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

Nice being off the road for a change. Gave me time for a full blown Solo Training Day.

Here's how it went down:

First, a little Kung Fu-lery:

-One Foot Stance - 5x5/side
-Searching the Sea - 5x5/side
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Slow Side Kick - 10/side
-Slow Roundhouse Kicks - 10/side
-Forms:

• Keun Lei Keun - Focus on crisply executing the moves and smooth transitions
• Nunchucks - Been too long since I've done it! Forget a little chunk of it, so I worked on that until it all came back to me.
• Taijin Keun - Focus on proper execution of the moves. Ran through it twice
• Sabre - Ran through the basics and the first three moves. Ran through it about five times.

-Stretch Workout

• Squat Stretch - 3x
• Side Leg Stretch -3x/side
• Barre Stretch - 3x/side
• Scorpion Stretch - 3x/side
• "Scouring" - 6/side

Then, off for some Gym Foolery

-Pull Ups - 3 x 10
-Decline Bench Press - 155 lbs, 175 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 8,)
-Dumbbell Curls - 25 lbs (10), 30 lbs (2x 8)
-Tricep Dip - 3 x 10
-Seated Leg Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 8)
-Seated Calf Press - 225 lbs, 240 lbs, 255 lbs (10, 8, 8)

Good workout!

 

For some reason, I've always done my best training on the road. I suppose it me lucking out being in hotels that've had superb fitness centres up till now.

Now these are some real gems! Ima hafta nick 'em from youse, if'n yer dern't mind it

 

Usually, I can make do even if the exercise facilities aren't all that great. Nay, me laddie. 'Twas time that was the enemy. I scarcely had a minute ta meself except sleepin' and wakin'.

I gifta yew willin'ly, broothah. They've done me a world o'good. It's the most amazing thing to actually NOT have my hips hurt after class. Or after anything, for that matter.

 

Kung Fu Time!

Most people were prepping for the upcoming rank test this weekend (except us lazy sod Orange Belts who are just now getting to sabre.) So a lot of the class focused on that.

Here's how it went down:

Warm Up:
-Lunging Stretch - 3x/side
-Standing Hamstrings Stretch - 3x
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Wide Palm Push Ups - 10
-Front Slap Kick - 10/side
-Spider-Man Push Ups - 10
-Five Minute Run Around the Studio - 5 mins (duh!)
-Standing Splits - 3x/side
-Straddle Splits - 3x
-Sit Up Punches - 25
-Back Extensions - 35
-Box Jumps - 30 secs
-Pull Ups - 30 secs (so 15 for me)

Green Belt Test Techniques (even though we're not testing)
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick/Reverse Punch/Roundhouse - 5x/side
-Skip/Front Leg Groin Kick/Back Fist/Groin Kick - 5/side
-Skipping Forward Five Roundhouse Kicks - 5/side
-Low Scoop Kick/Low Side Kick - 5/side
-Low Circle Kick/Same Leg Low Side Kick - 5/side (I use this bad boy in sparring a lot)
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Ridge Hand - 5x/side

Forms (worked on these until the end of class (~20 - 30 minutes))
-Taijin Keun
-Sabre (first three moves)

 

Was able to get a little Solo Training in today.

Started off with a little Kung Fu-lery

-One Foot Stance - 5x5/side
-Searching the Sea - 5x5/side
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side

-Combinations:

• Back Fist/Reverse Punch Ridge Hand
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/High Heel Kick
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step to the Side/Attack (punch, kick or combination)
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Circular Kick/Side Kick
• Free Style Punch/Kick Combination

-Forms:

• Keun Lei Keun - Focused on power but got a little too sloppy so I ran through a few parts again
• Nunchucks - Focused on precision. Ran through it twice.
• Taijin Keun - Focus on proper execution of the moves. Ran through it twice. Once at normal speed, once slow while paying attention to the transitions Sabre - Ran through the basics and the first three moves. Ran through it about five times.

-Stretch Workout

• Squat Stretch - 3
• Side Leg Stretch -3x/side
• Barre Stretch - 3x/side
• Scorpion Stretch - 3x/side
• "Scouring" - 6/side

Then off for some Gym Foolery

-T-Bar Bent over Row - 70 lbs, 80 lbs, 90 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Bench Press - 155 lbs, 175 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Curl Press - 25 lbs each hand (10), 30 lbs each hand (8, 6)
-Horse Stance - 3 minutes.

