How my study of various Chinese forms came about

Isshinryu Journal vol 55– Victor’s Way                July 17, 2010

In my early days as  black belt I had the opportunity to study Chinese forms from Ernest Rothrock. In those days I did not have a movie camera nor a VHS machine to watch what I filmed. Most of my studied were only recorded in my own sweat equity. But those days offered me a unique opportunity to learn something new, and i did learn.

Those were very different days from today. I used to attend many tournaments to keep pushing myself. That also meant I was to judge. Many times I had to judge kung fu practitioners and  quickly realized that I had no idea how to judge them fairly.

So I took advantage of a very unique opportunity that presented itself to me.

 

Memories


Doing all of this for some time what I was able to do decades ago becomes more precious in my memory.  It’s taken along time but I’ve just discovered some Chinese clips of forms that I studied with Ernie Rothrock. They’re mostly walk through and not completely the same, but close enough that the flavor they possess remains.


I had been training in Tai Chi with Ernie for about 9 months when one day it struck me that at tournaments I had to judge kung fu and perhaps I should study some to be a better judge. I approached Ernie before class and asked him if I could do so.  He asked me what did I want to learn and I told him I thought he should decide.


Note: My Yang Tai Chi study required 2 years to learn the entire form and ½ of the Yang Straight Sword Set.  


He turned around and pointed to a chart on the wall behind him and told me “Pick One”. There were 200 forms on that chart (later I would learn they were from Pai Lum (which his schools were teaching), Northern Shaolin, Tai Tong Long (Northern Preying Mantis) and Fann Tzi Ying Jow Pai (Northern Eagle Claw – which he was then studying.


I look at the chart and told him I have no idea why don’t you choose one for me. He then looked and the chart and said, “Ok, let’s try this one” and elected Duan Da Kuen.


Dune Da Quen is a an intermediate level Northern Shaolin form performed by me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvHfpxpyL-M

 

I don’t recall how long it took, I only had one ½ hour lesson a week but eventually I learned it, and started my  kung fu studies.


Most of his systems were Northern ones with very deep stances. In the long run they strengthened me a great deal for my own Kusanku practice.


When I concluded it I then studied a Leopard form, for I wanted to try learning those spinning ground circular sweeps.  I did learn it but never was able to even get close to those moves and eventually set it aside.


Next he had an annual clinic for his students and there taught a basic Mantis form. Now his students were studying Pai Lum, but on his clinics he’d always teach something else. The Mantis form was referred to as ‘slip in and hit’, later he told me it was sip sau ching’


Here is a close version to the one I studied:


Slip In and Hit is a Northers Preying Mantis form performed by Gay Aston

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

One summer Roy Blackwell, my first black belt, visited me and I had Laoshi train him in one of their green belt forms, Supple Dragon. Years later I then had him cover it in detail with our Derry group and it became the form I incorporated into our training to honor his sharing with me.


Next I studied Tam Tuie from the Ching Woo school, the basic lower kicking set that is a complete system in its own right.


My studies with him them progressed into Hon Kuen (walking form) of Eagle Claw (one of it’s 3 major sets, this one containing all of the Eagle Claw techniques. It contained 10 rows of techniques.


Further I studied a 3 sectional staff form from him.  And at his annual clinics learned  the Ching Woo Kune Le Kuen (Power Fist). In Eagle Claw the student first learned 10 Ching Woo association forms before beginning their instructors system (as in Eagle Claw).


Shortly after completing it he moved to open a school in Pittsburgh and then my training consisted of those visits I could make across Pennsylvania.


I should note the forms he shared with me were not ones his students studied. Eventually as my studies progressed in addition to my weekly classes (they were private) in Scranton I’d travel to Wilkes Barry every Saturday to visit one or two karate schools to train in the morning and then spend the afternoon in his school to practice my studies. I’d frequently see his senior students at the door to the training hall watching me as my forms were not theirs.


Not that I was a great student but I always felt Ernest enjoyed teaching something outside of his school program from his many other studies and I was that guinea pig I guess.


After he moved to Pittsburg I continued to visit Wilkes Barre weekly and his students shared several other forms with me (Pai Lum Kuen, their basic staff and short staff sets).


It was eclectic to say the best.  In short order Ernest and I became friends. We’d travel occasionally to Baltimore to compete in Mr. Conde’s tournaments. Ernie would go there only because they had kung fu only divisions (he would not compete against karate – long before my time there were literal karate –kung fu wars at the tournaments leaving very bad feelings).


After a year or so on Dune de Kune practice I told him I was going to try and compete with it, boy, then he turned on the screws on tons of small points. I did compete in a kung fu division in Baltimore and actually got a respectable score for my efforts.


After moving to Derry, our visits became less frequent. Bushi No Te Gatherings and occasional visits to Pittsburgh. One visit he showed me the last ½ of the Yang Tai Chi sword form causing me lots of more work. Truthfully the hardest thing I’ve ever studied.. it’s all in the wrist.


Then about 16 years ago (15 years into my tai chi practice, at one summer camp he showed me how little I really knew demolishing my tai chi by simple touches. After that he proceeded to share the underlying alignment principles (which make it possible to strengthen everything we study.  BTW his instructor waited 15 years to explain it to him too.


It’s hard to really describe what the chance to train with him and become his friend has meant to my life.  Perhaps if I describe what meant most, in those days he was teaching in Wilkes Barre. That period Maureen and I were working very different hours, with her work at the Y and her swim teams taking evenings an weekends.  On Saturday mornings I’d meet him and several of his students for breakfast at Denny’s, then visit several schools to work Karate in the mornings. In the afternoons I’d drop in his school, we would chat and most often he’d ask leading questions trying to draw my thoughts out, questions that made me work for years or more. Then his days classes would be over and the senior students and I would start running forms one after another, music playing in the background. It was the sheer fun of practice forcing myself into deeper stances, trying to change my movement style from karate to kung fu needs.


I love all the arts I’ve studied and worked them as best I can, but those hours remain precious, pushing myself for myself.


Later when I moved to Derry, the onset of arthritis and lack of skilled kung fu stylists to play with one by one I made the choice to set those arts aside, for the most part.


Not my tai chi and of course not Supple Dragon, but all the rest in time became something past.


Ernie maintains the value of knowledge is worth everything. No one can do everything forever, but once upon a time I played with Dragons, Eagles, Mantis’ and other things.

And it was truly fun.


victor