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DISCLAIMER: this has nothing to do with yin style baguazhang or any particular lineage of baguazhang, taijiquan, or xingyiquan.
this post is about the crab fist, which can be used within any martial art. this is a long joke, but i'm not sorry. you've been warned.
any earnest response to this post will be met with ridicule and then an earnest attempt to provide relevant data.
any ridiculous response to this post will be met with praise.*
they say when you lift a crab,
its comrades will try to pull it back down.
it's not that the crabs are trying to hold each other back;
they just don't want their buddy to get eaten.
we don't exactly pluck them up to the promised land.
i try to keep it together, and not take lessons on movement or music from humans too seriously.
almost every member of almost every other species seems so much more talented.
"mind your senses, but don't expect them to make sense." -me, just now
in taijiquan terms, the winding crab primarily makes use of the methods of "plucking" and "splitting."
obviously, it's not really taiji if we're not constantly making good use of "ward-off" and "roll-back."
once our claw is in place, it needn't be drawn back to strike again.
it can pierce, slice, clip, clamp, and wrench from where it is just fine.
any force that touches the body can be directed to and through every part, as permitted.
in the interest of adaptability and unpredictability, however, we do not rely exclusively on the claw.
through regular practice of "bump" and "elbow," all of the body's surfaces learn to bite,
and in time those surfaces become one durable and comfortable armor.
if you're into xingyi, just stand low and square, like horse riding stance,
but with knees and toes of both feet facing away from the body to the left and right, in line with the shoulders.
then do continuous rapid piquan with both sides,
using the hands like very plucky crane beaks that carry the momentum from the body through the pincers and leave hilarious welts or worse.
the clamps are also hilarious for throwing, but stay perpendicular. your front and back are exposed for bait.
wherever you're open, there you have space to clamp down.
the winding crab is known elsewhere as the "chain crane."
it seems flat, but it is quite round. straight lines in space are issued by way of spiral movement in the body.
the ends listen, the center speaks.
stated simply; you just kick ass while making crab shapes and stepping sideways. pivot when necessary.