Ten Tigers Writing Assignment #8:
“Discuss how martial arts training can be used to make improvements in non martial aspects of our lives. One example would be to take self defense principals and apply it to the food we eat.”
I could write on this one for the rest of my life, and hopefully I will.
I only could make myself attempt kung fu because somehow it called to something long neglected in my spirit. It took a lot of that calling to make me finally get up and do it. Once I began training, I was consumed by doubt, distress, inabilities, and so forth -- but the call kept coming through. As I feared, I soon realized that learning kung fu was the first experience in my life where I could not slide by, I could not pretend to be adequate, I could not act like I understood when I didn't. In all my education (considerable years of it), I was just bright enough to not have to give it my full attention. I found that if I acted like I knew what I was doing, enough people would assume I did indeed know – whether I did or not. Not so in kung fu! So, the first way that martial arts training made improvements in my non-martial life was to make me face myself and my habit of learning at the surface only and, once faced, to develop deeper ways of learning.
I have had to deal with my own learning disabilities, show them in front of others, then figure out how to work through those disabilities anyway. I now know I can only see one thing at a time, so I understand why I have to ask Steven to show me so many times in a row. I can only watch feet, or hands, or the thing in the hands ... and I have to put them together as the pieces I see. Then, and only then, comes the application. Finally, when I see each part of the move, work it into a whole, and then feel the bruise it leaves, I've got it. It's the same for life patterns. At first, and still now, I must have it broken down for me. More and more, I think, I can begin to pick out the parts myself, when I try, from the whole pattern itself. If I practice seeing patterns.
Learning kung fu is the same process of learning anything else well. For instance, literature (poetry, novels, plays) of significance is amazing and beautiful when first experienced – there is a call to the spirit. The call can go unanswered with still much appreciation for the beauty, but to go beyond, to dare understanding, requires much study, much thought, time and effort. And then, once the pieces have been pulled apart, examined for their art, put back together again and experienced as a whole, there comes practice. After I have answered the call and learned, I have to practice. And practice some more. And, it turns out, more even after that.
There is no end. That's the final lesson. I will not arrive, one day, in fine physical shape, able to leap into the air and spin without pulling a muscle, having worked hard, paid attention, and practiced. If I obtain the job I wish for, become the teacher or life-partner I can be – I cannot then stop. Jobs will not stay without effort, abilities will wane, learning will become outdated, and accomplishments will only become stories told of the past, incapable of projecting hopes into the future.
Solid gold. If I don't get beaten, I won't have tried. If I don't keep trying, I will not progress. I will not stop, I will not arrive, I will just embrace the process.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
the kung fu spirit
One of the main ideas of studying kung fu for me is that through hard work goals can be achieved. This is not a huge revelation, but simply common sense. Yet, I have found over the years that common sense is easy to put in a statement, but harder to apply in one's life. Kung fu has helped me learn how to focus better, stay motivated, and have patience. These three characteristics have not only helped me with martial arts training, but other aspects of my life as well.
I've always been a multi-tasker. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's not. Much of my time is spent working on a film script, grading papers, answering business emails, chatting with friends online, etc., all at the same time. On good days, I can accomplish these things without losing focus and without any additional stress. Yet, I have moments when the cards come crashing down. I'm a human being and I get tired. It's simple as that. My kung fu training has kept these moments to a minimum though. It's given me not only the physical endurance to move on, but the mental training to focus in a chaotic world. I believe this has helped me on film sets as an actor and stuntman, a running coach, a teacher, and a former member of corporate America.
My training has also kept me motivated. I always strive to get a little better each and every day. That is not isolated to just my kung fu training. I believe in the kung fu spirit, which I interpret as working to better your own life and the lives around you. Therefore, I motivate myself to be a better father, husband, and citizen. Also, I motivate myself to be a better runner, yoga practitioner, and scholar. I believe all of these things help me physically, mentally, and emotionally. They help me be a better person and martial artist.
