December 29, 2022 Chinatown yesterday.... great food.... always gets me pumped to train more. My wife, who is from mainland China....always tells me that I'm more Chinese than she is..... she also tells her family that I'm martial arts crazy.... Another Wing CHun lesson next week. Sadly that last for awhile..... maybe June... but then I can start regular classes again.
January 03, 2023 Happy New Year Another Wing Chun class yesterday...and it was..well....awesome. Went over a lot of things, applications in Sil Lum Tao, turning drills, and a whole lot of terminology. Sadly it is likely the last class for awhile, school starts again this week and I will have to pick up the youngest from school. Hopefully get a few opportunities between now and June, but June should allow me to get there on a regular basis. Should also probably list what the workout has morphed into. O am back to every other day. Everyday was messing with the shoulder arthritis. My regular workout has changed too, my shoulder arthritis was no liking the everyday schedule so it is back to every other day. This will be change soon too. I purchased a mountain climbing machine to get more aerobic, that will be here at the end of the month. Once I get it straightened out I will post what I am now doing.
January 07, 2023 I'm not sure what I am going to do about this, if I do anything at all, but I may have located a Shanxi style Xingyiquan sifu about 1 hour from my house. What I have mostly trained is Hebei style, although it has been a few years since i really worked with it to any degree I'd call training
January 15, 2023 First I want to thank @Mitch for pointing me in the direction of the Dan Jon routine. I worked with it until the arthritis in my shoulder told me to stop. I could not handle the everyday workout. I let things calm down and went back to 3 days a week. I slowly worked my way back to a more extensive routine, and purchased a Mountain climbing machine. This is the routine I am currently working with. But it was the Dan Jin routine that got me moving again Every day A combination of warm ups I have learned from various teachers and a stand up yoga routine 3 days per week Maxi Climber XL, Mountain Climber machine. It has proven how out of shape am I can get only 5 minutes of this for now BowFlex Wide grip pulldown palms forward - 10 reps, 1 set close grip pulldown palms forward - 10 reps, 1 set Wide grip pull down palms backward - 10 reps, 1 set close grip pull down palms backward - 10 reps, 1 set Resistance Bands Reverse Flies - 10 to 12 reps, 2 sets Chest Flies - 10 to 12 reps, 2 sets Wing Chun Chain Punch - 10 to 12 reps, 2 sets Total Gym Straight rows - 10 reps, 3 sets Cross Cable rows - 10 reps, 3 sets Kettlebell Sumo Squats - 10 reps, 3 sets Dumbbells Seated Military Press - 10 reps, 3 sets Barbell Bench press - 10 sets, 3 reps Stretching I was doing Dumbbell curls and reverse curls but I discontinued those in favor of adding the chain punch work, a set to the total gym, military press and bench press. Every day Now trying to figure out how to work with Wing Chun when I can't get back to my sifu or class until June. I have Sil Lim Tao, 4 turning drills, and that's about it. Working on the heavy bag with punching and thinking of getting an attachment for the heavy bag that is like the upper part of a mook. This however does not allow me to work on the kicks my Sifu showed me on the mook. Taijiquan, I am right back to where I seem to get a lot over the past few years, having trouble getting myself to work on anything Yang style. Been doing it for 30 years and I just don't seem to have the drive to train it these days. Was working with the CMC sword form as it comes from William CC Chen, and I enjoy it, but it is just another version of the Yang Jian and I m not sure I will continue. I will continue the Applications and push hands class though. I may have located a Shanxi style Xingyiquan Shifu about 1 hour west of me, but I am not even sure I will look into this any further. Have to wait until spring anyway, if he is there, he is in the Berkshire mountains and winters can be rough there Thinking about delving deeper into Sun style, but all I know is a short form, that is from a teacher who was good, but a bit questionable with a questionable reputation. I want the traditional form, but that is,as far as I can tell, 3.5 hours from me. My first shifu knows the competition form, but he was semi retired before the pandemic, I'm not sure what he is doing now, or if he is teaching, if he is teaching the Sun form. He knows mostly competition forms of multiple CM styles. Last time I talked to him I was training JKD and he told me I was to old for JKD . Well that is where my training is at for the moment
It's great you have a nice routine to stick to! It sounds like you are at a bit of a dead end with Taijiquan. That is a pity. What makes you lose your drive in Yang style if I may ask? Especially in a sword form that you seem to enjoy? It is a pity you don't have the time and no teacher teaching what you'd like nearby. But perhaps, a chance will appear. I am not that knowledgeable in various styles, but it is often a good teacher that would be more important than a style, right? Maybe you can try more Taiji classes you have nearby just to see what they are like. That is, if you find the time...
