Shu's Training Journal (or "Old Man Kung Fu")

Well of course they have Chinese names. Kung fu originated in China!

But that doesn't necessarily mean we learn them. I have a feeling that has more to do with business than anything else.

It just makes it more accessible to call them by the English translation ("hammer fist", "eagle claw grab", "flower fist", "scraping punch", etc...)

Plus, the Chinese language is very complex. The same word with a change in inflection can have a whole different meaning. For instance, there are four different ways to pronounce the word "mu" and all of them have distinctly different meanings. So there's an excellent chance that a Westerner would completely butcher the original name for "scorpion kick".

 

That just "polluted my eyes", as Sifu Henry would say.

The episode the did it for me was when, to distract a guard, Caine threw his chi into a bush to make it look like someone was hiding there!

By then, I think the drugs had firmly taken hold of Carradine's mind.

I cheered for Uma Thurman at the end of "Kill Bill Vol 2"!

"That's for 'The Legend Continues' you bastitch!"

 

Kmg Fu Time!

Warm Up:
-One Foot Stance
-Lunging Stretch
-Low Stance Stretch
-Horse Stance Stretch
-Bow Stance Stretch
-High Heel Kick/Heel Thrusting Kick - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick/Round House Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick/Side Kick - 10/side
-Standing Splits
-Straddle Splits
-Lie Down Push Ups - 10
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Wide Palm Push Ups -10
-Spider-Man Finger Tip Push Ups - 10
-Windmills - 10/side
-Figure Eight Windmills - 10/side

Technique
-Back Fist - 10/side
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch - 10/side
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step Out and Circle - 10/side
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step Out and Circle/Front Kick/Jab/Cross - 10/side

Partner Sparring Drills (light contact)
-Kick Block - 5/side
-Punch Block - 5/side
-Punch Duck and Low Counter - 5/side
-Punch Block and Back Fist Counter - 5/side
-Punch Evade and Side Kick Counter - 5/side

Classic Punches (done moving down the length of the studio and back)
-Horse Stance Punches
-Bow Stance Punches
-Bow Stance/Punch/Kick/Punch

Forms
-Taijin Kuen

Good class. Nice to mix things a up bit sometimes...

 

That's hys-freaking-steriCal! I can't stop laughing. The cartoon imagery that comes from that.

 

A little Lone Wolf Workout today. Here's how it went down

First, kick things off with some Kung Fu-lery

-One Foot Stance - 5/side for 5 sec
-Searching the Sea 5/side for 5 sec
-High Heel Kicks - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kicks - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kicks - 10/side
-Slow Side Kicks - a bunch per side (focused mostly on strengthening my right side kick)

-Combos

• Jab/Cross/Hook
• Jab/Cross/Hook/Evade/Back Fist
• Jab/Cross/Side Step/Back Fist
• Jab/Cross/Side Kick or Roundhouse
• Shadow Boxing with focus on side step, pivot and evasions (see notes)

-Forms(with strict attention to stances on all of them):

• Kuen Lei Kuen - Focus on power and flow
• Nunchucks - Focus on power
• Taijin Kuen - Focus on flow

-Stretches

• Standing Splits
• Straddle Split
• Hip Stretch
• Low Stance Stretch
• Standing Barre Stretch

Then, down for some Gym-Foolery

-Bent Over T-Bar Row - 55 lbs, 80 lbs, 90 lbs, 100 lbs (10, 8, 8, 5)
-Seated Chest Press - 90 lbs, 110 lbs, 120 lbs, 140 lbs (10,8, 7, 5)
-Goblet Squats - 50 lbs (10), 55 lbs (2 x 8)
-Seated Preacher Curl - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs (10, 8, 8)
-Tricep Dips - 2 x 15

Notes:
-A general rule of the mizhou lohan kung fu style is that after the third strike you either kick or evade. So I'm trying to work that into my drills.
-Changing up the Gym Workout seemed to have helped. Feel more energized and am back to down to a svelte 168 lbs (down from 175 lbs when I first started this here thing)!
-Of course...laying off the cookies, chips and ice cream might have contributed to the weight loss, too

 

• 
  
  I've never really watched Kung Fu drills so I've no reference for the terms "jab", "cross", "hook" which bring to my mind hard, linear strikes with an emphasis on the shortest path and efficiency of movement.
  
