Hidden Tools

Along the way of our Kung Fu training a common question always seems to come up, "What's the point of this?" or "Why is this even part our curriculum?. A lot of times we fail to recognize the value of something or it's purpose especially when it seems like a never ending fail or we can't "see the forest through the trees", so to speak. If we can't see the mechanism or inner workings of something that seems so basic, and we don't see and feel instant results, it suddenly becomes stupid, pointless, and maybe even antiquated. If we adopt this mindset, we miss the intricacy and miss the opportunity to apply a hidden tool to it's fullest potential.

Have you ever wondered what's the point of board breaking? Why do we start breaking boards at white belt? How does breaking a board serve my Kung Fu, my instructors, and personal progress and understanding of Kung Fu? Why is a sequential break a requirement in order to become a Black Belt? Why does it have to be a public requirement? There is much more to it than just punching or kicking a board in half and I wanted to share a few points and cover a few of these questions from my own perspective.

What's the point? and why do we start at white belt? Board breaking provides a window for instructors to observe students on an individual basis to measure progress and understanding of sound technique with definition and just how they are applying it. Basically this gives an instructor the ability to troubleshoot all aspects of a students Kung Fu and help them pin point troubled areas which in turn will give them something to work on and grow with a better understanding of Kung Fu. Once they are promoted to the next belt level and they are asked to break a board, again this provides a window to a students progress and see just where they are at and are they learning. Yes, a high level instructor can see that much as they observe a student punch or kick a board because you are actually applying your Kung Fu to something. At a white Belt level a student is also beginning to learn and slowly apply the cornerstone of all Kung Fu, the six harmonies.

Once a student reaches the level of Sihing and is preparing to grade to become a Black Belt, a public sequential board break is required. The sequential board breaking requirement can summarize a number of important key factors to a students skill set and provide much information for the instructors. Not to mention this provides an opportunity to show personal creativity and discovery in relation to the student themselves. Things such as grounded stances, flow with definition and sound technique, accuracy while in motion, target distancing, progress to the understanding and application of the six harmonies and mental fortitude while under duress. By this I mean publicly or if attacked making this an excellent mental focus exercise as well.  I don't think there is any better way to test this or for your instructors to see if you can keep your cool and still apply Kung Fu to the level of a black belt than a public board break. This as opposed to being thrown in the middle of 4 people that want to beat the crap out of you and see how you do.

So as you can see there is a great tool that is given to us to work on many aspects of our Kung Fu. I have learned much over the years breaking boards and of course not breaking them but to me this is a very valuable tool that should not be overlooked. In fact one of the very few rare moments I have felt the void was during a public board break. The last thing I remembered was my foot going through the first board and the only thing that brought me out of it was when I kicked the holders hand on the fourth board, cool stuff. I've also have been using boards this past summer to improve my technique and to try to get a better understanding of the six harmonies. I have been trying to break boards by having them simply dangle from a small clamp.  I have had way more fails than success, but when I did, I never felt a thing and the board shattered. When I failed the board flew across the garage and my hand hurt. The good news is I could tell what was wrong and they usually always went straight. Once I get the hand techniques down, I'll move to kicks.

Boards can really mess with your head and make things swollen, but what they can give back is pretty amazing. See you at the Kwoon

The 45 Degree Foot

I have been working a lot lately on stances and stance transitions. Trying to get my head inside the fundamentals of the internal mechanics that release your power working from the core or center out. I have to put things into a mechanical view in order to sort out my thoughts and apply the changes necessary or troubleshoot an unknown area I cannot quite comprehend, it's just how I am wired. One of the things I discovered that hinders transitions, creates huge resistance throughout the body, compromises grounding, and impairs speed/power, is the back foot at a 45 degree angle, a bad habit that is hard to break.

