Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: where do YOU train?

  1. #1
    Sung Guest

    where do YOU train?

    does anyone ever train in different environments ?
    i train in my kung fu school that has nicely polished, wooden floors, but often train on grass, concrete, hilly settings and even wet dirt (for the balance and stance training). after all, you will probably never get into a real fight on your school's floor, which your feet may be used to training on.
    does anyone NOT see the need to be more diverse in where you train?

  2. #2
    Braden Guest
    On someone else's recommendation, I went out to try my palm changes on rough ground. What an eye opener! Although most of my practice time is still on carpet or hardwood, I make a point of going out at least once a week to find irregular surfaces to practice on. Concrete doesn't give me much troubles though, since it's usually level.

  3. #3
    silentjohn Guest
    get a friend, and go train outside around 1:30 am..

    the lighting/environment/feeling helps a lot.
    Also if you are near a streetlight, take turns facing it, and facing away from it.

  4. #4
    Kung Lek Guest
    Hi-

    You are onto a good thing there wood rabbit.

    It is wise to expose yourself to alternate terrain and practice what you can upon it.
    you will most certainly benefit from this course of action.

    Personally, Outside of the kwoon I will practice fighting forms on a varietal terrain as I can find. even on ice in the winter which is a real eye opener!

    you wanna learn to root real good? do the fu on a sheet of fresh ice.ha ha.

    also gravel, sand, the beach in the water (good resistance in water), concrete, grass, you name it and I will surely try it.

    Of course not everything is going to work out well at first, but with time you will find that you feel comfortable executing techniques in any environment.

    good luck with your training!

    peace

    ------------------
    Kung Lek

  5. #5
    dena Guest
    Well..
    We used to train in a gym along with Karate- and Taekwando-fellows, but the owner sold the place.
    So now everybody is lookin for a new place to train.

    Right now we train in a big park.
    In Denmark, the weather isn't that
    hot in the summer (aprox 18c-rainy)
    So if you have tried traning in a park, in rain, you know how soppy the ground is.
    Well, that results in, we're only about 3-4 from the club training out there.

    Our sifu is in China, learning some kinda massage-thing, untill October, so there's unfortunate also lack of entusiasm.

    But its kool, training outside.
    lotsa fresh air and no wall-limits.
    the only thing is,
    In Denmark, if a group of people train, they have to tell the guards of the park, that they are _not_ a club, but a bunch of friends.
    Else we'd been dismissed....
    Weird policy tho..

    ------------------
    Subspecies
    The Humanoid of Monkeyspecies [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

  6. #6
    Sung Guest
    braden, i find that concrete gives me a stronger-rooted feeling and reminds me to not over distribute my weight, which can happen on the polished, wood floor of my school from sliding a bit.
    silentjohn, you dropped an excellent environment to train in. thank you so much. sand, in beach water and gravel (!) are also awesome suggestions kung lek. i will be including these in my "tool box".
    it's good to see m.a.'s who are being diverse in their surroundings. it helps the person become more comfortable in their abilities.
    enjoy your training!

  7. #7
    LEGEND Guest
    Not really...I stick to training in the DOJO...I understand the realism factor of training else where but the convience factor out weighs that! I have rolled on da grass before...but it was hell getting that stain out of me t-shirt!!!

  8. #8
    Iron_Monkey Guest
    A man I met in a police supply store said he sunk a bunch of 4x4 wooden posts into the ground in his back yard. (so about 4 feet are above ground) He said he set them up so he could do Yang Taiji on them. He also practices hung gar. He said it does wonders for balance and stance-work.

  9. #9
    Paul Skrypichayko Guest
    Great to see people actually talking about good training methods =)

    It's very important to vary your training, and be as realistic as possible. Like many of the guys on the topic have mentioned, try all types of terrain, all types of weather, and all types of light and sound conditions.

    Ever try doing something blindfolded (or in the dark) or with your ears plugged, or drowned out by very loud noise? Tricky as hell to balance.

    Another big thing you should take into account is clothing. Train in all types of footwear, light shoes, heavy boots, even barefoot. Here in Canada, you wear winter boots a lot, and heavy bulky clothing. In summer, it's totally different, sandals, shorts, and a tshirt. To be well rounded, you need to train in all conditions.


  10. #10
    Paul Skrypichayko Guest
    The idea about training on top of posts is a great one, and it has been in Chinese Martial Arts for centuries. The height gives an added challenge to training, but the real beneficial factor is the small surface area that you have to stand on. Three to four inches is a good size to stand on. If you live in an apartment, or your parents wont let you turn your yard into a full fledged training facility, you can practice standing on soup cans.

    There is a specific method and training behind post/pillar training.

  11. #11
    DarkSun Guest
    I train in a forest for most part. It was really just a pulic park, but was so removed from everywhere else, it was very private.

    The advantages of training outdoors are many.
    Just being close to nature is a large part of my arts Tao.


  12. #12
    meltdawn Guest
    Neat subject! I train on many surfaces.

    1. Park basketball court and parling lot. Flat and hard but a little grippy. I think this is the easiest. The environment is great; gets you used to doing fu in front of people, and tests your character when they make "eggroll" comments.

    2. Indoor linoleum gym. Second easiest surface, smooth and flat, but a little too slippery. When sand gets on it, look out! I find that the room's a bit small and I don't recover from exertion as easily as outside, even in the FL heat.

    3. Grass. Unevenness is the minus but the "forgiveness" of ground is great. You get used to looking where you're going, thus dropping your center of gravity. Plus, the stuff is everywhere.

    4. Carpet. It's in my office and it's in my teacher's restaurant. I hate the stuff, but what can you do? Too much grip!

    Plum flower posts:
    Try drawing circles with chalk on the sidewalk first, then use bricks. First lay them flat on the widest portion. Then turn them on their sides. Then turn them on end. When you can do this, post it on the board and we'll all come train with you!

  13. #13
    Sung Guest
    darksun, being closer to nature is a big reason why i vary where i train as well. my school's floor is hardly natural, hardly a place where i'd have to use my martial art, so why train solely there.
    paul makes very important points about training blindfolded, or with the ears plugged and also with wearing different shoes. very insightful stuff. all this only deepens the variations and makes one more comfortable.
    i think silentjohn dropped the gold nugget of advice when he said to try training under a streetlight at 1:30 am. i'm still amped after hearing that one. i did a little solo stuff on saturday night at about 3am. i think that is gonna be a weekly thing for me now. now if i can only gat a training partner to stay up that late with me....

  14. #14
    Robinf Guest
    I practice in the kwoon--puzzle mat, and in the dojang--big mat. I've lately taken my training outside--parking lot and grassy hills.

    Meltdawn,
    I hadn't thought of using bricks instead of posts! A few of us were trying to think of how we could construct a plum flower post training station without having anywhere to sink posts. Thanks!

  15. #15
    Iron_Monkey Guest
    So what would the pattern for Plum Flower post be? How are they arranged? Anybody have a diagram?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •