Today I invited my parents over for lunch. I ate a bit much, so I skipped dinner and I went for a nice training in the evening.
Today we had thunderstorms in the night, 30℃ during the day, and therefore a tropical humidity in the evening.
I like doing a workout in this weather, I always think that this is how it must feel like on a moist hot summer day in Henan province in China... so I can 'get into the zone' easy for training.
Unfortunately the grass was also a bit moist which made it slippery. So I practiced slow today. Which is also a great way to train, since it trains the strength of the muscles better and you can pay more attention to details in the moves.
I practiced Xiao Hong Quan and Da Mo Jian and did some stick practice as intermezzo. I found that in a lot of moves I need to find balance in the stance first before finishing the move (especially in Da Mo Jian). So again learned something today.
Tomorrow it is back to fitness and qi gong. But starting tomorrow I am going back to a higher intensity level. Train of some lazy sweat (and excess fat ;) )
Thursday I went to the physical therapist and got some new exercises for my knee which should bring it back to original strength. Friday I did not have time for lunch break training (needed to prioritize some urgent work unfortunately), but in the evening we did a nice outdoors Kung Fu training with the 'die hards' of Kung Tao. Was a really nice training session and finally did some group effort on Tao Lu again. Working on the details, felt good!
Next week the holidays are over and the regular indoors training starts again on Tuesday and Friday.
I think I will do some Tao Lu training tomorrow if the weather is ok, if not then I'll do some punch ball training, haven't done that in while.
Since I had a short training yesterday, I kicked it up a notch today. Did a bit more exercises at a higher pace.
Shi Yan Ming style warm up
Knee strengthening exercises + generic fitness (did one set of arm exercises, then one set of the next leg exercise then arms again.... so 7 sets in total, than a 30 seconds stretching break)
4 x 15 wide push ups
3 x 30 squats
30 second stretching
4 x 20 sit ups + double punch when up
3 x 20 lunches
30 second stretching
4 x 5 push ups with elbows close to body (yes 3x5... but 5 proper ones..., thats all I've got for now)
3 x 12 single legged squats
30 second stretching
3 x balance practice per leg: kick forward, sideward and backwards
slowly in one go (keep standing on one leg) with out losing balance.
3 x 20 leg ups + shoot down (lying on back, lifting both legs all the way up, then fast kick down while catching the force on the abs just before the foot hit the floor. Good ab exercise for Kip ups later on)
Stretching
Qi Gong
Tomorrow, if the weather is OK, Gabriel (my college) will join me again... He told me today that he now can do 3 sets of 25 push ups... so let's test that tomorrow... (lol....No pressure Gabriel ;) )
Keeping it short again today, will try to make a habit from it (less time to type = more time to train).
Today I did a (bit shorter) lunch break training session again:
Shi Yan Ming style warm up
Knee strengthening exercises + generic fitness
3 x 20 squats with 10kg backpack
3 x 16 lunches with 10kg backpack
3 x 12 single legged squats with 10kg backpack
3 x balance practice per leg: kick forward, sideward and backwards slowly in one go (keep standing on one leg) with out losing balance.
Some extra stretching
Practice Tai Chi simplified 24 form
If it stays dry I'll do some more taolu training in the evening.... but it looks like its gonna be wet and slippery weather....
Today I did a different kind of Kung Fu, like announced yesterday.
Today we went flying! We did our first 'height' flights (need to do at least 5 for our first pilot license).
Now why put this info in this blog? Because Kung Fu is not just about training fighting techniques and demo forms. Kung Fu is much more than that. Kung Fu is pushing your boundaries, training perseverance, learning to put trust in others, finding out that your body can do far more than you think, and you learn controlling and manipulating forces put on you.
The last one is interesting. Some styles of Wu Shu, like western kick boxing, but also Shaolin Wu Shu, teach you to be strong, fast, and resist forces (e.g. blocking a punch). Other styles (which I find more interesting in that sence) like Tai Chi, Systema, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or one of my favorites Wing Chun Kung Fu, teach you that preferably you should not resist forces, since a force can easily be stronger than your counterforce. But rather to manipulate and control the forces that are put on you in your favor.
That is actually exactly the same as what your doing with para gliding!
You learn that you need to start with the basics and that it will not always go the way you want it to go (more often than not).
You learn "feeling" the forces that nature puts on your wing and acting upon it.
You learn that it takes practice to recognize these forces (as you can see below, I need lots more practice :P)
In para gliding you learn how to manipulate the forces that nature puts on your wing and use it to your advantage.
You learn is not to resist the wind... since it is far stronger than you and you will never win that. In stead you control the air stream through your wing such that you go were you want to.
