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Short rods exercises for beginners: the benefits

After quickly describing the didactical stance (read The basics of short sticks: safety and grip) and the 3 most important typologies of strokes (read The basics of short sticks: base strokes and stance), we are going to explain 5 useful starting exercises.

The benefits of the exercises we are going to describe are related to:

An initial strengthening – If we do not work with our hands (or we are not already basically conditioned) the first approach with the weight, twists and impacts of the sticks will cause us some small pain (which will pass in a couple of days at most
An initial spatial conditioning – The short stick is longer than a knife and for a total beginner, it is not natural to correctly manage its dynamics
An initial combat conditioning – In 6 Dragons Kung Fu (as it happens for example in Kali) we learn how to fight from the weapons and vice-versa
…

The exercises

Before starting, let’s read:

Exercise 1 (to fortify the wrists):

Let’s take our 2 short sticks / rods and let’s choose a stance to maintain
Let’s properly grip both sticks (as we have already seen)
Let’s stretch the left arm in front of us (never at 100% of the elongation) with the stick facing up
Let’s position the stick so that it is perfectly perpendicular to the ground
Let’s tighten the arm in front of us and move the stick on our central line (the one who splits in 2 identical parts our body)
We have to hit the left stick with the one in the right hand (with passing blows)
The attacks are the ones we have seen, the first goes from left to right, the second from right to left and so on, cyclically
The extended arm must try to maintain the stick perpendicular to the ground
We must gradually increase the intensity / speed of blows but always aiming for fluidity
We can perform the exercise for 5-10 consecutive minutes (alternating our arms)
We must strike away from our fingers and at a specific point (at our choice, but chosen consciously)

Variants:

This exercise can also be performed with a training partner and 2 attacking sticks
The same practice can be done with the ascending blows and the target stick facing down

Exercise 2 (for spatial intelligence):

Let’s take our 2 sticks (we can also use only one in this case)
Let’s find a tree with low, long, intricate and not too thin branches (this is a variation of the poles exercise read Basic tools: the pole)
Let’s try to sequentially strike the branches (imagining to face real opponents)
We have to use penetrating, passing and bouncing / vibrating blows (of which we have already spoken)
Let’s try to gain precision in striking and to do not be blocked between sticks, arms, and branches
We do not have to stand still (we must continue to move forward / backward, jump, crouch, etc.)
Let’s focus on covering (with timing and space management) the vulnerable areas on our body
Let’s perform this exercise for 5-10 consecutive minutes

Exercise 3 (for fluidity):

We simply have to execute the Dragon Motion (read Dragon Motion: the swirling movements) with sticks
Let’s start with 1 stick and then (after a few months) let’s try with 2
Let’s perform the exercise for 5-10 consecutive minutes

Exercise 4 (great to develop much of a warrior’s skills):

Let’s do the exercise with the fabric cloth (read Basic tools: the cloth) with the sticks
Let’s start with 1 stick and then move on to 2 (again after a few months)
We can perform the exercise for 5-30 minutes consecutively

Exercise 5 (great to develop much of a warrior’s skills):

Let’s perform the exercise with the hanging speedballs (read Basic tools: the Hanging Speedball) with the sticks
Let’s start with 1 stick and 1 speedball, then, after a year let’s gradually move on to 2 sticks and multiple targets
We can perform the exercise for 5-30 minutes consecutively

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts and tips:

It should be strongly stressed that doing these exercises well does not mean that we can face a fight with the sticks (or worse with swords)
Doing these exercises it means that we have acquired part of the skills we need to be able to effectively learn the combat technique and adapt them to our attitudes / needs
…

Later we will see other exercises capable of developing power / speed and finally we will see the fighting techniques; in the next article, we will see some practical examples of variation of states (solid, liquid, etc., read also 6DKF’s interactions: from the strong blow to the light touch).

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – How to execute the basic exercises for conditioning
Hand grip strength conditioning – How to improve the quality of our grip

In-depth articles

Learning the use of real weapons – The complete path, from training tools to real weapons
Stance and basic rotations of the rope – The first steps to learn how to manage flexible weapons

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Can you handle the short sticks effortlessly?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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