| a) | proper alignments: |
| i) | dimensions: |
| 1) | height - neck level |
| 2) | depth - elbow bent (not hyper-extended) |
| 3) | width - center of body |
| ii) | body alignments: |
| 1) | hand: |
| A) | rotated to be diagonal outward |
| B) | rotated to be diagonal downward |
| C) | finger pointed diagonally forward |
| 2) | wrist kept straight (not bent up / down and / or side-to-side) |
| 3) | elbow anchored (well below hand height) |
| 4) | shoulders - relaxed |
| 5) | upper body / hips - Neutral Bow rotation |
| 6) | legs / feet - Neutral Bow rotation |
| iii) | Point of Contact - side of hand |
| iv) | stance - Neutral Bow |
| 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 top 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 - Hammering |
| ii) | improper execution - not at proper speeds / methods: |
| 1) | executed too slow (transforms into push with side of hand) |
| 2) | executed too fast (stance settle 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 - elbow not properly anchored (always kept well below hand) |
| iv) | improper execution - not executed directly to target (cocking of weapon) |
Comments
| a) | One of the most common formation errors is to allow the thumb to be separated from the other fingers. |
| b) | One of the most common execution errors is to cock the hand back toward the shoulder area just prior to executing the strike in an attempt to gain extra Path of Travel and/or rotation for the strike. |
Example of a proper hand-sword
Example of proper hand-sword formation
Example of improper hand-sword formation
(thumb not tucked, thumb over tucked, fingers spread)
Examples of improper hand-sword execution
(improper height - high / low, depth - close / far, elbow out, rotation - over / under)