This alone effects a ton of things and reduces your power by a huge margin. How is it possible to engage the hip fully and achieve maximum power and efficiency of skeletal alignment and transferring into full release when you basically have your hip tied back so to speak? How is it possible to move smoothly through forms and various applications and still have power through execution when you are bypassing your target and placing huge restrictions on the ability to achieve full definition? You can't. By moving the back foot forward slightly and straight, (as we were taught) I noticed a lot of changes. The hip begins to lead the technique or application and smooths out directional changes. This in itself increases the power and speed and a full body snap driven by your center as opposed to isolated muscle groups, in other words, your whole body becomes involved and the first half of the six harmonies becomes smoother and less forced because your already in position to do so. No adjustment is required and forced movements are no longer present because the alignment is correct as is the removal of resistance in your core. Now you have unrestricted torque that becomes obvious as movements and striking power are increased substantially. Power created with full body torque to me becomes very smilier to a clock spring. 

Keeping this all in mind while practicing forms has changed other areas where I have noticed less resistance and better control and/or maintaining center throughout. Instability is drastically reduced during stance transitions and there is way less torque on the knees and hips as well because you are lined up correctly so it becomes a lot easier to settle into the stance and apply full body torque. To me a lot of the pauses or choppy areas of forms start to disappear. I have a long ways to go on all of this but things are becoming clearer and these new discoveries are what keeps my training exciting. 

So as try to gain a better understanding of the external and internal aspects of the six harmonies I created a goal/tool to work on that I think will advance my knowledge somewhat or at least keep it interesting. I will start by shattering boards that are suspended, not supported and work my way towards jumping in the air and shattering them with a punch. If I can get a handle on this I will work towards a kick. We'll see how this works for now. 

Other than that I have been battling some injuries that are causing havoc but fortunately there is a ton of things to work in Kung Fu so the training only stops if you let it. See you at the Kwoon.

 

Awareness via Sciatic

I'ts always a tough balance sometimes to work and train hard and take the time to maintain, such as a proper warm up and stretching. Proper warm up and stretching should be approached and practiced with discipline and a common component to well rounded martial arts training. I struggle with this discipline and I know better and a couple weeks ago I learnt this the hard way. I developed pain in my sciatic nerve that amplified to intense and the inability to walk. Not really a good thing as it basically demobilized me and cost me training time and a couple days of work.  After a visit to the chiropractor and a reflexologist, along with some intense rolling, stretching, and some hot tub time, I could finally walk. My alignment was completely out of whack. My right leg was a few inches shorter due to hip and pelvis misalignment and when I laid down on the bed, my right foot was straight up and my left was pointing down at a 45 degree angle. One shoulder was much lower than the other and my wrist was all out of alignment. Talk about a bent frame.

So I thought back to some of the things I was doing that may have contributed to this and what I need to do to avoid it. I did a lot of sporadic intense training with not really warming up properly or proper stretching after words. Qi Gong was hit and miss as well. I did some different types of kick work with ankle weights and some weight training with heavier weights. Basically I drove it, like I stole it. I always make the mistake of pushing through injuries....take the pain, the show must go on and you need to work....until you can't walk and then it's like, "man your stupid!!" Things must change if I want to train until I can't.

So obviously a plan must be drawn out and followed. First off hydration and the proper food my body needs to run and operate smoothly. It sucks our food is so messed with and lacks a high concentration of the nutrients it is supposed to obtain and loaded with crap we don't need and causes health issues and inflammation. So in order to facilitate my needs I am taking different vitamins and supplements. Fuel, covered. Qi Gong, Tai Chi, stretching, and my new friend, the roller must become routine. For the next little while I am going to focus more on this and some form work. I am going to remove some of the higher impact training for now aside from some high rep and light weight work. Definitely going to need some cardio to get that blood flowing properly and improve my circulation in order for all of those intricate parts to get what they need to run and operate correctly. My goal is to reach a balanced structure and rebuild my base muscles. In other words all of the smaller ones around joints and supporting muscles. We'll see how it all goes after a few weeks. See you at the Kwoon.