In all honesty, and I don't mean to sound arrogant, but there are very few Yang style classes were I could learn much, talking Yang style, I know as much or more than most teachers, ws given permission to teach everything I was taught, by my shifu a several years ago. Although the person I have been learning the sword form from is not one of those people. I can learn a lot from his views of his version of taijiquan. And I am not stopping his applications and push hands class, that I will stick with. And I would recommend his sword class to anyone looking to learn Over the break from his classes, Christmas through New Year, I started to think about all of the Taijiquan forms from all of the styles I have learned over the years, and how many I have forgotten. Add to that the other styles of CMA I have learned over the years.... I decided I did not need another version of the Yang style Jian I already have. Also the 2 classes I was able to get in with my Wing Chun Shifu got me thinking more about it. (note: there are 3 Wing Chun schools closer to me. 1 I would never consider, another the shifu is skilled but too arrogant IMO, and the other is very good but I like the Shifu's views of Wing Chun I have been going to better. And the 3rd school also says he is probably better). Overall I guess if I am going to still work with Yang style why not work with what I already know since it is ,again IMO, one of the best lineages of Yang style out there today. But I guess with Yang, I have had enough form, I now need more push hands, applications and even some light sparring, which is darn near impossible to find in my area these days (although the gentleman I have been trainig with would like to get more people interested in this side of taijiquan). This is also what I like about the person I am currently training with, he has extensive background in other styles of martial arts, but emphasizes using taijiquan as it is meant to be when fighting, and not having it turn into western boxing. Nothing wrong with boxing, it is rather effective, but it is not how you use most CMA styles in a fight The draw to Sun style I believe comes from its association with Xingyiquan and Baguazhang. Also it is, IMO, the most obvious when talking applications and usage. I recently looked into contacting my first shifu, who knows the competition versions of Sun, but it appears he may have retired due to the pandemic. I believe he is in his late 70s now and is also taking care of his mother who is close to, if not 100 years old. Xingyiquan, I love the style, and I have started training a little of what I know again (Hebei style) to see if I still want to continue. If I do I will look into the sifu that might be 1 hour away. And as of June, 1 hour will be easier...as of September it will be real easy.... I become an empty nester then.
Thanks for explaining. I see, it makes sense. It is easy to find a teacher when one is a beginner, but if you have plenty of experience, this becomes harder. Also considering you probably want to find someone with the same philosophy you have etc. You situation seems a bit complicated, but understandable. It's great you found a good teacher for the sword. Hopefully you'll be able to practice the applications and push-hands there. It sounds like you do have a plan. Too bad you have to wait for a few moths. Hopefully you will be able to work out and get your joints ready for practice then Since you say you know more than most teachers and have been permitted to teach what you know, haven't you considered actually opening your own classes? Or starting a training group? I suppose that is not for everyone and would take quite a bit of energy, but you could get people to train with and help them learn
I was teaching and part of a push hands group pre-pandemic and pre-knee surgeries. I had request to do short seminars and even did a push hands seminar at an Aikido school pre knee surgeries and pre-pandemic. Not sure about going back, but even if I do, it can't be until fall. But then I have one more knee they keep telling me I should replace so we shall see. I have tried to get the push hands group going again, but it is been difficult getting it together Also talked with the sifu I have been training jian with, he really does not want me to stop. Told him I wold think about it and let him know next week
January 19, 2023 Did this this evening -Yang Long Form -Sun Short form -New Jian form -Sil Lum Tao And I may have just located a Liang style baguazhang sifu about 30 minutes from my house. I have done some baguazhang (Cheng 8 palm, Yin 8 palm and a swimming dragon form possibly Jiang style), years ago, and I like it,. But I was much younger and much more flexible then...so I do not know if this will come to anything at all
January 30, 2023 Finally got back to push hands/applications class. It was awesome. The jian class was stopped, just could not get myself to practice it at home. If I had class multiple times a week I'd probably continue, because I really enjoyed the class. But not practicing out side of class is not fair to the other students or the sifu, so I ended it.
