morgothan’s kung fu repository

Last week I had mentioned something in passing to one of the schools more overzealous students. Something about how everything comes from your core, and if you don’t have strong abs, you will never really be a great fighter. He proceeded to ask me for some exercises to work his core and his abs at home. I game him a few that I like, and a few that I hate, but that are really good for you. I also told him that if he wants next class I can abuse the hell out of them, and spend a good portion of the class doing core, abdominal, leg, and arm workouts. Not thinking much about this, as most students will take this advice, and either not show up next class, or just keep there mouth shut. He however, did not. He decided to remind me that I would abuse the hell out of them. So while the class warmed up, I set up a small circuit of dips, burpies, crunches, push ups, etc. Something different for everyone, so that no two people where doing the same exercise at the same time. Now being the benevolent instructor that I am, I will NOT ask my students to do anything that I myself am not willing to do. So I jumped in the circuit with them. Two minutes at a station, as much as you can do. 15 second break to switch stations, rinse repeat. After only two full runs through the circuit the whole class was dying. So I said on two runs is good. Take a quick break, then lets hit the ground running on springing leg. I proceed to do the 10 lines that they know with them, making them hold in the right spots, and get a good leg work out wherever I could force it on them. By the end of 1 run through of the first 10 lines One of my students went to the bathroom where I suspect he threw up. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was definitely not all together after it. I had him sit out while I worked with the rest of the class, on teaching them line 11. With only like 5 minutes in class the student who sat out came back into class, to finish the class. I was actually proud that he could muster it up to finish the class.
Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite students came to me on Monday and explained that she maybe getting into a fist fight at school with a boy. So the first thing I did was try and talk her out of it, and make sure that she was not going to just go and fight the kid. However, her reasoning for thinking she is going to get into the fight, is she thinks he is going to try and hit her. So not wanting to see one of my favorite students getting beaten up I decided to forgo my own training for the hour, and work with her one on one. I put her in gloves, and grabbed some pads, and had her go to town on me. Working punching patterns, punch kick combinations, and punishing her when she dropped her hands. For a fourteen year old girl she is pretty mean. She follows the get in your personal space and dont leave policy of fighting. None stop attacks too. The only thing she needs to work on is keeping her non attacking hand defending her face. Too often I was able to whack her in the side of the head while we where fighting. I worked with her for almost a full hour non stop aggression. By the end she was getting a little winded, but still had enough energy to work on her forms, and not just die on the floor. Her cardio is great, and will be an asset if she does get into this fight. Next class I work with her, I plan on working some chin na, to get her better at grappling, and maybe work some ground work with her. Teach her how to handle herself should the fight go to the floor. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night teaching the beginner class a student who is not really a problem student, but is the type of student that resists every time you are trying to show a move, or teach a technique. For the sake of his anonymity we will call him Joe. As a class we where working on Tan Toi(springing leg). In particular line 9. Which has a very odd hand movement. There is one application for this that turns the pull into a joint lock. It is right out of Chin Na 6. While the students where practicing this application Joe was tensing up, and not letting his partner get the lock. So I had to show his partner how to do it. I tried to get the lock on Joe, who of course tensed up, and did not let me get it, so I lightly kicked his shins to distract him, but as he is a meaty young man, it did not work. So I tried to put him into a shoulder lock instead, which he resisted. So I pulled the other way for an arm bar, which also did not work. So now I am getting annoyed, but because of how Joe resisted I am behind him, so I show you have a few free hits to the back of the head here, then I pop in front of his leg, and tossed his ass to the floor with a modified leg sweep. As I said before he is a kind of meaty young man so when he went down he went down hard. Now mind you this whole exchange, from starting to try the wrist lock, to him being on the floor was about one second, at the most. Afterwords I explained what I did, how as soon as I felt that I was fighting him for the lock, I changed it. I spoke to Sifu about it after class, and was assured that dropping Joe to the floor was the correct thing to do. He assured me that he has done it to him before, and that Joe likes that kind of treatment. Still it was the first time I had to floor a student to prove a point.

Over the past two weeks I have been increasingly focusing on my Shaolin curriculum. This culminated in yesterdays class in which I ran through everything I needed for my Black Sash test and more. I figure if I can maintain the rate I am going now I should be set to test by the end of the month. Then I will focus on Hsing Yi, as I should be able to get my Black Sash in that by the end of October. Then all of November and December to work on Pa Kua. I still am not 100% on being able to do this, but if Sifu is insisting on me getting my Sash is all three styles, the I must give it my all, and not let him or more importantly myself down.

I was recently given the opportunity to spend a year in Germany for work. Nothing is set in stone as of yet, but there is a good chance starting January of next year I will be in Germany, and consequently unable to continue my training at China Hand Kung Fu Academy. Because of this Sifu has decided that I “need” to get my black sash prior to me leaving in January. This means that I need to focus entirely on my training, and get ready for the tests. I say tests because although I am most proficient in Shaolin Sifu wants me to test in Shaolin, Hsing Yi, and Pa Kua. This may prove to be one of the most difficult things I will have done at the school. I am confident that I can test for my Black Sash in Shaolin, but I am still a little shaky on Ba Sil, and Ja Sil, from Hsing Yi, and as for Pa Kua, we ll I am shaky on pretty much the entire system. So I will need to focus on them, but I can not let my Shaolin suffer for it. This will be an intense couple of months. My current plan of attack, is to focus entirely on Shaolin in September, and test at the end of the month for my Black Sash, Then Hsing Yi in October, and finally Pa Kua in December. Hopefully I can clean up each system in only a months time. What ever happens this should be an entertaining couple of months.