You learn to put trust in your instructor, since up in the air you only
have your own capability of controlling the wing and the instructor
giving you tips from the ground.
Sometimes it will not let you go were you want to (e.g. when the wind from up front is as fast as then your wings flying speed, than it is not possible to move in a forward ground trajectory) but you'll learn to wait, have patience, and hold on. Since when you drop a little more, the wind speed will go down and you will start to move forward. You learn if the wind blows you left, to gently manipulate the your wing to go a little to the right, rather than trying to put full body force into go right...
You learn it is not always 'your' way that you can go by brute force, but if you choose your own path, make strategic choices, and flow with and manipulate the forces put on you, you can always go where you choose to go, but it will take perseverance!
Kung Fu actually just means something like: "Skill acquired through practice".
But aside from that, training Kung Fu, and para gliding, and life in general have a lot commonalities.
These are all valuable life lessons which many people don't learn or don't realize in their lives.
Lots of people either do not realize it requires effort and/or perseverance in reaching goals, or want to reach goals so bad they trying to force their path upon others to reach those goals, thereby destroying other people, nature, and eventually often themselves and not reaching their goals because there opponents (including themselves) are stronger.
Going with the flow and manipulating the flow a little to stay on your own path in harmony with natures forces acting upon you is always successful, even if it takes longer. The beauty of this way is that during your travel you often realize that you need to steer to another direction to stay on your own path towards your own happiness and your travel will become more satisfying than even reaching to goal itself, since you will realize during your travel that your goal itself can change during the path :)
My knee is getting better and better. I really dislike the fact that it takes so long, but as they say... quality takes time :P
Every day my knee feels good in the morning, during the day I feel some moist growing inside, and after sports, cycling and sleeping I feel the moist is going away again.
Every week the amount of swelling is getting a little less, so I think that it will take some more weeks but it will be okay.
I did not manage to do my sports routine in the lunch break this week (some other important stuff to do during lunches ;) ).
I did do my 'knee strengthening exercises' the rest of the week but no kung fu/qi gong or fitness.
Last Wednesday I did 1,5hour of proper kung fu training together with Ejnar, one of my college-students from my Shaolin school. And today I did manage to make time and I did a nice Fitness and Qi gong workout during lunch. I did 3 sets of proper (elbows close to body) push ups, sets of 10 since I have to start building up again :(. I also did 3 sets of sit ups (25 per set), 3 sets of 20 squats, 3 sets of 16 lunches, 3 sets of 12 single leg squats and 3 sets of balance exercises (kick to front, keep leg up, kick to side, keep leg up, kick to left, and repeat 3 times per leg). After that some nice Qi Gong. I switched to the Shi Deyang style of Ba Duan Jin, which feels better to me than the set of Shifu Yan Lei.
In the evening I did a kung fu training with the Yan Ming style warm up. Shi Heng Jin style Ji Ben Gong, some more qi gong, and I practiced 3 forms: Zhao Yang Quan, Tai Zu Quan and Da Mo Jian.
This weekend we go paragliding again if the weather allows. So no Kung Fu practice (may be sunday evening, but we'll see). Next week I will try to force myself to get back in the shaolin lifestyle (training every day).
As mentioned yesterday, we continued a course in paragliding today. Unfortunately the wind was to turbulent to send beginners up in the air. So instead we spend all day on ground practice.
I can tell you that this was a bloody good practice, also in martial arts sense... Wrestling a huge parapente (the wing that you use for flying) is quite hard work with gushes of hard wind coming and going. As a matter of fact, my upper arms have more bruises than I ever experienced in martial arts :)
So it was quite a tiring day. Never the less I spend the evening doing hour of Qi gong and fitness (the exercises of the physiotherapist, to stabilize and strengthen my knee).
Hope tomorrow will be a beautifull day aswell. Monday will most likely be the next flying day (if weather allows it). So plenty of time for kung fu coming week.
Since I tried a couple of training sessions last weeks, and since my knee was feeling better on days of training then on days without training, I tried my 'old' training scheme yesterday and today.
Yesterday I trained Qi Gong, Tai Chi (Yang simplified 24) and the exercises my physical therapist gave me all in the lunch break in the park.
Today I repeated yesterdays afternoon training. I think there where some people who must have thought I was crazy, since they were talking to me and did get no response at all. I was practicing Qi Gong with eyes almost closed, sunglasses on and headphones on... so I was not aware someone was trying to get my attention :p, that must have looked really weird...
