THE 12 MOVEMENTS
An Outline
These are the 12 Movements of the
Rokukan Modified Yang style Short
Form:
.
#1
- OPENING
(Facing North). The disciple [a
practitioner of a discipline] moves forward from the bank
of the stream onto stepping stones #1 and #2. He or she then
gains balance and poise by performing the Opening:
.
Link the hands in
a Triangle. The Triangle rises above the head. The triangle
breaks apart and the hands describe a circle - returning to
the bottom.
With relaxed wrists, the hands
Rise straight up to shoulder level, then Flow like a river
toward the body, then go Over the Falls. The palms stop flat,
facing the floor, as the knees Sink down into a horse stance.
.
Ideally
the rest of the form should be performed at this
level
(with
the knees bent).
#2 - RIGHT
SWORD BLOCK
(Turn to the East). The disciple is
attacked from the right side by an assailant who attempts to
grab, thrust, or punch toward the disciple's head. He or she
counters by performing the Right Sword Block:
Turn
the right foot to the Right, pivoting on the heel. As the
body follows (turning to the right), the right hand comes up
in a sword-hand. At the same time, the left hand moves up to
the solar plexus, palm up - as if holding a bowl of soup.
In Movements
#1 & #2, you are standing on Stones 1 & 2
.
#3 - LEFT WARD
OFF
(Turn back to the North). The disciple is
attacked from the left side by a second assailant who
attempts to grab the disciple, followed by the first
assailant attempting to kick the disciple. He or she counters
by performing a Left Ward Off of the
second assailant, and then blocking the kick from the the
first assailant with his or her right palm:
The hands
remain in place. Step forward with the left foot, so that
both feet are over stepping stone #2. Then make an "L"
Step to the left (north), stepping out with the left heel to
stepping stone #3. As you step out, ward-off with the left
arm, as the right hand moves down to block a kick and pushes
down at your hip.
.
#4
- #5 - #6 TRIPLE MOVEMENT
(Turn back to the East). The disciple lifts
(scoops) under the knee of the first assailant (who has tried
to kick him) and throws him with a Right Ward Off
to the East. As the assailant falls back, he grabs the
disciple's right wrist. The disciple holds the assailant's
hand in place and performs a Double Ward Off,
again to the East. The assailant recovers and attempts to
grab (choke) the disciple's neck - this is countered by a Roll
Back and Push .
This is a
complex action with three distinct motions known as The
Triple Movement :
#4 - RIGHT
WARD OFF
(Turning
from North to East). With the right hand, scoop under the
first assailant's knee (that you have blocked). As you step
forward with the right foot, carry the "scooped"
knee forward (toward the North). When both feet are over
stepping stone #3, make an "L" Step to the right
and step out with the right heel onto stepping stone #4. As
you step out, lift the "scooped" knee with the
right hand, while supporting the assailant's lower shin with
your left hand. Simply lift, Ward Off to the Right,
and tip the assailant over.
As
the assailant falls back, he grabs the disciple's right wrist.
.
#5
- DOUBLE WARD OFF
(Still facing East).
The disciple shifts his or her weight back (over stepping
stone #3), pulling the assailant along. The disciple then
locks the assailant's hand in place (with the left hand) on
his or her own right wrist, shifts his or her weight forward
(back over stepping stone #4), while performing a Double
Ward Off, again to the East.
.
The
assailant does not fall. He recovers and attempts to grab (choke)
the disciple's neck .
.
#6 - ROLL BACK
AND PUSH
(Still facing East).
The disciple shifts his or her weight back (over stepping
stone #3) - while raising (rolling back) both hands to
the level of his or her ears - in order to block (separate)
the assailant's grasping hands.
The
"rolled back" hands are immediately (smoothly)
lowered to a position in front of the disciple's check. Push at chest level with both
hands while shifing weight forward over stepping stone #4.
Here
is the complete Triple Movement:
#7
- SINGLE WHIP
(Turning to the West). The disciple is now
attacked from behind by a third brigand who attempts to grab
or punch the disciple. He or she counters by turning 180º
and blocking, pulling, and throwing the brigand in a complex
maneuver known as The Single Whip :
(Turning to
the left 180º). First, the right foot turns 90º to the left.
Then the body follows, with the hands held as though
polishing a large mirror with a big towel in a counter-clockwise
circle. When the hands go past 12:00 and then reach 9:00 on
the clock, the left sword-hand intersects the brigand's arm (and
blocks it).
