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

Kung Fu Sparring Time!

Sifu Henry was out of town, so Sihing Mike ran the class. And Mike's around my age...so does a lot of great warm up and stretches to get us old guys ready ta go!

He's a big fan of side kicks, so we worked on a bunch combo featuring those. I hated it! But I loved it! Because side kicks are my kryptonite and I seriously needed the practice.

We free sparred for a good thirty minutes and Sihing Mike threw a few curve balls at us.

We did a few rounds of hands only, which is a pretty standard warm up. Then we did a few rounds of feet only, which is not! We could block with hands, but no punches.

Nearly everyone had trouble with this because we're always told "hands and feet" so at least one punch accidentally got through.

And just when we got used to it, it was time for free spar!

I did okay. I was starting to get hungry halfway through class (ate lunch earlier than usual today). So to conserve energy, I mostly fought defensively. But doing that enables my opponent to dictate the tempo of the fight. So I spent more time "on the run", so to speak.

Guess I need to work on being more offensive.

 

Solo Training

Did a little warm up Kung Fu-lery

-Balance Drills - 3/side
-Tons o' roundhouse kicks - tons/side
-Staff Form

Gymnanigans - Back and Biceps

-Dumb Bell Curls (per arm) - 25 lbs, 30 lbs, 35 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Lat Pull Down - 155 lbs, 170 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Cable Rope Curls - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Wide Grip Seated Upright Rows - 110 lbs, 120 lbs, 130 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Leg Curls - 80 lbs, 90 lbs, 100 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Leg Extension - 90 lbs, 100 lbs, 110 lbs (10, 8, 6)

-Speed Skaters - 3 x 2 mins
-Shadow Boxing 3 x 3 min rounds (see notes)

• Hands only
• Hands and footwork
• Everything

-Hip Stretches (see notes)

Notes:
-Recently got the complete volume of "Bruce Lee's Fighting Method". I used to have the separate books when I was a wee lad but somehow misplaced them.
-Anyway, I read that though he was a natural right-hander, he used to fight southpaw (left-handed) because it kept his power hand in front and quicker reach to the target.
-That made sense! So I tried it (I'm naturally left-handed and, although I fight both stances, I favor southpaw). Seems to work in theory. I'll try it out Friday and let you know.
-It definitely plays to my strengths as my right roundhouse kick and left side kick are stronger than their opposite sides counterparts. Speaking of kicks...
-I've mentioned before that my big problem with my kicks is that my left leg won't "turn over" (where the kneecap is parallel to the ground).
-So I worked out a bunch of stretches designed to increase and improve that mobility. Figure I'll do 'em every day and see what happens.

 

Kung Fu Time!

Good class. Sifu's back and focusing on kicks!

We did the usual balance/stretch/basic kick warm up, followed by a few side-kick drills.

He threw in a partner stretching exercise (one person throws a side kick, the partner holds the leg, pumps it a little higher then holds it straight while kicker does slow kicks).

Good stretching drill. Need to see if I can get my wife to work that with me every day.

For techniques, we worked on punches and spinning punches. Then we broke in to groups and did forms. Learned three more moves for Staff and realized I'm not even half way yet! :jawdrop:

 

Solo Training Time!

No time for Fu...only weights. Chest and Triceps day. This is how it went down:

-Seated Chest Flies - 100 lbs, 120 lbs, 130 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Cable Tricep Press - 110 lbs, 120 lbs, 140 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Chest Press - 90 lbs, 110 lbs, 150 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Overhead Cable Rope Pull - 90 lbs, 100 lbs, 110 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Leg Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Calf Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Hip Side Stretches - 3/side
-Hip Press Stretch - 3/side
-Cobra

I'll Fu tomorrow before sparring

 

Kung Fu Sparring Time!

Sparred three Brown Belts in a row tonight! It was...not pretty. BUT...it could have been a lot worse.

Like last week, I was fighting defensively with the upper belts. I'll usually wait for them and counter when they move in. And I can get in an occasional shot here and there. The problem is that I'm letting them dictate the tempo of the fight.

Then I had an epiphany (or as my wife's boss says; "an apithnay"). It's ALL mental. I hold back because I'm afraid they'll counter with something and tag me. Need to take some risks and take the fight to them.

Seems like common sense, but it took me all night to finally figure that out.

One of the Brown Belts is infamous for her Ridge Hand (Hooks). The first time we sparred, she nailed me with about four of them. I finally figured out her pattern when we sparred the last round of the night!

She'd throw a kick and immediately step around to my open side to attack with the ridge hand.

So I'd scoot in close and and get her to throw a kick. She'd always follow it up with the Ridge Hand move. But I was ready for it! I'd either step back get her when she came around or charge in forward with a straight punch before she could execute.