I've also learned patience from my martial arts studies, particularly kung fu. Many martial arts studios promote becoming a black belt in 18 months. How can that truly benefit someone? I guess it could fill the pockets of some and fill up an empty hole with false confidence within others. When I go to a doctor, I honestly don't want one with 18 months experience. Well, I guess it's better than one with 17 months. Anyway, it seems we live in a society that wants to rush things. The old saying, "Stop and smell the roses," had been in our culture and other for centuries for a reason. It's worth living life like that instead of rushing through it. I believe with patience comes the willingness to learn. I always want to have that willingness to learn. This is the attitude I work for in kung fu training, work, and family and social life. I've been fortunate enough to earn goals in martial arts training, but they did not come quick or easy. That made them more rewarding. This applies to my goals and accomplishments in life as well.
I've always been a multi-tasker. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's not. Much of my time is spent working on a film script, grading papers, answering business emails, chatting with friends online, etc., all at the same time. On good days, I can accomplish these things without losing focus and without any additional stress. Yet, I have moments when the cards come crashing down. I'm a human being and I get tired. It's simple as that. My kung fu training has kept these moments to a minimum though. It's given me not only the physical endurance to move on, but the mental training to focus in a chaotic world. I believe this has helped me on film sets as an actor and stuntman, a running coach, a teacher, and a former member of corporate America.
My training has also kept me motivated. I always strive to get a little better each and every day. That is not isolated to just my kung fu training. I believe in the kung fu spirit, which I interpret as working to better your own life and the lives around you. Therefore, I motivate myself to be a better father, husband, and citizen. Also, I motivate myself to be a better runner, yoga practitioner, and scholar. I believe all of these things help me physically, mentally, and emotionally. They help me be a better person and martial artist.
I've also learned patience from my martial arts studies, particularly kung fu. Many martial arts studios promote becoming a black belt in 18 months. How can that truly benefit someone? I guess it could fill the pockets of some and fill up an empty hole with false confidence within others. When I go to a doctor, I honestly don't want one with 18 months experience. Well, I guess it's better than one with 17 months. Anyway, it seems we live in a society that wants to rush things. The old saying, "Stop and smell the roses," had been in our culture and other for centuries for a reason. It's worth living life like that instead of rushing through it. I believe with patience comes the willingness to learn. I always want to have that willingness to learn. This is the attitude I work for in kung fu training, work, and family and social life. I've been fortunate enough to earn goals in martial arts training, but they did not come quick or easy. That made them more rewarding. This applies to my goals and accomplishments in life as well.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
What TT has done for me
Assignment: What have you learned about yourself/your training from TT so far, and what has it changed about your approach to martial arts?
I have learned from my TT training that I am a procrastinator, unless I have some very strong motivation otherwise. I have learned that I need a group to work with, to learn with, to strive with. One of the most wonderful discoveries of martial arts, for me, was the feeling I got from training with people who shared the same desire to get the essence of the art – to internalize it. Since internalizing anything is such a personal and individual process, it's extra important to have the freedom to figure it out at my own pace, in my own way, but with guidance and support all along.
Ten Tigers has been, and remains, a program that continually helps me keep my goals in line with my daily activities. Martial arts that exists only on the kwoon floor cannot give me the results I want, nor the physical and emotional fitness levels that change my life. When I completed the TT light (1/3 program) last year, I found that it created positive habits in my daily living – but then when the program ended (a month break), I ended too. I stopped everything, felt stubborn, felt like I deserved a break … and found it very hard to start again. The “break,” I now understand, was only a return to habits and patterns that did not serve me well. The positive habits were not yet fully internalized. This second year, which I have bumped up after the first quarter to full participation, has made a huge difference that I can feel in everything I do. I've had to adapt some things – like the increased strength training has made me less flexible so I added more stretching to my routine. And I've discovered new things – like adding kettlebells to my workouts, a growth out of one of last year's special sessions that Steven embraced.
