Onecote: March 2007
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By Rosalind Wilks

Onecote at the end of March was the first Onecote training weekend of 2007 for the Yongquan Martial Arts Association. Sifus Rand, Robertson, Kerr and Smith were all on hand to lead the proceedings and the event was attended by a small, but select, group from the three main areas, London, Bath/Bristol and Leeds.

The weekend began with Sifu Rand discussing the four main ways in which wetrain, as listed below:

1. the weekly/ regular class
2. personal practice
3. regular training sessions with smaller groups or pairs
4. one off events/ training days or weekends

Sifu Rand explained how all types of training were beneficial and important for the progress of the student.

The rest of the day was spent in a variety of ways: We began by going through the Tai Chi form, with the emphasis on checking posture and position.

After lunch, we spent some time practising the sword form, with Sifu Rand detailing parts of the modified version and Sifu Kerr leading those who were learning the original version. Also in the frame was a bit of Choy Lee Fut.

In the evening, we undertook some valuable research, checking out a local Chinese restaurant in nearby Leek.

Sunday morning began with the group revising the first section of the long form, with a view to understanding and applying some of the techniques and applications, and also trying to apply the Shock_ force, as used in the “Strum lute”_ posture.

After this, we moved outside, with a bitter wind, and kept ourselves warm with a bit of Hsing-I Monkey, led by Sifu Smith and John Doveston, which resulted in a challenging but entertaining hour or two.

The morning finished with some time spent on technique sparring. It was most useful to spend some time practising with different people, and getting to know members from around the country that we don’t see very often.

These events are great fun and are very good for building up a rapport amongst the various Yongquan Association around the country.

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