Wintertime - my favorite time of year for training!

Not because I like it so cold.... but because some frost gives beautiful scenery. And since a lot of people stay in, it is a lot quieter in the park and more animals show up (looking for food, so please help our little friends out a bit and share some of yours).

Cold is nasty for the muscles, but I do love running and doing Qi gong in the cold. Somehow it is easier to get in the 'focuszone' when you can see yourself breath...

I really start to like this spot for training and active mediation :)

A little training update:
For the last weeks I have been trying out what I can and can't do with the latest injury (my hip/lower back has a problem again). Sitting still does not improve the pain, so that is a good thing. Stretching seems to relieve the pain. Kicking seems to make it worse although last week I tried 'bag' practice with kicks, and it has not really got worse. So maybe it is mainly the stretch kicks when I am tense.
This evening I will try stretch kicks again, see how it feels tomorrow.
I was doubting if the injury felt like a jammed nerve, or an infected joint... but the pain has moved a bit now, its more in the hip and less in the back, so I think it is the joint that is acting up. Had that before, so that will just take some time to heal. At least I can run and train, I just need to be care-full with kicking high and fast.

Did I already tell you that Shaolin Kung Fu is not just sports... it is also teaching you a lot about your body.
A Kung Fu friend of mine told me he always is inspired by how I put myself in pain when I train even with injuries....
I told him: "I do not put myself in pain, I am exploring what causes the pain and what makes it better, but I will not stop moving just because I feel a little pain"
For me that is also part of Kung Fu and Chan. Pain will come, pain will go, but life goes on in the meantime and it is not use full to sit still and wait when you are in pain. Explore and find what you can do and let go of the pain. Then all of a sudden you'll notice the pain is gone... just because you put focus back on your practice rather then on your pain :)