The Fists of Pak Mei - Kung Fu of Hong Kong ep4
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- čas přidán 9. 11. 2023
- Pak Mei, also written as Bak Mei or Pai Mei, was often portrayed as the villain in Kung Fu films - the enemy of Shaolin. There is actually a style named after him, which finds its origins in the Hakka people of Southern China. In this episode, we meet with Master Daniel Lai, who is a direct inheritor of the art, to find out more.
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Hey Will, thanks for having me and my sifu on here! Can't wait for the next episode
Hope we get to meet again soon
@@MonkeyStealsPeach Definitely! Really cool meeting you as a big fan of the channel 😁
Thanks! Hopefully next time we’ll have more time to hang out and cjat
It was great meeting you both 🙂
@@KungFit It was awesome to chat with you about Kung Fu! Great job with the video 👍
Around 20 minutes in, The master expresses what I feel to be the most import key to kung fu. Mainly, That the arms don't move to create the power of the strike and that the shoulder must remain "set". The way I've come to understand is like this: The shoulder anatomically belongs to the arm and to the body. For the arm, the shoulder is the root joint around which it rotates. For the body, the shoulder is a point at which the arm attaches. So the shoulder belongs to both the arm and the body. If you move the shoulder with the arm then you only get the power of your muscles to move your arm. If you move you shoulder with your body then that movement will contain the power of you whole body and can be expressed out to the fingertips. This seems very basic and obvious but ,if you reflect on this when training with a partner, I think you'll realize that when your power fails its generally because the shoulder not being moved as a part of the body. Thanks
Good insights. Yes, the shoulder is the key to connecting the power from the body to the arms. Although styles which use more whipping power tend to extend the shoulder rather than set it
Absolutely! Thank you for the detailed explanation, that's exactly what my Sifu was trying to show
Thanks for the observation, I'm currently learning chow gar tong long online as there aren't any schools near me, but I find it impossible to learn it all without training with someone at a higher level than oneself. When learning by oneself I find every little insight I can gain helps, just got to make sure it applies to my own style; I'll make sure to pay more attention to my shoulder in relation to my arm and body from now on.
@@hashbrownistChow Gar is pretty cool and shares some similarities with Pak Mei, keep it up!
@@Saviohno Thank you, I will! Pak Mei looks very cool too :)
An art focused on dynamic tension and the tension reflex of the ligaments. Nice. Also elbows in engages the scapula in alignment with the spine whereas elbows out disengages them. Also very nice clear demonstration
I love this videos where a Sifu and their student explain the principles of their style and the basic methods. And to do so in such a humble way. I've had an interest in hakka styles for a while because of their way of moving. I'm not a big jumps guy, I prefer being more grounded. One of the best so far in this series.
I agree, they're so humble and willing to discuss, and they have so much depth.
@@PiceaSitchensis Thank you so much for the kind comments!
Great vídeo, very humble Master ❤
Great video. Waiting for the continuation!!!
10:29 Dude, that's cool! I love the control that the old guy has!
Thank you for the comment, I'll let him know!
@@Saviohno Oh thank you for doing that!
Beautiful video, thank you for publishing! You guys really received some special training during this visit!
9:25 the Jik Bo form looks very similar to the San Zhan/Sanchin forms in White Crane, Uechi-ryu, and other Fujianese and Okinawan styles.
Yes, it is quite similar, I thought so too
I was just going to say this.
Excellent video and very good explanation and demo by the Sifu. I am Hakka from Malaysia but I didn't know there are so many Hakka style kungfu. So, thank you very much for sharing some historical information as well. Cheers.
You should check out my Malaysia videos, I covered some Hakka fist there too
@@MonkeyStealsPeach Yes, I saw that too. Just didn't know that there so many in both Malaysia, Hong Kong and probably other places too. And that's the incredible work that you do, search out so many kungfu types and their masters, not necessary just Hakka styles. Thanks for your good, hard work and sharing them. Well done and keep it up. Cheers.
Thank you! @@seechunchong9876
I love the explanations of the basics and the theory in this one. I don’t know anything about Hakka Kung Fu so I always appreciate the deep dives into them.