I've also discovered that the higher level of training is a challenge to schedule and maintain, but that when I am on track, everything else in my personal life is going better as well. When I veer off course and fall behind, it's a signal that I need to take a look around me to see what else is askew, and get back on the path of physical, mental and emotional health.
Ten Tigers has been a path I can follow, on an incremental daily basis, that has changed my approach to martial arts by making it part of who I am, wherever I go. I have learned to trust my instincts, listen to my body, train hard, and ease up as needed. I know now that “breaks” are not the reward I once thought them to be. More and more, I am learning to let go of my resistance to change and embrace challenges and fears as positive forces rather than things to be avoided.
I have learned from my TT training that I am a procrastinator, unless I have some very strong motivation otherwise. I have learned that I need a group to work with, to learn with, to strive with. One of the most wonderful discoveries of martial arts, for me, was the feeling I got from training with people who shared the same desire to get the essence of the art – to internalize it. Since internalizing anything is such a personal and individual process, it's extra important to have the freedom to figure it out at my own pace, in my own way, but with guidance and support all along.
Ten Tigers has been, and remains, a program that continually helps me keep my goals in line with my daily activities. Martial arts that exists only on the kwoon floor cannot give me the results I want, nor the physical and emotional fitness levels that change my life. When I completed the TT light (1/3 program) last year, I found that it created positive habits in my daily living – but then when the program ended (a month break), I ended too. I stopped everything, felt stubborn, felt like I deserved a break … and found it very hard to start again. The “break,” I now understand, was only a return to habits and patterns that did not serve me well. The positive habits were not yet fully internalized. This second year, which I have bumped up after the first quarter to full participation, has made a huge difference that I can feel in everything I do. I've had to adapt some things – like the increased strength training has made me less flexible so I added more stretching to my routine. And I've discovered new things – like adding kettlebells to my workouts, a growth out of one of last year's special sessions that Steven embraced.
I've also discovered that the higher level of training is a challenge to schedule and maintain, but that when I am on track, everything else in my personal life is going better as well. When I veer off course and fall behind, it's a signal that I need to take a look around me to see what else is askew, and get back on the path of physical, mental and emotional health.
Ten Tigers has been a path I can follow, on an incremental daily basis, that has changed my approach to martial arts by making it part of who I am, wherever I go. I have learned to trust my instincts, listen to my body, train hard, and ease up as needed. I know now that “breaks” are not the reward I once thought them to be. More and more, I am learning to let go of my resistance to change and embrace challenges and fears as positive forces rather than things to be avoided.
The Red sash test
In this match he did do quite well for his first time sparing 2\3 of the people that he did spar. And three two minute rounds are really hard even if you did have perfect cardio, but as it stands no one has perfect cardio. His technique was good, if slightly limited, but I think every body could understand why that is.
More importantly, not having experience with most of the people that you have to spar can be rather daunting for instance on my red and black and red test I had to spar some people, that I had never even seen spar let alone spar my self it can be a little scary. Some times getting air can be hard to do when you’re sparing three black belts! But doing that is something that you have to do, that is one of the tests in the black and red belt TESTS. And like I said no one has perfect cardio, and never runs out of wind, ect.
But back to center of the matter his technique, having a torn hamstring kinda limits your verity strikes. The only thing is that his guard was ever so slightly high, two instances of this that I saw were black belt 2 and black belt 3, the body side kick is the main technique that got him. Well body side kicks and body punches too, just lowering the guard a little bit would help stop those trouble some body hits.
More importantly, not having experience with most of the people that you have to spar can be rather daunting for instance on my red and black and red test I had to spar some people, that I had never even seen spar let alone spar my self it can be a little scary. Some times getting air can be hard to do when you’re sparing three black belts! But doing that is something that you have to do, that is one of the tests in the black and red belt TESTS. And like I said no one has perfect cardio, and never runs out of wind, ect.
