think they need to be balanced left and right I hope you are putting a second steering wheel in your car and driving equally on both sides of the road in both forward and reverse

Very true... Historically the movements were learned, practiced singly added together at a later time focusing on different aspects developing an understanding of transiting keeping central equilibrium, a way of grasping how different movements are linked together strategically and tactically..

In modern times, the method of teaching is kind of backwards...often teaching the form directly..
maybe more focused on health and other aspects...

The mind is important in taiji. For example, if I tell you to move your
hand here, you can do that. Now if I tell you to put your mind (yi) here, what does that mean? It means vou have to direct vour attention and focus to this
spot. If you can't do this, you can't do anything. But you can't force it. You go naturally, little by little.

First, direct your mind for ashort time, then for a longer time. The way you learn to do this is by practicing the form.

The above outlines the method used in my practice.

[windwalker]

We've had this discussion before. And I'll just repeat what I've already said: It's pointless to practice a mirror-version of a form.

First: You will always be right-handed or left-handed, your body is not even. You can never use both of your sides equally good.

Second: In all IMA, all forms are already balanced and utilize both sides of the body equally much. How come? Because you always use all of your body coordinated together as a whole. If you do something with the right side of the body, you are still using your left side just as much as the right side. If you don't understand this it means that you don't understand whole body coordination.

IME

The method of "using" taiji is quite different from other martial arts...

the coordination sought, an equalization of the body with itself creating a neutrality that is able and free to join with another, after having joined with itself.
ie whole body movement.

The shape is spherical, with no unintentional projections or hollows between the outer shape ,inner mind that contains it..

No right or left, front or back, up or down ...all is "taiji"

Taiji is related to
Daoist philosophy but not to Daoist religion.

Elements of Daoist philoso- phy-yin and yang, five elements theory, practices to extend longevity- have something to do with taiji.
However, the student of taiji must be careful that he doesn't just study books,
that he not become a mere armchair boxer.

[johnwang]

No right or left, front or back, up or down ...all is "taiji"

The 108 moves Yang Taiji only has right outside crescent kick toward the end of the form. If you train solo form only without training drills, you will never be able to train left leg outside crescent kick.

My question is simple. Why do you want to train the outside crescent on your right leg, but not on your left leg?

The outside crescent kick can be used to escape your opponent's leg attack. When you have right leg forward, if your opponent kick/sweep your leading right leg, your right leg outside crescent kick can escape out of that attack. My simple question is what if you have your left leg forward when your opponent attacks your left leg?