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articles > 'Luo Kua' - What a difficult task part 1	Article Archives 'Luo Kua' - What a difficult task Luo Kua (bestride or a semi squatting stance) also known as zuo kua or shong kua in mandarin, is a glossary in wushu. It means the thigh bone could move freely. I met an old friend at a gathering one day. He told me that after learning Tai Ji Quan for several years, he still faced problem doing luo kua. Eventually, he stopped. After listening to his statement, I felt sorry for him. On the other hand, I felt strange. The thigh, is part of our body structure. Unless there's some sickness or problem with his body, there should not be any problem doing luo kua. Since we were good friends, I told him frankly that there could be only two reasons for his problem: 1. The student being a slow learner 2. The instructor was not well-trained or using the wrong technique I asked him if he is familiar with the position when one passes motion - sitting or squatting. It may sound amusing, however there is hidden logic beneath. I then asked him to do a little test and in the process try to feel the reflections of each little movements. It was a little experiment with simple steps. First straighten the body then bend down the knees a little to squat or sit, just like when we are about to pass motion, then resume straight. Repeat thrice or more. I noticed that nothing was wrong. There is no such thing as not being able to perform a luo kua. I asked him if he realized anything while doing his movement of up and down with his joints moving. He felt that the feelings were familiar, it was similar to that when he was learning Tai Ji Quan. But his instructor had never taught him that, all he said was the stance was wrong or incorrect. I told him the ability to luo kua is in-born. That's why we could pass motion and also to squat down and sit down while eating or relaxing. I told him, if one's joint at the hip is well and able to move with flexibility, i.e. able to stand, sit, squat and walk, there should not be any problem to 'bestride' or luo kua. With these few statements that took me two to three minutes, he finally understood. The queries that he had when he learned wushu, and also the problem with the stance he was unable to pose has since then been resolved. (Ng Choong Fah, NanYang Siang Pau, 01.07.98)
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