What a great way to start the long weekend by our monkey team completing our very first challenge with success. There was a lot of awesome stuff going on there that night and I look forward to see what I witnessed evolve even further throughout the year. Regardless of how you may feel about your performance, everyone was great. Especially considering this is only the rough version. Imagine how you are all going to look in another month. With this kind of skill and advancement this gives our team many more opportunities and drives the potency of the I Ho Chuan higher and higher. Good stuff indeed.
For my own form the final result was down to the wire because of illness. I'm happy with what I have for a base and once I get more of the footwork mastered and incorporate the kicks I decide on, I think it will be one of my better forms. Some of the techniques will have to more defined and complete stances, but at least now I have a form to start recording reps and move forward and continue to balance my training overall. I really like these weapons, too much fun.
I had a little of a mid month stall in my physical training because mother nature decided I needed a cleanse whether I wanted it or not. It's been sometime since I have been that sick or have ever had a stomach virus to that level. All I can say is that I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I am grateful for my health though, as there are others in my place of work that are still at home and are on potent antibiotics. I did go see a doctor though just in case and I'm glad I did because I knew there was more to all of this. I have become sick more often this year than I have over a lengthy period of time. Why is that? Because my Thyroid medicine is not working which is leaving it vulnerable to my autoimmune system attacking it. Not good. So between an increase in dosage and the direction of diet and different herbs and foods from the reflexologist I am seeing, things will improve I'm sure. The stupid part of it all though is my stubbornness to change. I was directed to change my diet for 30 days and reintroduce different food to find the allergen and help my body. Instead of doing this, I looked at it as sacrifice, that and I love all kinds of food. Well not all of it, I have grown to stay away from a bunch of things that I know are not good, but I am not overly picky. Getting back to the point, I thought I would take the easy way and just get a test done that will tell me exactly what it is. Long waiting list and trouble getting away from work was my excuse, meanwhile, I am becoming more and more susceptible to illness and permanent damage. Idiot. So the diet it is and hopefully I can find out what the problem is sooner than later.
I was progressing very well until all of this came about but that's the way it goes sometimes and the show must go on. While down I reviewed my progress and tweeked my plan because for a change, I am recording my training. Not 100% yet, but an honest approach is there. It's amazing how much progress you can lose in just a couple of weeks but I use it as inspiration to get caught up and exceed the previous month instead of dwelling about what was. Form advancement is coming along well and my side heel is getting better. More curriculum review has to come into play and I'm enjoying fitness advancements, weight training, and combinations. I plan to set some goals for the month of April and see what I can pull off. I almost have all my numbers tallied for March and will be posting them soon. That's about it for this week, happy training everyone. See you at the kwoon.
Monday, 28 March 2016
Monday, 14 March 2016
Slow, but Steady
Well so far things are not coming along as quickly as I would like but moving forward just the same. I have been working at several aspects of training but mostly forms, kicks, and our required version 1.0 that is due very soon.
My weapon form is moving along rather slowly at the moment. It always takes me a little while to create a form as the focus is on mainly the technique and familiarization of the weapon. The mechanics if you will. Then I work on incorporating the stance with said technique, moving into transitional flow. This all takes time as your center and grounding with the multitude of techniques available, will be altered. So choosing the the proper stance for whatever it is you are applying is paramount. I have a pretty good feeling about this weapon choice though as it is posing difficulty and that usually means the choice is solid.
I have chosen to do two weapon forms this year because I don't want to leave progress behind and I am hoping to use this as an enhancement towards my overall weapon training experience. I am continuing the Long Axe as I feel I have finally created a good solid base with that weapon and now I have something to work off of. That form was probably Version 9.4, but I feel it was worth the work. I am hoping by the end of the year I will have that form evolved even further and the "Twins of Death" right up there along side of it.
I have made some excellent progress in two forms I am currently working on. I struggled with hip engagement in Loa Gar for some time now, but after consulting a Sifu on the mechanics of the Loa Gar stance and being shown that it is more of a rotational power, I now have my hip engaging involuntary and I actually feel the power and flamboyance of the form and techniques/settling of the stance. This form is starting to flow very well and I'm starting to actually feel the energy. So this is a good thing. The other is Long. There are certain areas in that form where the stance transition into the next technique has been wobbly and the timing has been way off. Again, after consulting with a Sifu, a lot of it had to do with body mechanics and timing of the arms to begin and complete the transition and settle into the stance.
Aside from that the rest has been working on kicks upon kicks and all the maintenance that goes along with it. I have been working on squats to increase my power when throwing kicks from a horse stance and using ankle weights to increase my power to get the crane stance up higher as well as incorporating them into regular kick reps. This is going to require some attention because I am terribly guilty of not taking the time to stretch properly. I also haven't managed to get in as much Qi Gong as necessary. So these two things are some of my target zones for sure.
I have begun to see a reflexologist again on a regular basis and even after one session, I can see positive results physically and mentally. I have began to remove some things from my diet and feel good results from that as well. I plan to do some serious changes here and clean up the fuel my body needs.