  Kung Fu seems such a flowing, circular style. Are jabs, crosses ( is it safe to assume a straight-right is meant here?), hooks and the like done in the same way as in western boxing or more aptly, Muay Thai (allowing kicking typically widens the distance than in western boxing, etc.)?

 

Yup. The jab, cross and hook are exactly what you're thinking of.

Surprisingly, I was told to use more linear punches in sparring class (i.e. the muay thai or Western boxing straight punches). It was a bit of an eye opener for me.

The circular stuff is more for blocks and counters. And quite a few of them set you up to throw a cross or hook.

One, for example, requires you hold your lead arm almost perpendicular to the ground and rotate your waist so your forearm is blocking an incoming punch outward. With your body twisted and your rear hand pulled back, it's almost instinctive to follow up a straight cross.

Our style seems to emphasize practical fighting as opposed to just focusing on "classical forms".

 

Cool...very cool

Seeing your logs and whatnot are having me to rethink what I thought about Kung Fu.

mizhou lohan - I'll have to keep an eye out. There's a fairly extensive looking Kung Fu place not too far from me (disregarding the traffic rush-hours nightmare) but it prominently displays the term "Shaolin" on its advert billboard - I'm very wary of anything 'Shaolin' , 'ninjits', etc.

 

Kung Fu Time!

Sehing Alex was back with what I am now suspecting is a heavily P90X brand of conditioning (which is fine...Tony Horton's The Man!)

Here's how it went down:

Warm Up
-Lunging Stretch - 3x each side
-Hamstring Stretch
-Hurdler Stretch
-Straddle Split
-Horse Stance Stretch
-Low Stance Stretch - 5x each side
-High Heel Kick - 5/side
-Knuckle Push Ups - 15
-Jumping High Heel Kicks - 5/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 5/side
-Tricep Push Ups - 15
-Jumping Inside Crescent Kick - 5/side
-Wide Palm Push Ups - 15
-Outside Crescent Kick - 5/side
-Spider-Man Push Ups - 15
-Jumping Outside Crescent Kick - 5/side
-Slider Push Ups - 10
-Front Slap Kick - 5/side
-Reverse Push Ups
-Jumping Front Slap Kick - 5/side
-Kick through to Pike Stretch
-Yoga Plow Stretch
-V-Ups - 10
-Bicycles - 10

Technique (down the length of the studio and back)
-Horse Stance Punches
-Stance Walk (Horse Stance/Bow Stance/Twist Stance/Cat Stance
-Bow Stance/Jump Low Stance
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Rear Round House
-Back Fist/Side Kick/Spinning Side Kick
-Back Fist/Rear Round House Kick/Spinning Heel Kick

Forms (as a class)
-Sei Fon Sei Bei
-Kuen Lei Kuen
-Taijin Keun
-Spent the rest of the class learning the first few moves of the sabre form and a little more on taijin keun

 

Hoot, man! Ah canna even spell mah own style uh martial arts correctly!

If you do a search on "my jhong law horn" or "mizhong louhan" you'll get better results.

Anything with "lohan" in it is likely to turn up info on temperamental former teen stars.

Two things I learned to look for in my search for kung fu schools:

1) An actual lineage that can trace back to the Shaolin Temple (since technically, all kung fu originated there)

2) Regular full contact sparring classes.

Apparently, Master Lee's (my sifu's teacher) are the only schools in my area that focus on sparring

 

Is that what it was? I wondered why I kept getting "boob-oh-ramma" or somesuch, lol.

Go to my post in the Kung Fu section - http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124801 - I have something from their website.

Maybe you're familiar with them or know someone who is.

They seem to strongly state that but I'd have no idea if its bone-fide or straight out of a box o cracker-jacks - which is a lacking of knowledge on my part, not necessarily theirs.

