Dou Ti

A while back I asked the team to submit to me, some of their favourite technique sequences. My plan was to put these sequences together into a team form, of sorts, just for some fun....and quite possibly some laughs. I knew going in that it might end up kinda cool....or potentially hilarious.

This original plan has morphed into something a little different.

As I was working on this, I truly realized that creating a form isn't as simple as stringing techniques together.  There is a lot of work involved with ensuring one technique flows properly into the next and that the movements and transitions make sense for my intent.  If taken even further, and thought is given to making techniques "hidden" (as is the tradition with a form), it becomes even more challenging.  Because of these challenges I’ve been facing with developing this form, I’ve actually found myself looking at our school forms more closely.  I’ve surprised myself by “finding” some of the hidden techniques in these forms and my appreciation has grown for the art in developing a form that manages to combine both flow and intent in such a beautiful way. 

Now I was able to come up with a "draft" version of this prior to the end of the Year of the Ox.  It may have been sufficient for my original intent with this project, but my instinct told me I wasn't done with it, and that I needed to take it further to really get the most out of it.  I could clearly see the value in delving deeper and taking things to the next level.  And so I made the decision to pursue this hand form for the Year of the Tiger. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on my perspective at any given moment) delving deeper has meant alot of revamping.  Every time I run through it, I realize that I like "this" or "that" better.  Or I realize that my body wants to move in a different way…or that something isn't quite supporting my intent.  And so I have gone back to the beginning more times than I'd like to admit…just today again, in fact. But I feel this development process, in itself, is going to add so much to my growth as a martial artist.

Having said all that, there was actually another big reason that I decided to use this as my hand form for the Year of the Tiger.  It turns out that many of my teammates LOVE their kicks.  There are a total of 13 kicks throughout this form, many that are very difficult for me…some that I really can’t do well at all.  And I will painfully admit that kicks are my biggest struggle within the physical realm of Kung Fu and I would imagine they might always be. But I realized that I had an opportunity here.  An opportunity that had magically presented itself right where I needed the most help…where I perhaps needed the biggest push. And so as fearful as I am that I may never get these kicks right….that I will likely fall more times than I succeed…that I will never be able to do justice to this form…I decided to seize this opportunity and push myself further than I normally would. 

I mean really…what’s the absolute worst thing that could happen?  Failure?  I don’t know…but that doesn’t really seem all that terrible.

Side note: The title of this blog is Dou Ti, which is what I named this form.  It translates to “Many Kicks”.  Thanks team.   😉😉😂😂