How long do you train?

[maoshan]

How often per week and how long per session do you train?
and Why?

[Internal Boxer]

My training regime is about 2 to 3 hours week nights, 4-5 hours Sunday afternoon, nothing on Saturdays.

Monday: a few likeminded taiji lads (martial orientated) get together, we do push hands, combat push hands, sparring, standing grappling & chin'na, san sau.

Tuesdays to fridays: Qigong or circle walking 40 mins to 1 hour, form, bag work, sledge hammer training which develops tendon power, reps are squeezed, 200-500 reps per arm (my Xingyi instructor does 4,000!! per arm per day the power is generated from the tendons and when he discharges it it scares the sh*t out of me)

Sundays same as week days although I spend two hours at a ground fighting class run by two 3rd dan Judo guys, who have a **** lot of skill. I have trained with boxers in the past and other styles but the guys who impress me most are the grapplers they can be on you in the blink of an eye and tie you up in knots, or put you to sleep (being kind) or get themselves in postions where you cannot harm them and they could rip your ears off etc.

I would recommend you find a big skilled powerful grappler to train with it will be an eye opener I promise.

Most people do not cross train with other styles, I am not talking about learning techniques from other styles, but stick with what you know and apply, so you can understand the weaknesses in other fighters.

Our forms are short - ~40 moves for each set and only one set for each weapon and empty hands.

I'm not the type to practice in a prescribed session, so I practice all day long intermittently(i.e. whenever I can). When I open my school later this year, I'll STILL practice intermittently.

Riding up the elevator to work, I'll bust out a set. Even one move is better than no set - and doing the set all over the place against all sorts of objects also keeps me perpetually ready.

[shaolinboxer]

(Ideally) I train formally from 6-8:30 Mon-Fri. I try to stay later to go over exam specific techniques with my seniors, but sometimes I'm too tired or they are too busy. Sat and Sun I don't go to the dojo, but I usually practice movements and weapons.

In reality I have to work late or have other engagements about once every other week, so my training time averages 4 days a week in the dojo (sometimes 4, sometimes 5, sometimes 3).

I train that much becuase I love to train, and I don't train any more than that because I have a good personal life and I don't wanna miss it.

[Ray Pina]

I train with my master twice a weak, 7:30 to 11:00 p.m. Then, everyday on my own in my house, or outside on a quite beach in the summer. Sometimes only 15 to 20 mintues, sometimes an hour or two. I set no time limits. I train when I feel it, when it comes natural, and stop when I stop. Sometimes, though tired, I'll keep going, maybe work the pole for strenght. Sometimes I feel strong, but rather sit on the couch with my girl and chill.

I don't force it. I'm always thinking about it in my head anyway.

[EARTH DRAGON]

Since I have been teaching my personal training has taken a back seat to my students, but I teach everyday 3 classes a night from 6-930 m- w- f , 7-10:00 t- th while I am teching I am always correcting and I am constantly going over the basics but somethimes I get with my kung fu brother and go over high level stuff.

[Ray Pina]

Nice. That's the way to do it, money for northing ... are your chicks free?

[Water Dragon]

'bout an hour a day. around 3 on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm not sure if there really is such a thing as "high level" Gong Fu. But I do know that the basics can be refined to an extremely high level ;)

[Justa Man]

i train 2-3 hours a day, everyday. but i think i should train more. it's just really hard getting up dumb early in the morning when the house is cold and it's even colder outdoors. excuses excuses.

[brucelee2]

Right now about 2 hours per day (3 hours on class days), working up to four and a half hours per day. 30 minutes zhan zhuang, 30 minutes chiqong(different kinds), 1 hour hung gar (stances, chi qong, punching, kicking), plus some body conditioning (abs, iron bridge, etc...), 10 minutes circlewalking, 10 minutes yoga, stretching (10 minutes)... Why? Because I love it and it makes me feel good....

Guohen- what kind of sitting meditation do you do for 3-4 hours a pop?

[taijiquan_student]

At the least I do an hour a day, but usually an hour and a half or 1.45, or 2 hrs. if I don't have lots of school work to do which is primarily what keeps me from training more.

On monday nights I have class for 2 hours, then on wednesday for 3, and saturday for about 2 maybe a little more.