Notes
-Not sure why, but I really didn't feel like being at the gym today.
-Don't know if it was because I was hungry or dehydrated but I took the first couple of exercises slow and couldn't get on the stations I wanted to use (maybe that was it).
-Couldn't get to a good leg work out station (they were all being used) so I went home and practiced horse stance (build up "internal" leg power and not just brute force.)

 

I've those days - even without having to share/wait on equipment being available. I seem to have them more on high humidity days - irrespective of heat.

 

You may be onto something, King Georgian.

This is the first time it hasn't been 700 degrees in Big D and the humidity has been thick the last few days.

But then again, to quote the great Mark Knopfler by way of Mary Chapin Carpenter; "Sometimes you're the windshield. Sometimes you're the bug."

And sometimes, we just have off days.

 

Kung Fu Sparring Time!

The class was decent. I, alas, was not.

We did a nice and easy warm up with about twenty minutes of some basic combinations that got progressively more complex.

Then we went straight into free sparring for the rest of the class.

Usually, it takes me about a round to get relaxed and stop flinching. Tonight, it took me about three

And I got ax kicked in the face.

Surprisingly, I seemed to do better after that. Perhaps that was the motivator (not a fact I'll be sharing with my wife any time soon!)

I just felt off tonight. Even had a couple of people ask if I was okay

But hey...this is why practice, right?

 

And sometimes you're the dog. Sometimes you're the rug.

 

Kung Fu Time!

There was a belt test this weekend and a lot of people got brand new shiny sashes...except us slacker Orange Belts!

Strive to be the middle of the pack.

Anyway, here's the drill:

Warm Up
-Lunging Stretch
-Standing Hamstrings Stretch
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Tricep Push Ups - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Wide Palm Push Ups - 10
-Front Slap Kick - 10/side
-Sit Ups - 15
-V-Ups - 10
-Standing Split
-Straddle Split

(next exercises performed moving down the length of the studio)
-Front Leg Roundhouse/Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Rear Leg Roundhouse
-Horse Stance Punches
-Horse Stance Punch/Kick/Punch
-Bow Stance Punch/Jump/Low Stance/Bow Stance Punch

-Sit Up Punches - 25 (not done moving the length of the studio...)
-Back Extensions - 35

Forms
-Keun Lei Keun - slowly together with the class
-Taijin Keun - full speed together with the class
-Sabre - Basics and then the next three moves. Worked on that for the rest of the class

 

Didn't get to work out yesterday as I was travelling (unless sprinting through George Bush Intercontinental Airport counts...)

And alas, alack and a chicken a la king, work duties will once again prevent me from attending kung fu tonight.

So I had a mini kung fu class Solo Workout all by myself today.

Here's how it went down:
-One Foot Stance - 5x5 each side
-Searching the Sea - 5x5 each side
-Lunging Stretch
-Standing Hamstrings Stretch
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Wide Palm Push Ups - 10
-Front Slap Kick - 10/side
-Side Kick Training (spent a good 10 minutes on that. Actually seeing progress!)

• Balance Drills
• Slow Kicks
• Practice Kicks

-Stance Walk (Horse Stance, Low Stance, Bow Stance, Cat Stance) down the length of the back yard
-Bow Stance/Punch/Kick/Punch down the length of the back yard
-Bow Stance/Jump/Low Stance/Bow Stance Punch down the length of the back yard and back
-Forms

• Sei Fon Sei Bei
• Keun Lei Keun - Twice (started from the beginning every time I messed up)
• Nunchucks - Three times (started from the beginning every time I messed up)
• Taijin Keun - Twice (DIDN'T mess up...but wanted to run through it again)
• Sabre - Just ran through the moves I knew a few times.

-Stretch Workout

• Squat Stretch - 3
• Side Leg Stretch -3x/side
• Barre Stretch - 3x/side
• Scorpion Stretch - 3x/side
• "Scouring" - 6/side

Notes:
-That was a pretty time consuming (but fun) workout.
-Thinking I may go to the gym on kung fu days and do this on "off" kung fu days with an additional weight day on a weekend.
-We shall, as they say, see.

 

A little Gym Foolery today...