Great series so far William… 🙏🏼
I've heard of this style but it was amazing to see demonstrated. The way they sink their weight reminded me of push hands on Tai chi. But the moves were more direct like wing chun. Very cool video
Hakka Fist; Southern Dragon, Southern Preying Mantis, Li Gar to name a few👍. The phoenix eye fist does not need to go back to the hip to generate the power for a strike with. Shock power at close range.
Now THAT was a cool episode !! Strong , skilled teacher. I have about 200/ 250 books in my martial arts collection but about the 2nd or 3rd book i ever bought was the Pak Mei book by HB Un, in about 1977. Still have it. It fascinated me back then. No CZcams back then of course. Great to see an episode (or two) on this 'lesser-known' style Wil. Great job 👍
I have the same book. It was my father's but it is now in my possession 😂
That book is worth money 💰
This is so awesome.
thanks for making this episode
If you guys ever make it out to California to visit any Masters out here, please keep me in mind to be one of your episodes😊
Wow, nothing conventional at all. Very enigmatic yet subtle style, with those stances being a thing by themselves. Damian surely loved the personalized lessons 😅. Great historical retrospective. Another illuminating link in the series. 💎 Thank you all
Haha, yep. Learnt a lot. Always better to do, and feel, rather than just see
Excellent coverage on the Bak Mei Pai. Their was Sifu of this style in Brooklyn NYC named Fong Man Kwan who unfortunately passed away around 2014 I believe. I look forward to the Second Part .
The form is very similar to the 1st form in Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis
Yes I am currently learning Chow Gar and most everything in this video seems very familiar to me. Was very cool to see :)
Awesome!
Thank you dear friend, excellent 👍 series 🙏 please continue
neeed more of bak mei's detail explanation like this
Great stuff - love these hakka styles - trained southern mantis for some time and always fascinated by the structure and power generation across these arts - would love to train Dragon sign. Thanks for the brilliant upload - keep it up!
Really cool video. Would like to see more two man sets.
I don’t study Kung Fu...but I love watching this channel...so interesting.
Thank you!
Very interesting!! Thanks!!!
Excellent explanation. All of this also describes Chow Gar perfectly
Yea the Hakka styles all have so much crossover
Always hear that the Bak Mei style is similar to the Southern Dragon.
Very!!
They are sister arts; the first recorded teachers of both systems (Zhang Liquan/Cheung Lai Chuen for Bak Mei and Lin Yaogui/Lam Yiu Gwai for Dragon) were very close friends and trained with each other since young under Lin's uncle. The two travelled throughout Guangzhou together seeking opportunities and they were two-thirds of the Dong Jiang San Hu (东江三虎, Three Tigers of the East River). A marriage between their respective families would eventually make the two martial brothers cousins.
I learned some Bak Mei a long time ago. I want to finish learning it someday. Nowhere for to learn by now.
Will, thank you for bringing us authentic Chinese history and culture 💯💯💯🙂👍
Bak Mei in Hong Kong is unique in the fact that it's very tight and all the movements seem almost soft in comparison to other lineages but no less lacking in power. If you are interested you could go to Guangzhou where Bak Mei was first formulated for further inquiries.
We need a few lifetimes to absorb all these styles, which is why MMA is preferred as it is a shortcut...incredible power generation here…looking forward to your next video.
Thanks again Will for this awesome series in HK. I read somewhere that Pak Mei was considered as an internal style. Right or wrong? Looking forward to watching the next episode.
Bak Mei is neither internal nor internal it like most wushu styles is somewhere in between
Wow, this is really cool stuff. I'm gonna go practice,lol.
Bak Mei & Lung Ying are "Brother" styles. Chueng Lai Chuen (Bak Mei) and Lam Yiu Gwai (Lung Ying) both worked closely together, and where sent as combat teachers at Wampoa Military Academy. My lineage still keeps two forms from this period:
"Gwan Lin Kuen" - Military Fist Form
"Loi Si Kuen" - Lady/Maiden Form
These were kept by Master Ng Yiu, whom worked underneath CLC at the Academy, and decided to keep them.
Luk Ging "6 Parts of Power"
Sei Ging "4 Energies"
Baat Fa "8 Methods"
These principles are what creates the "engine" or power of Bak Mei. Short Power. "Shock" power.
That's awesome, keep up the training!
I knew a guy in the 70's, from Mainland China, who was a Pak Mei practitioner. He used a metal bar to practice some of these very moves such as in the form. So that's the kind of thing we did. This is all quite familiar.
