Kung fu / Wushu Advanced Aerials is a specialty class for those students who want to concentrate on all that cool kung fu stuff you see in the movies, such as aerial cartwheel, jump split fronts, skyward kick with sole, front and back tucks (flips), dive rolls, butterfly kicks, butterfly twist, front and back handsprings, tornados, kip ups, balances, jump front kicks, handstands, walk-overs, headspins, headsprings, flying lotus, K-kick, aerial round-offs (brannys), layouts, ditangquan falls, full twisting backs and more, more, MORE!   This class is for students of any rank, but ONLY for students who are enrolled in the regular Martial Artistry kung fu - wushu classes.

Here are just some of the skills students of this class will learn:

AERIAL CARTWHEEL

The aerial cartwheel is a cartwheel with no hands.  That's right -- a cartwheel, a full 360, without touching your hands to the ground.  Big fun!  Dozens of our students have learned this skill already, with or without something in their hands.

This skill is extremely important to wushu players, as it is a required technique in several of the new compulsories.

(above: Jonah Donnarumma gets AMAZING air on this kung fu skill.)

(right:  Little Alex Daniels wows the crowd with her beautiful extension on the aerial cartwheel.)

(left:  Albert Vera takes his warfan along for the ride.  Aerial cartwheel is common to a lot of weapons forms, such as broadsword, whip chain, hook swords and double broadsword.)

(right:  Alan Chao's take on this trick.)

(right:  Ann Marie Palmieri displays her excellent lift on the wushu aerial cartwheel.)

(left: State Champion Robert Gomez)

(right:  Okay, just ONE more of Alex, 'cause she's so cute.  As you can see, no problem with air on this one.)

JUMP SPLIT FRONT KICK

This is the kick that was made famous by Billy Jack.  It is most commonly seen in wushu eagle claw forms, but rarely do players have the guts to land it like this -- in splits!

(left:  Albert Vera demonstrates the jump split front kick, with a split landing.  OUCH!)

SKYWARD KICK WITH SOLE

Another seldom seen, gasp-inspiring high-end wushu skill.  Grab your foot, pull it up behind your head, and all the while remain balanced on one leg.  That's difficult enough, but for a real thrill, keep hold of that foot, and fall to the ground in splits.  Now that takes more than flexibility -- that takes guts.  Fortunately, guts are something our Martial Artistry students seem to have in abundance.  We've trained lots of folks in this wushu skill, which is most commonly seen in eagle claw (yingzhou quan) and ditang quan (ground tumbling boxing).

(above, left: National Champion Lan Nguyen)
(above, right:  National Champion Monique Cordova, (foreground) Alex Daniels, (mid-fall) Kristine Dang)
(lower left:  State Champion Nancy Nguyen)
(lower, center:  Alex Daniels, Kristine Dang, National Champion Monique Cordova)
(lower, right:  State Champion Nadia Abeyta)
 

(right:  State Champion Nancy Nguyen shows how you achieve skyward kick with sole -- by stretching, stretching, stretching!)

TUCKS

Tucks, or flips, come in two directions: front, in which the wushu player turns over forward, and back, in which the wushu player turns over backward.

The front tuck is actually, physically, the more difficult of the two.  However, because the player is moving in a forward, hence more natural, direction, it takes a bit less nerve to attempt.

Tucks are most commonly seen in monkey kung fu (hou quan), ground tumbling boxing (ditang quan), drunken boxing (zui quan) and in many double broadsword (shuangdao) routines.

(above, left:  National Champion Chris Baca does a front tuck)

(above, right:  State Champion James Cole does a back tuck)

(left:  Instructor's Aide Jonah Donnarumma displays his take (not to mention his underwear) on the back tuck)

(right:  John Radebaugh does front tuck - air is the key, here!)

(below, left:  State Champion Alan Chao in back tuck)

PIKE

A pike is a flip in the air with the legs extended at a 90 degree angle to the body.  It looks cool, but its a lot harder than a regular tuck.

(right: Ashly Donaldson performs a back pike)

DIVE ROLLS

Dive rolls are most commonly seen in monkey kung fu (hou quan).  These involve a giant leap through the air, extending the body, legs and arms, and tucking to a roll on impact.

(left, right, lower left:  Iwin White demonstrates the dive roll over several living hurdles.)

(below:  John Birkholz dive rolls over a fellow Steel Phoenix team member)

BUTTERFLY KICK

The butterfly kick is a staple of many wushu forms, including long fist (changquan), drunken boxing (zui quan), ground tumbling boxing (ditang quan) and a large portion of modern wushu weapons routines.  It appears as a requirement in a good many wushu compulsories. 

