Great night at Kung fu; much better than Monday (still pondering the lessons of Monday night-will probably write more on that later). In Tai Chi we worked on practical applications of the Single Whip. Applications practice can get confusing at times because you're not executing the form exactly like you do in form practice. It can be quite a mental challenge visualizing what an opponent might do and how you can counter it-more free form and improvisational than you might see in other Kung fu forms. I need to keep thinking of it that way, and draw on some of the mindset from my days in the jazz ensemble at school. Made lots of noise and got some aggression out in CLF kicking class-I drove Mr. Roper into the front row with one of my snap kicks. (Bad Kung fu joke alert =:-0)- You might say I "unhorsed" him . :-)
Monday, July 1, 2013
June 5, 2013
Missed Monday at Kung fu because I wanted to get a little more therapy on my back, so last night ended up as my Tai Chi solo practice night. After group class, I went back over all I know of the 24 Step form to date. Need to get back into that more and polish it up. I worked on some of the weight transfer refinements Mr. D. taught us a couple of weeks ago and incorporated that into the form. I'm sure it looked pretty sloppy but ultimately my form will be much improved. Also practiced the "right hand" version of everything I know of the form so far. I'll need to do this for my first fringe, so may as well start practicing it now. Finished off by practicing what I could remember of the 5 Wheel Horse.
May 17, 2013
From FB-
Moving toward the next level of leg strength in Tai Chi. Last night's entire class was devoted to footwork and stance training, and it was a tough and educational experience. We focused on moving REALLY slowly, while maintaining control and being very conscious of where our weight was, and when we were truly ready to shift weight from one foot to the other. Learned some new exercises to practice, which will help with overall form. Anyone who thinks this is easy didn't see how sweaty we were after this class.
The evening's kicking class reinforced the need to develop leg strength and balance-I've been away from this for a while practicing for the tournament, and realized that I'd lost a little strength and balance during that time (I did make it through the Horse Stance challenge at the end of class, though :-)) Although I'm not going for a rank in Choy Li Fut, I do want to learn these techniques properly because I can see the benefits to my overall strength, balance and coordination. Although I enjoy the intensity of the workout, I think I'll take some of the kicking more slowly to begin with so I get the technique down properly. Always more to learn and practice....
The evening's kicking class reinforced the need to develop leg strength and balance-I've been away from this for a while practicing for the tournament, and realized that I'd lost a little strength and balance during that time (I did make it through the Horse Stance challenge at the end of class, though :-)) Although I'm not going for a rank in Choy Li Fut, I do want to learn these techniques properly because I can see the benefits to my overall strength, balance and coordination. Although I enjoy the intensity of the workout, I think I'll take some of the kicking more slowly to begin with so I get the technique down properly. Always more to learn and practice....
Dragon Cup
I brought this over from my FB page; my thoughts/impressions of our tournament in May.
May 6, 2013
May 6, 2013
Some impressions/moments/random thoughts from Saturday's Dragon Cup tournament-
I think the tournament experience taught me more about my practice and preparation than about what to do at the actual event. I can definitely make some changes in my solo practice that will help improve future performances.
Watching a lot of others perform reinforced my belief that it's more important to me to really master something than it is to advance quickly through the ranks. It's not so much about the next stripe or sash, even though they represent significant milestones.
It was hot in there! Will definitely wait longer next time to get into that 80 % polyester shirt.
Will definitely bring all my own food next year.
I enjoyed being there all day and taking in the whole experience, but will probably come a bit later next year and seek out a bit more quiet time before going onto the floor.
I'm happy for all of my classmates who won medals, but especially for my classmates Ms. Cabrera and Mr. Truong - I know those two worked especially hard. And we can't forget Miss Truong (aka "Little T") who was just as excited about her brother's medal as her own.
As usual I was impressed by Ms. Cabrera's display of what Sir John Keegan called "The Will To Combat" - she battled through a lot of pain and effort and prevailed.
Next year-Push Hands! And one of these days a weapon form too.
I think the tournament experience taught me more about my practice and preparation than about what to do at the actual event. I can definitely make some changes in my solo practice that will help improve future performances.
Watching a lot of others perform reinforced my belief that it's more important to me to really master something than it is to advance quickly through the ranks. It's not so much about the next stripe or sash, even though they represent significant milestones.
It was hot in there! Will definitely wait longer next time to get into that 80 % polyester shirt.
Will definitely bring all my own food next year.
I enjoyed being there all day and taking in the whole experience, but will probably come a bit later next year and seek out a bit more quiet time before going onto the floor.
I'm happy for all of my classmates who won medals, but especially for my classmates Ms. Cabrera and Mr. Truong - I know those two worked especially hard. And we can't forget Miss Truong (aka "Little T") who was just as excited about her brother's medal as her own.
As usual I was impressed by Ms. Cabrera's display of what Sir John Keegan called "The Will To Combat" - she battled through a lot of pain and effort and prevailed.
Next year-Push Hands! And one of these days a weapon form too.
April 27, 2013
Some pre-tournament thoughts (originally posted on my FB page)-
Another great Saturday at kung fu-our tournament is next weekend, so we won't be back to the normal Saturday routine for 2 weeks. Used my lesson today with Mr. Roper to look beyond the tournament, and continue learning more of the 24 Step form; still have 2 more stripes to go. Afterward, I went out back and practiced more tournament form-feeling pretty good about it, although there are always thin...gs to work on and improve. Took shelter from the sun for a little while, then went inside for Qi Gong. I appreciated the opportunity to relax-we had a little emergency at home yesterday, so I was a little wound up over that. Nice to just breathe deeply and relax with some slow movement.
