INTERNATIONAL MEIHUA QUAN FEDERATION
A boxing proverb
In Ba Fang Bu, the feet pattern moves the body first, followed by the feet and hands reaching the correct position. Training the Ba Fang Bu in pairs develops the ability of the eyes to follow the opponent and the ability closely and carefully for the hands to move quickly.
The Ba Fang Bu is divided into three main types:
The small Ba Fang Bu is an exercise technique of working the feet, allowing the practitioner to become familiar with the shifting of the body weight on three fixed points on the ground, without raising the feet excessively from the ground, to do not offer the opponent opportunities for a possible attack. Since the small Ba Fang Bu is relatively simple, one usually starts immediately with learning the medium Ba Fang Bu, which is then the model used in the preordained training routine of Cheng Quan, practiced on five points instead of three. The big Ba Fang Bu, on the other hand, consists in the work of the feet wholly free and without patterns that are the basis of “free combat.”
The Meihua Quan Pile Ba Fang Bu or Group Step is the mother of Sanshou and is the most distinctive practical footwork of the Meihua Quan Pile. The steps must change depending on where the enemy strikes. In application, one can advance or retreat, attack or defend, move like a hawk and a rabbit, and be as quiet as a virgin defending the body.
In actual combat, footwork plays a significant role. Attack and defense depend entirely on the movement of the foot because:
1. Rapid and flexible footwork movement to take an advantageous position;
2. The performance of each technique starts from the rotation of the waist and the transformation of the footsteps;
3. By constantly adjusting the footwork, it becomes a unified whole with the technique and bodywork.
When doing Ba Fang Bu, the center of gravity moves steadily, avoiding leaning forward or backward. The movements include shoulders and hips, elbows and knees, hands and feet, up and down, and left and right coordination. When landing, one must reach the hands to the feet and the feet to the body. In this way, the movements will not be scattered. The strength will be smooth. The rise can be swift, and the landing can be firm, making the enemy unable to fight back.
The Meihua Quan Pile Ba Fang Bu can be practiced alone, in pairs, or combined into boxing in attack and defense. It is necessary to be good at using footwork combined with movement to approach the opponent and adjust the distance with the opponent in time to know how to advance and retreat.