On a side note of not moving the arm and using the body. In fencing (Olympic) the arm is extended before the lunge. There are no jabs in classical sword arts. The idea behind this is a jabbing sword may not penetrate though clothing/armor/leather ect while putting your weight behind the movement will - most poetically - run them through.
That's fascinating, thank you for the insight! Speaking of weapons, we do use the staff and we use body mechanics and strategies that are similar to our empty hand techniques!
Great analogy. I use fencing to describe old style Shaolin mechanics a lot. The arm moves but the power comes from the movement of body weight
one off my favorite kungfu style
Great structure of Bak Mei.
hangetsu dachi from shotokan .. naka sensei says the same about triangle stances
cant wait for Chow Gar Tong Long. I wonder which sifu you will be in the interview
Haha wait and see
СПАСИБО!!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤
Great episode! Can't wait for the next one! btw... where is is kwoon? I reckon somewhere in the New Territories?
It was, but that’s not where he usually teaches. Was just an available space as it rained
I'm not sure I buy into kung fu but I like your video
Thank you for your distinguished efforts in providing us with everything interesting and enjoyable in the world of martial arts. Your information is considered a reference in combat methods. I hope that you will devote episodes to Russian combat methods, especially kombat sambo and hand-to-hand military combat.
I though Pak Mei was a myth! Thank you for this unique form.
I would like you to go visit some eagle claw in Hong Kong. Please make some 2 videos series like you did with Hung gar. Northern eagle has a great story to learn about. People must know about its master and methods .. master lau fat mang mainly. Thanks..
bak mei was the "it" form for a lot of police officers and gangsters back in the 50s/60s/70s, shortly after cheung lai chuen and his three sons came to hk. they taught a lot of people in yuen long, as it was common back then for the old families of the new territories to hire well-known fighters to teach their descendants.
cheung lai chuen also had two very well-known disciples in hong kong (if we don't include chiang kai shek): lt. gen. kot siu wong, founder of the 14k/hung fat san triad; and ngan hung, a well-known police sergeant who was very corrupted and connected to the teochew/hoklo gangs of the city.
cheung lai chuen's eldest son was also rumoured to be a founding father of the wo on lok triad, as he worked at the connaught aerated water factory in sham shui po. when the workers there formed their union, it eventually became the wo on lok/shui fong triad we hear about today.
Awesome episode, loved to know about its origins. Btw, what’s the name of the old KF movie you showed here, Will?
Clan of the White Lotus
@@MonkeyStealsPeach You sure know that there are basically no movies about bai mei except the lotus movies, why telling people that it is a prominent figure in movies?
My analysis of this system's power theory is such that a small light person won't be able to lop/jerk and larger person and a larger person won't be able to utilize this lop/jerk against a smaller person who has abandoned stiffness and who can stay continuously light, song, and ultrasensitive. It might work on less skilled and not so heavy persons though.
So basically, Sifu Daniel's Pak Mei is straight from Cheung Lai Chuen. Another lineage is from Lau Siu Leung to Lau Wei San.
Correct, though the difference between the two lineages is quite large, from our forms to our power generation methods, so you can say that even Southern Dragon is closer to our Cheung Lai Chuen Pak Mei than Lau Siu Leung's lineage.
@Saviohno thanks for that! Wish I had the opportunity to learn, it's unfortunate that there isn't any schools or teachers here in my country
@@merrilllee4878 I see, hope that one day you'll get to experience Pak Mei in some way!
Love your content as a kunh fu practioner
Thanks!
@@MonkeyStealsPeachwelcome
Would love to see an episode on jook lum spm
Hey Will how are you doing? Really enjoying the Hong Kong series. A good friend of mine studied and practiced Pak Mei for the past 30 years and showed me bits of the forms he learnt. How did you get on at the heritage museum with the Bruce Lee exhibition in Sha Tin is it still running
This episode is amazing
Thank you!
Thanks, stay tuned for the continuation!
The structure reminds me of silat suffian kun-tau of brunei. Minimalistic and powerful.
Chinese influenced.
@billy. The word "Kuntao" is a Chinese Hokkien dialect, probably introduced during the Ming dynasty when Brunei was ruling Sarawak & trading in precious bird's nest with China. BTW the silat as taught by Guru Suffian is quite different from others.
