This website is dedicated to the Students of Seifu A.S. Umar Sharif, MA. It is also dedicated to the promotion and propagation of the Traditional Afro-Asian Martial and Healing Arts. Our goal is to inform, educate, inspire, encourage, and motivate others to improve their lives by applying The Wisdom of the Ancients.
As your teacher and host, Seifu Sharif [aka: Xia` Xue' Gong] [aka: Tobi Alakoso] is dedicated to helping each of you to remember and nurture the Spirit of Wu-Te and the powers dormant within you.
Keys to the Lesson Plans:
Lesson Plan 1 - 1st Rank 1st Degree
Turning & Shifting: 4th Chamber
Namaste’ Students and Fellow Martial Arts Enthusiasts!
Stepping, as we discussed in my last Post, breathes life into our stances and makes them more dynamic. Likewise, Turning and Shifting elevates our stepping making it more dynamic and powerful. Turning and shifting also creates certain dynamic forces that are not generated (in the same degree) when we simply step from one stance into another.
Turning is the act of moving or causing something to move in a circular direction wholly or partly around an axis or point (such as your center of gravity or center of mass).
Shifting is the act of moving or causing something to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance. For example, shifting instead of stepping from a right-leg bow and arrow stance to a left-leg bow and arrow. All of the principles that apply to stances and stepping must be maintained during turning and shifting, that is, when turning and shifting one must maintain Center of Gravity, Balance, Foundation, and sense of Direction in order to control the Force of Momentum.
There are certain principles of physics that apply to any object in motion including your body. Momentum is the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity. When you step forward from a left leg bow and arrow stance into a right-leg bow and arrow, advancing in on your opponent, you create momentum based on the mass of your body and the velocity (speed) with which you move. As you reach the forward limit of that second stance and begin extending your punch the force of momentum of the body’s forward movement is transferred to the forward movement and momentum of the punch. As you master our strategic stepping techniques you will be better able to create the impetus gained by a moving object (body, legs, hands, weapons, etc.).
Momentum is the driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events, in this case your stances, stepping (integration of stances), turning and shifting.
Generally speaking, stepping tends to move the force of momentum in straight lines, even though the straight lines may be in different directions. By using our turning and shifting techniques you are able to bend those straight lines into curves and circles harnessing the power of centrifugal and centripetal forces. Centrifugal Force is the tendency for objects to move away from a center. By turning and shifting in strategic ways, for example crossing behind dragon or bow and arrow crossing over behind turning, we can generate centrifugal force taking an opponent off balance causing them to spin around and away from our center. You can also use a similar turning and shifting technique to create a twisting movement in our body, and a corresponding centrifugal force in our arm and hand, as you cross over behind turn into a back-fist or elbow strike.
The force of momentum can also be bent in the opposite direction creating centripetal force.
Centripetal Force is a force that acts on a body moving in a circular path and is directed toward the center around which the body is moving. Every time you make contact with your opponent you become the center of a circle around which you can force your opponent to move either in a centrifugal motion (around and away from you) or in a centripetal motion (around and in towards you). As you master you stances, stepping, turning, and shifting you will be able to move in such way as to cause your opponent to experience a centrifugal force acting on their body that suddenly changes to a centripetal force with destabilizing consequences, or vice versa. Stances, stepping, turning, and shifting lay the foundation for all that you hope to experience and accomplish through your martial arts training. When these basic elements are well integrated your movements will become fluid, your body and mind will interact with greater harmony, and you will be able to defend yourself effectively even against multiple opponents. But there is more! Remember, Wu-Te! Behind each of these important elements is a deeper philosophical concept or idea that should influence other aspects of your life.
Stance also refers to the attitude of a person or organization toward something or someone, a standpoint. Just as you must be mindful (and eventually mindless) about the stances you take in your martial arts training, you must also be mindful (and never mindless) about the stances you take in life. In fighting there are occasions when one must take a strong stance of resistance and then there are occasions when a less rigid stance is required. It is that way in life as well! Some positions are not worth defending and some attitudes are not worth maintaining or supporting.
Stepping not only refers to the movement of your feet during your martial arts training or when walking down the street. A step is a measure or action, especially one of a series of actions taken, in order to deal with or achieve a particular thing. Just as your martial stances and stepping require a sense of intention and direction, so too your life course requires that you know when and where to step, that is what steps you need to take in order to accomplish your life objective.
We study the martial arts for physical, mental, social, and spiritual development. Each element of your training is conveying a deeper lesson about how to live life well. This is what we mean when we refer to the traditional martial arts, that is, the training and techniques are designed to carry hidden messages that aid in the development of the well-rounded and whole person.
Turning has its benefits as a martial technique and it carries a message about how to live life well. In life you must know when to turn away, turn towards, turn around, take-a-turn, transform or turn into, turn down (an offer, invitation, or temptation), or turn your attention to a different object of interest. As you practice turning in your martial arts training you are also conditioning your mind-body-spirit to be mindful of and open to the need to turn in one way or another in your everyday life. Likewise you can shift your physical position, your emotional state, your mental disposition, and your worldview as the need for change presents itself. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Chambers of the 7 Circles System are your four cornerstones for establishing an intimate connection with the earth, a strong foundation, fluidity of motion, and dynamic powers the you can generate through push-back, the force of momentum, centrifugal forces, and centripetal forces.
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It is not simply practice that makes perfect. It is perfect practice and consistent practice that makes perfect.