So What Now?

Well it's been officially day one of being a Black Belt? Do I feel any different? Honestly I'm not sure, I am still just kind of floating right now on a cloud of awesome, way the heck up there. Lastnight was amazing and obviously one I will never forget anytime soon. For the most part I stayed pretty calm and maintained my excited buzz and I was so happy. The only time I became nervous is when it came time to read my speech. Oh man, my heart was going off like the zombie drumming. I havent spoken in front of that many people in a long time, but I did it and calmed myself down enough to get through it. When I got home I just kind of hung out and reflected on it all and really cherished the moment. As much as I thought it would be cool to sleep with my black belt on....well I share a bed so we all know where that idea went. As I think about today, I realized the need to plan for tomorrow as my journey has just taken another turn.

One very important part to remember is I just can't suddenly shut it all off. I haven't arrived anywhere. It's not time to just coast along. No, actually now is the time to really crank it up. New goals must be set, conditioning must be maintained, and all that was tested must remain sharp. It says so right in the Black Belt Code of Ethics....and I said " I Do", so I damn well better. From what I can see and have witnessed, those red stripes at the end of a Black Belt take time and effort. Much like the journey that brought me to this point and this one will be even more difficult. I can't wait, this is going to be awesome.

I have actually started to make some plans for the year in order to stay engaged and advance my skill. I will continue with my weapons training as I really enjoy this area. I haven't decided if I will take on another weapon or continuing to work with one of the  4  I have and further the forms. All the weapons I have at my disposal each have a base form to work off of, so maybe we'll see how I can advance them. I noticed as I continued to practice my 5 techniques they began to evolve and things started to change involuntary in some cases such as footwork and application. That's all good and everything except when they begin to change during a public demo.....at my promotion..... without any warning to me or my partner. I screwed a couple of them up lastnight and felt kind of stupid but when Mr. Duncan and I were practicing earlier in the week we kind of seen that coming. So I plan to continue working on these techniques and just see where I can take them. I think I will take on some Tai Chi perhaps and just really work on all aspects of my Kung Fu. I have other thoughts too, but I believe I will do a little consulting before I apply them to my training. One thing I will continue to do is journal. I have actually really took a liking to recording my discoveries and thoughts.

I just wanted to say congratulations to all of the Black Belts that were promoted lastnight, very very inspirational and a great example. Congratulations also to all the students and their achievements, well done everyone. Of course I have to say congratulations again to Sifu S. Csillag and Sifu C. Prince, well done ladies and it was amazing to train with you two. I gues we'll see you Thursday night!!!

I also wanted to mention a couple of other Black Belts that helped me along this journey.
Sifu Rybak, thanks for always having faith in me and your continued support over the last few years when I couldn't be at the kwoon preparing for demos. You always said, "I know your training", or "fix this or that for next time" and that always helped me stay engaged.
Sifu Adrien Prince and Sifu Vantuil, you two helped me in several areas, but one area in particular was when I was posting questions on Kwoon talk. I would get stuck on things while training at home and post questions and you two would always post a response that would help and I would be prepared for class on a few belt levels. Thanks for that. Also Sifu Adrien Prince thank you for always taking time to help me with the technical areas of my training and Sifu Vantuil for giving me some Tai Chi exercises to work on and always offering assistance when I needed it. ( Even if I did them in Catapillar D9 mode) Thank you.
Sifu Harrigan from my very first class to where I am today you have helped me in so many ways and always offered advice and direction when it came to several aspects of my Kung Fu training, I appreciate it, Thank you.

To the Monkeys thanks for being such a great team. I really enjoyed seeing so many of you overcome your obstacles and come out on top. This team was so kick ass in so many ways. Your individual personalities and hard work is what made this year so special and I'm so glad you guys were a major part of me becoming a black belt with your never ending support, Thanks so much Monkeys, I wish you the best! One more thing before I forget again, Sifu Lindstrom you were in my corner right from the beginning and that never stopped all year, thank you for all of your support.