-Nautilus Pull Down - 110 lbs, 140 lbs, 150 lbs (10, 10, 8)
-Chest Press Machine - 110 lbs, 140 lbs, 170 lbs (10, 8, 8)
-Rope Cable Curl - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Rope Cable Overhead Tricep Pull (whew!) - 70 lbs, 80 lbs, 110 lbs (10, 8, 8)
-Goblet Squats - 55 lbs (10, 8), 60 lbs (7)
-Heavy Bag Training because...why not? - 3 x 3 minute rounds w/1 min break between.

Notes:
-The sparring class is definitely beefing up my stamina! Probably could have gone a couple more 3 min rounds on the bag but had to leave to pick up The Missus from work.
-I s'pose I could have just left her there. But no amount of sparring would have adequately trained me for those repercussions!

 

Kung Fu Sparring Class!

Much better performance than last week.

Warmed up with some combinations that started simple and slowly got progressively more intricate.

Then we worked on footwork and evasions. Sifu reiterated that a hallmark of our style is "one-two-leg", meaning two hand strikes and then either move out or kick.

That's not to say that's ALL we do. But that's the general rule of thumb.

I tried that during our free sparring time. It's actually pretty effective. Really throws off your opponent's rhythm.

Anyway, good class. Only got tagged in the face once. And I got him back twice! So I'm one ahead! :fight1:

 

Kung Fu Time!

Warm Up
-One Foot Stance
-One Foot Stance/Hop/Switch - 10
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Wide Palm Push Ups - 10
-Finger Tip Spider Man Push Ups - 10
-High Heel/Inside Crescent Kick/Outside Crescent Kick - 10 (...this is as tiring as it sounds!)
-Inside Crescent Kick/Spinning Outside Crescent Kick
-Kick Throughs - 3 (lay flat on your stomach, kick your feet through into a pike position)
-Tricep Dips - 15
-Back Bend Push Ups - 10

Techniques (done moving across the studio and back)
-Stance Walk (Horse Stance, Low Stance, Bow Stance, Twist Step,Cat Stance)
-Low Stance/Jump/Switch/Low Stance
-Back Fist/Step
-Back Fist/Step/Ridge Hand
-Jab/Cross/Step/Cross
-Jab/Cross/Step/Cross/Hook
-Skipping Roundhouse Kick
-Steal Step/Side Kick/Back Fist/Same Leg Roundhouse
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick/Roundhouse
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick/Reverse/Punch/Roundhouse
-Back Fist/Switch Foot/Ax Kick/Same Leg Roundhouse

Forms
-Sabre (Sifu worked with us shiftless, lazy Orange Belts directly. Got some great insight and breakdown of the moves in the form.
-Taijin Keun (after class...just to make sure I remembered it.)

 

Fastest Gym Foolery EVER!

-Nautilus Lat Pull Down - 140 lbs, 150 lbs, 180 lbs (10, 10, 8)
-Nautilus Chest Press - 150 lbs, 160 lbs, 180 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Cable Bicep Curl - 50 lbs, 60 lbs, 70 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Cable Tricep Press - 50 lbs, 60 lbs, 70 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Nautilus Seated Leg Press - 140 lbs(?), 190 lbs(?), 210 lbs(?) (10, 8, 6)
-Standing Calf Raises - 180 lbs(?), 190 lbs(?), 200 lbs(?)

Notes:
-Had about thirty minutes to cram a workout in between meetings. Ending up going to a different LA Fitness than normal.
-The machines were different than what's at my gym and the weights felt...off.
-Then I noticed the leg press and calf raises didn't have any specific units associated with the weights. So for all I know, that 140 could have been lbs or kgs or number of sausages in a cubic foot.
-Hence the question marks in those two sections.
-This workout brought to you by Nautilus.

"Nautilus: We have nothing to do with mollusks, but our name sure is cool!"

 

Kung Fu Time!

Warm Up
-One Foot Stance
-One Foot Stance/Hop/Switch - 10
-One Foot Stance/Hop/Switch/Kick into Low Stance - 10/side
-One Foot Stance/Hop/Switch/Kick into Low Stance/Stretch - 3/side
-Low Stance/Jump/Kick/Low Stance - 10/side
-Waistline Rotations - 10
-High Heel/Inside Crescent Kick/Outside Crescent Kick - 10
-Knuckle Push Ups - 10
-Tricep Push Ups - 10
-Hammer Fist - 10/side
-Hammer Fist/Chop - 10/side
-Upper Cut - 10/side
-Upper Cut/Scraping Punch - 10/side
-Reverse Push Ups - 10
-Kick Throughs - 3
-Back Bend Push Ups - 10

