Training choices

I make so many choices each and every time I train.  What shall I practice tonight?  Basic drills?  Strength training?  Footwork?  Intent?

The past few classes have been a smorgasbord of drills, routines and exercises, all of which would be incredibly valuable to train more often.

So, what wil I train?  Well, I am thinking - taking some feedback from my teacher as an impetus for this - that lower body strength and footwork drills should be my focus.  At least for the next few weeks, anyway.

Building muscle

[See link to right of the screen, under "Build your Physique!"]

Here's a (kindle) book on the Sandow method of body building which is not only a good guide to building muscle and developing mind-muscle connections/awareness but also an interesting read about how older training methods in body-building and boxing have been unfairly dismissed and discredited.

It is a very good read, informative and could help you develop your physique with just 20-30 minutes training per day.  Already, it has amassed a few, very positive reviews.  For the cost of a kindle book and the time in which you'd normally watch 'How I Met Your Mother', you could have the statuesque body you've always wanted.

Nappies Before NeiGong II: The Training Montage

Okay, so my '100 days of Bagua' is taking a really beating as often I find myself doing little more than some basic leg-strengthening or even ten minutes of stancework as my daily practice.

When you have a baby (8 months old and already into everything), there are simply many more pressing issues than perfecting your crashing palm that have to be attend.  Even once they have been attended to, often exhaustion means the last thing you feel like doing is racking up an hour of stance work.

But here are a few ways I have managed to combine training into my daily routine/babycare regimen.

1. Chickenstep whenever pushing baby's pram.
2. Engaging calf muscles whenever walking or pushing pram.
3. Practicing Jiben shou fa in toilet cubicles at work (not ideal, and strive for the cleanest cubicle possible, but saves embarrassment and awkward questions).
4. Squatting rather than bending down to pick things up/access low shelves.
5. Holding various (innocuous) stances on tram to and from work.
6. Sitting down and getting up from chairs using one leg at a time.
7. Standing on one leg whenever motionless for a while.
8. Lying with kwa open while watching tv.

They are hardly in-depth exercises that will unlock bagua's secrets for me (with the possible exception of the jiben shou fa), but they do allow me to maintain momentum in my improvement more than if I had simply done nothing between those all too infrequent training sessions.

Ah, Tian Gan, my nemesis!

Class tonight was great.  First back after a haitus but easily got back into the swing of things.

Did a lot of strength training and such.  Found that things are starting to come together for me (my 'ban' is much better than before, but I still need to work on my legs).

Now I know what I need, all that is required is practice!

"I can eat more scran than Kevin Keegan can..."

Started the day with a large bowl of Sainsbury's High Fibre bran breakfast, with just a few sultanas added to taste.  This is the dietary part of my health kick.  Normally, I would skip breakfast.  But that is why my sugar level crashes mid-morning and I end up eating crap, or having my lunch early, forcing another crash later in the day.  Today, the bowl was huge and kept me really full all morning.

That morning included taking my six month old daughter to 'Puddleducks'.  She isn't exactly learning to swim there yet, but getting used to the water and accustoming herself to a swimming-like environment and learning important skills and body techniques for when she does start swimming.

The similarity between her Puddleducks/swimming and my Bagua/self defence is not lost on me. ;)

Early afternoon saw us home before north Manchester erupted due to the football derby.  I made lamb shank in a very healthy casserole which we had with kale.  Normally, we would have (lots of) rice or pasta with most of our meals.  However, we realise now that such a lot of carbs are unnecessary, and even a mistake, considering how sedentary our lifestyle can be.

After those very filling meals, I don't really feel the need to snack (though that wouldn't normally stop me), so we have enjoyed a cup of tea, and I now have a small glass of mead to congratulate myself on a good weekend. 

Tian gan exercises will be conducted before bed.  My teacher showed me another one that I took a particular shine to, as I could do it but immediately felt it working several important muscle groups.

Similar breakfast again tomorrow, with probably a chicken salad sandwich (no dressing) and plenty of fruit for lunch.  I am determined to make this healthy lifestyle reap benefits.  Though my weight doesn't exactly impinge negatively on my bagua a whole lot.  Having a bit of gravity to instill in my punches is a boon when my technique is still a little sub-par.

Nappies before Neigong

I appear to be stretching the bounds of this '100 days of bagua' already as the only training possible last night was some chicken-step while I attempted to sing my daughter to sleep.

This just reiterates what I have said in previous posts about training that I can do in concert with my daily chores being better for me as things stand.

Hopefully, some Tian Gan wil be in effect tonight.  Added to my usual leg strengthening (I started bagua just over a year ago with really weedy legs for a guy of 6'3"!)

Living on a razor's edge...

No bagua so far today.  A restless six-month old will do wonders to raise the priorty of a lie in at six in the morning, trust me.

The chinese have a phrase 'heavenly stem' (tian gan), which sounds really wonderful and pleasant.  However, if you train in bagua, then the phrase calls to mind only pain.  It refers to a series of strengthening exercises that put the body through its paces.

These were what I was intending to train today.  Perhaps they are better to complete this evening.  That way, if I am knackered then I can go straight to bed.  Or the sofa.  Whichever is closer.