| a) | proper alignments: |
| i) | dimensions: |
| 1) | height - face / chin level |
| 2) | depth - elbow slightly bent (not hyper-extended) |
| 3) | width - in-line with same shoulder |
| ii) | body alignments: |
| 1) | hand - vertical (fingers pointing upward) / palm forward |
| 2) | wrist bent upward (enough to make contact with heel-of-palm) |
| 3) | elbow anchored (directly below strike) |
| 4) | shoulders - relaxed |
| 5) | upper body / hips - Neutral Bow rotation |
| 6) | legs / feet - Neutral Bow rotation |
| iii) | Point of Contact - heel-of-palm |
| iv) | stance - Neutral Bow / do not allow: |
| 1) | over / under rotation of body / feet |
| 2) | improper weight distribution |
| b) | proper formation - weapon (hand): |
| i) | hand - kept flat (not cupped) |
| ii) | thumb: |
| 1) | pressed tightly against rest of hand (Compact Unit) |
| 2) | bent at first knuckle |
| 3) | not tucked forward onto palm |
| iii) | fingers: |
| 1) | extended and relatively flat (muscle tension bend allowable on impact) |
| 2) | kept together (Compact Unit) |
| c) | execution: |
| i) | proper Method of Execution - Thrusting |
| ii) | improper execution - not at proper speeds / methods: |
| 1) | executed too slow (transforms into push with heel of hand) |
| 2) | executed too fast (stance switch unable to keep up with strike) |
| 3) | executed too tense (unable to achieve proper 'snap' of strike) (strike looks 'pushed' out) |
| 4) | strike not tensed at Point of Contact (improper timing / never tensed) |
| iii) | improper execution - executed with elbow not contouring own body (aka no "chicken winging") |
Comments
| a) | Some of the most common formation errors are: |
| i) | allowing the thumb to be separated from the rest of the fingers |
| ii) | not bending the wrist enough such that the point of contact is the heel of palm |
| b) | Some of the most common execution errors are: |
| i) | "chicken winging" the strike - i.e. not keeping the elbow contouring the body (elbow not anchored) |
| ii) | leaning into the strike - i.e. not maintaining back straight and equal weight distribution |
| iii) | not properly extending elbow - i.e. hyper-extending elbow (elbow not anchored) |
| iv) | improper foot rotation - i.e. both feet not the major angles (i.e. - facing the walls) |
| v) | improper angle of step through and / or execution - i.e. not fully facing the minor angle ('x') |
Example of a proper heel-palm
Example of proper heel-palm formation
Examples of bad heel-palm - weapon formation
(thumb tucked into palm, fingers spread apart, fingers bent too much)
Examples of improper heel-palm execution
(improper height - high / low, extension - close / far, elbow not anchored, leaning with improper weight distribution and over extending)