Just a few more days to practice for the Dragon Cup. One of the last things I have to master is lacing up my kung fu style shirt to wear with my uniform on tournament day. I have a feeling that I'll need to practice this in front of a mirror for a while, sort of like tying a necktie. On tournament day, I may need an instructor or one of the senior students to inspect me before I go into the ring....
Just a few more days to practice for the Dragon Cup. One of the last things I have to master is lacing up my kung fu style shirt to wear with my uniform on tournament day. I have a feeling that I'll need to practice this in front of a mirror for a while, sort of like tying a necktie. On tournament day, I may need an instructor or one of the senior students to inspect me before I go into the ring....
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
January
I am sinfully late in writing about this, but on reflection that may not be all bad. This was one of those experiences that you don't fully appreciate until you've had a chance to look back on it.
Just before the holidays, I had expanded my martial arts routine by adding in some basic Choy Li Fut punching and kicking classes as a way of improving my conditioning and strength. When the new year arrived, our school provided an opportunity to take that even further.
The school put on a "Battle Of The Bulge" contest for the entire month of January. The goal was to see how many group classes you could attend during the month. The adults and kids with the highest totals at the end of the month would receive a prize of four additional private lessons with their instructor, and a free one month membership for a friend or family member.
So, off we went. I increased my participation from 4-5 classes per week to 9 or 10, depending on how late I wanted to stay on Saturdays. At the end of each day's classes, we would list our daily total on a sheet posted on the bulletin board (an interesting lesson for some of the younger kids in using tally marks).
Reflecting on it now, this was a really fun and challenging experience; I also think it was something of a bonding experience for a lot of people who participated. Some of the things I remember-
I diligently kept track of the classes I participated in, both on the score sheets at school and in my day planner. I enjoy looking back occasionally and remembering the whole experience.
Toward the end of the month I ran out of gas when I came down with the bug that was going around during the winter. I missed a couple of days, and didn't make it back until the first Saturday in February. I was really pleasantly surprised to find out I had won a prize; by my tally I was in about 6th or 7th place. I must have made it to more classes than I thought.
All in all it was a great time-I kicked off my New Year's weight loss by losing 5 1/2 pounds over the course of the month, not to mention noticing some of my clothes fitting differently (it's not all about the scale, thankfully). I was encouraged and allowed to push myself-but at my own pace. I felt like I developed some strength and balance that I didn't have before, and have continued to build on that in the months since January. I feel more a part of the school than I did before, and that means a lot.
I can't wait to do it again next January.
Just before the holidays, I had expanded my martial arts routine by adding in some basic Choy Li Fut punching and kicking classes as a way of improving my conditioning and strength. When the new year arrived, our school provided an opportunity to take that even further.
The school put on a "Battle Of The Bulge" contest for the entire month of January. The goal was to see how many group classes you could attend during the month. The adults and kids with the highest totals at the end of the month would receive a prize of four additional private lessons with their instructor, and a free one month membership for a friend or family member.
So, off we went. I increased my participation from 4-5 classes per week to 9 or 10, depending on how late I wanted to stay on Saturdays. At the end of each day's classes, we would list our daily total on a sheet posted on the bulletin board (an interesting lesson for some of the younger kids in using tally marks).
Reflecting on it now, this was a really fun and challenging experience; I also think it was something of a bonding experience for a lot of people who participated. Some of the things I remember-
- Learning the Horse Stance and some of the basic Choy Li Fut footwork and stances, like the Hard Bow and Cat Stance. Choy Li Fut footwork is different than our Tai Chi style, so this was a challenge, especially learning to pivot on the ball of my foot rather than the heel. I'm still not very good at that, but I do see a lot of conditioning and balance benefits to my Tai Chi from some of this footwork, so I'm interested in practicing it more for that.
- Meeting more of the students at school, both new students and long-time students who participated in the challenge. Previously I had only been in the Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes, so I didn't know many people outside of those groups.
- Learning to make noise when delivering a kick or a strike-quite different from our silent Tai Chi practice.
- Participating in classes led by different instructors-since I was participating in more classes, I think I eventually attended a class led by each one of the instructors. It was interesting to experience their different personalities and teaching styles. I connected more with some than with others, but learned from all of them and I'm very grateful for that.
- Having a moment of panic one night when Mr. Marcos told us to move across the mat while performing 7 different kicks or strikes. When my turn came up I thought, "Wait-do I even know 7 things?"
- Dashing out to the car at the end of the night; it was pretty cold in January and I was always soaking wet after the vigorous workout.
- Reverting to a Tai Chi move one Saturday during a drill where you were surrounded by six other students, each holding a kicking bag. The object was to strike in all directions, either with hands or feet, as the bags touched you. I did pretty well to begin with, using fists, elbow and knee strikes, as well as a rear kick. Then two of the little ones closed in on me from about my 9-12 o'clock. I instictively moved forward into a Brush Knee and swept them aside with my arm. I can still hear them scolding me, "Mr. Simons! You're supposed to kick!"
I diligently kept track of the classes I participated in, both on the score sheets at school and in my day planner. I enjoy looking back occasionally and remembering the whole experience.
Toward the end of the month I ran out of gas when I came down with the bug that was going around during the winter. I missed a couple of days, and didn't make it back until the first Saturday in February. I was really pleasantly surprised to find out I had won a prize; by my tally I was in about 6th or 7th place. I must have made it to more classes than I thought.
All in all it was a great time-I kicked off my New Year's weight loss by losing 5 1/2 pounds over the course of the month, not to mention noticing some of my clothes fitting differently (it's not all about the scale, thankfully). I was encouraged and allowed to push myself-but at my own pace. I felt like I developed some strength and balance that I didn't have before, and have continued to build on that in the months since January. I feel more a part of the school than I did before, and that means a lot.
I can't wait to do it again next January.
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