They use the phoenix eye fist like some other southern styles like Chow Gar/Tong Long and south. Dragon. I could not imagine how the structure of just one finger take the full force of one hit.
Hakka styles
Sifu Lai's phoenix eye fist is devastating! He's conditioned it a lot though, which is definitely necessary if you want to use it
Massive conditioning.
Without conditioning, it may not be so useful and might likely result in injury.
If you look at Uechi ryu Karate, you see the type of conditioning of extremities that would have been common in kung fu in the past.
Uechi ryu being very much a Chinese based art.
Another thing is that we don't hit with the same type of force as most external styles as we hit with more of a penetrating force, I'd imagine if you used Phoenix Eye with a Muay Thai punch you'd probably break your finger
@@Saviohno How long will it take to condition the phoenix eye to a proficient level? what is your opinion on conditioning phoenix eye by hitting boxing pads?
I think that sifu was worried about Damien’s neck😅
Haha, yep. Luckily it's strong from carrying around my giant head 😂
im very interested into how this style defend high and round strikes like boxing
Hi, Savio the white shirt guy from the video here. From my limited experience sparring Muay Thai practitioners, round strikes can sometimes be easier to intercept because they expose their arms more. I'm in the process of trying to apply Pak Mei against other styles, and though there's a lot I can't do with big gloves on, there are still principles and strikes that I can apply.
its interesing, my style of wing chun (Fut Sao), a mainland style traces its lineage to Shaolin as well.
czcams.com/video/C7qGRmojJQY/video.htmlsi=q1TX6jSk-1eLHn6h
In Fist of The White Lotus aka Clan of The White Lotus, Priest White Lotus avenges the death of Pai Mei. Later in the movie, Hung Wen Ting kills him.
Anyone ever notice that the Bak Mei salute uses a left fist and a right open palm (9:30, 10:02, etc.) ...i.e. the reverse of all other kung fu systems with Shaolin roots? I've seen this on other videos of their forms as well. Is that because of their origin story as the "traitor's art" being founded by the enemy of Shaolin?
You have a good eye! It's not related to the origin story, but there are a lot of different theories out there on the Pak Mei salute, so feel free to do some research online if you're interested!
@VTSifu. Using right fist & open left palm or vice versa only denotes whether it is Northern or Southern system & has nothing to do with a traitors art even if its true.
👍👍👍
Master Daniel Lai/ 賴仲明
Was like a stiffer Wing Chun with more phoenix eye. Interesting.
yes he was killed by a WC specialist
@@seinundzeitenwho Pak Mei? There's a million legends out there saying different things, I'm guessing that particular one comes from a wing chun lineage. Of course you realise Pak mei and Ng mui as historical people probably never existed right?
Haha, my Sifu is actually really relaxed when he does Pak Mei, though I suppose it's not obvious in the video. I am quite stiff sometimes, but I'm working on it 😂
@@Saviohnohow long have you been training with your shifu? Thanks
@@ericaragon6482Since 2021!
Should do an episode on Futsan Bak Mei too.
Futsan Pak Mei in the Sifu video game is pretty cool! Quite different from our CLC lineage, but you can still see common elements. You can't find it here in HK though, it's mostly in the mainland and overseas
Futsan Bak Mei is my favorite branch of Bak Mei! My uncle's friend in China practiced a style called "Bai Lu Yuan Yang Quan", which translates to "White Egret Mandarin Duck fist". He showed me some moves before when I was a kid. When I discovered Futshan Bak Mei I was blown away by the similar techniques. Even the salute is very similar, but instead of an open palm on top of a fist, the fingers are curled except for the pointer finger, and it was called "one incense to heaven". His style must be an obscure branch of Bak Mei.@@Saviohno
@@zetareticulan321I've never heard of Bai Lu Yuan Yang Quan before, it must be really obscure. It's interesting that the name is in Mandarin though, because it would imply it's a Northern style. I've only seen Futsan Pak Mei on video before, would love to learn a bit from a practitioner in real life.
