DaveO
09-01-2002, 02:27 AM
Hello, all!
One of the things that bugs me is my ukemi - I'm doing alright for my experience level, but relaxing while the ground is coming up towards me is still somewhat shaky.
Which is why I giggled myself silly watching 'Drunken Master' with Jackie Chan. I don't know if they call it 'ukemi' in Kung Fu (They probably don't - KF is Chinese), but watching Jackie flop around, onto, and off the ground like that made for some pretty funny reflection: I know that Chan's film style is highly theatrical, and that Drunken Master is about as far away from real life as you can get (it is, after all, a comedy), nevertheless, he is really flopping around, totally relaxed and obviously having a whale of a good time doing it.
So, I tried it for myself (I have mats set up in my living room). You know something? It worked! Pretending to be drunk (I have enough experience at the real thing. lol). I gave a couple of fake staggers like he did in the film, let myself flop over to the back and side, and tucked into it when I hit. (Although 'hit' isn't quite the word - I hardly felt any impact, I just wound up in a fairly impressive back roll, wound up on my feet in much the same stance as I entered. Kewl!) Then I flopped forward - same result; no impact. I just took it on the fingertips, rolled to my back and stood up. Hee hee - it seems even watching something as silly as 'Drunken Master' can teach you something!
Dave
(P.S. - for those who have seen the film; no matter what works, I'm NOT practicing Miss Ho! I'll die first! :freaky: )