Well that's about all I have for now as I struggled just write this and try to focus, still on a major Kung Fu buzz and all that took place lastnight. See you at the Kwoon.

A Process Engrained

What a road it's been leading up to this point. I think back to the beginning of the year and how only a short time in, it began to change and just kept revolving into more and more unique discoveries and more and more challenges. I wouldn't change none of it for the world. Here I am, only a few short days away from achieving something that only less than 1% of the population can. I am about to be recognized as a product of a deep and solid lineage of martial artists as one of their own. I am about to be cross the floor and stand by the very same people I have tried hard to emulate all these years. I am about to stand beside my mentors and teachers and be recognized as one of their own. I treat this and respect this as a very huge honour. I carry the biggest honour of all and that is being a father and a husband to my family and son to my parents. But this to me carries the same responsibility and is along the same level of importance. It goes beyond the blood, sweat, and dirt. It is proof of true grit yes, but a statement to exactly what kind of person you are. I feel very humbled and extremely grateful right now and I am full of excitement.

I'll be the first to admit I haven't been a very good team mate in the I Ho Chuan class, in fact probably one of the worst. I have contributed very little as far as I am concerned. This year and those previous I have been in it, I have seldom been able to make most of the classes. Most of the time I was on my own, as a result of high work hours or location. But when it comes down to putting in the work and pushing all limits to get the job done, I can be counted on as a result of being in the I Ho Chuan. This process was an integral part of my focus and discipline that led me to complete and accomplish the rank of black belt. Because of it's lessons of self discovery and ability to instill the mindset to never give up and push beyond your inner limits, to see the goal and follow through, regardless of location or circumstance, I know what it means to have structure. This process in itself must be recognized for the valuable tool it is. It is an advanced version of the Black Belt success cycle, and if used like it is meant to be used, your martial art discipline and skill level will become upgraded to more of a well rounded progression. You begin to approach the art from the inside out and the enhancement brings the mind and the body as one. Physical and mental improvement are lead through awareness as a whole. What goes into the body and mind and what leaves becomes the overall goal. The structure you create and it's existence in your soul is what makes us all great. As little as I have been involved with this years team and left a lot of you carrying my weight, I have been able to witness some amazing people do truly amazing things as of late. With the short deadline thrown at the team and basically starting from scratch, it's all coming together very nicely and the energy is amazing. I look forward to training with you all for remaining days left leading up to Chinese New year, it's been an absolute privilage. See you at the Kwoon.

Gears of Focus are Out of Sync

Well where to start? Let's start with my return from holidays and back into the kwoon. It was a little nerve wracking at first since I new I had to jump back into the program as if I never left. I'm really glad that Sifu put out the video for the thriller dance footwork. I practiced it numerous times because I wanted to be ready. First night back and I was told it looked good. Alright cool. First reaction though to see the pink lion brought on three stages of mental prep. Stage 1, gather up and stock come back ammunition for team teasing. No problem there. Stage 2, get over the fact your in a pink lion. Stage 3, look past the colour and look at the meaning. That pink lion represents a battle that one of our very own Sifu's had endured and won. That lion represents courage, will and determination, strength and not something to be messed with. That lion represents pain and losses to families; mothers, daughters, friends etc. A cancer that can eliminate a part of the female anatomy, remove the opportunity to feed children as nature intended, a part of life creation and advancement. That lion represents hope and powerful symbolism and I'm damn proud to be in it.

