Yellow Belt Grading Requirements - Details Stance and movement: Horse Stance Looking for: Feet shoulder width apart or wider. Knees above feet. Feet face forwards. Thighs ideally parallel with ground. Head and body upright. Fighting Stance Looking for: Feet shoulder width apart, both feet face forwards, one foot ahead of the other so that the heel of the front foot is in front of the toes of the rear foot. Hips and shoulders square to the front. Arms forwards and shoulders relaxed forwards, if in closed guard both hands should be on centerline, top hand at head height, if in open guard hands should be no wider than the shoulders and both at head height. Abdomen and chest hollowed back, this is accomplished by relaxing the lower back and tucking the pelvis under rather than by tensing the abdominal muscles. Chin slightly tucked, mouth shut. Shuffle Looking for: When shuffling the front foot leads and rear foot follows, both feet flat on the floor, end in same stance and posture as before shuffle. Head and body remain level throughout movement (not moving up and down). Step Looking for: Rear foot comes in next to front foot, briefly covering groin then out and forwards. End in same stance and posture as before step but with other foot forwards. Head and body remain level throughout movement (not moving up and down). Hands: Chain Punch/Chom Choy Looking for: Both hands on centre line. Fist is vertical. Can punch with top two or bottom three knuckles. Punch comes out straight and then drops after impact. Arms extended forwards, punch stops when arm is just off lock. Elbows point downwards and press off ribs, arms never draw back behind body, ideally at least on fist width in front of rib cage at all times. Shoulders relaxed and down. Chop Looking for: Arms cover centerline, elbow to centre of front arm. Front fist faces up, rear fist faces down. Rear arm does not collapse towards body. Fang Gow/Hammer Fist
Looking for: Strike with same arm as leg that is forward. Pinkie side of fist rises up centre line, breaks of at lip level and continues upwards to the side of the centerline. Pinkie side of fist falls down to centerline with relaxed swinging motion. Arm is extended and just of lock at end of strike. Fist stops at target level (does not continue downwards if target is removed). Pak Sau/Slapping hand Looking for: Somewhere between a slap and a push, enough push character to hold strong on the centerline, enough slap character to mold and stick to the opponents arm (or other target) Tan Sau/Palm up arm Looking for: Palm faces up in direct line with the forearm or slightly hooked to bring the hand level. Elbow faces down and is pressing off ribs. Lan Sau/Palm down hand Looking for: Palm faces down in direct line with the forearm. Elbow faces down. Bow Jong/ Covering hands Looking for: Both arms extend forward one slightly in front of the other, forearms are close together and elbows are down. If appropriate, rear hand stops upward motion, front hand stops forward motion (forearm and bicep on arm, lower leg and body or face for kick). Bon Sau/Wing arm Looking for: Somewhere between a lateral elbow and forearm thrust. Hand points down, elbow raises but shoulder remains relaxed. Hips and shoulders pivot if needed. Kwan Sau Looking for: Essentially like combination of tan sau and bon sau, lower arm bon sau, upper arm tan sau. Together the arms form a slight V shape. Arms are kept pressing away from the body. Wu Sau (still hand or resting hand) Looking for: If one arm is not striking or engaged it rests in front of the sternum, palm vertical, fingers together Tong Long Jow/Mantis claw Looking for: Hand thrusts directly towards face in claw shape. Forearm holds centerline as hand graps partner s arm and drags down and presses forwards into partner s body. Reverse punch with Phoenix eye
Looking for: knuckle of phoenix eye is forwards, thumb remains outside of fist but behind index finger. When striking the fist begins palm upwards just below the wrist or mid forearm of the front hand and corkscrews out on the centerline till the fist is palm down and arm is just off lock, elbow down. Feet: Front Kick Looking for: Knee raises on centre line, foot extends with ball pointed and toes pulled back. Body remains upright or forward. Hand on side of kicking leg guards knee, other hand guards head or presses forwards. Side Kick Looking for: Knee raises in front of body, support leg pivots. Foot extends either flat or with outer edge extended. Body remains upright or forward. Hand on side of kicking leg guards knee, other hand guards head or presses forwards. Groin Kick Looking for: Knee raises on centerline. Foot extends upwards with toes pointed. Impact is from the middle of the foot backwards