Blammo

Finally got to the end of the 2nd two person set in kickboxing, it seems much longer than any other 2 person set I know, but I suspect the 3rd one is longer still ( I have known the 3rd, 4th and I think 5th set at some point in the dim and distant, but really don't recall them now). Did some kick pad work right at the end of the class which is unusual but worked quite well for me because I was definitely thoroughly warmed up by then so I was kicking quite fluidly.

Kung fu class was busy, I got to teach the yellows Chang Chuan and the stick set. Then during sparring I walked straight into a punch which was a bit careless, luckily it was more embarrassing than painful!

Full of energy again tonight, T tried to tire us out through kickboxing but in the end I think I lasted the pace better than him, especially at the end when we were going through the next bit of Char Chuan together. I knew that running wasn't really good for me....seems like I'm better off without it. I'm thinking of deep-sixing the half marathon idea altogether.

On The Hop

Noticed during the kids classes this morning that it seems I can hop (and skip) further and more powerfully than anyone else, including T and S. What a useful talent!

Wonder which of these I look more like?

End of an Era

In this case, perhaps "era" should be said in an American accent, so it's more like "Error"? Tonight was the last women's kickboxing at Portland, for the next few weeks it's at the fight club gym, and if that doesn't take off then I guess it's over. But also it was probably the last time I'll teach a kickboxing class, as now it's a Wednesday T should always be able to do it.

I don't really think the women's kickboxing was an error -

in fact I think that the experience has taught me two useful things - first that I can stand up in front of a class and teach, and second that it's Kung Fu I want to teach, kickboxing has no real finesse to it and isn't my real love. (Although I enjoy doing it myself well enough, as it's always good to practise the basics and it has certainly helped improve my speed and power)

Where's it coming from?

I was full of energy for Thursday night's classes, literally bouncing around all over the place, even though it was hot as an oven in the training hall. Lots of Tiger Claw Zi Chi in the warm up, including the wushu warm up we sometimes do with the kids. Went through chang chuan with the yellow belts, then bokken with the greens. I was trying to watch the choy li fut out of the corner of my eye because there's quite a lot of fine tuning I think I could do with. Then it was those flying kicks again, this time I was a bit more sensible and managed not to hurt myself. T had to leave straight after the class, but I stayed for quite a while going through choy li fut 5 or 6 times, then char chuan more times than I can remember, starting to get a proper flow to it, it's the type of form that just makes me feel really happy when I do it... a feeling that's hard to explain to someone who's never felt it.

Then just to top things off, down to Tai Chi, where we started doing some pole (I should call it "bo" I think, but it's pole or staff to me), we're going to learn the Wing Chun set that I once won a medal at back when I was more competitive. The pole has to be my favorite weapon, so things are looking up.

Serious Stuff

First class at the new venue tonight. Turns out to be a serious MMA gym type of place. The class before us looked like something out of Fight Club or UFC, lots of fit young men in shorts with strapped hands and feet kicking seven bells out of each other. Obviously I was checking out their technique, not their well-formed, sweaty physiques....but I need to stop dwelling on that.

Then our women-only class, with only me, T and one new student. Turns out though that she's done some Thai boxing before, so we had a good session, she likes to punch hard on the pads, which gives me license to do the same. And the gym is kitted out with some full-size heavy bags, so we got do do a few serious turning kicks also. I hope the class takes off a bit, because although it's a bit intimidating at first I think it could actually be a pretty good venue for the classes. But we'll need more than 1 student to make it worthwhile. I'll have to do a good selling job at the last Friday class this week to make sure we take some of those students with us to Wednesdays. Maybe I need to mention the six-packs....

Led Boots

Monday kickboxing was my first time for a few weeks, and we went off at a cracking pace, making no concessions at all to the closeness of the weather. My leg felt surprisingly OK, so I was able to get really stuck in. I went through the second set with a couple of the class, although I still think we're not quite at the end (hard to tell though, as it's so long since I last did that particular form all the way through).

Then Kung Fu, first going through the bokken/miao dao applications with the green sashes, then siu lim tao with the beginners. Then some knocking hands sensitivity training - and about half way through it was like someone had unplugged me - legs and arms felt like lead and I could hardly hold up a guard let alone throw a punch.

Just a couple of missed sessions and I can't hack it anymore! I'm dreading the summer break as even with the best of intentions I know I won't train very intensely by myself, and by the time I've had a month off I'll be useless.

Throwing yourself at the ground and missing

Three kids classes on Saturday as usual, but without either of my two there, as they had gone off camping with the other half and some friends. All three classes felt fairly subdued for some reason, and the first two were both quite small, which somehow seems to make them harder work. In the second class we practiced a few kicks leading up to jumping front scissor kicks. It was going pretty well for me, achieving some pretty high kicks by my standard (above my head height, I like to think), then I tried them on the other leg....and aggravated my existing groin strain really badly, to the extent that for the rest of that class and all through the next I could hardly lift my left leg at all.This didn't stop me staying on at the end to go through some stuff with T though - the rest of the wushu two-person pole set, the two-person Tai Chi sword and some sword applications that T is thinking of teaching to the advanced kids who have done the kung fu sword set.