From their website:

http://www.shaolin-world.net/faq/schoolhistory

They never mention anything specifically pertaining to full-contact sparring. If anything, there is a possible implication stated in their FAQ that full contact may not be allowed:

In answer to the hypothetical "Will I get hurt?"

"Under the staff's direct supervision the student is taught how to control the amount of contact while training. At no time is a student allowed to use destructive force. This policy provides for safe training and maximum learning for each student."

Apparently, they were successfully sued by a former student who'd received a concussion while sparring with Pat Barry, who was one of the instructors at the time.

Regardless of the merits of the case, a verdict in favour of the plaintiff would definitely be enough to put the lid on anything like full contact - which is too bad if true. One cannot escape a certain amount of risk if there is to be any realism at'tall.

Hell, my 10 year old's American Football League probably goes through several concussions a season - just at the recreational level - no one ever dare suggest full contact be eliminated altogether; though they are implementing quite a few more safety protocols - which they should.

Any road ...

I could well be amiss here but I just feel that a MA school that doesn't provide students ( who've proven themselves competent as such ) who wish full - contact with that opportunity is ... well, for me its a deal-breaker; regardless of the other qualities the school may have.

Maybe its carry-over from my time in boxing gyms but just don't think I'd be able to feel quite right - even if, at my age, I'm probably not going to be doing any closed-door, Vale Tudor stuff anytime soon.

 

Hmmm...I'm not familiar with them. But I can ask around.

I saw that. Seems fairly legit looking. You may want to do a little extra research.

Before I joined my school I did a little bit of Google-fu and found this:

http://www.leeswhiteleopardkungfu.com/Documents/My_Jhong_Lineage.pdf

They seem pretty open about the genesis of this style.

Actually, the way around that is to have the students sign a waiver. That's we did. Or in the case of younger students, have their parents sign one.

I've seen a few people get hurt (mostly minor stuff) in class. And Sifu goes to town with combination First Aid Kit/Chinese Herbal Medicine. Either way, no one seems to mind because even if someone's hurt, they fee safe

Best thing to do is cruise by and see for yourself.

I was VERY skeptical about the school, let alone learning kung fu.

Now I'm glad I did.

 

Kung Fu Time!

Pretty no-nonsense class today. Here's how it went down:

Warm Up
-One Foot Stance - 5/side
-Jumping One Foot Stance - 5/side
-Searching the Sea - 5/side
-Observing the Sky - 5/side
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Spider Man Finger Tip Push Ups - 10

Technique (exercises done moving down the length of the studio and back)
-High Heel Kick
-Inside Crescent Kick
-Outside Crescent Kick
-Jumping Front Slap Kick
-Jumping Heel Thrust Kick
-Tricep Dips - 10
-Back Bend Push Ups - 10
-Isometric Push Ups - 10
-Horse Stance Punches
-Jumping Low Stance Punches
-Jumping Bow Stance/Low Stance Punches
-Side Kick/Spinning Side Kick
-Roundhouse Kick/Spinning Heel Kick
-Back Fist/Front Side Kick/Reverse Punch/Rear Round House

Forms (As a class)
-Kuen Lei Kuen
-Nunchucks
-Taijin Kuen

-Sabre (individually)

 

I plan to - just to satiate the curiosity, if nothing else.

 

Rough week! Did not have time for much Solo Training.

But I did get in some Gym-Foolery today.

Here's how it went:

-Pull Ups (Palms facing) - 4 x 10
-Decline Bench - 155 lbs, 175 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Curl Press - 25 lbs/arm, 30 lbs/arm, 35 lbs/arm (10, 8, 5)
-Seated Leg Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 8,)
-Seated Calf Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (20, 18, 16)

 

Kung Fu Time!

Missed sparring class last night because I was visiting with a buddy of mine.

So made up for it by going to the morning class. It's always a good workout (and a good way to blow away the remnants of the previous night!)

