Hudson

I have to stand behind a counter all day. Nobody said I couldn't do it in Dragon. (Which some of you know as san-chin in your art.)

Unfortunately my war stories aren't as plenty since but lets see.... Most recently, an elbow to the head gave me a nasty shock. 1 broken rib, 3 broken fingers, some kind of foot contusion, and bruises out the wazoo. Hopefully I won't make that list longer anytime soon. Oh, and, back when I wasn't drinking water or eating right - bloody noses everrrrry other class.

Here is a program I started out my training with - my training is a bit different now but I feel you can get a good start from this. Weeks 1-4/5 Sit-ups / Crunches - 2 sets, 40 reps. Squats - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Leg Curls - 2 sets, 10-12 reps. Bench press - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Upright rows - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Wrist Curls - 3 sets, 14-16 reps. Tri pushdowns - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Increase weight each set. Every week you should be able to add 5 pounds to most of your exercises. Weeks 4/5-12 Weighted Sit-ups / Crunches - 2 sets, 40 reps. Leg raises - 2 sets, 30 reps. Leg Extensions - 2 sets, 8-10 reps. Leg Curls - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Squats - 3 sets, 8-12 reps. Deadlifts - 2 sets, 8-10 reps. Lat Pulldown - 3 sets, 12-15 reps. Bench Press - 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Tricep of your choice: Pushdowns or pullovers. 3 sets, 8-10 reps. Wrist Curls - 2 sets, 14-16 reps. Reverse Wrist Curls - 2 sets, 14-16 reps. Now, if you were eating right, getting plenty of sleep, and working out hard, by week 13 you should be noticeabley more muscular and stronger. This is a very basic routine and like I stated was the one I started on. I actually did it on a bowflex-type machine from home (I've now upgraded to gyms and free weights which I prefer now) but it really gave me a good start. Some things you have to remember - If you live where I live, it's getting COLD outside. Regardless, get a good warmup. Stretch every muscle in every direction. Do some pushups and free squats to get your muscles ready. Additionally, do 5-10 reps with 30-50% weight to get a good warmup on each exercise. BREATHE! If you are on freeweights, not breathing could make you feint and well, a barbell to the neck is a potentially fatal blow. Some of these may seem low rep, especially in the leg area. And in martial arts, lower weights and higher reps are better. But in all of them you need to train hard and go to failure. Those last reps, those burning hellish reps, those make you grow, those make you strong. Oh, and yes, there is no bicep training posted in that routine. I don't like big biceps, they're not really useful to me. I do hit them now on hammer curls but not directly. If you want biceps, just supplement in Bicep Curls 2 sets 8-10 reps in the routine. Eat lots of protein. I like to get most of mine naturally, eggs, hicken, tuna, etc;. You also need to increase your calories - make it a rule to have something big in the morning, and tasty. Eggs or oatmeal. Or both. Even for strength training you need to bulk - and if you are a MA then you should have a good source of cardio which, by the way, you should eat more on cardio days since you're burning more calories and you cannot grow without them! This is probably a long post with plenty of argueable information. Sorry all for making such a long read.

Before anyone yells at me about how stupid it is, let me tell you that I don't care. Anyway, I tore my ACL and meniscus a while back, and walked on it for about 3 months (The swelling receded and it wasn't noticeable to the first doctor who looked at it). Unfortunately it would constantly pop out and cause a great deal of pain during basketball games. So we went to a new doctor and he gave me the news. Anyway, now I am extremely active in MA and fitness training, with only the meniscus fixed. I have no ACL. And I haven't had problems with my knee at all. In fact, I haven't had problems since about 3 months after I got out of the brace. So 2 years without an ACL and no problems. Now, I wouldn't advise this - I refuse to wear a brace during class and only wear it when I do high speed/power activities, such as running or weightlifting, because the high speed and torque could wrench my knee out. But my knee has been fine through wrestling, full contact sparring, kung fu training, and other sports I play recreationally. I would advise talking to your doctor - I had a great personal trainer in physical rehab and that's probably why my knee is so solid for me. If you're feeling pain talk to a professional, especially if your knee has been fixed.

Is this like Emperor Cannon Fist?

Nope. But, I've never trained a Japanese Style.

You should see my Kung Fu Cooking! Iron Chef has NOTHING on me.

aefirebird, I am excited to go. My trip is going be short, 3 months, in the summer.

That's why I love Zui Quan I'll be taking a trip to Shaolin to go to the secular temple. Hopefully it will enlighten a little more than my bank account. But I am also interested in Shaolin monks, so any more info would be great

Because I have some silly sense of honor!

Monkey, I really don't have much problem with that last post. I did try to make it clear that the cat stance was movement and that at one point you would be in proper cat stance. Also, the transition is of course important - I don't think you and I have much debate on what stances are to the arts. I think you can relate on how hard it is to translate movement into words for this forum - I do agree that the forward motion (Which actually would take you out of the still frame of cat because of foot weight) is when you sink and strike. As for the sidestepping example: In my style, it is a theme in some forms to move at 45 degrees and to always be on the outside where you have a better passive defense. So yes, sidestepping the straight kick to the outside does blindside the attacker. The cat stance is because now the weight is on your back foot taking the tension out of the blocking hand, then sinking and pushing forward (Perhaps into dragon) and delivering a palm strike to the ribs. The cat stance is not a withdrawal, it is a shift to get to the side of the person. I hope that makes sense. As for my style, I train Pai Lum Kung Fu.