Then T taught me a new throw, which is actually an application of a bit of the first kids set that I hadn't understood. It's a scary sort of throw to be a victim of, and involved me generally getting "rag-dolled" around for a while, but because it tended to be my shoulder that contacted the ground first giving me no chance to put my arm out, I much prefer it to being thrown by the wing chun application throw we usually do. Then it was my turn to try throwing T about, and I must admit it worked pretty well. I'm not sure if it's easier than the other throw or if I'm just getting better at throwing because I'm not so freaked out by making close contact with an opponent as I used to be.

After the class, nipped home just long enough to grab some lunch and numb my leg with Tiger Balm, then in the car and off to Derbyshire to meet up with the family for some outdoors fun. Despite sleeping on the ground Saturday night my leg held up well enough for a four mile hike on Sunday, which is promising for training tomorrow.

Serendipity

Women's Kickboxing tonight, supposedly one of the last classes...but as I said in a recent blog, when one door closes another door opens. On the day T was preparing to tell the class that it was finishing at the end of the month, out of the blue he gets a phone call from a sports club that has just lost it's Women-Only Kickboxing instructor and is looking for someone to take over. Seems like too good an opportunity to turn down, given the timing, so he's agreed to give it a try for a month. This means that instead of folding, the class is moving to a Wednesday night. This is a lot better for me than a Friday, because it breaks up my training better so that I get several single "rest days" instead of lots of days training in a row. Also it's later in the evening, and nearer to my house, so I can get the girls tea and put them into bed before I go, which is good for the girls and will also keep my other half happy (well, happier).

Apparently the training hall has mats and some punchbags, so I may be able to get some quality extra training in too.

N'Sync

Best training session for ages on Thursday night. Nothing special, I just seemed to be in the groove (or "in the dao" as T might say). Although not completely better, my groin strain is on the mend and I've finally shaken off the last of my cold. We did plenty of bokken during the warm up, then chang chuan, biu jeet, char chuan and a bit of stick work with a beginner.

Then after the class four of us went through the char chuan together. I'd never done it as part of a group before, but we seemed to work well together in really good synchrony. Unfortunately I don't know all of it yet (in fact it looks like I know less than a third of it so far!), so I had to drop out before the end. I think because of its flashy nature, it would be a good form to do for a display. Once everyone else was gone I was still on a bit of a high, so went through li pi and some more biu jeet by myself.

Tai Chi was also good - I've made a conscious decision to try to enjoy it more instead of worrying about it, and it seems to be working. Went through more sword, there's just one section I'm still a bit vague on, then it's just a question of stitching it together. Then some more Hsing I, some Wu-style pushing hands and a bit of chi gung for the solstice. D seems taken with the notion of teaching a kung fu class with me, so it's just a question of deciding where and when now.

Not Dancing

Missed kickboxing tonight as had birthday presents to open and cake to eat with my newly-six year old. I did manage to make it to kung fu though, through a spectacular thunder storm.

Went through Siu Lim Tao with the beginners, including showing them a couple of the applications of the moves from the set, then through the basic pak sau kick drill. Then I got to teach the first half of the stick set to the yellows, giving them the same advice as I was given when I was first taught it - remember that you're not Morris Dancing with your opponent, you're trying to kill them. I think it sunk in because the set was looking quite purposeful by the end.

A little bit of sparring, wearing my mitts rather than my big gloves for a change, which was

good as it gave me more chance to practice the mantis-type hooks and grabs, and throw in a few finger strikes. Like at the end of Dumbo when he drops the magic feather, I seem to have finally realised that I can spar reasonably well even without my "lucky" pink gloves.

Afterwards I went over the Char Chuan again and then the two-person butterfly knives, which was not too bad given that it's a couple of months since we last did it.

Seeing Stars

No, not another accident at kids kung fu, but a new star chart system we're trying out with the tinies to try to keep them focussed. It seemed to work fairly well this Saturday, but I wonder how long the novelty will last

Really good turn out this weekend too, with all three classes pretty full. This, combined with the hot weather and the remnants of my cold (and my groin strain!) had me feeling fairly fatigued by the end of the 3.5 hours, but with just enough left to spend 30 minutes going over stuff with T, including learning the next part of the char chuan.

Then off to prepare for the real grueling marathon of this weekend - my youngest daughter's birthday party.....

The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning?

T has decided to stop the Friday night Women's Kick Boxing, so today was one of the last few sessions. As I've mentioned in this blog before, I am starting to get a little bored of the women's kickboxing as it lacks any real finesse, so I won't mourn its passing too much, except for the loss of the additional aerobic fitness I think it helps me build. I guess I'll have to start running a bit more regularly again, or investigate the gym at work which I'm told has a couple of heavy punchbags. (although I have been warned that too much work on punchbags will f*&@ up your joints pretty quickly).