It's actually in Cantonese. I'm from Guangdong. I just wrote pinyin because I don't know how to type Cantonese. 😆Yes, it's very obscured, I've only ever heard of it once from my uncle's friend. His Sifu actually lived in Peru, but went back to China to do business, and was jailed for 20 years in China for smuggling cigarettes or something like that. He met my uncle's friend after he got out and took him in as his student. From what I can see, it has all the circular strikes that are found in Futsan Bak Mei, but not in CLC. It also has a lot of side stepping, and likes to be on the opponent's blindside.@@Saviohno
@@zetareticulan321Ah I see, yeah honestly it's difficult to transliterate names to English (As seen in the video) As for the side stepping, I think the next episode might cover our footwork, so stay tuned!
Aloha from Hawaii 😉🤙
Similar to Sachin in karate . Maeby came from here .
Hello. I am Roberto since Barcelona. Sorry English is not my mother common language. The video is great ! But I can not understand what do you mean Jet Li Huo Yuanjia's Movie, in this explanation of Bak Mei Kuen. Master Huo, isn't from Shaolin Style ? My Sifu told me in his life Master Huo only used Jiaomen Tantuei for boxing and defending himself...Can You explain, please ? Best Reggards !
Hello Roberto, Savio the one in the white shirt here. Yes, Huo Yuanjia did not practice Pak Mei Kuen. The movie was shown here as an example of the challenge matches that Pak Mei grandmaster Cheung Lai Chuen participated in, like Huo Yuanjia. Hope that clears things up!
Already here SIFU. 🤗🌸💯
Hakka?
Hao maw!!
Siang Wong lau choi ngia. Salute.
Wing chun?
🙏🙏🙏👍🏼👍🏼☯️
Is it me or their stance looks like the Karate's "Sanchin" stance?
It does actually! Karate styles with more of a southern Kung Fu influence do share similarities with our stance, it'd be interesting to see a direct comparison
As a Pak mei practioner i always thought sanchin, when i first saw it was related
@@Saviohno When you and your sifu were talking about the stance and being as stable as a tree and you went into the position, I immediately remembered videos of Uechi-ryu and Goju-ryu Sanchin kata being performed czcams.com/video/B7YDkZrJ-V0/video.html. Although you don't do the circling step when you move in that stable stance.
@@kenken8765 I watched the video, yeah I can definitely see the resemblance in terms of the emphasis on breathing and muscular tension! The Jik Bo form is very linear (Literally Straight Step) but in our footwork we do have circling steps though we use it in a different way, I think you'll be able to see it in the next video!
@@Saviohno Can't wait for the next video! :) Also I hope we get to see Southern Dragon style in this video series, can't wait to see them all!
I want to see more of the dragon lady😂
Pak Mei, beggars hands, phoenix eye(fong yen) are trade marks! Hope to see Wu Dip Boon Hop(butterfly dancing on flowers) style 😮Fang Hsi Yuk’s Ng Ying Hung Kuen(5 forms Hung fist) both style are found in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 somewhere 😳
So someone isn't getting the message ... the arm does not get straight when punching yet the kid is clearly doing that, so the reality is far from clear... There is no way to make power without using all the joints and if there is, no one explained how, in this video.
From my understanding, admittedly only having spent a few hours with Sifu Lai, the elbow position that they were explaining wasn't that the arm doesn't get straight, but that you don't actively extend and retract the elbow in relation to the body. The arm is straightened through the act of rotation.
Since the bicep is involved in rotation of the arm (supination to be precise), in order to fully rotate (pronation) without flaring the elbow outwards, the arm must extend, relaxing the bicep.
So the arm extends to get maximum rotation, but it does not pull back.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Thanks for the explanation Damian, I couldn't have explained it better. I'm really impressed that you've managed to understand and explain the concept so clearly even despite only learning for a couple of hours from Sifu Lai! We pay extra attention to attacking and defending without compromising our structure created by our elbow position, so our unique striking mechanics are a result of that. This is why you don't see us using whipping strikes commonly found in other styles, while those strikes are obviously effective they just don't align with our system.
If you want to push heavy objects, you always lock the bones into each other, it is the only way give enough structure for power transmittance. You can consider it heritage from the spear techniques, which is basically in every shaolin related style. The power comes from legs, body and back muscles which get chained fastly to channel the power through the bone structure. The boy seems to not quite comprehend what he is doing, that is why the teacher always steps in.
