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
Stepping: 3rd Chamber
You should take the time to watch animals move. It is an enjoyable experience and you can learn much from your observations. After all, that is how our early Ancestors learned to move in a way that embraced all of the dexterity of their and our physical forms. Their observations naturally found their way into the hunting methods they used as well as the sparring and fighting systems that have come to be known generally as the martial arts. No system of style is effective enough for you to win without moving, even if it means shifting your weight. If a weapon is involved the odds against you go up significantly. And if there are multiple opponents and weapons turned against you, movement will definitely be required – most likely running. The 3rd Chamber provides certain principles that arise from those animals that fight on the ground.
Center of Gravity – is a point from which the weight of a body or system may be considered to act. In uniform gravity it is the same as the center of mass.
When a stance moves it must maintain Center of Gravity. Center of gravity is what keeps you from leaning to far and falling over, or from slouching your body. You can feel your Center of Gravity change position in each of the Nine Basic Stances. Envision an imaginary center of gravity line that runs through your body from the crown of your head to the point between your feet, as you are standing up straight. Notice how the mass of your body is distributed around that imaginary line. Now imagine stepping forward into a right leg Bow and Arrow stance. Notice what happens when you move from stance to stance. Your body mass, and therefore your weight redistribute around that center of gravity line between you and the earth as you move.
Our feline relatives are the supreme masters of Center of Gravity on the ground. Of course even the Cats are hesitant to mess with the Dragon, another master of Center of Gravity when it chooses to fight on the ground. Understanding and mastering Center of Gravity is not an end in and of itself. Instead it is a key to unlocking another important treasure.
Balance – is an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. When a stance moves it must maintain Balance. Balance must be maintained not only in the stances but also during the transition movements in between the stances, that is, during Stepping, the 3rd Chamber of your Lesson Plan. The balance that we are pursuing cannot refer only to your physical body. It must also include stability of your mind or feelings. When a stance moves there is intention. Where there is intention the breath must be in agreement. If the breath is in agreement the mind will be focused and feelings and emotions will become silent witnesses. Balance is like an amorphous entity hidden in your body, your movements, and your mind. When it is present in you, your posture, your ambulation, and your attitude give testimony to that fact. When balance is absent from you, your posture, your movements, and your attitude of mind leave you vulnerable to a fall.
Balance is a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportion for their purpose. Stepping has a purpose in your training. What is required of you as a martial artist and student of the 7 Circles System? What is required of you as a pugilist? What is required of you as the necessity of survival? You have to take all of the different elements of your life and put them into correct proportion, family, work, education, friends, training, and all of the other items on your must-do and want-to-do lists. Balance is the art of design and proportion. The martial arts style that you ultimately choose to commit to should fit your body like it was designed specifically for you. The demand placed on your feet, legs, hips, back, neck, arms, and hands should be in proportion to your body type, flexibility, and your basic personality (instinctual survival tendencies).
Center of Gravity and Balance are tied to each other. They feed from the same source and nurture the same offspring. That offspring is called foundation.
Foundation – is the lowest load-bearing part of a structure. It is the body or ground on which other parts rest or are overlaid.
In the 7 Circles System of Southern-Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, WuShu, and Qigong we practice according to the ancient philosophy set down by the Patriarch Da Mo, that is, Wu-Te, we practice the martial arts to attain higher physical, mental, social, and spiritual development. As an animal that fights on the ground your feet are the load-bearing part of your structure. In addition to Center of Gravity and Balance you must also align your feet so as to maximize the potential pushback from that particular stance as we discussed in a previous Post. Foundation also refers to the underlying basis or principle for something. As you move from one stance to another you are also moving from one foundation to another. How long you maintain a particular stance or foundation may vary but the underlying basis or principle of your movements is that there must always be a foundation to draw energy from the earth and to create pushback.
With the principles of Center of Gravity, Balance, and Foundation well established in your stances and stepping you are ready to face your imaginary opponent(s). Where do you imagine that opponent to be? How are they standing? Contemplation of those two questions will help you to establish the fourth essential piece of wisdom from the 3rd Chamber, direction.
Direction – is a course along which someone or something moves (or intends to move). Each of the 7 Fighting Stances introduced in Lesson Plan 1 afford you the opportunity to defend yourself in a particular direction or range of motion while maintaining a stable foundation, and also to move effectively in a directional set (forward- backward, side-to-side, diagonally, etc.). Direction is the course that must be taken in order to reach a particular destination. Stepping without a sense of direction is worst than being blind, it is foolish. If there is intention in your movements then you must select the correct stances and transitional movements to take you where you want to go.
Direction is the point to or from which a person or thing moves. If one opponent is attacking you then you may choose a stance to face him with the intention to move diagonally when they attack. But if multiple opponents are attacking you then direction will have to be fluid and your stepping will have to be more strategic. Direction also refers to the general way in which someone or something is developing (in this case the aggressive movements of your opponent).
Although our system is primarily Southern focused, meaning close quarter and hands, you have to be able to get within striking range of the opponent in order for your hands to be useful. Our complex stepping techniques are what enable us to accomplish an entry. Our straight-line, curved-lines, zigzag lines, and circular patterns of movement enable us to manipulate the pushback in combat effective ways.
Even after over forty years of teaching my personal training still includes practice of basic and advanced stepping techniques. If you spend a half-an-hour training spend 15 minutes stepping and 15 minutes on everything else. If you spend one hour training, spend 40 minutes stepping and 20 minutes on everything else. Do this for your first few years of training. As you learn more techniques for using your upper body you will have the foundation to gain effective entry on your opponent. This is the meaning of Muni Ipa Ifa! To seize the advantage! (Through effective stepping.)
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It is not simply practice that makes perfect. It is perfect practice and consistent practice that makes perfect.