So if Friday nights are becoming family time again, that potentially frees up a night earlier in the week for martial arts. If only there was another training session I could attend...which got me thinking that maybe it's about time I listened to what my teachers have been telling me and took the step from assistant to instructor. Had a brief chat with D about it and he was really encouraging, so I'm going to give it some serious thought. As one door closes, another door opens, as they say.

The Comeback Kid

Despite finding breathing a bit of a challenge on occasions, I decided to venture to Kung Fu on Thursday night, thinking that the Dan Dien breathing and general "chi" cultivation would do me good. And sure enough after the first couple of minutes I was fine (although I seem to have pulled something in my left thigh - quite how I did that during my days on my sickbed I don't know).

Went over the first section of the Choy Li Fut Celebration set with the Orange sashes, then through some Wing Chun (Chum Ku) with the Blues. We were then supposed to go through some bokken/miao dao with the whole class, but T and I had brain fade at first and couldn't remeber which sequences were in which set until after the class had offically ended (although most people stayed on in the hope that we would recall it eventually). What is it with the bokken sets?

Arrived at Tai Chi just in time to go over a portion of the straight sword set that I've always been a bit rusty on. I really want to find an opportunity to practice the whole set in a vast space so that I can really do it justice. My garden isn't really quite big enough (not to mention I'd probably impale at least one of the kids), but I can't really do it in a park 'cos I'd probably get arrested....

After sword we did some more Hsing I, including a new two person drill for practising "pi". Woke up this morning to find my forearms covered in bruises, which hasn't happened for a long time.

Spoke too Soon

Or should that be "croaked too soon"? Sore throat came back with a vengeance on Saturday evening, and then developed into the full cold/cough/aching stomach/lost voice/fever/snot and headache deal by Sunday night. Spent all day Monday and Tuesday in bed, although I couldn't actually sleep much because I couldn't breathe properly. 

Just starting to think I'm on the road to recovery now, late on Tuesday night, although I still can't talk above a whisper. Hopefully another day of resting tomorrow will see it off. Meanwhile I'm worrying about the lost training time. Sometimes I think maybe I'm a little over-obsessed with this martial arts stuff.....

There will be blood

Felt surprisingly OK after the 3 kids lessons this morning considering that when I woke up earlier I had a sore throat and could hardly swallow.

Blood flowed during the beginners class when one of the lads took a kick to the face that bust his lip - he was very brave about it and wasn't even going to mention it to T or me, but we noticed the blood dripping! After he'd washed some of it off it didn't look quite so bad, but I was a bit worried he might have loosened some teeth - but he said not.

That's the first actual "combat" accident I can remember us having in the kids class, the previous injuries have always been through the kids falling over during kicks or whilst careening about wildly.

Went through the 2 person wushu pole with T afterward, still a bit shaky in parts, but getting there....

Monday - Friday

Friday night kick-boxing. For the first time we split the class so that the newcomers could go through some basics (taught by me) while the more experienced ones worked on the set from the syllabus (with T). I think it worked fairly well, but overall I'm still finding it a bit of a bore because it's fundamentally the same every week. Somehow the Monday class seems more interesting, even though we more or less go through the same stuff. Perhaps I'm just a bit jaded by Friday?

Never Too Late

Despite still being in Birmingham auditing at 6:00, I decided to dash to kung fu this evening, and against all the odds I arrived only about an hour late and in one piece. Straight in to a bit of kwok sau thay, then kicking, sparring and some bokken with T and young J.

Felt much fresher than usual going down to tai chi, presumably because of an hour's less exertion than normal, and had a very enjoyable lesson, doing the long form as badly as ever, then some sword and some Hsing I (also as badly as ever - I enjoy Hsing I but I think it really doesn't suit my body type). For some reason my inadequ

acies didn't seem to annoy me this evening, they seemed vaguely amusing instead. Not quite so the inadequacies I discovered during my audit earlier in the day.....

Something in the way

Went for a run this lunchtime at work, about 3 miles, the last bit around the running track. It was hard work, and as I got slower and slower on the last lap a truck drove up from the sports centre and the staff started putting out hurdles, presumably for a school sports day later in the afternoon. I had to step up the pace a bit to make sure that they didn't catch up with me, because the thought of even diverting around a hurdle, let alone trying to jump it, was inconceivable by that stage....

Did a few stretches and tried to practice char chuan and the second kickboxing set, but felt a bit inhibited by the audience of sports centre staff and fairly quickly knocked that on the head.

Left Brain Right Brain

Late getting away from work tonight after a very busy day. So I arrived towards the end of the kick boxing and pitched straight in. But the strange thing was that I only seemed to be able to do stuff on one side (usually we do stuff first with one foot forward then the other, and it doesn't make a lot of difference to me, although I tend to slightly favour a left foot forward stance since I'm right handed). I think it might be that because I'd been concentrating hard at work, then hadn't done a proper warm-up, that only one side of my brain (the left side I'd guess) was tuned in. 

I didn't manage to get into the "groove" properly until part way through kung fu. Taught some Sui Lim Tao to the beginners, then afterwards went through bokken with T like we meant it, then learnt a bit more char chuan which is shaping up to be a really cool form - but it will need lots of

 practice for me to do it justice.