WEAPONS, EXPANSIVE MOVEMENT, AND EXPLODING FORCE
Traveling Dragon Sword
Question 15a
What weapons are most suited for Dragon force? Popular kungfu philosophy would say the sword and the spear, but in my experience, I have found that the sabre actually leads me into more coiling, twisting and flowing movements. Is it the case that done in the right state of mind, any weapon is suitable to be practised with Dragon force?
Sifu Zhang Wuji
Answer
Your are right. Performed in the right sate of mind, any weapon can be suitable to be practiced with Dragon force.
Nevertheless, the sword, especially the Traveling Dragon Sword, and the spear, especially the 13-Technique Traveling Dragon Spear, will be specially suitable.
Question 15b
It seems to me that the key Dragon movements are more expansive than all other forms that emulate animals except for the crane. I recall that during my Special Shaolin course, when Peter was performing his Dragon set, Sifu interrupted him and pointed to one movement where he stretched out both arms with a “Haaa” sound, and declared that “This is the essence of the set!”.
In contrast, the Tiger patterns have the element of pouncing and trapping, such as Hungry Tiger Captures Goat. I am not sure if I am reading too much into the movements, but the signature of a Dragon movement seems to be expanding while that of a Tiger appears to be converging, although like all good kungfu sets, each set/form has both aspects of expansion and convergence.
Sifu Zhang Wuji
Answer
You are right. Generally, Dragon patterns are expanding, whereas Tiger movements are converging. However, we should not read too much into their movements. All good kungfu sets and techniques have both extension and convergence.
The pattern Peter demonstrated at the course was called “Dragon Manifests Majesty”. It is the essence of Dragon force manifestation.
Question 15c
I notice the similarity between your demonstrations of Dragon Strength Force and Fa Jing demonstrated by high level Taijiquan masters. I must admit that I am completely enthralled by this type of force.
Could you please explain the similarities and differences between the Fa Jing of Taijiquan which can blast an opponent away many feet, with what outwardly seems to be a mere flick of the arm, and the aspect of Dragon Strength Force that can explode from any part of the body? Or are these two expressions of internal force one and the same?
To illustrate the type and level of Taijiquan Fa Jing I am referring to, I've provided the following video of the master demonstrating his Fa Jing.
Msx
Answer
Dragon force in Dragon Strength and Taijiquan force manifested in fa-jing are different.
If you eximine closely the video provided by you, you will notice that the victim is not thrown very far away, and he is not seriously hurt. He did not even have to perform any remedial exercise to recover from any injury.
In Dragon force manifestation, a victim is thrown many feet away and is badly hurt. When I demonstrated on Darryl many years ago in England, he said he felt like a locomotive ramming into him. He was dazed on the floor for some time, and had to perform chi flow to recover from the injury. If the damage is not immediately cleared, the victim can be in a very serious condition.
Exploding force in Dragon Strength
Dragon Strength in Video
Old Version of Dragon Strength
Treasure House of Kungfu Sets
Treasure House of Combat Application
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread 10 Questions on Dragon Strength in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
LINKS