Gaizhang Drills, Setting Stake
1. In a mabu feeling stance, do repeat gaizhang, sitting back a bit and moving forward in the stance. Get power from the back, not from the weight shift. Connect the arms fully through the back.
Gaizhang Drills, Moving
1. Back and forth stepping. Step out in baibu, opening the hand to sweep up and out. Come through to gaizhang, stepping into a closed mabu. Go back and forth.
In gaizhang, use stable stepping and body power – not just the arms. Keep the body upright, do not lean when you step.
When you fali, the gaizhang will be less erect, but do not lean forward. Reach from deep within the body.
2. Zigzag stepping. Step out in baibu, opening the hand to sweep up and out. This time, stepa bit forward. Come through to gaizhang, stepping into a closed mabu, again, moving forwad. Go back and forth in a zigzag, so the drill gradually moves forward.
3. Outside triangle stepping. This drill is also called whirlwind palm. For a right gaizhang, step back slightly into the corner of a triangle in a T stance, sweeping the left hand down, hooking past the knee, and hooking the right hand back as well. Step a baibu across to the other corner of the triangle and sweep the left hand up, attaching the right hand through the upper back, so that the arms move together. Step forward into the apex of the triangle and pull the left hand in to under the right elbow or lower, bringing the right hand through past the ear to gaizhang. The line is set up in the previous stretch, so the hand comes through on that line naturally to strike.
This large stepping drill develops the spirit of the dragon, which won’t let anything get away – always chasing. Do the whole move at once without a pause (but do not rush). Concentrate on the stepping – it must be stable with the body upright. If you turn a car on two wheels it will flip over – don’t spin around the arms like a wheel on an angle.
You can also step into an elbow strike. The stepping, power, and setup is the same, but bend the arm to come through to strike with the elbow.
4. T pattern stepping, or step to the four directions. This gives three gaizhang each repeat. Do side to side stepping, alternating left and right gaizhang (the top of a T). Then do a very turned baibu to take you out to the upright of the T. Sweep with the same hand as the foot that does the bai, and do a closed mabu smooth gaizhang. Then do another very turned baibu to get back to the top of the T.
