Use Drunken Fist

Zui Quan or Drunken Fist is a Kung Fu style found mostly in China. Despite the humorous name, this fighting style has deliberate moves and resemble the actions of an over indulger. The following will show how to use this style.

Steps

The Basics of Drunken Fist

  1. Make a fist and hold it up like you were holding a cup with one hand. Extend your index finger into a hook shape, and position your thumb so that your index and thumb make a "C"
  2. Use a technique called Coiling, which makes your body loose and you need to use POI (Point of Impact), which means you are relaxed and stumbling, but at the moment you strike, you tense up and rocket your body forward using the strength from your feet through the body to the part of your body striking the opponent. A good way to do this is to imagine a spring in your body, a spring is very flexible but maintains its shape, a spring often wobbles/bounces round. Put these kind of movements in to your body and you will find it easier to understand.
  3. Another technique you should learn is called Staggering. This will confuse the enemy and leave you an opening to strike. You can also use this for gathering momentum in your hits.
  4. Do not attack with rhythm; Attack at unusual times such as when you are falling back, staggering to the side, etc.

The Styles of Drunken Fist

  1. If you know how to use any of the Drunken God Styles then that will be of use. Some of the gods to use are, Drunken God with internal strength, The drunkard with the sudden waist attack, the Drunken God with the powerful throat lock, Drunken God with the double kicks, Drunken God holding large keg, Drunken God with long flute, and Drunken Goddess Mrs. Ho "flaunting her body". All these techniques are effective in their own way and it always matters upon the situation.
  2. Drunken God with internal strength uses a lot of "coiling" which makes your opponent confused. Using this style inquires you to stumble a lot. Remember, while using this style, you must have one leg tense, (not all the time). Combining the coiling, stumbling, and the use of the tense leg, you can develop many great openings, which gives a right moment to strike.
  3. Drunken God with the sudden waist attack involves incredible stamina. Why? Because there's never a moment when you rest. While using this style, you must always be aware of what you're hitting, where you're hitting, and hitting your opponent frequently. This drunkard style always hits his opponent in a small circle in front of the user. This style is considered very popular, since it involves using a lot of movement, a lot of hitting, and a lot of circular attacks. It is very effective, but also very tiring. So this style could be considered, as one of your last options.
  4. Drunkard with the powerful throat lock is very deadly. Just by it's name, it represents using throat locks. While using this style, you must have very powerful wrists and fingers. This style is very powerful, and great for defense, However, this style involves doing forward flips with your hands behind you (on your back) and flipping forward, but without jumping (like a slinky). Using this style inquires a lot of finger use. Therefore, your fingers must be incredibly strong.
  5. Drunken God with the double kicks is a great style for keeping your opponent at a distance. Like it's name, using double kicks keeps your opponent confused, (if he moves back) and if he doesn't move back, then it basically damages your opponent. This drunkard style has many Ariel kicks involved, so in order to make good use of this style, you must have strong legs, and a great base. Which means a neutral stance before attacking. It also inquires of extensive use of flexibility and balance. Balance is very important while using this style. If you lack balance, strong legs and a strong base, than this style will be hard for you.
  6. Drunken God with crippled leg uses the legs the most and only uses one leg at a time(one leg always being straight). With this style it is important to use this as a last resort since this has many openings.
  7. Drunken God holding large keg is a very effective style as it uses large fast circular movements to attack. This is one of the most effective styles in Drunken Fist styles. It is important to keep your arms in a circle in front of you during this.
  8. Drunken God with long flute is a common favorite because it is the style with the strongest wrist. Its attacks are the most powerful and use the most stumbling.
  9. Drunken Goddess Mrs. Ho is unusual and awkward feeling to the user and the target alike which makes it deadly. The moves may seem feminine, but they are very powerful since they use moves that resemble a woman fighting. Since people are often confused or think less of this style, it is more effective.
  10. Also there are other family styles of drunken fist. one such style is Ba Ying Quan (Eight Shadow Fist) this style uses a different system but has similarities to the drunken god forms.

Tips

  • Remember to attack at unusual times.
  • Do not take any tips from any animes depicting this style. It will mislead you in how the style should be done.
  • Drunken Fist also puts a lot of strain on the core of your body, so try to do a healthy amount of sit-ups and leg-lifts (lay down on your back and keep your legs straight as you lift them up to an elevation of about 6 inches) each day, along with other work-outs. Also, core strength and endurance helps with balance and surprise attacks.
  • You need some strong fingers in order to use some of these techniques. Finger pushups are best for that. This exercise called "Bear walk" is also good. Get on your hands and feet on the floor (basically in a push-up position) and crawl like that on your fingers. This exercise will strengthen your fingers and give them endurance.
  • You will really need to strengthen your hand endurance since even during a punch it stays neutral. One thing to do is do push-ups on your wrists then switch to the back of the wrist, switching on each push up.(These push ups require the user's front to go into the air) Also, a lot of horse stance training for your legs. The strength of a Zui Quan practitioner is very important because one should be able to stay balanced and attack from any position.
  • MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO "NOT" ACTUALLY DRINK WINE WHEN LEARNING THIS STYLE! this is a style "imitating" a drunk, actually being drunk can lead to accidents or even death....
  • Rent Drunken Master and Drunken Master II to see an example (though these movies are all stylized they still present a decent representation, and they are great movies). Also the fist of the red dragon depicts it, along with the tai chi master, master with cracked fingers, the drunken monk, heroes of the east, drunken monkey, come drink with me, and the last hero of china.

Warnings

  • Try to limber up by doing lots of stretching before you use Drunken Fist.
  • If you have arthritis or weak bones, do not try the wrist push-ups. And be sure to do them slow at first. If they hurt to much, try doing them on your knees.
  • DO NOT actually drink alcohol!
  • Since this is a hard thing to master, practice with friends until you learn to do this automatically.

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