But back to center of the matter his technique, having a torn hamstring kinda limits your verity strikes. The only thing is that his guard was ever so slightly high, two instances of this that I saw were black belt 2 and black belt 3, the body side kick is the main technique that got him. Well body side kicks and body punches too, just lowering the guard a little bit would help stop those trouble some body hits.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Sparring Analysis (self-centered)
Analyzing My Own Sparring Matches:
I looked at some of of my own sparring matches, not to be self-centered, but because I believe that analyzing my own videos is one of the few ways to improve my skills, and I am interested in how I have changed over time.
Tournament, August 2008 – match with Tammy: I remember NOT wanting to spar Tammy. Watching the video brought the feeling back. She probably knew that, because as the match began she plowed into me straight down the pipe, and forced me to move back to the edge of the mat. Because she was a very aggressive opponent, I saw in the video that I started keeping out of her way, not staying in her line of fire because, if I did, I could not stay on the mat! I was looking for opportunities to strike as she moved in, while getting off to the side. That's usually not my style, but it was working. I have reach, height and weight on Tammy, so I was able to strike before she was, but she is much faster. It looked like I was using the side-step method to keep out of the way of taller opponents, though it was her aggression and speed that made me react that way. My kicks were not chambered. That made them slow as molasses and ineffective when they did hit. When we slowed down a bit, after the first rush of activity, my kicks were still not chambered, even when there was plenty of time to do so. Only size advantage let me seem to overmatch Tammy. Speed and style were hers. She threw combinations, moved in quickly, kept her guard up and was FAST. She kept her head to her left, though, and sometimes left it unguarded. While she led with her right, keeping her head to the left protected it most of the time, but being a left-handed, taller opponent, sometimes I could get over that right hand for head strikes. Tammy was good at disrupting an attack with hook punches that came out of nowhere and high/low combinations that were difficult to block.
Red sash test, June 2010 – match with Steven: (1st one, not the second one where I actually thought I'd rather just stay on the ground and get stomped than get up again. ha.) I see myself not reading what is going to happen next, after I move in. I look for a chance to dive in, and I don't have a combination ready in my head. I act, then react. For instance, Steven often chambers his lead leg, and I wait for it to drop and then throw one punch, or one kick, mostly halfheartedly. My body language tells me that I don't think my kick or punch is going to do anything – and so it doesn't. My kicks are not chambered at all, again because of that halfhearted delivery. Without a proper chamber, there is little, if any, snap and therefore little, if any, speed or surprise.
I also see that I am making many energy-draining moves – starts of kicks that aren't thrown nor are they effective feints, head movements, bobbing, circling, without purpose. Nervous energy that could be redirected.
Steven waits. He knows I'm going to come in. Then, when I think he's going to wait some more, he comes in quickly before I'm set. At one point, I moved in with a punch or two, actually DUCKED a hook punch from Steven, and then when I failed to follow through (probably happily thinking, hey, I saw that punch coming and dodged it!), then came the side kick. The side kick knocked me back, and in my brief period of mental disgust at falling for the side kick again, Steven followed immediately with a flurry of punches before I recovered. After that series, I threw a pointless punch or two, then had a fairly logical combination where Steven easily kept out of reach. The combination made sense, but the targets were not selected. After that, though, there followed a brief period before time was called where I was wasting more energy with little punches, and low, short kicks that wouldn't do anything even if they hit full power. It looked like I was trying to poke a dragon in the eye without wanting to.
Red sash test, June 2010 – match with Eli: My style with an aggressive opponent is different. Eli always moves in and I work on defense rather than aggression. I know if I get in close, he'll be able to use the short right hand power punch that is one of his favorites. With Eli, I was able to wait for him to kick, then follow the kick in with punches. That's a combination that has worked for me repeated – except against Steven's side kick because (a) I'm not able to move in after being knocked backward and (b) he's waiting anyway. (there's a clue there somewhere) If a kick is not effective enough to move your opponent back, they can follow it in and eat your lunch. Ergo, do not throw ineffective kicks.
During one clash, I was able to move in and strike the mid-section (harder than I intended). Though I took a hit to the head, the strength of my strike reduced the head hit significantly. However, I think that if no pads were involved, anyone could take that mid-section strike better than a crack over the head. And what if he'd had something heavy in his hand?!
