training outside the class

[flem]

i'd like to know how others train out of the class environment, and especially things that you think haave had a big impact.

my sifu in wl had us train outside early on, previous to this i had read a tkd book that described the "feeling of smallness" when one trains outside. i believe this is true, and i train out of doors often with the belief that its effect is similar to wearing ankle weights- that is the weights come off inside.

SNOW TRAINING- i began training in snow, really just to see what it would be like, i found out that it is not only exilerating being out doing kf in snow at night, but any errors in footwork are immediately brought to your attention

LOG TRAINING- i cut a log about shoulder length and about as big around as a basketball, a partner and i take turns throwing it at one another( the log stands on end, we pass the "top") we start gradually with two hands, then add force, make it a contest of strength and will, and progress to single hand catches and throws. i have found this to be excellent "weight lifting" for kf as one must train good stances or be thrown off balance, plus the motions simulate striking

INCREASING WIND- i have found the best way to increase stamina is by switching between forms and running. the best place i've done this is at a college track- run half or a whole lap, then bust out a decent length form, then another lap, etc.
to mix it up and to train the musculature further, running a large hill or small mtn, then crawling down like you are doing a push up but dragging the legs is excellent, especially for abs

[yu shan]

flem

fond memories of training outside with your wl shrfu. But being a Florida boy, why not! He enjoyed the beach environment, good leg strenght,salt water and girls. Did you do the USF course and let. lake?

I aggree there is a nice change to being outdoors...especially in Tennessee. Not to mention the fresh air.

Got some AD stories to share with outdoor thang.

[Robinf]

I've found doing shoulder rolls on the pavement outside has helped me curve and go fast enough to make it flow within the form.

As far as training outside, we have a parking lot in back of our school. We practice on our own out there during reasonable weather.

Personally, I love practicing forms in the rain--a good downpour. I find I forget to think about anything and my form actually comes out better.

Other than that, we train indoors. Snow around here is generally accompanied with ice, so we don't risk it during the winter.

[SaMantis]

I usually train outside on my own ... behind my apt. is a tiny backyard, just enough room to drill footwork and twirl a broadsword.

Trained footwork in the snow for the 1st time this year. You're right, flem, do the footwork wrong and you'll find out quickly enough!

[flem]

yu shan,

never did lettuce lake, oh wait, i have a picture of me on the top of that tower on one of the posts doing that low double mantis fist strike at the end of 2nd form, man i must have had the big kahoona's back then. i did do that usf par course- the sand beneath the grass makes the running tough. yes sifu did some interesting things. i remember doing a sparring/sticky hand practice with him in waist deep water- not alot of footwork! and my hands were no match for his

when i first moved to the mtns i trained alone on sundays after hiking several miles- something awesome about the wilderness. used to carry my gim, cause i could not make it feel right- that and i was trying to beat the 30 year thing(lol) didn't work. oh, i once hung around 10 tennis balls in my shed(big shed) at various heights to practice gim thrusts, apparently all the form practice made my movements crisp as i was surprised at my accuracy.

robinf,

our school was on a cement slab, we did our rolls right or paid! i paid quite alot- had a knot on my shoulder for awhile, eventually i learned. i remember this snow storm hitting one night with like 20 mph winds, i said to my wife lets go train,, well i trained alone it was fantastic

samantis,

i thought you were a floridian!?

anyone else done their forms blindfolded? or sparred blindfolded. i once had a friend try to touch me while blindfolded. he could slip in and touch me and i used whatever tech came up- anyway, we were doing this in an indoor/outdoor raquetball room at an apt. complex. he said something, i wasn't sure what, i removed the blindfold to see what was up, he said i should have seen the expressions on the people who came to play raquetball!

heres something i think added alot of accuracy to my strikes. i took a piece of plywood that was about 1 foot wide and maybe 3 feet long. i cut holes to represent eyes and the hollow of the throat, and i cut ovals or slots that would allow all four of my fingers to go through, one was at the sternum level, the other at the pubic bone, one up, one down, then i threw random strikes, single fingers to eyes and throat, all fingers to the slots. i tried to do them quickly so that i had to change the hand formation on the way to the target- be careful though, i did lose half my middle fingernail, it was ripped all the way to the cutacle(

[Robinf]

i remember this snow storm hitting one night with like 20 mph winds, i said to my wife lets go train,, well i trained alone it was fantastic

flem,

You're insane! :p

I have tried doing some jumping kicks in and into a pool--which is loads of fun, but I didn't find it helpful for my execution of these moves on land.

I'm going to try practicing on the beach this summer. I know a pretty quiet spot. I did some exercises on the beach last year and found it rewarding (not to mention hard--my feet kept sinking).