Next issue was my inability to take my weapons on holidays, they get all uptight about that stuff at airports and in the general public. So having to improvise by utilizing a rake handle I broke in two, I went to work on the form. Things seemed like they were coming together quite well, finally reaching a certain flow and piecing together a form that actually made some sense. Then I came back home, grabbed the axes and went through the form. This awesome form ended up turning into a big pile of s#$t fresh out of the dogs butt. Oh great, can't wait to show this to the team and my Sifus. Not a good place to be in the mind and my habit of beating the crap right out myself didn't help either. The thing is my weapons kind of took a back seat to my preparation to grading. Dumb for sure, but that's what I did. Whatever, face the music and do something about it. This particular weapon has been the hardest form yet I have ever created. The stances I worked with on holidays did not work well with the transitions and techniques I developed with the actual weapon. If my hands are even an inch or two off during the techniques or the vectors are not timed properly with centering and a grounded stance, I am no longer in the drivers seat, the weapon is and that is not a proper application or even a form. Stops and starts burn energy, are hard on the joints, and make the form ineffective. Once you get a heavier weapon going you don't want it to stop, you want it to keep moving with smooth transitions and you must remain in control while still having an actual technique. I've had to put in a lot of hours the last while to get this form where I want it to be but I think I'm there now. It might still suck but at this point, it's what I have. The first demo run at the last I Ho Chuan class was awesome, it was like I didn't even have the twin axes in my hands and this told me I hit the mark. Second one, not so good, but I have enough time to easily hit the 100 rep mark and version 8.7 will be ready for Chinese New Year.

I'm fighting an injury at the moment that can be at times very painful, I have irritated some tendons in my right arm. It started with a pain that travelled across the top of my fore arm and moved to the side of my elbow and area. So I got it checked out and thankfully there is no tendon damage, but they are mad at me. So I have some exercises to do and I need to select a brace to use when training for the next while. I also managed to get into to see my practitioner of reflexology and ancient chinese medicine. She worked on it for sometime and I got another opportunity to use the mind over pain for the purpose of healing challenge. Trying to keep your arm completely relaxed from shoulder to finger tip while someone has their thumb buried deep into the muscle right to the bone and riding along it to the source was a great challenge.... but I did it and although really sore that evening, the next day, nothing except a small amount of pain right at the tip of my elbow. It comes back here and there but I'm taking care of it until after chinese New Year. I have another appointment soon and the tools I need to make it through.

A couple of my techniques need some work as during demo practice they basically suck ass. I need a good hour or two with my training partner and they will be right where they need to be and beyond. We haven't worked together nearly enough the last while but I knew this would happen and I know what needs to be done, and so it will. On the one I need to change the footwork just ever so slightly and it will evolve to even better efficiency and effectiveness. The other one needs another small tweek which will be a little experimental, but I'm sure by next demo practice, they will be pristine and where they were when I presented them at grading.

Moving forward and maintaining narrowed focus has been a real challenge lately. Too many things going on perhaps that need to be prioritized and set straight. Other things need to be set aside and others let go and tossed to the curb. My focus for so long now has been direct and precise as required to complete a task or be in the moment. Spells of anxiety and blurry moments have crept into my direction, where the hell did this come from? This isn't the time for this. I really have to take a moment and calm the mind, build the focus and remember where I am and what I set out to do this year. It's not really that hard to get caught up in a bunch of things if there is no advancement to an issue or a complete failure to comphrehend the fix. Sometimes its hard to let your mistakes go and learn from them, but that's what I need to do. I took the time this weekend to do just that. Think things through and sort them out, remove the clutter and redefine the direction. I think I have succeeded by applying the tools I have developed this year. I guess we'll see.

Finally, without going into any detail, last Sihing class was by far one of my most proudest moments I have experienced in some time. I felt so grateful and accomplished, I couldn't sleep and was running on about 4 hrs sleep at work the next day but my energy level and mental well being was as if I woke up from a 12 hour rest. It was a moment I will never forget and all those that were a part of it. Thank you.

So here we are just days away from Chinese New Year and this team is just amazing. I feel so proud to be on it with some truly amazing people, you guys are awesome. The energy level as Sifu Brinker described is something I am truly embracing. I'm very excited for the lion dance and grateful to be a part of Sifu's vision. See you at the Kwoon.