Posture 15: Stretch Out the Hands and Hold Back the Feet
The fifteenth posture of Luk Tung Kuen is termed by Ha Kinh as “Stretch Out the Hands and Hold Back the Feet”. When stretch out the hands, the heels are up at the same time. The heels are down when the two hands (with palms facing outward) hit the thigh. This is a movement for both the hand and the feet.
Starting position: Standing upright, with feet apart at shoulder level. Bend the elbows slightly. Stretch out the fingers. The two hands are at the level of the waist with the thumb touching the level of the hip. The palms are facing downward and the back of the hands are facing upward.
Movement 1: When count “one”, the heels are up. Stretch out the hands upward until they reach the level of the shoulder with the palms facing downward. When count “two”, stretch out the arms horizontally. Thus the two arms and the body are forming a cross shape. Turn the palms upward and count “three”, bring the arms down to the level of the hip with effort and lower the heels slowly. Then return to the starting position. Repeat the whole sequence for ten times.
When doing this posture, remember to breathe out when stretching the hands upward and raising up the heels. When stretching out both hands horizontally, remember to breath in deeply. When the heels are down, the palms are turning outward and the arms are brought back to the sides, just breathe in and out naturally since the speed of these movements are fast. This exercise is a stretching exercise. It helps to prevent amyotrophy. This exercise helps to stretch the muscles of the two arms and the two wrists which in turn facilitates metabolism. Thus it helps to prevent rheumatism.
Beginners should avoid raising up the heels too high, otherwise the body will lose balance. Do what one is capable of. Beginners should try to get used to the posture first. After a long time practice, the physique of the body will be strengthened.