Kungfu is such a total opposite art form than Tai Chi or really any Marital Art that I have done in the past. The balance of strength and power versus the grace and speed is something that I am struggling with at the moment. I quickly realized that the slow methodical nature of Tai Chi won’t cut it for these classes. Stances are lower, speeds are faster, and the power is more intense. All of this while keeping the same relaxed feeling about yourself in order to move from form to form. It is quite challenging for me at the moment, but I think my brain and my body will get use to it quickly. Now if I can just get past this blasted “Elbow Set”!

BRUISES AND SORE MUSCLES HERE I COME!!! )

The test was good. We had to demonstrate some stance stepping which isn’t as hard as it sounds.  Well, except doing Dragon stance backwards.  then we performed part one of the Solo Form as a group.  I liked this part.  All in all the test went well.

After watching Lea performing her Upper Block ‘B’ test in Kung fu has driven me to pick up the art and get ready form my Lower Block ‘B’ test in March.  Yup! MARCH!  I have a lot of work to do.  Wish me LUCK!!

This is what we need to know to advance:

1. Need to be able to perform the following Chi Kung exercises:
- “Beat the Heavenly Drum”
- “Pick the Fruit”
- “Polish the Mirror”
- “Shoot the Bow”

2. Need to perform the “Seven Stance” stepping:
- Forward Bow
- Back Stance
- Cat Stance
- Dragon Stance
- Box Stance
- Crane Stance
- Horse Stance

I would talk to your Tai Chi instructor about these stepping drills if you are unfamiliar with them. They are really quite easy, but they are not specifically called out in our normal stepping drills. So if you were like me, I was totally unfamiliar with what they were talking about when they listed “Seven Stance Stepping”. However, once someone shows you what they are talking about, it will all become perfectly clear. I realized that some of our instructor’s teaching methods are like Mr. Myogi’s in the Karate Kid. He has you “Paint the Fence” until you are deliriously bored and then you find out you were learning something incredibly cool and useful. Go figure. Let’s move on.

3. Need to be able to perform the “Ying/Yang – Pushing and Yielding” drills.

4. Need to be able to define the three categories of breathing.
Now before all of you scramble to send me emails, the answer is not “In, Out, and Repeat”. The real answer is:
- Depth: The amount of breath you can retain in your lungs
- Duration: the amount of time you can hold your breath
- Purity (or Quality): basically don’t breath deeply in a crowded parking lot, try a nice grassy field

5. Need to be able to perform the “Bar and Partner Leg Stretches”.
See an instructor about these if you don’t know what they are. I would say you should stretch before performing these, but what would be the point?

6. Last but not least, you need to be able to perform the Ch’ang Style Solo Form – Part 1
I have place a listing of the moves within Part 1 of the solo form on this blog.

I think after going through this post I am ready to try to go through my promotional testing.  Wish me luck!!

Many of the names for these postures were adapted by Grandmaster DeMaria to be more descriptive than the original Chinese names, which tend to be more poetic.  That said, students will appreciate that even in Grandmaster’s book, the descriptions given for moving from posture to posture just scratch the surface.  Further, Grandmaster has refined his understanding over time and today explains some of these movements differently than the book.  He also performs many of the postures with an emphasis or expression that has evolved from what is pictured in the book.

Read, enjoy and learn!

Well Tuesday I had a great work out at the Dragon.  I got to work on Floor techniques with some of the people who do fight training at TPD.  It was great to get back into the mix again.  Robert and Carrie ran me ragged, but I had fun.  I did have a problem half way through because both of my forearms spasmed so badly that I couldn’t grip anything.  Unfortunately the spasms happened right in the middle of a fight with Carrie.  The one thing you don’t want to have happen in the middle of a wrestling match with a very determined woman is to loose your grip strength.  I had to lock her legs and pin her to the ground with my weight and elbows because I didn’t have any grip to do anything else.  It took me another hour for the swelling to go down enough for me to grip my steering wheel to get home.  Luckily I had Boot Camp right after my work out to recover before going home.  I haven’t had a workout like that in 15 years.

The biggest thing I learned in this work out is the difference between my Judo training and what they teach in Kungfu.  I am use to just wrapping an opponent up in a hold for 30 sec to win a match.  These guys keep going until someone taps out.  BIG DIFFERENCE!  I had forgotten all of the joint locks and arm bars I had learned all of those years ago.  I definitely have to study up on these things as I move forward with my training.

It was interesting to fight in the padded room this time.  Once or twice I looked up to notice a bunch of people looking through the windows of the clear wall to watch us.  I now know what a hamster feels like when being looked at in a pet store.  I didn’t recognize anyone because I didn’t have my glasses on, but it was just funny to watch people come in to the Qwan, stop, shake their head, and watch us.  I say to anyone that is interested in getting a good work out, that they should come to TPD on Tuesday and have a go!  They welcome anyone that wants to just show up and learn.

Special thanks to Robert, Carrie, Frank, and the gang for a good work out.  Next time Frank and I have to go first so we can be evenly matched.  I don’t want to loose my grip when fighting him.

GET THIS CANDY AWAY FROM ME!!! I am really starting to hate this confectionary holiday season known as Halloween. I vow to stay away from the stuff, but it sits there, beckoning me from a far. Hoping that it will infest my brain and tickle my taste buds! As hard as I might, the urge to splurge is maddening. Every time a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup touches my lips, I feel my waist grow another inch. Ruining all that I have worked for to date.

I suggest that we look at turning all the left over Halloween candy into some kind of fuel to run our cars on. It has enough calories to run a small boiler for a good many days. Why not put this stuff to good use rather then subjecting the weak to this kind of torture every year.

Who is with me!?!

At first he really didn’t understand why we were going up to complete strangers’ doors and knocking, but got the point as he started getting more and more candy. We haunt really exposed him to candy until now. I can honestly say that he is a junkie. We were walking between houses and I looked over to find him chewing through an orange tootsie roll wrapper yelling, “GOOD! GOOD!”. It was too hilarious. When we got home he was all about transferring his booty from his bucket to the floor and back again. I couldn’t wait to give him a bath though. He was so sticky that I had to carry him by his waist up the stairs.

All in all it was a good experience. Now we just have to watch him like a hawk until the contraband is out of the house.