Technique (moving down the length of the studio and back)
-Guard Walk
-Walking Straight Punches
-Walking Straight Punches (backwards)
-Back Fist/Step Forward
-Back Fist/Step Forward/Same Hand Ridge Hand
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step/Ridge Hand
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step/Ridge Hand/Spinning Back Fist
-Side Kick/Spinning Side Kick (continuous)
-Side Kick/Jumping Side Kick
-Skip/Turn (the basic motion of the above exercise...none of us did it very well )
-Side Kick/Jumping Side Kick

Forms
-Sabre for the Orange Belts (until the end of class)
-Taijin Keun

 

Knocked out of my regular routine by a fluke cold.

Doesn't matter what belt one is, a virus will put you down every time.

But I had the chance to get a little Kung Fu-lery in today.

Here's how it went down:

-One Foot Stance - 5x5 each side
-Searching the Sea - 5x5 each side
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Techniques and Combos:

• Front Leg Roundhouse Kicks - 10/side
• Side Kicks - 10/kicks
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand - 10/side
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step Out/Ridge Hand - 10/side
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Steal Step/Side Kick - 10/side
• Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Steal Step/Side Kick/Push Kick - 10/side

-Forms

• Sei Fon Sei Bei
• Keun Lei Keun
• Nunchucks - Ran through it twice for good measure
• Taijin Keun -Ran through it twice, once slowly and once with power
• Sabre

-Stretch Workout

• Squat Stretch - 3
• Side Leg Stretch -3x/side
• Barre Stretch - 3x/side
• Scorpion Stretch - 3x/side
• "Scouring" - 6/side

Notes:
-Strange how taking a few days off can wash away some bad habits. For what ever reason, I ran through the first three forms without any mistakes!
-Taijin Keun is getting better and I'm spotting a lot of practical moves I can pilfer while sparring.

 

Hey, I thought you CMA folks just inhale some Chinese herbs and get well in a few hours.

 

Unfortunately, that's just a myth.

We actually infuse the herbs into a tea and get well in a day or two

 

Mixed things up a bit today.

First, a little Gym Foolery at lunch:

-Pull Ups - 3 x 10
-Bench Press - 155 lbs, 175 lbs, 185 lbs (10,7, 5)
-Preacher Curl (machine) - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs (10, 8, 8)
-Tricep Dips - 3 x 10
-Seated Leg Press - 170 lbs, 210 lbs, 230 lbs (10, 10, 8)
-Seated Calf Press - 230 lbs (10, 10, 8)


Then...Kung Fu Time! tonight.

That crazy mofo Sihing Alex taught the class. Fortunately, he was kind today.
Kind enough to bring the pain!

Warm Up
-Jog Around the Studio - 5 min (include high knees, skips, side-to-sides, and sprints)
-Dynamic Leg Stretches (Leg Swings): Side - 20/side
-Dynamic Leg Stretches (Leg Swings): Front - 20/side
-Dynamic Leg Stretches (Leg Swings): Back - 20/side
-Slow Kicks: Side Kick - 20/side
-Slow Kicks: Side Kick and 4 count Leg Raises - 20/side
-Fast Kicks: Side Kicks - 10/side
-Slow Kicks: Roundhouse - 20/side
-Slow Kicks: Roundhouse and 4 count Leg Raises - 20/side
-Fast Kicks: Roundhouse - 10/side

Techniques (moving down the length of the studio and back)
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick/Hold
-Back Fist/Steal Step/Side Kick/Spinning Heel Kick
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Advance
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand
-Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Ridge Hand/Ridge Hand
-Back Fist/Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Advance/Back Fist/Ridge Hand
-Back Fist/Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Underneath Block/Punch Barrage
-Back Fist/Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Overarm Block/Punch Barrage
-Back Fist/Push Kick
-Back Fist/Push Kick/Superman Punch
-Back Fist/Back Fist/Reverse Punch/Step Out(evade)/Body Hook/Head Hook
-Reverse Punch/Steal Step/Spinning Back Fist/Spinning Back Fist/Scraping Punch
-Reverse Punch/Steal Step/Spinning Back Fist/Spinning Back Fist/Scraping Punch/Then do the whole combo on the other side

Notes:
-I think there were about three of four combos I left out. Sihing Alex just kept piling moves onto them, so I may have left a few out.
-Good class, though. Definitely have some new stuff to try during sparring class Friday (note: not any of the spinning stuff...)