Seriously, if 10 pounds was worthless, they'd only sell dumbells starting at 15! Just think to yourself.... what if I do 50 crunches normally. But now, I do 50 crunches with 10 or 20 pounds more? You will have to crank out some higher reps to really make a difference with 10 lbs, this is true. But adding 10 pounds to cross training, that will do you good.

The Ashida Kim ninja series... That was a joke. You're doing great.

Alright, let me clear some things up: I agree low stances will build power. I'm living proof of it. But then again, power is the end result of many things: Technique, speed, etc; P.A.L: I can't even respond to that post because I don't know all those Japanese terms. However if google is correct then yes, most of my strikes come from a Sanchin Dachi, which actually is called Dragon in my style. Drunken Monkey: Thank you for the "holier than thou" post. It really was informative . Of course stances are snapshots from movement. But yes, we train them seperately and thusly can talk about them as seperates. If I were to show an untrained person a cat stance and say "Alright, now do that while moving in a circle and throwing a palm parry", then chances are the stance would be incorrect. But if I showed them a cat stance, made them do it properly, then tell them to do it in movement, they'd get it better. Also, about your cat stance making your center rise... I actually find mine sinks depending on the use. Let me make an example again: Lets say an opponent, facing straight on, throws any sort of front line kick. I would step to the outside of the leg, slice/hook/block and sink sideways into a cat to get a vantage point. Sure, it might hurt if I'm holding such a low stance for a prolonged state, but for that point in time it's perfect for dropping and striking.

Heh, alright. Stances... I realize that most of these "practical" MA's knock out stances almost fully standing. My example: Horse stances. I see a lot of people with ungodly wide horse stances, but with legs locked out straight. A good horse stance should be squared away, no? Another stance that is often shrugged off is cat stance. People just shift onto one leg and point the toes... which isn't right. Sure, sliding into cat during a fight you don't need to sink, but if you're practicing traditional forms, why wouldn't your cat stance sink? And some people say you don't need low stances. They're impractical. They make you immobile. Maybe if you're sitting on your ankle! Momentarily sinking into a proper stance is more like a coil of a snake, giving you that full power generation so you can hit somebody from a foot away and make them feel like they just got hit with a haymaker. So, what are your thoughts on stances? Low stances, good or bad?

dingyuan, it's been my experience that southern styles actually practice shorter movements, and that Northern China is where most of the long arm movements come from. Besides, nothing in kung fu is ever impractical... using it at the right time is when it becomes practical.

Some companys offer spear tips to mount on tapered bo's...

Yup. A strong neck is intimidating, shows character, and will prevent concussions and whiplash.

Liou He Ba Fah does indeed seem to encompass Xingyi, Bagua, and Taiji, and has a great blend of passive/internal/external movements. I have never seen a certifiable teacher in it, however, and only one video from Martial Arts Mart (Which I would be hesitant to get, after seeing their "Eagle Claw" demonstration video)

Shifu: "Move away from safety, and towards pain." New kid: "You try it!" (I almost fell on the floor when he said that ) It is usually unlucky to stand near the center in a class with an odd number of people. This is because you will likely end up with Shifu. Which means you are now the example of how things work. As an example, we were practicing crane beak strike as a counter to a choke hold. Shifu said something like "Now, remember, Cranes Beak is not the only way. You can do this." Now, imagine if you will, someone my size, 190lbs, 6'2, choking a 5'8~ man. Within two seconds, I am facing the opposite way with my arms locked behind me and ready to break if they move an inch more. When I got out, Shifu then said "OR This!" Needless to say, training with Shifu is very... enlightening. Also, holding a bag for Shifu is never fun!

Crane stance! Crane stance! Hehe. Blindfold, and crane stance. Just do everything one legged, blindfolded. Concentrate on your balance especially. The basic center you're looking for is to pull your gravity to the Tan Tien and have your center right in front of your heel.

Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of it, I much prefer the Zero Carb Isopure Whey Powders for protein supps.

Nobody runs 6 miles on their first day. Heck... some people never run 6 miles. Just keep running... if you have a sidestitch, or you feel like you are having chest tightness, understand that unless you have a condition you are fine and you should just keep running until the pain makes you fall over on the ground. Or, a little before then. But don't stop completely! Keep walking, jogging, whatever! Heres a great way: If you want to run a mile, run one mile away from home, and then you have no choice but to go back. You can't just sit there in pain till the sun goes down can you? Incorporate some sprints too, and make sure you're warmed up, and don't forget cooling down! Oh, and running gets boring. It's the best thing for you, but it does get old. So swimming, Thai pads, shadowboxing, jumprope, those are all great things to do when running just isn't going to happen someday.

http://pages.zdnet.com/oika/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/okinawapatch.gif Although, I think it's more of a Shotokan thing. Dunno about any of the Japanese styles, and really don't care if I'm right or wrong about that So maybe someone can correct me.