單換掌 dan huan zhang
The first palm change is the most fundamental of all the fundamental skills. If you can’t do the dragon form single palm change properly then you will have the same trouble with every other method and technique. It trains the koubu and baibu steps (stepping firmly and settling firmly into the stance), snake form coiling (horizontal action and connection of the arms through the body), entering with the body (keeping the body upright and moving from the feet). Almost all the major fighting techniques of the system are in the single palm change.
Focus on the feet, keep the body upright, and do not allow the movements to distract you into the arms. You must do the movement accurately and feel for yourself what and why it is accurate. You cannot just do it by rote, following instructions.
The characteristics of the dragon single palm changes are: It moves like a snake, with many changes but always very calm. The body is always centred and upright, and the upper and lower back are open. The whole body moves as one – the inner and outer movement is together as well. The movements affect the inner body, so that there is a feeling of comfort, not fatigue. The stances and movements are big and open, with full qi and spirit. The movements open up the body, the qi, and the spirit. It is not enough that the body is centred and upright – the qi must also be centred, and the internal and external united. This is not just a requirement – it is the essence.
Movement names: Close the door with the elbows, Push the shutters to gaze at the moon, Gather up the enemy on horseback, Hide a flower under a leaf, Green dragon turns its body.
video of dragon first and second changes from 2009
Description: starting in dragon form with the left hand up.
Action One: Koubu the right leg so that the foot lands across its walking line, pointing to the centre. Touch the toes to the outside of the left foot’s line, not across it. Settle firmly into the right leg. Cut the arms across without appreciably changing their position relative to the torso. Rotate the left hand to palm up, or leave it bracing out with the palm down. The right hand may rotate palm up or stay palm down. Keep the body upright, be careful not to lean when moving in to this narrow stance. Settle into the stepping leg as soon as it steps, so make sure that the angle and placement of the foot is correct – a further shift is not allowed. This gives power to the technique and sets up for a stable baibu. Complete the action as one unit – legs, arms, and body arrive together.
Action Two: Turn the left arm palm down. Baibu the left leg to a mabu on the arc of the circle, onto its line. Brace out with both arms, still not appreciably changing their position relative to the body. The upper hand is at eye height, so that you naturally stay upright. In this way the whole body braces, not just the arms. Align the left arm with the outer leg. Keep the right arm curved around the body, the hand at the left elbow. Complete the action as one unit – legs, arms, and body arrive together. The mabu is low to develop square power, but the thigh is not quite parallel to the ground. The point is not to see how low you can get, but to develop the power of a cat. The mabu is set into the ground, heavy, centred, and stable.
Action Three: Stay in mabu. Reach the right hand back so that both arms are aligned with the arc of the circle, just outside the line of the mabu. Keep the left arm extended out to the left side. Then tuck the hand, palm up, to the ribs. Do not separate the body during this movement.
Action Four: Settle into the left leg and set the left hip before stepping. Step the right foot into koubu and curl the body closed like rolling a leaf. The right hand is already on the body, so bring it along on the body to the left armpit (the hand is always on the body, it does not move to the other arm). Turn as much as possible, stabbing the right hand towards the centre of the circle. Grip the ground with the feet and settle well onto the right leg. Keep the left arm extended above shoulder height (do not coil it in towards the body, this prevents you from turning and allows the power to collapse). Keep the body upright. Look at or past the hand under the armpit.
Action Five: Turn the body back around the other way towards the centre of the circle and allow the arms to come around naturally, gradually turning the palms up. Thread the right hand out along the left arm (do not bring the left arm in to ‘help out’). As you thread the hand out, tuck in the elbow. Keep full power, this move trains the whole body power while turning. Be sure to turn and coil the body and bring the arms along, do not start the movement with the arms. Follow the movement of the arms with the head and eyes. Do not move the feet, but shift onto the right leg.
Action Six: Take the dragon from, turning further. Push from the lower hand to twist in and down into the position. Do not raise the stance and do not twist the body from the ribcage. Place the hands and the right foot at the same time. Then start to walk, lifting the inside foot to step first.
The eight variations of the dragon single palm change isolate particular techniques such as chuanzhang, movement to the eight directions, and vary the upper, middle, and lower limbs. I give them here in no special order. They are numbered just for convenience. In addition to variations of the single palm change, many of the main techniques have drills that include the single palm change within them (such as tanzhang, chuanzhang, fanbeichui).
First variation of the dragon single palm change. This variation trains the most fundamental skill of the single palm change, that of the simple chuanzhang. Beware, the most simple methods are the most difficult. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu, turning the body but not appreciably changing the hand positions. Then baibu and directly do a left chuanzhang (palm up). Do not reach, stay settled in the body. This is a chuanzhang, but really just turn and lay the palm out. Align the arm with the outer foot. Then step forward on the circle line and chuanzhang right, then move directly into the dragon form for walking.
Second variation of the dragon single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu, settling into the leg but not appreciably changing the hand positions. Then baibu and directly do a left chuanzhang (palm up) on the circle line. Align the arm with the outer foot. Then step and press into the left chuanzhang on the circle line, staying on the same side, with a following step. Do not reach when moving forward. Step the right foot forward and extend the right hand to go directly into the dragon form for walking.
Third variation of the dragon single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu the right foot, turning the body. Let the left arm drop naturally to prepare for a yazhang. Then left baibu, left yazhang at shoulder height on the line of the circle. The rear hand is at the leading arm’s elbow. Then step the right foot forward and right chuanzhang directly into dragon form for walking.
Fourth variation of the dragon single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu the right foot. Raise and turn the left palm up before doing a baibu. Baibu left kaizhang at shoulder height. The stance is larger than when you do directly into chuanzhang.Then step the right foot forward and right chuanzhang directly into dragon form for walking.
Fifth variation of the dragon single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu the inner foot to point to the outside. Then baibu and sweep. Look back into the arm first, then sweep with stability. You may do a few, changing direction or stopping. Then step the right foot forward and right chuanzhang directly into dragon form for walking.
Sixth variation of the dragon single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu the right foot. Then left foot baibu with a left yazhang. Step the right foot into a smooth qiezhang. Then left foot koubu, left hook and right liaozhang back along the line of the circle. Then step the right foot forward and right chuanzhang directly into dragon form for walking.
Seventh variation of the dragon single palm change. This variation gives a change of direction to the single palm change, ensuring that you are using your body and stepping, not using your arms. It also trains coiling the body more than the normal single palm change. Starting in dragon form with the left hand up, koubu the right foot and baibu the left, same as the standard change. Do the mabu ‘catch the enemy’ the same as the standard change. Koubu ‘hide the leaf’ the same as the standard change. Then turn around to face the centre of the circle with the aplms up as if you were going to finish the standard palm change. But baibu the right foot to go back on the line of the circle. Keep the arms bracing with the palms up and set into a solid open mabu. Koubu the left foot to the circle and continue to turn the body to go directly to the dragon form for walking. You have changed sides.
Eighth variation of the dragon single palm change. This is not a variation of the single palm change, but a variation of how to do ‘hide a flower under a leaf’. Look away from the hand that is under the armpit instead of looking around to the same side. This sets you up for using the back and shoulders when coming back around, as if you have moved into the opponent and will knock him over with the back/shoulder when you turn. I feel that it is easier to find the power connected deeply into the lower back when I turn the head this way, so it is a good variation to find the power of the stance.