I show little to no side movement. Circular, yes, but not any movement getting me to the outside of my opponent. I stay straight down the middle, which is not logical for real-life situations against a taller, stronger opponent, which Eli now is.
National tournament, August 2010 – match with intermediate female opponent: This was the first opponent I can remember who did not wear a mask. In this tournament, face strikes were disallowed. It is hard, in the speed of a match, to remember not to strike what has been a regular target. (If I am ever in a street fight, I will certainly go for the face.) I lost a point because of illegal face strikes.
My opponent had a strong side kick (where have I seen that before?) and good timing. She was tall and outweighed me. I could not depend on my strength and size in this match. I had some trouble with her good, high kick since it was well aimed. She had that kick, and a punch that followed, or vice versa depending on the situation. Once I blocked her lead hand strike, and her kick immediately followed. That combination created a difficult-to-block high/low combination. I don't know how I would have done against her in point-only sparring, but in continuous matches opponents have a chance to get past the initial strike(s) and change the game. After eating her kick and punch a time or two, I found the timing of her kick to get past it, and blocked her punch. I caught her kick, and climbed over it punching. She did not have a well-developed close fighting style. Once I discovered that, I felt I had her. The emotion of the fight changed at that point, too, because I knew what to do, and she seemed to be made uncomfortable by the close-in contact. Her body language at the end of the first round told me she thought I had her too. Her shoulders slumped, she would not meet my eyes, and she looked like she wished she hadn't signed up. As we “set up” for another round, she walked slowly. My body language was bouncy, literally on my toes ( a waste of energy, probably) and confident. That helped me psychologically in the fight as well because the judges see that body language, as well as the opponent.
I looked at some of of my own sparring matches, not to be self-centered, but because I believe that analyzing my own videos is one of the few ways to improve my skills, and I am interested in how I have changed over time.
Tournament, August 2008 – match with Tammy: I remember NOT wanting to spar Tammy. Watching the video brought the feeling back. She probably knew that, because as the match began she plowed into me straight down the pipe, and forced me to move back to the edge of the mat. Because she was a very aggressive opponent, I saw in the video that I started keeping out of her way, not staying in her line of fire because, if I did, I could not stay on the mat! I was looking for opportunities to strike as she moved in, while getting off to the side. That's usually not my style, but it was working. I have reach, height and weight on Tammy, so I was able to strike before she was, but she is much faster. It looked like I was using the side-step method to keep out of the way of taller opponents, though it was her aggression and speed that made me react that way. My kicks were not chambered. That made them slow as molasses and ineffective when they did hit. When we slowed down a bit, after the first rush of activity, my kicks were still not chambered, even when there was plenty of time to do so. Only size advantage let me seem to overmatch Tammy. Speed and style were hers. She threw combinations, moved in quickly, kept her guard up and was FAST. She kept her head to her left, though, and sometimes left it unguarded. While she led with her right, keeping her head to the left protected it most of the time, but being a left-handed, taller opponent, sometimes I could get over that right hand for head strikes. Tammy was good at disrupting an attack with hook punches that came out of nowhere and high/low combinations that were difficult to block.
Red sash test, June 2010 – match with Steven: (1st one, not the second one where I actually thought I'd rather just stay on the ground and get stomped than get up again. ha.) I see myself not reading what is going to happen next, after I move in. I look for a chance to dive in, and I don't have a combination ready in my head. I act, then react. For instance, Steven often chambers his lead leg, and I wait for it to drop and then throw one punch, or one kick, mostly halfheartedly. My body language tells me that I don't think my kick or punch is going to do anything – and so it doesn't. My kicks are not chambered at all, again because of that halfhearted delivery. Without a proper chamber, there is little, if any, snap and therefore little, if any, speed or surprise.
I also see that I am making many energy-draining moves – starts of kicks that aren't thrown nor are they effective feints, head movements, bobbing, circling, without purpose. Nervous energy that could be redirected.
