The Intelligence of lung I
First off let me appologize for my lack of involvement on this site of late, I have been extremely busy with real life issues and have had far less internet time than I would like. I have had a chance to spend a great deal of time thinking about the design GM O.E Simon chose for his style with a focus on the order in which things were taught to students. The basic question then becomes "Why?" Not in a critical sense, but in a "trying to understand" sense. (It is hard to convey inflection on the internet) I still teach, and not everyone who comes to you is looking to become a Jackie Chan or whoever the top star of the day is. Fighting is not everyone's primary objective. BUT on the same not fighting IS some people's primary objective. Self defense and feeling confident they can take care of themselves if they need to. (Plus i'm sure for alot of people want to picture themselves skilled like Jackie Chan hehe) It is tough to balance the very first exposure you give to people in the art. How do you let them see what the style has to offer without driving away either of the two above mentioned groups? Tricky question. And theres a monkey on your back on top of this all, these people are beginners. Their bodies are out of shape, some are completely atrophied from a desk job for years, some have never done sports before in their life. If you have them throwing each other around or doing anything too aggressive they will get injured. Even to teach Swinging Punches in a first lesson would potentially cause muscle injury in the shoulders of alot of people who have no exposure to the art. (Or exercise!) So you need something soft and gentle to condition them enough to get them properly "warmed up" for something more aggressive in a few weeks or so. The soft side of the art is perfect. BUT if you teach them Tai Chi, Bagua or something too envolved you will probibly lose those who wish to learn combat. Lung I is short. Lung I is perfect for the core muscles needed to advance to more aggressive training. (Strengthen one side of the shoulders, roll the hands, strengthen the other side. ;) ) If you show 1 or two combative applications for Lung I you will blow away the guys looking to learn how to fight because they will never see those applications in that form without being shown. (Except maybe the double monkey paw, pullback double palm strike part right before the knee, but I would hope any instructor can some up with something more complex and amazing than that section. wow them! hehe) The people looking for fitness will also find it neat and when they tell their friends about their first Kung Fu experiences they are likely to want to try the "trick" and show how neat this "kung fu stuff" is. Free advertising. I would say Lung I is the perfect form to introduce people to Kung Fu. It also gets the mind to start memorizing forms which is a muscle that strengthens over the years. It is also a great form for any Moh stylists who have been out of training for a long time and wish to start up again slowly and get the body flowing again.

Can someone put up a video of lung one thank you?

lung 1
hi i'm new to this forum but thought i would say i agree with norths reasoning about why? i have spent many hours in the first years i left tkf considering why also. i struggled to find my own way of teaching the system . the lung form was always in these thoughts because after many years of practicing it you realize how extemely advanced it is . i always wondered why with the secrecy methods so prevailent it was taught to anyone but phs members. it is one of my favorite forms. every second day still after all the years of training i do it the original way i was shown by mr. peircey before the years of constant change. it was completely different than the way i was allowed to teach it. i practice it through the four direcftions then do the slow forms 4 times then f the muscle changing exersizes finishing wiwth the lung again. but i think personaly i can only speak for myself that all the one forms( kempo' hung etc. are the building blocks of the style everything else just adds on to the base. i was always told the simpler the better. didn,t necessarily think that way as an orange belt but after 17 yrs of teaching it now makes sense. so i agree with all your points but advanced practitioners as well as beginners should continue to keep it as a staple. after enough practice it becomes part of you like everything else in the style then you see its worth on many levels where combat would be the least .but without it combat would not be effective for it gives the suppleness of movement and the stretching of the tendons and loosening of the joints which help make the distinctive fluidity and power of the style. i have never practiced tai chi per say because i receive everything it could give me through this workout where the lung begins and ends the session. . sorry for being so long winded but as you can see i love the form and could literarily write a small book on it.

Welcome to the forum Mr. T. thanks fro the great insights and history on the Lung and Hung forms. Cheers grasshopper