This short, energetic form is required for the first degree black sash. Master Gohring’s YouTube play list includes a full walk-through (about two minutes), a full-speed demo (about half a minute), and several more clips of instruction and demonstration. It’s almost impossible to learn a form entirely from video (for me anyway), but you can certainly polish and/or resurrect your form with these video tools.

Master Gohring, full-speed demo, flute form.

The full-speed demo above is faster than most of us can manage. For me, this form takes about one minute. The movements don’t have names, so these are just my notes on the sequence:

1. Strike left, left hand only
2. Hit left with two-hands on
3. Pull in and kick right
4. Turn left, hit/stamp down
5. Shove, Row
6. Pivot left and right, hitting over, over, under under
7. Row, Shove
8. Helicopter (360 turn with ball-change to hit)
9. Block up (skip), hit under arm
10. Row, shove
11. Turn 180/hit
12. Block up (skip), hit under arm
13. Row, shove
14. Turn 180/hit
15. Step right/hit back
16. Turn 180/hit

Switch to one hand and advance, striking:

• High, high, low, low, high, high, low, low

Close form:

• Turn to left, brace wrist
• Pivot 270 on right
• Open arms, thrust with two hands
• Step back left, left hand
• Circle and bow

The pivots in step number 6 above are on the heel of the leading foot and the ball of the trailing foot, 180 degrees per step. For the striking advance before the closing, step forward left and close with the right.