Told you I tried this before. An old post.

Thursday 19 June 2003

I’ve decided for no good reason at all to do a journal of my Kung-Fu training. Maybe to justify my going, or to enable me to actually remember stuff… Maybe I’ve just always wanted to do a livejournally thing

First lesson today, if you don’t count the stick-fighting seminar on Sunday. Fraser from work was meant to come along too but was unable to (something came up). So left slightly early from work by not taking my last 1/4 hour break, and discovered that I really didn’t need to Got picked up by Duncan and off to Perth we went. Duncan helped *so* much telling me what a shock to the system it was going to be…

Anyway, we arrive in Perth, to the hall (learning on the way that the center of Perth is now apparently worse than the center of Dundee, with 3-4 knife “incidents” per week, and that the hall is conveniently close to the Crematorium, just in case anything goes *very* wrong). The hall is tacked onto a social club of some kind. We’re early, so we wait in the hall while the juniors finish up. Damn they’ve got a lot of energy! It’s kind of depressing realising they’re probably fitter than I’ll ever be…

Dunc goes to the Gents to get changed, and when he’s finished I go in. I open my Sports Bag, now for actual Sports, and discover that I’ve cunningly forgotten to put a T-shirt in with my trackie bottoms and Instruments Of Death [TM] (a.k.a. Escrima Sticks, got at the aforementioned non-counting stick-fighting seminar). I distictly recall getting the t-shirt, and I’m *pretty* sure I actually put it in, although given the fact that it wasn’t there, I presumably didn’t. So trackie bottoms and work-shirt it is. Thankfully it’s one of the thin types, not the thicker sort. Strenuous exersise in one of those doesn’t really bear thinking about…

So we head in, bow at the door, and watch the juniors finish up with their sets. Then we semi-organisedly start up with some skipping. Nice gentle start to the session, right? Well yes, up to the point where something goes “sproing” in my leg. Then goes “ow”. It felt kind of like a cramp the inside part of my left calf, near the tendon at the top. Then it felt less like a cramp and more like pain. I’m not even five minutes in and I’m already injured!

So I hobble over to Robert, the Sifu, and he basically says we’ll work around it. Which we do. In the horrible workout/warmup session. Or physical torture session, depending on how you see it. Good god I’m out of shape. Even discounting the injury, which isn’t all that easy, I’m soon gasping for breath, and discovering I can’t even *do* squat thrusts… Interesting, it’s about as painful to walk as it is to run, so I mostly step-step-hop thing around the laps, but I’m doing about one situp/crunch/pushup to everyone else’s two. I basically figure if I spend the same amount of time doing whatever the excersize is that’ll count…

Interestingly, when we’re paired up to do some light sparring (after a line up, one side to hideous excersize, then other side repeat session. Thank god you could just stand and breathe while side A was doing their bit) Robert actually said “the best sparring’s here!” while indicating me and my partner! Well, it was good while it lasted – sparring *really* took it out of me!

Then it was circuit training – different things at different stations. I was originally partnered with… Phil? Anyway, a semi-pro kickboxer! He was *not* impressed with my abilities! It got sorted out though – Phil partnered with someone else, while I partnered with Duncan, who more approximates my fitness level.

So circuit training it was. Kick this, punch this, hold this and twist… It was quite satisfying to see that I *did* seem to remember something of how to kick and punch. The hold-the-medicine-ball-and-twist excersize was hard on the arms until I started doing it right and discovered it’s actually hard on the *legs*

Luckily Duncan was quite happy to keep pace with me, and we basically dragged the water-bottle (another thing to remember for next time!) with us (although we often forgot it…). The other satisfying thing was a fairly heavy bag filled with corn, apparently. Not too hard on the fists, but *very* nice to hit. Little puffs of corn dust came out and really made you feel you were achieving something!

Anyway, eventually the torture, er physical conditioning ended, and we were split up into two groups – the kickboxing people, who padded up and did some fighting, and the kung fu people, who were doing sets, knife-defences, and the bits we could remember of the non-counting stick-fighting seminar. That was fun. Got paired up with a rather nice young lady, and found myself in the rather odd position of teaching the stuff I’d spent a whole three hours learning just a few days ago! But it went well, and it’s always fun to bang sticks together Me and Duncan also went through a few of the single stick and double-stick drills. Must remember to practice more of that. Do like that stuff.

Then on to knife defences, and Duncan showed me the three he knew best (#3, #1 and #8, I think). The first on I knew from my Aikijujutsu/Jujutsu days, and the others also had vague resonances with previous stuff. Very interesting. He also took me through the first Kickboxing set. Robert came over and asked to see how much I’d learned (I’d forgotten how embarrassed I get demonstrating forms), and complemented Duncan on his teaching, which I quite agree with.

Robert also demonstrated the #4 knife defence, which was *very* interesting, especially as he showed us what it looks like without a partner, and suddenly it’s the flowery handwaving stuff that’s always getting criticised – only now I could see how it actually came together!

Then class ended, and I watched Dunc go through one of the later Kung-Fu forms – very impressive. We helped pack things up (including lifing the heavy corn bag so another guy could knock it’s rope from the ceiling hook – very heavy!).

Afterwards, in the car park, Robert talked about the history of Lau Gar (Duncan had emailed him a list of questions earlier, it seems). Very interesting (I keep saying that…). Lau Gar is apparently a mostly Southern Kung Fu style, with bits of Northern, Tibetan, Hsing-I, White Crane… Plus Robert himself teaches quite eclecticly, with Japanese-styel kobojutsu, Filipino stick-fighting, and various other things. The conversation was quite fascinating, and wide-ranging, from martial arts history, comparisons of the teachint styles of Japanese, Okinawan, and Chinese martial arts, Chi Gung exersizes, all sorts. Very cool.

Plans for the rest of the night; put on some dinner, do some repeats of my Kickboxing Set, and maybe some of the Chi Gung exersize Duncan explained to me on the way back to Dundee. Food, then nicehotbath for aching muscles. I’m not particularly looking forward to attempting to move tomorrow!

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Addendum:

Did 5*kickboxing white set, 10*chi gung, and went through the stick-fighting sets and the knife defences I learned today. I had some vague idea of spending the entire 1/2 hour while my tea cooked excersizing, but I don’t know enough yet! Plus I need to learn to tidy up occasionally – doing kung fu in a flat messed up by a two-year-old can be hazerdous…

Calf hurting. The thing above that calf isn’t too happy either. Very stiff all over! Robert reccommends some pushups before bed, but I think that’ll wait until I’m slightly fitter!

I hope this isn’t all enthusiasm brought on by something new that will rapidly fade and die. Hopefully with Duncan to nag me, this might last… will I beat my previos record of 12 sessions? Or the twelve-week record? We can but see…

But by the smell I think my dinner’s ready…