Shi Xiong's corrections and Efficeint Movements

Today in calss, my shi xiong decided to give me intensive 1 to 1 correction of my strokes.
my mistakes include:

1. During transition of the Starting motion to the start of Xie Fei Shi, the right hand movement should be like that of Cloud Hands where the palm starts by facing towards you then ends by facing outwards(a little towards the down left in this case. My original motion is from the starting position, i push straight away to the right.

2. Next mistake, he says that for Lan Que Wei(Grasp the sparrow's tail) the waist should turn until the hands are past the right knee cap before i start on the lu. Which i disagree, because i believe that if it passes the knee, the strength would not be there anymore. However, i still have to follow because he is the Shi Xiong.

3. Next, it is my Ti Shou Shang Shi, the right hand should be facing up while the left hand down. I originally did it opposite. Hee, hee.

4. Next is my Bai He Liang Chi( White crane spreads wings), when i do the movement, my right leg extends until it is almost straight, not really very straight but like what he says, i tend to 'stand up ' a little. But i like to do that because when i close the movement, i tend to go down a little to make up for it. And it has a opening and closing feel to it(kai he). Another reason why i like to stand up is because after the kao(lean), i like to think that the crane is spreading his wings and extends its whole body and when i close the movement and squat a little so that my left just touches the ground, it gives the feeling the the crane has stretched itself and is ready for flight. What i originally did would have that kind of feeling. But my Shi Xiong does not want me to stand up so much so i will have to do all this with a lower stance.

5. Next, he comments that when i do backwards hand movements like in Lou Xi Ao Bu( Brush Knee Twist Step), i tend to bring my hand too far back which he says is inefficient for fighting purposes as it take too much time. However i feel that as long as i look out for that hand, it would be fine. And moreover, it would not be a smooth motion(to hit forwards) if i did not bring my hand back far enough then towards the ear. As for how far i bring it back until, it would be around the south east direction and not more. But he wants me to stop at the east area and continue with the movements which i disagree as i feel this would break the flow of the motions with the next hit. It also loses much strength and power compared to my method.

6.The other mistakes include keeping my hands too straight after the punch in Ban Lan Chui.

7. After the lu, my left hand turns too big a circle to form the ji, which he finds is inefficient movements.

8. Then there is the transition movement between the Bao Hu Gui Shan( Carrying the tiger back to the mountain) and Zou Di Chui(Hammer Fist Under Elbow). Where i am missing( or rather it is too small) the inward then outward turning motion of the left hand.

9. Then there is the part where he says for my Bao Hu Gui Shan(carrying the tiger back to the mountain) my back ward An should be in th same direction as my right foot which is technically correct but i find that if it is done that way then the left foot placement would be a bit off.

10. Oh yeah, there is still the part of the Lou Xi Ao Bu where during the interchange between the right Lou Xi Ao Bu an left Lou Xi Ao Bu, where i sit back on the back leg, the turn the left feet out then sit ion the front leg and continue with the motion. He tells me to cut out the sitting back motion as it is only used in the Xinjia( which is the performance version rearranged by China). Well, i think it is good as it is more efficient but a little harder to execute than my original version.

11. Another mistake is that he finds that the hand movements in my Dao Nian Hou(Repulse Monkey) are too large and tells me to keep them in small, just in front of my body.

Hm...let me think if there is anything else more.... no i think that's all he said! Until next time!

Taiji for Health

Hm..recently i have started to increase the frequency of my taiji practice from once a week to about 2 to 3 times a week. And strangely, the days which i wake up with a stuffy or runny nose has decreased! Just to let you know, i get stuffy or runny nose everyday before this. That is why i think it may be due to the increase in taiji practice.
I am starting to believe in the health aspects of taiji.....