[md1]

In the past year most of my time is spent on my students, mon, tues, thurs, sun 3 hour classes that end at 9pm. I stay until 10:30 or so to workout myself, every other day at least 1 hour except saturday 2 1/2 hours. although as you guy's know when it's apart of your life your always doing something. I even try to go through a form or two in my mind when i go to sleep at night.

maoshan where in syracuse do you teach?, i'm right down the road in rochester.

[maoshan]

Thanks all,
Everybody answered as they should. the point being, daily consistancy. that is the key to advancement.

md1,
I teach privatly in my home at the present. If you want to get together, e-mail me so we can kick it.

Maoshan

[Polaris]

Originally posted by Internal Boxer

sledge hammer training which develops tendon power, reps are squeezed, 200-500 reps per arm (my Xingyi instructor does 4,000!! per arm per day the power is generated from the tendons and when he discharges it it scares the sh*t out of me)



What do you mean "reps are squeezed". Do you mean that training just consist of squeezing the hammer, or do you do something else with it?

[Internal Boxer]

It would be better to show you as it is pointless trying to train with it without someone showing you. But basically stand in brush knee posture, hold the very bottom of the handle so the head of the sledge hammer is high in the air, the arm holding the sledge is outstretched as with the natural curve in the arm and elbow, fist at chest height, keep all principles of IMA structure in place, the head of the hammer comes toward you as you breathe out (reverse breath of course) and away from your head on the outbreath, like an inverted pendulum

The tendons you are training are those in the elbow, shoulder and most important behind the scapular. To hold the hammer there is obviously a level of tension in the muscles that hold it up but there must be total relaxation in te antagonistic muscles. the squeezing comes from behind the shoulder blade co-ordinated with shifting the weight in the legs. after a while you begin to use the floor as a springboard (well thats what it feels like, but to people watching it just looks like you are moving the weight to each leg and back), where the whole body is spasms to release power. I should not be telling you this as Dave Nicholson (my Xyingyi instructor) will be ****ed off with me, cause he is not too eager to share info of Sun Lu Tangs training methods. That said I understand that this is by no means the ultimate to internal arts but it does develop an explosive tendon force that my instructor demonstates on everyone extremely effectively. And I belive the development of internal power must co-incide with the correct conditioning methods to help develop power in the correct places. If you ever come to the UK I will introduce you to him, he is a no bull$hit sort of guy, he regulary holds training seminars, and you will not fail to be impressed by his skill and power.

[blacktaoist]

I train about about 5 hours a day, some times more. I start my own training about 5.am to 9:30am in china town. I start off first jogging two or three miles every day. after that I practice standing Chi kung (Yi Ch'uan) and Wai Dan forms of Chi Kung.

I then practice Hsing Yi and Chen Man Ching form of yang style Tai Chi a few times. After I finish practicing my Tai Chi form, most of the time I play Tui Shou with a few of my chinese friends that teach Tai chi.

Some times I get to spar a few of them, but most of the time the only Chinese teachers that will spar are external practitioners. After push hands I go get some thing to eat and go home to get ready for work.



My night practice is all BaGaZhang, I start off with Ba Gua methods of Chi Kung and auxiliary training to develop internal power and effective fighting skills: body conditioning, palm work, kicking sets.

After that I move on to practice form work: the 8 mother palms, 64 palms, freestyle form practice. I finish my practice with 20 mins of sitting meditation. After meditation I come back to the earth dimension of realiity and trun on my tv and play station 2 and get to playing. Because life is also fun."

Peace





:D

[count]

Let's just say there is not enough time in the day. I haven't even been able to check the board lately and there are some excellent threads going. I'm training about 5 to 6 hours a day with classes 4 days a week too. I can't even get to our Long Pole class starting this month:mad:

Hope you have found the consistancy you seek in your training lately.

Peace

[wisdom mind]

2-4 hours a day

i start upon waking up whenever that is, i do some sets from the 10 taoist stretching exercises as taught to me by the Blacktaoist, then I move onto single-leg white crane stance work finishing with fingertip push up chi gung or more sets from the 10 taoist stretching exercises.

at lunch i stretch some more, then work on my palm change in a park no matter the weather

throughout the day i work on strike combos as Iwalk wherever.
i open doors with mantis hooks or phoenix eyes

at home i work on the iron palm bag, tree training, running and stepping drills and form work from mantis and fukien white crane groundboxing

i finish out the day with yi-chuans ...word.

training sequence subject to change :P

[blacktaoist]

YI Wu are you going to still fight at that event? You know what event I'm talking about..........LOL. Any way call me or e-mail and let me know whats up.

peace. :)