and up onto the shin. Body remains upright or forward. Hand on side of kicking leg guards knee, other hand guards head or presses forwards. Roundhouse Kick Looking for: Knee raises in front of body, support leg pivots. Foot extends horizontally with toes pointed. Impact is from the middle of the foot backwards and up onto the shin. Body remains upright or forward. Hand on side of kicking leg guards knee, other hand guards head or presses forwards. Low Stomp Looking for: Knee raises in front of body, foot extends downwards striking with flat of foot, instep or outer edge. Target can be the knee on any angle, the shin or foot, the top or inside of the thigh. Body remains upright or forward. Lower leg check Looking for: Knee raises so that attack is checked by either the inside or outside of the lower leg. Lower leg scoop Looking for: leg scoops outwards, hooks and raises the leg of partner usually followed by a stomp to the support leg. Can be used for an incoming kick or on the lead leg of partner. Knee lock
Looking for: step to inside of partners foot so that inside of ankles and outside of knees meet. Knee then presses outward. Foot trap Looking for: basically stepping on top of partners foot simultaneous with deflection or attack driving forwards to unbalance partner Combinations: Pak sau and simultaneous strike Looking for: Pak sau presses to opponents centre. Strike is generally with a vertical fist. Target is generally armpit or ribs. Tan sau and simultaneous strike Looking for: Good Tan Sau, body pivots so that centerline faces towards centre of forces (incoming and outgoing) Universal Looking for: Pak, Tan, Lan combination. Tan Sau comes underneath pak sau. Ability to apply inside or outside or strike. Ability to apply to multiple punches. Good flow of movements. Miscellaneous Looking for: It is expected that the student will also be confident with other combinations of the strikes and kicks listed above. Partnered work: Looking for: Student finds appropriate range for striking and kicking (could strike partner but stops just short). Student covers centre line. Student applies forward pressure. Student chooses appropriate entry angle (steps offline or pivots where necessary). Form: Saam Bo Jin (Three Straight Arrows) This is a classic Southern style kung fu power development form. I am aware of variants of it in Mantis, Tiger and Crane styles and it is probably used in others as well. The form we practice is a mantis variant. Many important points regarding the form are covered in the comments on strikes, stance and movement above. In addition to these points we will be looking for:
Elbows come together in front of the body if possible, forearms parallel with the ground. Arrow punch is to shoulder width or slightly wider (to allow for deflection). Strikes are simultaneous with the rear shuffling foot landing on the ground. Good dynamic tension used throughout form. Conditioning: The Standard conditioning exercises required are clashes, chops, palms and hammers. Clashes: Essentially like a chain punch. Each partner works to have their fist on the centerline so that the bones slide against each other up the forearm. Chops: Like a regular chop but only using one arm. Forearm and particularly elbow should cover centerline. There should be some forward movement so that the bones slide along each other as in the clashes. Contact should occur along the length of the forearm, not just at the wrist. Palms: One partner holds their palms a little more than shoulder width apart slightly turned upwards. The other partner strikes with their backhand then front of their palm on each hand. Fang Gows: Left palm faces upwards and forwards. Elbow remains in front of ribs so that impact can be received actively rather than passively. The partner strikes downwards with their right hammer fist. Uniform: Students are required to attend grading in appropriate uniform items (at simplest black trousers and plain black or plain white t-shirt. Jackets, badges and screenprinted shirts are optional at this stage). Thereafter students are required to wear appropriate uniform to classes. Protocol: Bowing Students bow to instructor and any visiting instructors at beginning and end of class. Students bow to partners each time they finish working with them. Students bow on entering and leaving training hall. Lining up Students line up in order of grade at the beginning and end of class. The highest graded student present assumes the front right hand position. Lowest graded or ungraded students go to the rear left. There is good reason for this, it means that those towards the back of the class are able to watch and learn from more experienced students towards the front of the class during basic drills.