The snake model
Flying and coiling.
蛇式 she shi
Circle-walking in single hook, snake feeling
Tuck the rear shoulder under with the hand hooked up and held parallel to the line of the circle, or pointing away from the centre (pointing away develops the shoulders move, and develops the connection through the upper body more). Turn the body to place the leading hand into the centre of the circle, palm up, at shoulder height. Tuck the thumb in slightly, to prepare for wrist striking techniques by pushing into the end of the arm. Twist the arms, the front palm, rotating towards the thumb (external rotation) and the rear palm rotating away from the thumb (internal rotation). The body does not turn much into the circle, as this would take away from the development of the shoulder / upper body connection and tendon changing.
Snake develops a special connection through the arms. I found that when I walked ‘hard’ (what we call daily intensive walking in one posture for long time over an extended period), the space under my collar bones expanded from the inside in a manner that never went away.
There is a special way to make the hook that gives power to the hooking arm. Press the thumb on the proximal segment of the middle finger and press down into the wrist. This prepares the strength and qi flow for wrist striking, and is why Ma Gui style wrist strikes are so hard.