On top of that I went for more then 1.5 hours of Shaolin Wu Shu training in the evening with my Sifu and another student. We did the 'short' Shi Yan Ming warm up and Ji Ben Gong session. And after that it was free training. I did all hand forms I know and practiced them at least twice. I also practiced all weapon forms I know twice. Soon I will go back to practicing only a couple of forms, but since I have been neglecting Tao Lu training for the last weeks during my injury, I need to repeat everything to get it all back in my system.
For now my knee feels OK, although it locked when I wanted to stretch it during the drive back.
I can literally feel that there is something changing in the knee... as if it is re-arranging itself based on the new configuration.
(There was a part removed, so my body will need some 'getting used to' time).
Tomorrow and Thursday, if the weather is ok, me and my girl will be flying again. Maybe I will do some more training tomorrow evening, but lets see how my knee feels tomorrow first.
Did just a couple of training sessions last week. My knee still does not feel okay, each day starts off okay, but after a day of work my knee feels a little swollen and uncomfortable again. Therefore I still am a bit anxious about training.
Never the less, after a training session my knee appears to be feeling better.
Last Tuesday I did a training session in the park like last Friday.
Last Thursday I had an appointment with my physical therapist and we did some knee and hip stabilizing exercises.
I took a day off last Friday and decided to do some other cool stuff (I planned to do a kungfu weekend with friends, but that was cancelled).
So I decided to push some boundaries and go do something out of my comfort zone. I went flying :)! Paragliding to be exact.
I did not want to do just a 'tandem' flight, where you get hooked up to an instructor and fly off, but since I like doing things that actually take effort to master :), and due to a nice opportunity I arranged something else.
Thursday evening I was looking on the internet to find something to do on Friday and found a flying school not to far away (well... 1h15min drive, but still do-able). My luck was that they had a 4day course this weekend starting on Friday, where the first day was an introduction day that you could join as a single day.
So I called up the school late in the evening and found out that there was still room for students. So I signed me and my girlfriend up.
Unfortunately we spend all day practicing lift offs and steering on the ground, but the wind conditions didn't allow for us to take off. So no flying on Friday :(
Never the less, we were invited to comeback for another day, to do the initial flights that belong to the introduction.
Today we went back to the school and had some really super experiences! My girlfriend decided to do a tandem flight after all instead of a 'all by yourself' flight. Because then she could go a little higher up in the air. I decided I wanted to fly by myself and I did 2 flights. Unfortunately this meant that the height would be limited and I had to stay 'on the leash' for safety (the cord that pulls you in the air... since unfortunately we do not have mountains nearby to jump off from).
Since I've had a fear of heights since my childhood I did not mind that so much :)
Never the less this was an amazing experience to just shoot up in the sky and fly like a bird (or sort off). Was truly amazing!
My first touch down in the landing was a bit rough, which my knee did not like so much, but the second landing also went perfectly. We already decided to go back to get the 1st pilots-certificate very soon. Quite likely this will happen coming week if I can manage to get some additional days off from work.
So sorry for no Kung Fu stories today... but remember, it is always good to do some things that pushes your boundaries and expands your horizon. That will help you find your own path!
Last Friday during lunch time I went for the first 'real' training since I got injured.
I started out with a warm up and some Qi gong exercises to get the blood and Qi flowing. Then I did a short fitness routine consisting of a couple of sets of push ups, sit ups, leg lifts and I tried some high (and careful) squats and some knee stabilizing exercises.
After that my knee still was feeling good, and it didn't swell up. So I continued with the Tao Lu practice that I intended to do. I did all hand forms I know, but did them all just once and in a fairly low paste...
Never the less I still had a really nice workout and I was feeling really happy that my knee did not swell and that I was able to work on my Kung fu again. This was really making my body and mind happy and I literately left the park with a big smile on my face.
Today (Sunday) was a beautiful day. After a family visit in the afternoon we (the love of my life miss K. & me) went out to a small park nearby to do some martial arts training. I took it easy again, but I tried to see if I could connect the moves a bit more. So not to much explosive power and such... but a bit more and faster flow in the Tao Lu today. I started out with warm up and Qi Gong and after that I practiced: Wu Bu Quan, Lian Huan Quan, Lian Bu Quan, Ba Bu Lian Huan Quan, Tong bi Quan, Wu Xing Quan, Zhao Yang Quan, Tai Zu Quan and Xiao Hong Quan. I also practiced weapon forms: Yin Shou Gun, Zhen Shan Gun and Da Mo Jian.
I have to say that my knee feels ok, but I can feel that I strained it a bit more. So hope it feels ok tomorrow.
Starting next week I want to start training a bit more again. I have a planned a visit to the physical therapist tomorrow to get some extra knee strengthening exercises.
