just returned to kung fu

[shaolin_allan]

hey everyone I took a couple years hiatus off and now am studying kung fu again with my sifu. we've been learning fanzi quan and a southern dragon form from ark yuey wong's system. It quickly made me realize how out of shape I was. Did anyone else go on a hiatus and get a slap in the face that makes them realize how out of shape you were and how much room you need to make up?

[David Jamieson]

hey everyone I took a couple years hiatus off and now am studying kung fu again with my sifu. we've been learning fanzi quan and a southern dragon form from ark yuey wong's system. It quickly made me realize how out of shape I was. Some say that the styles ive been doing are more modern changquan but the conditioning has been amazing. Did anyone else go on a hiatus and get a slap in the face that makes them realize how out of shape you were and how much room you need to make up?

hiatus? I hope you had a medical problem.

lol.

No, to answer your question. My practice has been steady and consistent in scope and effort for 17 years now. woot! Prior to that, it was mish mash as far as style goes, but nevertheless...

I do it for myself though. :)

[shaolin_allan]

haha yeah it was a medical problem though which led to laziness. i think that happens more often than not.

[Lucas]

ive taken several months 'off' in the past after i busted my ribs a second time before they fully healed from the initial break...that and life at that time was pretty overwhelming so i faded a bit. i never stopped thinking and contemplating, i still practiced my form, but i didnt actually 'train'. however when i felt ready and everything calmed down and i got back to training, i did so with renewed vigor. at first yes, some things were rusty, my endurance was down, my stamina was down, but because of the short break i felt very refreshed. i got back to where i was rather quickly because i was on catch up dedication. i felt guilty...like i was cheating on my imaginary wife or something. lol. after i started back seriously again i realized that i was actually suffering a mild depression from not training. i think part mentally and part physically i was going through a sort of withdrawl, like a drug addict.

my best advice is do not push to where you think you should be or want to be but pay close attention to where you are...and then push that consistently and then pass where you were...

i used to draw a lot, when i did i would go through forced break periods to improve my style. i would take a bit of time off, then return, and i would always improve past what my previous skill level was. i would hit a plateau for a period of time, then i would force break myself. during my breaks i would intake as much as i could from various sources. i would look at other art and pay attention to techniques and style. granted drawing is a very different thing from martial arts, but i think in anything taking 'refresher' breaks can actually be beneficial. the key is not to break for too long, so as not to degrade. i have not actually tried this with kungfu tho.

kungfu is a jealous, and vengeful mate...

[KC Elbows]

i have not actually tried this with kungfu tho.

I've done it with working the technical aspects, so I was still doing conditioning and working out, but would have mini breaks in which I wasn't myopically working technique. It worked the same way it did for you in drawing.

[shaolin_allan]

wow great post thanks Lucas! actually I find art and kung fu to have many similarities.

[Lucas]

totally. :)

did you decide where you are going to end up training?

[bawang]

Did anyone else go on a hiatus and get a slap in the face that makes them realize how out of shape you were and how much room you need to make up?
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[shaolin_allan]

yeah I went back to my sifu from college and have been driving downtown to train with him almost daily.

[Lucas]

good deal man. its cool you can go back to the same place you trained at before.