I am also slowly making progress towards combo work and implementing weight training into my routines. I figure if I can get this all moving forward even if they are all at different levels of progression, it won't matter what life throws at me, I will always be moving forward and my ability to adapt to it all will become effortless effort, and that's just cool. See you at the kwoon.
My weapon form is moving along rather slowly at the moment. It always takes me a little while to create a form as the focus is on mainly the technique and familiarization of the weapon. The mechanics if you will. Then I work on incorporating the stance with said technique, moving into transitional flow. This all takes time as your center and grounding with the multitude of techniques available, will be altered. So choosing the the proper stance for whatever it is you are applying is paramount. I have a pretty good feeling about this weapon choice though as it is posing difficulty and that usually means the choice is solid.
I have chosen to do two weapon forms this year because I don't want to leave progress behind and I am hoping to use this as an enhancement towards my overall weapon training experience. I am continuing the Long Axe as I feel I have finally created a good solid base with that weapon and now I have something to work off of. That form was probably Version 9.4, but I feel it was worth the work. I am hoping by the end of the year I will have that form evolved even further and the "Twins of Death" right up there along side of it.
I have made some excellent progress in two forms I am currently working on. I struggled with hip engagement in Loa Gar for some time now, but after consulting a Sifu on the mechanics of the Loa Gar stance and being shown that it is more of a rotational power, I now have my hip engaging involuntary and I actually feel the power and flamboyance of the form and techniques/settling of the stance. This form is starting to flow very well and I'm starting to actually feel the energy. So this is a good thing. The other is Long. There are certain areas in that form where the stance transition into the next technique has been wobbly and the timing has been way off. Again, after consulting with a Sifu, a lot of it had to do with body mechanics and timing of the arms to begin and complete the transition and settle into the stance.
Aside from that the rest has been working on kicks upon kicks and all the maintenance that goes along with it. I have been working on squats to increase my power when throwing kicks from a horse stance and using ankle weights to increase my power to get the crane stance up higher as well as incorporating them into regular kick reps. This is going to require some attention because I am terribly guilty of not taking the time to stretch properly. I also haven't managed to get in as much Qi Gong as necessary. So these two things are some of my target zones for sure.
I have begun to see a reflexologist again on a regular basis and even after one session, I can see positive results physically and mentally. I have began to remove some things from my diet and feel good results from that as well. I plan to do some serious changes here and clean up the fuel my body needs.
I am also slowly making progress towards combo work and implementing weight training into my routines. I figure if I can get this all moving forward even if they are all at different levels of progression, it won't matter what life throws at me, I will always be moving forward and my ability to adapt to it all will become effortless effort, and that's just cool. See you at the kwoon.
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Switching Directions
I gained at lot of opportunity these last few weeks in the form of assistance and knowledge, along with lot's of homework to get on top of if I wish to see my training and skillset become solid. Solid enough to where my training base for this year, and years to come, has opportunity for continuous improvement and longevity to the art. I sometimes feel all I have done is continuously circle the opportunity, but never feeling full confidence in the decision to take it. Situations of life was commonly used as an excuse not to move forward, but most of the time it was my stubbornness of not meeting the level I feel should be presentable at grading. A detrimental approach by holding the mentality that it is all or nothing. Long story short, I have obviously taken it upon myself to walk the longest path in order to move forward and succeed in overcoming a giant block I have thrown in my own path. I feel that now is the time to smash that block and leave the worn out path behind. So that's what I will do.
I had the opportunity last I Ho Chuan class to finally pull out the twin battle axes and see just what they could do and how I was going to make them do it. I think I am really going to enjoy these, I feel like I could smash a building down with them. But they are going to require some adaptability because they are short twin weapons and they are heavier than any other twin weapon I have trained with previous. So I researched the "Twins of Death" in order to find out what I could about them and discovered some valuable information. I read an article loaded with techniques, single and double offense, and common stances that have been used for sometime. What I didn't see much of though was blocking techniques, so I will have to make my own and utilize some of the advice I was given at class. I'm really looking forward to building a form with this weapon choice.
Other than that I am working on improving my daily discipline and have a lot of homework to do in all aspects of my Kung Fu. This last while I have spent at the kwoon has been awesome. We have covered some really good basics which in turn helps me focused on my training. There's more to this but that's another blog. See you at the kwoon.
I had the opportunity last I Ho Chuan class to finally pull out the twin battle axes and see just what they could do and how I was going to make them do it. I think I am really going to enjoy these, I feel like I could smash a building down with them. But they are going to require some adaptability because they are short twin weapons and they are heavier than any other twin weapon I have trained with previous. So I researched the "Twins of Death" in order to find out what I could about them and discovered some valuable information. I read an article loaded with techniques, single and double offense, and common stances that have been used for sometime. What I didn't see much of though was blocking techniques, so I will have to make my own and utilize some of the advice I was given at class. I'm really looking forward to building a form with this weapon choice.
Other than that I am working on improving my daily discipline and have a lot of homework to do in all aspects of my Kung Fu. This last while I have spent at the kwoon has been awesome. We have covered some really good basics which in turn helps me focused on my training. There's more to this but that's another blog. See you at the kwoon.
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