Steven waits. He knows I'm going to come in. Then, when I think he's going to wait some more, he comes in quickly before I'm set. At one point, I moved in with a punch or two, actually DUCKED a hook punch from Steven, and then when I failed to follow through (probably happily thinking, hey, I saw that punch coming and dodged it!), then came the side kick. The side kick knocked me back, and in my brief period of mental disgust at falling for the side kick again, Steven followed immediately with a flurry of punches before I recovered. After that series, I threw a pointless punch or two, then had a fairly logical combination where Steven easily kept out of reach. The combination made sense, but the targets were not selected. After that, though, there followed a brief period before time was called where I was wasting more energy with little punches, and low, short kicks that wouldn't do anything even if they hit full power. It looked like I was trying to poke a dragon in the eye without wanting to.
Red sash test, June 2010 – match with Eli: My style with an aggressive opponent is different. Eli always moves in and I work on defense rather than aggression. I know if I get in close, he'll be able to use the short right hand power punch that is one of his favorites. With Eli, I was able to wait for him to kick, then follow the kick in with punches. That's a combination that has worked for me repeated – except against Steven's side kick because (a) I'm not able to move in after being knocked backward and (b) he's waiting anyway. (there's a clue there somewhere) If a kick is not effective enough to move your opponent back, they can follow it in and eat your lunch. Ergo, do not throw ineffective kicks.
During one clash, I was able to move in and strike the mid-section (harder than I intended). Though I took a hit to the head, the strength of my strike reduced the head hit significantly. However, I think that if no pads were involved, anyone could take that mid-section strike better than a crack over the head. And what if he'd had something heavy in his hand?!
I show little to no side movement. Circular, yes, but not any movement getting me to the outside of my opponent. I stay straight down the middle, which is not logical for real-life situations against a taller, stronger opponent, which Eli now is.
National tournament, August 2010 – match with intermediate female opponent: This was the first opponent I can remember who did not wear a mask. In this tournament, face strikes were disallowed. It is hard, in the speed of a match, to remember not to strike what has been a regular target. (If I am ever in a street fight, I will certainly go for the face.) I lost a point because of illegal face strikes.
My opponent had a strong side kick (where have I seen that before?) and good timing. She was tall and outweighed me. I could not depend on my strength and size in this match. I had some trouble with her good, high kick since it was well aimed. She had that kick, and a punch that followed, or vice versa depending on the situation. Once I blocked her lead hand strike, and her kick immediately followed. That combination created a difficult-to-block high/low combination. I don't know how I would have done against her in point-only sparring, but in continuous matches opponents have a chance to get past the initial strike(s) and change the game. After eating her kick and punch a time or two, I found the timing of her kick to get past it, and blocked her punch. I caught her kick, and climbed over it punching. She did not have a well-developed close fighting style. Once I discovered that, I felt I had her. The emotion of the fight changed at that point, too, because I knew what to do, and she seemed to be made uncomfortable by the close-in contact. Her body language at the end of the first round told me she thought I had her too. Her shoulders slumped, she would not meet my eyes, and she looked like she wished she hadn't signed up. As we “set up” for another round, she walked slowly. My body language was bouncy, literally on my toes ( a waste of energy, probably) and confident. That helped me psychologically in the fight as well because the judges see that body language, as well as the opponent.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
What I've Learned
The main thing I have learned about me from this program is that I do better when I have goals.
Before I had specific goals to meet, I found it very easy to believe that I didn't have time or energy to train at that moment. The moments would add up and soon I'd realized I had not trained outside of class for a week. Then, I would train really hard for a few days. Next, I'd start making excuses again. Too tired, too busy, too stressed. . .
Now, when I am tired, busy, or stressed, I have this goal hanging over me, and I have to be much more careful in deciding if I really am to busy, tired, or stressed.
The best part is, when I go ahead and get my training in on those days it helps me realize I'm not as busy as I thought, it makes me feel less tired, and it alleviates the stress.
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