The butterfly kick consists of kicking right, then left, while airborne with the body in a horizontal position.  While it is spectacular to see, it is, physically, a remarkably easy kick to do.

(left: Nicole Neff)  (right: Lion Dance Team Leader Diana Ma -- that explains her fancy pants)  (lower left & right: State Champion Robert Gomez)

(State Champion Nancy Nguyen)

(Johnathan Padilla)

BUTTERFLY TWIST

The butterfly twist is the big brother of the butterfly kick.  Take the butterfly kick, but add a full 360 on the horizontal plane, and you've got the butterfly twist.  This wushu technique is also seen in long fist (changquan), drunken boxing (zui quan), ground tumbling boxing (ditang quan) and a large portion of modern wushu weapons routines, and is especially spectacular when finished in full splits.

A number of our students have this kick, but most of my photos seem to be of Jonah Donnarumma.  I'll post others as I get them.

(above, left:  Jonah)

(left:  Alan Chao)

(right: Jonah, again.)

(far right:  Yet more Jonah)

HANDSPRINGS

Handsprings come in two varieties -- front and back.  Especially impressive is the back handspring, and most especially impressive is seeing them done in multiples in quick succession.  State Champion James Cole is especially good at these, although a number of our advanced aerials students can do them.

Back handsprings are most commonly seen in drunken boxing (zui quan) and ground tumbling boxing (ditang quan), and are more rarely seen in eagle claw (yingzhou quan).

(upper left:  James Cole - back handspring)

(upper right:  Nick Montoya - front handspring)

(lower left:  Chris Baca - back handspring)

(lower right:  Marialysia Abeyta - front handspring)

TORNADO KICK

The tornado kick is a component of many wushu compulsory routines.  In this kick, the player leaps high into the air, kicks airborne while turning a full 360, and lands on the kicking leg.  This may be done with or without a carrying a weapon.

Is it difficult?  Sure!  Is it fun?  Big time!  But, it gets better!  For some real fun, add a ditangquan fall - that is, execute the kick, then turn to the side on your way down, and land prone.  Hoody-Hoo!

(right: Amir Shirkhorshidian shows serious air in the tornado.)

(below, left: State Champion Robert Gomez's take on the trick)

(below, center: State Champion James Cole and Nicole Neff tornado to fall in a Nanquan compulsory)

(below, right:  Amir, another angle)

KIP UP

And how do you get out of that prone position?  Why, the kip up, of course!  From a prone position on your back, swing both legs toward your chest, then explosively kick them up, out and down.  The momentum will lift your upper body and you should land on your feet.  Beginners may need an additional push with their hands, but once you really have this trick, you won't need them at all.

(left:  Nicole Neff in the foreground, and State Champion James Cole in the background, performing the kip-up in a Nanquan, or Southern Fist, wushu compulsory)

LOOK AT MOON

Okay, so not all  the advanced aerials stuff involves, well, stuff in the air.  Some are balances, like the graceful and photogenic "Look at Moon".

(left: Nancy Nguyen)
(right: James Cole)

Leap off the right leg, lift with the left leg, right leg slap front kick while airborne, then land on the right leg.  Whew!  Great fun, but not always easy.  Always fun to watch, though!

(below, left to right:  Amir Shirkhorshidian, State Champion James Cole, Albert Vera, Ann Marie Palmieri)

WALK ON HANDS

Balance is important in any martial art, but especially important to those who study kung fu or wushu.  As a demonstration of their acute sense of balance, this guys walk completely across the stage at Steel Phoenix Kung Fu and Wushu Exhibitions.

(right: State Champion Robert Gomez and National Champion Chris Baca)

(above: National Champion Chris Baca adds a 180 spin and walks backward!)

FRONT & BACK WALKOVER

This trick looks especially cool when you do it with no hands!

(right: Alex Daniels)

HEADSPIN

Did you know that break dancing has its roots in kung fu?

(left: Alan Chao)

HEADSPRING

Starts out like a headstand, then springs forward like a handspring.  The eventual goal of this wushu ditangquan technique multiples, without hands!

FLYING LOTUS KICK

This kung fu technique is used when one is being pursued from behind.  Leap into the air, do an outside crescent kick, then continue the 360 back into your run.  For  modern wushu difficulty and flash, leave your lift leg up and form splits in mid-air.  Spectacular!

K KICKS