Forms and Sets Info

[Lance C]

All,

We had a discussion a few months back on "The Book Set" and "Tiger and Crane" from Amazon.Com the club purchased a copy of James Ibrao's "5 Forms to Black" and reviewed the (sets) Forms.

My understanding was that these forms were in Tracy Kenpo.

Can anyone comment on them or the history?

Book Set may be also be called "Panther Set"

-Lance C

[rjb66FL]

Both are still part of Tracy's Kenpo.

The Panther set was to be in Parker's Book "Secrets of Chinese Karate", so it started to be called 'Book Set' and that name stuck. The 'Two Man Black' was put in the book in it place.

[warrior-scholar]

Lance,
Mr. Lamkin advised me to teach them to my Parker students as supplemental material. Since I started in the Tracy's system it was naturally part of my material. However, you will undoubtedly see some changes made by GM Tracy. Mr. Lamkin informed me at one time that Al Dacascos included jump spinning crescents in place of Al Tracy's "spinning crane beaks" in Tiger/Crane. I haven't seen Mr. Ibrao's materials, so he may also include them.

The Book Set is a very nice exercise that I have taught to my first set of Green Belt students. One of our new guys has a black sash in Shaolin Do, so he felt a bit more at home when I demonstrated the set. Sorry I don't know much about history etc.

[Lance C]

Lance,
Mr. Lamkin advised me to teach them to my Parker students as supplemental material. Since I started in the Tracy's system it was naturally part of my material. However, you will undoubtedly see some changes made by GM Tracy. Mr. Lamkin informed me at one time that Al Dacascos included jump spinning crescents in place of Al Tracy's "spinning crane beaks" in Tiger/Crane. I haven't seen Mr. Ibrao's materials, so he may also include them.

The Book Set is a very nice exercise that I have taught to my first set of Green Belt students. One of our new guys has a black sash in Shaolin Do, so he felt a bit more at home when I demonstrated the set. Sorry I don't know much about history etc.

From Ibrao's video he does the jump spinning crescent kicks in the form. From what I read, in the videos he was 70 ish year old and in fantastic shape.

The one thing I really like about forms is when you start to enjoy doing them. I had a bunch of students work hard over the summer and start putting some serious effort into the forms, I really started appreciating the Form 2's since that was the bulk of my efforts training students this summer. Part of the enjoyment is two people doing the form simultaneously with familiarity and "cueing" each other vocally.

-Lance

[warrior-scholar]

From Ibrao's video he does the jump spinning crescent kicks in the form. From what I read, in the videos he was 70 ish year old and in fantastic shape.

The one thing I really like about forms is when you start to enjoy doing them. I had a bunch of students work hard over the summer and start putting some serious effort into the forms, I really started appreciating the Form 2's since that was the bulk of my efforts training students this summer. Part of the enjoyment is two people doing the form simultaneously with familiarity and "cueing" each other vocally.

-Lance

Now if we can just weed out the negative "cues" that some students make when they mess up on a form!
;)

BTW, I wouldn't be shocked to see Mr. Ibrao doing such kicks in his 90s. He gives all short people like me hope for the aerials.

[Tombo]

Yes this reply is a year later but...

> He gives all short people like me hope for the aerials.

Shorter people as well as beefy people that can do aerials, I am one of them. Part of the requirements to get my black belt was creating our own form. One of my classmates and I created a choreographed fight starting with 2 sticks each and ending in hand to hand.

At the point where I disarm him, I take him down and once he is down he attempts to roll into my legs taking them out from under me, I aerial over him and spin out in a funky stance while he gets up into a stance then we charge each other for our hand to hand portion.

So keep in mind. If you want to do it, you can and will do it. This is coming from a 36 year old father of four who isn't so tall and isn't so slim that happened to take a few hefty fractures in both legs and tailbone while in the military 17-18 years ago.

Just work it.