It worked, but she's fast and very seasoned, so I didn't have the advantage for long. However, I did effectively neutralize her main weapon.

So that was cool!

 

Kung Fu Time!

We had some newbies in the class, so Sifu spent a little more time on the basics.

We started off with balance work, followed by the usual push ups and warm ups kicks...then some sit ups punches and back extensions.

For technique we worked on side kicks and side kick combinations. My extracurricular training seems to be paying off because Sifu said my side kick is getting much better! (well...my left one, anyway. My right one is still a mess).

We mainly worked back fist and spinning back fist combos with the side kick.

Afterwards, we broke up into groups and worked on forms and I learned three new moves to the Staff Form.

 

WRT kicks, some classical stretches may help you:
These can be done anywhere there's a comfy floor: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPLLZvLaowk"]Floor Barre (barre workout, toning, butt, abs exercises, inner thighs) - YouTube[/ame]

These require a barre or something similarly useful, like a chair or bench:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz2xHlNduaM"]Intermediate / Advanced Condensed Ballet Barre with Jessica Hodgins - YouTube[/ame]

There are "ballet inspired" youtubes out there which look okay. I stick with the classical stuff myself though because it's been shown to work for ages.

 

Mat(e),

What have I told you about shoving your ballet into my Fu?!?!

In all seriousness, I've actually started doing some barre stretches and some of the floor stretches similar to those in the top video.

 

Solo Training Time!

Was short on time today and since I'm going to be out of town from Thursday, I decided to leave the weights and focus on some Fu.

Here's how it went down:

-Balance Stances - 3/side
-High Heel Kick - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Front Slap Kicks - 10/side
-Round house Kicks - a bunch/side
-Side kicks - 10/side
-Assisted Side kicks - 10/side
-Various left leg exercises to help improve hip mobility
-Weapon Forms

• Nunchucks - I actually forgot some of it half way through! And this used to be my best one!
• Sabre - The Curse of Herclius has been lifted! Ran through it with no problems!
• Staff - Getting better. Some of the hand positioning on the weapon is tricky, but I have the basics down.

-Stretches

• Barre Stretches Toes Up (well...kitchen counter top stretches)
• Barre Stretches Toes Parallel to Ground (big problem with my left leg is that it doesn't "turn over" when I kick. This helped to loosen things up.)
• Cobra
• Pigeon (stolen from my wife's yoga class)

 

LOL Glad to hear it's helping, mate! :bow1: You'll be a virtuoso in no time.:ninja1::fight1:

 

Kung Fu Time!

The Warm Up focused on balancing a bit more than usual (good thing I've been practicing that!)

Then we worked on the rotational aspects of the kung fu punches. Sifu calls it "Corkscrew Power" and it's a hallmark of the Northern Shaolin style.

For techniques, we drilled some basic punch/kick combos with a focus on the movement and stepping.

Another hallmark of our style is what Sifu calls "hand, hand, feet"...where "feet" means either throwing a kick or using footwork to get out of the way. So we practiced some of the timing and mechanics of the movement.

Then we did forms. And I did NOT learn any new moves in Staff. I did, however, shore up a few details on hand position on the weapon that have been driving me nuts!

 

Solo Training Time!

Back into action after a week of lethargy! Did a whole body workout and a little bit o' Fu to get things moving again.

Here's how it went down:

Kung Fu-lery:

About 20 minutes of Staff Form to keep it fresh in my brain. Turns out the little break actually helped! Ran through it several times with no mistakes. Still need to shore up a few details though...


Gym-nannigans

-Bench Press - 135 lbs, 155 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 5)
-Seated Lat Pull Down - 140 lbs, 155 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Tricep Dips - 3 x 10
-Dumb Bell Curls (per arm) - 25 lbs, 30 lbs, 35 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Leg Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Calf Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Jump Rope 2 x 2 min rounds
-Heavy Bag

• Round House Kicks
• Punch Combos
• Kick/Punch Combos
• Side Kick/Foot work Combos

 

Yes I have found a break usually helps.

 

Solo Training Time!

Played hooky from Fu last night to take care of some personal bidness. So I made up for it by hitting the solo stuff hard.

Here's how it went down:

First, the Kung Fu-lery

-Balance Stances -3/side
-High Heel Kicks - 10/side
-Inside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Outside Crescent Kick - 10/side
-Front Kicks - 10/side
-Round House Kicks - 10/side
-Braced Side Kicks (against the wall) - 10/side
-Side Kicks - 10/side
-Open Hand Forms

• Sei Fon Sei Bei - Focused on power
• Keun Lei Keun - Focused on stances
• Taijin Keun - Focused on stances
• Chong Keun - Focused on remembering it!

-Staff Form - Getting more fluid. Still need to shore up some details.

