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 2 - 1st Rank 2nd Degree
Palm Way: 8th Chamber
Namaste’ Students and Fellow Martial Arts Enthusiasts!
Having a well-conditioned fist is like carrying a hammer or battering ram around with you. It is a devastating tool to have in your defensive arsenal. And each striking surface can be used for specific attacks. The Fist Heart is great for attacking the ears. The Fist Hammer is a great tool for directing crushing blows to the side of the face, top of the head, and clavicle (collarbone). The Back of the Fist is great for smashing blows to the face especially when used with the centrifugal power coming off of the spin out of the Dragon Stance. The Fist Eye is very effective when attacking the temple, jar, floating ribs, kidneys, and softer targets. And the Fist Head can deliver powerful penetrating power and snapping power to most of the body’s vital areas. There is however one drawback about using the fist in combat. That is the possibility of fracturing or breaking the bones of the knuckles, hands, or wrists if a blow is not delivered properly or if the opponent just happens to move the wrong way at the wrong moment. A second drawback is the fact that the fist cannot grab which means that it is not ideally functional for the application of Chin Na. Although we make considerable use of the fist in the 7 Circles System of Southern-Northern Shaolin Kung Fu I have and recommend a bias for using the palm.
The Palm Way actually provides more striking surfaces (7 striking surfaces) than Fist Way (5 striking surfaces), and when properly conditioned it can be as effective and in some instances even more effective than the fist. The Palm Hand has a Heart (the center palm area), an Outside Edge (the side of the hand pointing inward towards the body when you hold your palm face up), a Back (the surface of the hand that you see when your palm faces the ground or away from you), an Inside Edge (the side of the hand where the thumb is located), a Heel (the pad of the palm where the hand meets the wrist), a Palm Heel Corner (the pad of the palm where the Outside Edge meets the wrist), and a Wedge (the tips of the knuckles when the fingers are bent at the second joint).
Actually, to be thorough we should also mention the Spear Hand (the tips of the fingers when the palm is open and fingers fully extended). But, the Spear Hand exposes the pugilist to the same risks as the fist, broken bones. We also use the Back of the Palm and Wrist together and the Inside Fold of the Wrist when applying certain Crane and Mantis strikes. So in all we are really taking about a minimum of ten (10) striking surface that emerge when using Palm Way.
The 7 primary Striking Surfaces of Palm Way allow us to move fluidly between the seven (7) animal hand forms in the 7 Circles System, namely the Tiger, Dragon, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Snake, and Eagle, and at the same time they allow us to effectively and quickly apply Chin Na techniques since open palms are already in a position to grab and hold. In the 8th Chamber of Lesson Plan 2 we discuss nine (9) basic applications of the various palm hands that you will be taught in class.
It is very important to condition your hands. A broken finger, even a sprained wrist can take weeks to months to completely recover to a point where you can again use them effectively. My recommendation is to progress through several different fillers for you hand conditioning bags. Start with rice and work it until you have pulverized the rice. Then progressively move on through a bean bag, then sand. You should also practice making contact with wood, stone, and metal. This process can take months to years of consistent conditioning, first to develop and then to maintain the strength of your striking surfaces. It is not necessary to hit any of these surfaces with full power. Persistent light to moderate contact over a long period of time will do the job. And, make sure that you use the appropriate Dit Da Jow medicine to strengthen the bones and protect and heal any internal bruising. When training my private students, I have them hit the sand bag 100 times (50 times on each hand) on each of the striking surfaces, with moderate contact. Doing this three to four time per week would be sufficient to get your hands in an excellent state of combat readiness.
This completes our review and commentary on Lesson Plans 1 & 2. Hopefully, what has been said in these Posts will assist you in getting the most out of your in-class and personal training.
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It is not simply practice that makes perfect. It is perfect practice and consistent practice that makes perfect.