The reason the arm does not straighten completely is cause you would ruin your joints, through the power and you would be weak for counter attacks attacking your arm, once completly straightened you basically are bound to get unbalanced or into an arm lock like in chin na.
And yes kung fu is using other mechanics, the power come not from the arm but from the major muscle groups, which allow stronger strikes than in boxing are even possible.
The downside is that it needs way more training, cause it is kind of unnatural and does not work if not properly linked by the mind. This is a thing that wing chun is exploiting heavily going into an extreme short distance, where normal fighters cannot generate power cause they would need more space, but the wing chun practitioner is trained to with elbows and inch punches.
This fighting style also studied and practiced by Jackie Chan.
Yep! My Sifu told me that when I first started haha
I thought jackie chan is a hung gar guy, as he sent his son to learn hung gar. And jackie chan has hands big and hard as bricks, it is another thing that he is probably hung gar, where does this come from? I have not read his biography yet.
chinese south style
This man seems to have a high level in kung fu, did you get a chance to get to touch hands with him as well?
Whats the name of the Kung Fu mivie in the intro.
Clan of the White Lotus
Your style as re not suitable for real street fight..
Totally agree. I trained Pak Mee when I was young and non of these techniques work. Have switched to Muay Thai now for 30 years so much more realistic but still like watching these videos reminds of my years training
Training in socks? Really?
And now a new kung fu style is born: Sock Mei :p
Sock mei is still better than ramsey deweys cockroach kung fu
why would anyone in his/her right mind study bak Mei/pak Mei style? He was a traitorous and evil shaolin priest...
It doesnt matter how Good or Bad the Practitioner. What matters most, is if the Art is Effective. Just like a Hammer can both be used to Build something, OR to Destroy something. We dont JUDGE the Hammer (tool) itself. We just judge the person wielding the Tool. The tool, in this case... is the Artform.
Well I dunno man if anything it makes it more badass we have a literal villain origin story
Because art is amoral.
Technique is technique.
Skill is skill.
Chinese are practical people.
If it's effective, we'll learn it.
White cat, black cat, who cares.
@@Saviohno Yes this makes it super cool! :D
Actually, many people stick to the study of a martial arts based on how well it works for them and not on the words of anonymous authors of fictional, wuxia books. The Pak Mei style has a well-established reputation as one of the most effective styles ever developed. The actual burning of the Northern Shaolin temple was carried out after the Abbot supported a local warlord in efforts to keep the peace, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, which caused his death and drew the monks of the temple into the violence that ended with 200 of their deaths and the burning of the temple for 40 days in 1928 by Shi Yousan, for his many betrayals and defections he is known as the "Defector General" (Chinese: 倒戈將軍; pinyin: Dǎo Gē Jiāng Jūn) or as Shi Sanfan (Chinese: 石三翻; pinyin: Shí sānfān, "Shi who turns three times").. It actually did not have anything to do with Pak Mei.
I have trained in 5 styles over the last 55 years, Boxing, Wing Chun, TKD, Shotokan, and Judo, I also learned Yoga in India and practiced it for at least 40 minutes five days a week along with my martial training. This style looks like nonsense to me like many Chinese styles seem to be as far as I can see!
meaning your type are very ignorant. There is a fog cover your eye which you can see only your own arrogant.
I totally agree with you. Completely useless in an actual fight.
I've trained Thai boxing, judo, bjj, wing chun and Pak Mei. Looks can be deceaving. It looks weird, but if you understand the principles, a lot of which it shares with wing chun, and its power generation methods it's extremely useful, and ive used it. I should also add this master is showing a few isolated principles and, as far as I can tell, he's left out some key body mechanics that make it work
@@jamesfoong9252 I’ve trained for years in my teens Pak mei with my friends father and started training kickboxing and now Muay Thai and now 50. So been training for 30 years plus in kickboxing and Muay Thai. There no comparison Muay Thai is far more superior in every way I’m sure the same with other styles like sanda, kickboxing etc. Footwork, techniques, conditioning, stamina everything pak mei lacks even real pressure testing. I don’t see any use for it in a real fight unless you’re fighting someone handicapped. I remember when I use to train I would leave my arm out for my Sifu to do the technique but in a real fight I’d never leave my arm out and any attacker in a real fight would be rapid and in succession and unpredictable and a simple counter like one strike would have no effect against the attacker.