[SaMantis]

flem,

yup I was a floridian -- now I'm (temporarily) a bostonian -- it's a whole different world! :D

[flem]

robinf,

thanks, i think?
actually when i was a boy my dad had this great book by mas oyama, the karate master who became famous for fight ing bulls. he trained in the mtns alone for a time, the pictures in it have always inspired me. the ease of the classroom setting lacks so much compared to nature. heck, training on grass teaches one more than carpet or cement! rocks, water, even more. i've taught outside for 4 or 5 years now, not many takers, but those who do seem to enjoy it- most of the time!
i remember teaching one day, there were 4 students. i didn't feel like training, so i had them practicing horse stance while i stood behind a tree! the wind was howling- anyway, i should have taken pictures 'cause their backs were white from stuck snow, ther front was normal.. ha ha ha, i stood behind that tree about twenty yards away yelling out counts, they love me

[flem]

samantis,
yep, went there once for wl thing... never go again, every time i got off an exit, couldn't get back on. ended up in some pretty hairy places! china town area was cool though

[SaMantis]

ha, you should drive through it now, they're getting ready to open part of the Big Dig next week and they've closed off some major exits!

A lot of people took the T this morning to avoid the Artery, then someone set off a stinkbomb (or something) at a major downtown station and they stopped all the trains. An absolutely fubar morning.

Re: training blindfolded - I have a friend who swears by it and has his students train blindfolded once in awhile. Me, I don't know if I'd do it ... just because I'm clumsy enough in broad daylight!

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

We did some blindfold stuff outside of classtime with the instructor at my first Kenpo school. Before moving to Florida I trained at a small school in El Paso. Reminded me of a Kung Fu movie. Standing on blocks of wood while practicing hand movements, breaking cedar shingles with my fingertips, plucking nuts from the top of a cement block wall (without touching the block). He even stood me in from of the back wall of the building and threw walnuts at me and I had to dodge and pluck them from the air. That was Crane style. Had to break a patio block with my wrist at the end of my last day. Ahh, the good old days.

[SaMantis]

Hua Lin Laoshi, I didn't know you were from El Paso!

I lived there for a couple of years as a kid -- in Coronado, before moving back to the Orlando area.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

Lived there from '82 to '89. Eastside off Lee Trevino. Trained at the Traco (Kenpo) school there run by Bill Packer. They train full contact. Cliff "Magic" Thomas, , lightweight champ many years, taught sparring on Wednesday until he opened his own Kenpo school on the westside. Before I left I found a hole-in-the-wall school in a small mall just off I-10 filled with Chinese shops and a restaurant in the back. He didn't advertise because he was getting too many cholos wanting to know how to kill someone with their bare hands. He told to me to go to the Wah Lum Temple when I moved. Said he was there once and it was a good place to train. I forgot all about it until he told me, then I remembered it was in Orlando.

[yu shan]

Flem

You live in Shangrila! You should put together some kind of Gong-Fu retreat with loads of hiking, a neat summer thing! Let me know. Went to Boston with Art, what an experience. We ran to everything we did. I wanted to catch the train.

We go to the park on Saturday`s, it is nice to be outdoors and to be seen. No fear of being challenged, the art in this area is crap. Yet I always instill the fear factor...ya never know.

[SaMantis]

Hua Lin,

dammmm, eastside ... you're a brave guy! :D I was there in 81-82, us westside kids didn't mess around over there! Still, we thought we were tougher than the military kids on the other side of the pass.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

Wasn't going to say it but Coronado ain't for us regular folk. :) Eastside's not so bad, better then the lower valley! Training outside there will get you heatstroke. Training outside in the lower valley isn't called practicing, it's called fighting.:D At the Chinese school we had to run around the outside of the building about 5 times before starting class. You had to run fast to avoid sunburn. Ha!

Had to get the kids out of there. At high school my son saw guys get their faces repeatedly smashed into the sidewalk, one was knifed in the back standing at his locker. Crips and Bloods were recruiting at the schools just before I left. Much nicer here in Florida.

yu shan, flem,
Something I've thought about doing! A mountain retreat with loads of Kung Fu and Tai Chi etc. You guys remember the Sifu test at the campground in Ocala? M***<name deleted because I get a phone call every time I say his name here> and I went for the Lee Koon Hung seminar. After we got there we found out it was the Sifu recertification test and everybody else there was a Sifu. Something like that but for the general MA public with daily practice, seminars and other activities. Old style training in the mountains!

[yu shan]

Hua Lin Laoshi

Heard about the phone call from "the throne". I appreciate what you bring to KFO. Truth hurts sometimes...doesnt it? No bad to you.

18 Elders and myself were at the Ocala/Leesburg camp. These are great get-togethers as long as it is not a money making thing. There should be an equal exchange of energy. Hanging out and training with Gong-Fu brothers is good. Learning from the Late Master LKH, will never be forgotten. The lion dance and form were great. To be honest, this was one of Master Chan`s best seminars.

This summer, Master Shr ZhengZhong of Tainan, Taiwan, will be visiting the USA. A perfect opportunity to learn Mantis Gong-Fu. Master Shr is Tainan Mantis and my Shrfu `s Teacher. More to come...

East Tennessee would be nice. :)

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

****, talk spreads like AIDS around here. One comment in Florida pops up a day later in Tennessee. Well thanks for bringing it up on a public forum, I'll return the favor when I get a chance.

[Michael Dasargo]

It's not where you are, it's where your mind is.