Gym Foolery - Back and Biceps

-Seated Lat Pull Down - 110 lbs, 140 lbs, 170 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Dumb Bell Curls (per arm) - 25 lbs, 30 lbs, 35 lbs (10, 8, 6...need to go up in weight)
-Bent Over T-Bar Rows - 70 lbs, 80 lbs, 90 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Cable Rope Curls - 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 80 lbs (10, 8, 6...need to go up in weight)
-Jump Rope - 2 x 2min
-Heavy Bag - 30 mins

• Straight punches - Southpaw and Orthodox stances
• Round House Kicks (both sides...front and back leg)
• Side Kicks
• Foot Work (around the bag)
• Front Push Kick (both legs)
• Free (punches and kicks)
• Muay Thai kicks (just 'cuz...)

Notes:
-To Flaming's point, the break helped my 'Fu as well!
-Kicks are looser and higher. Left side kick is just about chest level!
-Left round house is getting stronger. I put on the kicking foot pad on my feet and threw as hard. I'd been pulling my kicks lately, so this helped.
-I caught a Jason Statham movie recently (stay with me). He's a bit of a role model for me since he's around my age. Anyway, I noticed in the fight scenes he used a lot of hands and low leg level kicks (like me!) His higher kicks were mostly hip to gut level.
-So I lifted some of his combos and worked them on the heavy bag. We'll see if they work for realsies on Friday night! :evil:

 

Kung Fu Time!

First time back after a couple of weeks! Fortunately, there were some new people in the class, so Sifu kept it relatively mild.

We did the usual warm up (stretching, push ups, crunches). Then for techniques, we worked on basic kicks and punches.

Then just for kicks, he threw in some advanced combos and block/punch/kick combos (which got me jazzed up for Friday night).

And I learned three more moves in Staff Form.

 

Solo Training Time!

Did a little switcheroo and went to the gym first. Here's how it went down for Chest and Tricep Day:

-Bench Press - 135 lbs, 155 lbs, 185 lbs (10, 8, 5)
-Tricep Cable Press - 120 lbs, 130 lbs, 140 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Pec Deck - 110 lbs, 130 lbs, 140 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Tricep Dips - 3 x 10
-Seated Leg Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)
-Seated Calf Press - 210 lbs, 225 lbs, 240 lbs (10, 8, 6)

A couple of young cats were practicing some dance routine in the big room where the heavy bags are. Sadly, that meant no bag work or jump rope for me. Oh I could have showed them up with my freestyle 1980's moves, but I didn't want them to get served...

Went home and did some Kung Fu-lery instead.

-Staff Form - Ran through the new stuff and worked on some of those little details that have been bugging me.
-Shadow Box - 3 x 3 min rounds

• Punch combos
• Punch/Kick combos
• Punch/Kick/Footwork combos

-Front Snap Kicks - 1 min between rounds
-Round House Kicks - 1 min between rounds
-Stretches

• Standing Splits
• Straddle Splits
• Barre Stretch (or in this case...Kitchen Counter Stretch)
• Lowe Stance Stretch
• Cobra

 

Kung Fu Sparring Time!

Wow. That was a beating! That'll teach me to miss class for two weeks.

We did the standard warm up followed by about twenty minutes of combos.

Then we went straight into free sparring where I managed to jam my fractured finger twice in the first round! Then I got slammed hard in the shin during the second (it's still swollen). And of course, that made me timid and prone to fight defensively.

It was about that time I began to wonder if maybe I should just sit out the rest of class.

But I didn't. Oh no. Not me.

Eventually, I started getting my groove back and started going on the offense. Things got better. My striking has improved, but my footwork was awful! It was like my legs were made of lead.

It was only after class that I realized we didn't do any evasion drills. Usually we do some partner drills before going into sparring. But we skipped it this time.

And that, combined with just being gone for two weeks made me rusty on Kung Fu Rule Number One: Get out of the way!

On the plus side, my kicks are getting quicker. Too bad only about 20% of them landed.

Oh well...there's always next week.

 

Like your posts. Can relate to jammed fingers and swollen shins. Keep it up man!

 

Thanks, man. Likewise. Us old guys have to stick together!

Sorry, not "old"..."chronologically challenged"

 

Kung Fu Time!

Sifu messed up his leg, so he asked Sihing Derek to warm us up. I love it when the college kids do the warm up. (that was sarcasm...).

Actually, it wasn't that bad. Kicked it off right away with a 2 minute horse stance, followed by some static stretching. Then we did continuous sets of knuckle push ups, tricep push ups and wide palm push ups and wrapped it up with 30 crunches.

For technique, we started off with the basic kicks, moved on to some jumping kicks (jumping push kick, jumping heel thrust kick) and some punch/kick combos.

We broke up and did forms and Sifu showed me three more moves of Staff Form. And it turns out I'm about 3/4 of the way through. There are only 9 or 10 moves left.