Technical aspects – Low Block

Even though I am apparently a high grade that does not mean I know how to get everything I am supposed to know right. 

Last night at class, I was pulled up by my instructor for not chambering my low block correctly in our very basic of forms.  Now I do not really make excuses for it, if I am doing it wrong I am doing it wrong.  The only reason I was spotted was, I had to be front and centre, therefore, right in her eye line! 

I am happy to be spotted, but also frustrated, the flow of my form is now interrupted as I concentrate on producing the correct movement. 

Low block may sound like the simplest of things to do, but it is one of the hardest things you learn as a beginner, in my own case, I did some version of a low block for 18 months, before being found out and corrected.  To do a low block one should, lift the blocking arm to the opposite ear, so that your arm covers your body, and bring the other arm across/down the centre of your body, these movements are covering.  You then pull the lower arm back to chamber position as you push your high arm down from your ear to just above your knee as you step into a front stance.

Teaching a child to do this is not simple, they invariably put their hand to the ear on the same side, this then makes the movement awkward to do, but after a little time, they do realise that to make it feel right, it is the opposite side.

Now back to my error, it was my chamber that let me down, not the high hand, but the low hand. I was not bring it to the centre of my body prior to pulling it back, it was not straight and I believe I was holding it nearly still in the under arm chamber position from the previous move. So for the next week or so, I will be slowing my forms down to see if I can trap these, and correct them all.  I will be doing it wrong in all of them, of that I am certain.

 

A quick check through the number of forms I am supposed to be able to do well, I believe low block appears in at least a third of them.  

And possibly the worst thing about it was, as I started the form, I thought, I’m on the front row, make it a good one today! :(