February 07, 2023 Class again last night was great, but I have a question....why does the teacher always pick me to demo Qinna Also going to go to the basement guan today and work on Xingyiquan again, was working on Baguazhang, and don't get me wrong, Bagua is a great style, but it is just to complicated. If it is all I want to do for the rest of my life then I'd doit, but that is the type of dedication it would take me to get any good at it, or truly understand it. Been doing a. lot of thinking about taijiquan, I just can't get myself to do any forms these days. I think I will spend some time working on the 13 postures
forms are fixed fighting isn't it's the principles of the art that are important and how you personally link the postures not following a set pattern. You have done tai chi long enough to have the principles ingrained in you I would have thought. I understand your point about baguazhang compared to xingyiquan it's outward shapes are so complicated and its applications more numerous (being more complicated and more numerous doesn't mean better) that it takes serious commitment which takes away from your other arts. When I first saw xingyiquan I thought great something I can add to my bagua which won't take too much away from it because it's smaller and more focused in its outlook. If I had started xingyiquan first and then added Bagua as a second art I would have cried I think lol
Ironically, my training progression in Internal CMA over the last 30 years has gone, Taijiquan, to Baguazhang, to Xingyiquan. But go back further, about 50 years, when I was in Japanese Jiujutsu, I read an article, in what was then "Kung Fu Magazine" about Xingyiquan and I was hooked. But it took me over 20 years to find a teacher who taught it. So, I stuck with Taijiquan, let Baguazhang go, and went with Xingyiquan. I like Baguazhang, and I wonder a lot about what would have happened if I let Taijiquan go and stuck with Baguazhang and Xinyiquan back then, but I didn't. When I left my first shifu I first looked for a XIngyiquan teacher and foind none, I then did look for a Baguazhang teacher, also none close by. I then looked for a Chen teacher or a Wu teacher, again none in my area. I then got contacted my an old CMA classmate of mine who told me about his Yang teacher, who became minr for many years. That is hwo I ended up in Yang Taijiquan. And I'm not complaining, it was very good training. However every now and then I think I should give Bagua a try again, but now, in my 60s, I think Xingyiquan is hat I should return to, taijiquan may or may not come back in to play, and if it does, it may or may not be Yang (I have some Chen and Wu I remember), and I am also now dabbling in Wing Chun. And I have to admit, looking at the near future, being a Xingyiquan/Wing Chun guy..... looks pretty good right now. I agree with my Yang shifu when he says no 2 people do the form exactly the same, since no 2 people have the same exact body. I kind of take that a step further these days. I do think taijiquan has health benefits for some, but not for all, for teh same reason, no 2 people are the same. I have had knee surgeries, have arthritis in every joint, eye issues and I get sinus infections all the time, and throw in a constant battle with weight, I don't see major health benefits of taijiquan. Wold I be worse if I did nothing at all, that is a most definite yes. But would focusing on other styles, say Bagua or Xingyi, have given me more health benefits? Well, in all honesty I will never know for sure, but these days, I suspect they would have. But then the knee problems took nme out of Xingyiquan, so who knows.
February 09, 2023 Training Been doing stance training, Yang Wuji > Zhang Zhuan > Sun Wuji > Santi Shi (R&L). Not long yet, only 2 minutes per stance so a total 10 minutes at the moment Working a lot on Sil Lim Tao And doing basic heavy bag work, individual strikes, Jab, Cross, Hook, Wing Chun punch, Xingyiquan Bengquan. Piquan back fist. doing 25 per side, working my way to 100 per side. I am currently wearing MMA gloves for training Also still doing strength routine, but I changed it to lower weight higher reps. Also the new Treadmill shows up Saturday so I can get back on the, walking, not running. Also I can now fix the reclining bike too, waiting for parts. My wife is the runner, although she says she is not a runner, but IMO if you run the equivalent of a half marathon a week, you are a runner
Similar to you when I started Chinese arts three arts stood out to me, bakmei baguazhang and xingyiquan. I was lucky enough to find a bakmei sifu who also taught me CLF and dragon but the power generation of xingyiquan and the throws and grappling of bagua still interested me but finding it was impossible. I am lucky enough to now practise all the arts I am fascinated by, my teacher also teaches Wu style tai chi which was his first art but I know I could not learn that and do bagua justice. Xingyiquan for me is a nice fit and not as complicated it allows me to concentrate on bagua and progress in both. On the health benefits I agree with you I think the twisting coiling and stance changes of bagua and the explosiveness and quicker movements of xingyiquan offer better health benefits than tai chi, I also feel if you look at how all three arts are typically taught they also offer more martial benefit than tai chi.
March 10, 2023 Have not been to, or cared to go to, seminars in a long time. Considering going to a series of JKD/Wing Chun/Escrima seminars 2 days in April
March 21, 2023 I will no longer be posting anything here.....so as far as I am concerned this log is closed
I'm really, really sorry to see you go and I hope you will reconsider. If not then please accept my best wishes and thank you for all your contributions to MAP.
I really don't get it. These Bruce Lee, enlightened Shaolin dudes claiming the high grounds. Be like water types. Then one bad day, Poof! They're gone, after one pop in the nose. You have to wonder what they ever even learned about martial arts. Having had my face caved throughout my life and bled all over many a floor ....I often wish I could pass on my serenity like Shazam. Not that easy.
