LoNdoners UK....training at home in kung fu! particularly NORTHERN STYLE!

[Mizong_Kid]

helloo

all londoners will know how bad weather can be.once summer has past my garden becomes un-usable.....its raining all the time and when its not..its all muddy and wet.so i cant practice my forms let alone my kicks! i obviously dont have a big house otherwise i wouldnt bother to make this post......

anyways.....i was just wondering what other ppl in same situation did?

i find when i am not in classes....i stil remember all my steps in my forms....so at home i stretch...try to anyway......and do some exercise.....and now and then practice some stances......

[harry_the_monk]

I have same problem, living in London. Only thing is I live in Central London where we don't have things like gardens :)

All I do is go to my local park, find some concreted area and train (until the police move me on.) If it is raining, there are many shelters you can go under, and you may find that some of the homeless using the shelter will be more than willing to join in( even if they do have a can of intoxicants in their hands.)

I also find that local wildlife also tends to be facinated with qigong moves, and got chased from St. James' park by some very amorous geese. Still, you may learn some good technique from the way they approach you. Never waste a minute... TRAIN... TRAIN... TRAIN....:p

PEACE

btw, if you think you live somewhere tiny, the only room I have indoors to practise is in my shower cubicle. This was good when I was practising Wing Chun, but now not so good I am practising shaolin sanshou wushu.:D

[Losttrak]

I typically join a gym and use their aerobics room. Too many advantages to having gym access...

[scotty1]

"All I do is go to my local park, find some concreted area and train (until the police move me on.)"

You're joking... why did they move you on?

[rubthebuddha]

cause he always wears a gorilla costume when he practices.

anyhoo, cops in the states are similarly testy. they think you're either a nuisance or a nuisance, and treat you as such.

[Souljah]

I do simple movements (close quarter stuff) in my basement, I can just about practice my kicks there too (only on the spot though)
I usually go down the park. If its dry I train on a small trimmed grass patch, if not I just go to the basketball courts, abit painful when you roll though.:(

-

[Cheese Dog]

Mizong kid: Back when I was in college I practiced tae kwon do in a small (about 12' by 12') dorm room and didn't have any major problems practicing, even the jumping and spinning kicks. I already had my desk, refrigerator, etc., against the wall so the only thing I had to do was scoot my bed against a wall and practice. Didn't have much room for forms without resetting myself alot, which can sometimes mess up the flow of some moves, so I didn't practice forms much at home but practice of the basics was pretty much unhindered. Nothing is more important than basic technique practice!

[harry_the_monk]

Yup, rubthebuddha has got it.

In London they are not too tolerant of anything that might make their life more complicated, so they just move you on if you're in one space too long.(also doesn't help that I train in the Park when its shut.)
Mainly only in Central London as far as I know. The local council were making it illegal for vagrants to be in the area, so I think they just move anyone on to save having to go into too much detail.:rolleyes:

[Souljah]

i live in hackney , you wont get moved if you are training in the park (since it IS public space), unless you are causing a disturbance.
Though the private parks like harry said do close and rangers patrol (had a funny incident with them in victoria park one time)
apart from the posh parks you can pretty much train in any london park without hassle (though public passers-by do sometimes stop and observe).
The only thing you need to be wary of is using swords in the park, they draw alot of attention and get the most trouble (for obvious reasons).

I tend to train in the park at night though so I dont really have to worry about these things.

But at the moment any outdoor training is pretty much out of the question ......BLOODY SNOW!!!!

[Mizong_Kid]

shoootttt.......during winter it sucks! the garden was ideal for me to practice my kicking line ups and forms....but with all this snow its seriously impossible unless u want to slip and break a leg or sumthing!


i believe i could actually be okay at kung fu but i am not because of my sheer lazyness.this disgusts me! i remember a senior student saying that you dont need to attend all the classes....in classes you learn and you are criticised and corrected.......practice at home....then go to class to make sure you got it right!

god **** if i had my own basement or sumthin i wud b kicking round for hours.but during the winter what do i do......nothing! ashamed indeed!

souljah, hackney........dangerous!!!!!!!! thats like the ghetto of east london aint it?

[Souljah]

if by ghetto you mean the traditional term - like an area with an abundance of one race/crede

then no.
I'd say its pretty much the most multi-cultural/culturally diverse area in the UK, i'll even go out on the limb and call it the most multi-cultural in europe. Hell, unless anyone can name anywhere else I'd even say the world! Not kidding

Though in way the term is used today, does it have high crime....erm quite alot. Is it dangerous, Not really, well i've never had any trouble here.
litter - YES.
bankrupt - YES.
neglected by the government - DEFINATELY.
These things dont arise by themselves.....and its been getting worse since the mid-80s.
(though I was only just born then, I find out through my dad who was a councillor back then)

* * *

Yes you can train kung fu like that, I think thats what Dezhen does, goes once then doesnt go for another 2 weeks while training at home (well thats what he told me last time I asked)

But you will get pretty slack at the competitive and 2 person side of it - sparring, sticky hand drills, application, etc

This is why when the weathers good I train with my friend and we practice these drills.
When I say I have a basement room. Its about 2m squared so its not enough to do forms in as the forms in our system will take up atleast 5m squared (the later forms like the 4th and 5th abit more)
So I have the same dilemma during winter.....


-greg

[dezhen2001]

yeh i only get to see my sifu if i am lucky every few weks, if not lucky (ie. poor) then once every month or so.

thats why mainly i practise qigong and basics on my own, and leave the application and chi sau etc. to when i have a good partner and my teacher around.

i play with my friends from other styles and work on things with them... its good to see how i can apply my wing chun against other skills. but really i dont do it much as i dont wanna develop bad habits.

then again i dont compete ;) so this training is very useful for my health and thats what im most concerned about :)

dawood

[Mizong_Kid]

i think it is possible to train in kung fu by just going to ur classes once a week even.....tho go more often is better.
this is provided you have the motivation and determination to train hard at home.

recently i havent trained at all...been very lazy.this is the spin off from not training at the end of the year because of uni coursework and mini exams!

but i have found that i do stretch now n then.....and more often now especially....

so i think when i go back to class after a good month or so off, i will feel the slight strain of those spinning,jumping and springy kicks!

:(

[dezhen2001]

well, why dont you do some warm up before you get back to class? i have just started back after around 7 months since regular daily training. i really feel it - even in stretching.

u should keep stretching - its not worth it to stop:(

dawood

[Souljah]

gotta totally agree there.

Anyway it doesnt hurt to do just like 5 mins a day stretching and this will keep you loose. I really kills when I have a break like now and go back all stiff from not stretching.....