Both of the disciple's hands continue
counter-clockwise around the clock, but in the
process the right hand grabs the brigand's wrist and
pulls it through 6:00 on the clock and then out to 3:00
on the clock. This is a fairly difficult maneuver
to learn.
The disciple's right hand then
stays fixed in a "beak fist" while the left sword-hand
makes another counter-clockwise half circle, movng from 3:00
through 12:00 to push the brigand away at 9:00 on the clock.
<
Yang
Chengfu - circa 1918
.
#8 - DOUBLE
BLOCK
(Turning back to the North). The disciple is
approached by a fourth antagonist from the North who attempts
to simulaneously punch and kick the disciple. He or she
counters by executing a Double Block,
and then pushes the antagonist away :
The right hand drops down and "scoops"
westward (to the left) as the right foot moves forward. When
both feet are over stepping stone #3, the right foot makes an
"L" turn to the north, coming to rest on the ball
of the foot on stepping stone #5. At the same time, the right
rand rises and the left hand lowers so that both hands become
"open sword-hands" held in a defensive "ready"
posture.
As the
antagonist punches toward the disciple's solar plexus and
kicks toward the disciple's abdomen, the disciple sweeps the
punch to the left side with the right hand while (at the same
time) lifting his or her right knee to block the kick. This movement
requires excellent balance.
The disciple
then steps in on the right heel to stepping stone #5 and
shifting the weight forward, pushes the antagonist away.
.
#9 - WHITE
CRANE SPREADS ITS WINGS
(Turning to the West). The disciple is
approached by a fifth and final agressor from the West who
attempts to simulaneously chop at the disciple's head with
his left hand and to kick the disciple with his right foot.
He or she counters by executing the famous 
White Crane
Spreads Its Wings movement :
The left foot
moves forward so that both feet are over stepping stone #5.
The left foot then makes an "L" turn to the left
and steps out on the ball of the foot to rest on stepping
stone #6.
At the same
time, the right hand rises up, palm outward, in front of the
forehead (to block the chop), and the left hand swings down,
palm outward (facing left) in the "Brush Knee"
maneuver to block the incoming kick.
.
#10 - SWINGING
CIRCLE SWORD
(Still facing West). 
The disciple stuns the final
agressor by striking his neck with a right sword-hand. This
movement resembles the Swinging of a Sword in a
Circle.
The left foot
moves slightly forward so that the weight shifts onto the
heel and flat sole of the foot on stepping stone #6. The
right hip bone is then rotated forward, giving momentum to
the right sword-hand that swings out in a circle to strike
the left side of the agressor's neck. At the same time, the
left hand is pulled close into the disciple's side above the
left hip as a fist with the palm facing up.
.
#11 - STRAIGHT
PUNCH
(Still facing West). The disciple
disables the final agressor by delivering a straight punch
with full focus.
The sword-hand
continues in a full counter-clockwise circle and comes to
rest in front of the solar plexus with the palm facing up as
though it were holding a bowl of soup.
As it comes to
rest, the left hand reaches out to grasp the agressor's left
wrist or forearm or shoulder or elbow (whichever is most
convenient). The right hand draws back toward the right hip
in a fist with the palm facing upward, and the hip cocks back
like a spring.
The disciple
then pulls back with the left hand, drawing the agressor
forward. At the same time, the right hip rotates forward, the
weight shifts forward, and the right hand punches straight
forward into the agressor's floating ribs on the left side.
At the point of contact, every muscle in the disciple's body
contracts and then immediately releases. This is called Full
Focus. It is the only point in the linked form where flowing
motion is momentarily fixed.
.
#12 - CLOSING
(Turning back to the North). The disciple
regains his or her composure and balance, and resumes the
task of crossing the stream.
The left foot
turns 90º to the right and the back of the right sword-hand
swings down and to the right. The whole body turns to face
North as the two sword-hands swing up and around in a circle
(in the opposite direction from the Opening).
As the hands
reach 12:00 on the clock, they cross over at the wrists into
two fists in front of the face, and then descend to a "ready"
position in front of the hips.
.
The
disciple, having successfully defended himself or herself
from five hoodlums while simply crossing a stream on six
stepping stones, may now step forward onto the far bank and
continue his or her journey in peace.
.
