interview with Strider Clark--August 2018

[Bao]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLg5VDzsz6M

I don't want to sound (too ) stupid, but could you explain to me how armswings create connection and energy flow?
Is it by opening the joints or stretching the tendons...?

It's not a stupid question as there are many different ways to do arm swings. From a Tongbei perspective, it should be about using movement connected from the back and the spine, and not only let the arms relax. You must learn to initiate movement from muscles close to the spine. For example, you can see how he press his whole shoulder blade back as he raises his arm in the beginning. In the second exercise he stretches his whole arm forward from the scapula as he swings it. If you know what to look at, you will see it.

[vagabond]

I can't tell you how the arm swings do their magic, but I can tell you if you do them wrong you'll know when your shoulders hurt, and if you're doing them right you can use that feeling to learn proper posture for standing and for hitting trees without wrecking your own shit

We have 9 standing posts in our tong bei, I don't think their available to the public and I don't know that's secrecy or just, everyone who needs to know knows already. I know my teacher showed me San to pretty early as he felt you get more juice for your squeeze

[MaartenSFS]

Interesting.. In Guilin there weren't any rules like this, but if you were disrespectful you'd get your arse kicked! And the master will hold back when teaching you. My Master loved it when people resisted. He would refer to the situation that followed as "jumping from out of one hole into a deeper one". This never ended well for that student..

I don't understand why Tongbeiquan isn't more popular. People that have never felt that power won't understand. Also one of the few arts that are straight forward from training to fighting. My Master taught me the essentials and it is one of the two things I learned that I cherish most.

[Trick]

I don't understand why Tongbeiquan isn't more popular.

Well i can understand why, TBQ isn’t really that “exotic” for most Kungfu folks, although it’s a great method which give quick result for correct breath and posture and of course much more, at least the Wuxing TBQ i learned

[MaartenSFS]

How is it less exotic than other IMA's? It seems to be rare enough in the West. Also, it actually works as advertised! And you don't even need decades to learn it!

[Trick]

visiually not so exquisite/delicate/mysterious and well maybe exotic was wrong wording but i keep it anyway.....yes rare in the west, partly due to secrecy, but larely also due to the reasons i line up here, most who enter the world of kungfu probably feel TBQ doesnt fill their imagination of how chinse gongfu should look.......yes is i too said it works super effective on many level, and its easily and quickly to understand once one decide to go with it

[MaartenSFS]

Ah, I see. People hate sweating and there will be lots of it when training TBQ!

[Trick]

Yes sweating comes around depending on a couple of factors, for example tensing up, which one understand pretty quick to not do when for example doing TBQ arm swings. And thus with correct practice breaking a sweat comes not that frequent, also with correct practice one does not need to go quantitative....the sweat part is mostly common in the practitioners early learning.

And again, why is not TBQ more popular ? As I understand TBQ doesn’t really have an Yang Luchan, Yang Banhou, Guo yunshen pugilist wizard story, or a colorful much written about history for people to marvel on, and by so not that interesting for most ?
TBQ also has been kept a little hidden away from most.
I think I would never have come in contact with the TBQ groups in Dalian if it where not for my wife’s contacts.

[MaartenSFS]

You're joking about the sweat, right? In the summer I sweat before I even begin the warm ups. Does that mean I fail at life? A lot of Chinese people barely broke a sweat after hours of training, but they still sweat. Hard work will do that.

I do agree about TBQ not having a spectacular mascot, but it does have a crazy origin story.

[windwalker]

Regarding sweating seems
like it comes up often here.

“No problem, didn’t even break a sweat”
A term used to imply that one is in good condition and has not reached their max energy output.

“Look at the sweating”

A term that can mean one is out of condition and is not able to endure the training.

For those who run cross country or marathons this is very evident when viewed against those who do not.
Those who train may not even warm up until after 5 miles. Those who’ve just started training may reach their warm up in the 1st mile.

[MaartenSFS]

The point at which people will begin sweating will depend on a lot of things, including conditioning, but everyone will sweat eventually. Or they aren't working hard enough.

[johnwang]

However, many exercises found in tongbei is also found in many other Chinese arts ...

When you train the

- Gung Li Chuan "3 rings catch the moon", or
- preying mantis "back fist, hammer fist, arm grab, hammer fist",

if you use your vertical palm instead of your fist, you will train exactly what TBQ wants you to train.

[MaartenSFS]

Yes, the movements would be similar, but the power would not. That is the most important thing in TBQ - learning how to generate that incredible power. I have seen very few videos of masters that can. It's strange. Then again I have seen very few masters of any styles than can do what they claim to be able to...