Here's how it went down:

Warm Up
-One Foot Stance - 5/side
-One Foot Stance Hop- 5/side
-Searching the Sea - 5/side
-Horse Stance Six Punches - 10
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Spider-Man Push Ups - 10
-Low Stance Stretch - 15/side
-Low Stance/Block/Bow Stance Punch - 10/side
-Pike Stretch
-Tricep Dips - 10
-Back Bend Push Ups - 10
-Sit Up Punches - 25
-Back Extensions - 35

Technique
-Back Fist Basics - 10/side
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch - 10/side
-Back Fist/Ridge Hand - 10/side
-Back Fist/Ridge Hand/Back Fist - 10/side
-Double Back Fist/Double Reverse Punch - 10/side
-Jab/Cross (muay thai style!) - 10/side
-Jab/Cross/Cross - 10/side

Pad Drills (with a partner)
-Back Fist - 5/side
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch - 5/side
-Back Fist/Ridge Hand - 5/side
-Front Leg Round House - 5/side
-Front Side Kick - 5/side
-Hook Kick/Round House - 5/side
-Rear Round House/Spinning Heel Kick - 5/side

Forms
-Kuen Lei Kuen (as a class)

Notes:
-We had a visiting Grandmaster in town last week and I think Sifu got a lecture.
-He's been focusing a lot more on the "practical aspects" of kung fu this week.
-He even told the other instructor to focus on striking drills and pad work over the next few weeks...which I am totally down with.
-We used to do partner pad and drills and spar every class when I was doing muay thai. Nice to see us taking a step in that direction.

 

Kung Fu Time!

Warm Up
-One Foot Stance - 5/side
-One Foot Stance Hop - 5/side
-Bow Stance Stretch
-Low Stance Stretch
-Horse Stance Stretch

(These next exercises were performed moving down the length of the studio and back...except for the push ups and crunches)

-Horse Stance Four Punches
-Bow Stance Punches
-Bow Stance/Low Stance/Sweep/Punch
-Bow Stance/Low Stance/Bow Stance/Punch/Jump/Bow Stance Punch
-Stance Walk (Horse Stance, Bow Stance, Low Stance, Cat Stance)

Technique
-Fighting Stance Advance
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Front Round House
-Spider-Man Finger Tip Push Ups - 10
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand
-Tricep Dips - 10
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Steal Step/Side Kick
-Back Bend Push Ups - 10
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Steal Step/Side Kick/Spinning Side Kick
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Steal Step/Side Kick/Spinning Hook Kick
-Pike Stretch
-Crunches - 15
-Back Extensions - 30

Forms (Together as a class)
-Sei Fon Sei Bei
-Kuen Lei Kuen
-Nunchucks
-Taijin Kuen

-Taijin Kuen (individually for the rest of the class)

Notes
-Felt kind of "in the zone" today. The moves came more naturally and with more fluidity. Sifu even commented on my "improvement".
-So by Law of Conservation, that means in Wednesday's class I'll look like Jerry Lewis having a seizure...
-Low stance is getting better! It's still not all that low. But at least it vaguely resembles an actual low stance.
-Kick height is improving as well. Definitely building up that leg strength just standing around the house on one leg Ian Anderson style ("Sitting on a park bench...")

 

Has hinny hung a coat on you yet? lol.

 

No, but my new shoes are worn at the heels. As my suntan, it rapidly peels.

 

Solo Training Time!

Not much time today. But I did manage to get a quick gym workout in. Decided to make it a "Free Weight Free" workout and just use the Nautilus machines because reasons.

Here's how it went down:

-Nautilus Lat Pull Down - 150 lbs, 160 lbs, 170 lbs, 180 lbs (10, 8, 8, 6)
-Nautilus Seated Chest Press - 135 lbs, 145 lbs, 155 lbs, 165 lbs (10, 8, 8, 6)
-Nautilus Seated Preacher Curl - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs, (10, 8, 6)
-Nautilus Seated Tricep Press - 120 lbs, 130 lbs, 140 lbs (10, 8, 6)

Hope to get a little kung fu-lery in tomorrow before kung fu class. Should be interesting.