Just out of curiosity, but does anyone practice pushing needle to sea bottom with 100% of the weight on the left foot instead of the right foot?? I normally do it with the weight on the right foot (yang style) but some lady was showing me that she does it with the left foot at the park. She didn't speak a word of English, and I didn't speak a word of Chinese I couldn't even recognize the form she was doing, so I have absolutely no reference. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
The posture uses the empty stance, so your body weight should be resting on your right foot. The left foot should be touching the ground for stability, but should be 'empty'. Of course, as with any stance it is possible to do it in a 'mirrored' way, in which case the body weight would be on the left foot and the right foot would be empty. And the hands would be reversed too, of course.
Could be the same thing, I have once seen it done with the hands the same way as we (Yang style) do it, but weight on the left leg. The right leg was bent at the knee such that the right foot was in the air behind the person, shin parallel with the ground and toes pointing downwards. I have no idea what style or version of the form was being played, it was just some old lady in the street in Beijing.
My first teacher taught 'orthodox' Needle at Seabottom, which, when practicing the standard form means the weight on the right (rear) leg. However, the method I practice now is quite different: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=562uEHFyzvI[/ame]
This is how it's done in Chang Taiji. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7Tolcb42o"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7Tolcb42o[/ame]
We call it Pick up Needles from the sea bottom. Our weight is on the back foot - left or right depending on which side you are doing it from.