Back to Basics or Whoa, ho, ho it's Magic!

"When I got my black belt, I realized that the best techniques were the ones they taught white belts. They were truly magical."

- Sifu John Angelos (1952-2002) speaking about his experiences learning jujitsu. -

After last week's battle with the weather limited me to only two workouts, I knew I had to change something in my schedule. It's not very convenient doing my workouts earlier in the day because I like to stay focused on my writing. Also, when the weather is decent, I can let my son go outside to play while I get my workout done.

But when I'm battling the weather, it's just too much of a hassle to stay in my carport and supervise and/or entertain my son. As a result, I had to be the responsible parent and forego my workout in order to keep my son safe from lightning and keep my wife happy.

I decided today that I should do my workout during early afternoon. That way, I can get it done without having to worry about keeping my son inside during afternoon thunderstorms. Today's workout brought me out into the hot, humid, noon-time Florida sun in order to avoid afternoon storms.

Today's workout focused on basics. I did a circuit of three Yau Kung Mun forms: the Tung Jee Kuen, YKM's first empty-hand set; Luk Hup Guan, YKM's first staff set; and the dan dao, the single sabre.

All three forms are short, each one has less than 20 moves, not counting repeaters. It takes less than a minute to do each one. But, as is typical of Yau Kung Mun, the forms are very aggressive and direct, with several drops to one knee, jumping kicks and fast, phoenix-eye fist blows, directed to the solar plexus, the armpits or the nipples.

In that respect, the first YKM set is very similar to advanced sets, like Gau Bo Toi (Nine Step Push) or Sup Baht Mor Kiu (18 Devils Bridge).

But short doesn't necessarily mean easy. Especially when I resolved to do eight runs of the circuit, going from empty-hand to staff to sabre. It plays a lot with your mind and your body, going from form to form, each with radically different body mechanics and demands on your strength, stamina and focus.

I'm not much of a traditionalist, but I did eight runs of that circuit. Asian martial arts in general, and Chinese arts in particular, tend to do things in patterns of threes and eights. Those are lucky numbers in Chinese numerology. I suspect it is due to Buddhism's influence on Asian culture. There is a Buddhist trinity of Buddha (the Enlightened One), the Dharma (His Teachings) and the Sangha (Community of Enlightened Souls). Eight is the number of Buddha's Eightfold Path of how people should live their lives.


Though I am a Christian, I have profound respect for Buddha's teachings. Though I don't revere him as a deity or a messiah, I do consider him one of the greatest philosphers. I believe he was as Divinely-inspired in his teachings as were Moses, Solomon and Isaiah.

But I digress. As I said several days ago, weapons work will take a lot out of you. But the switch from weapons to empty-hands really taxes you, both mentally and physically. As I concluded, I had little time left but to do a set of crunches and a set of pushups. To my amazement, I managed to do 50 pusnups between the bowling balls.

It takes balls to do pushups like this.

Rain, Please Go the *%$#& Away!

Next to illness, rain is one of the biggest deterrents to training in my carport kwoon.

I should mention that my carport is barely big enough for my wooden dummy and some other gear. There's very little room to move around. I do most of my work, particularly forms, bagwork and shadow boxing, outside.

As a result, when it's raining, I'm confined under the carport.

That normally wasn't much of a problem when it was just me and the missus. But now that I have a son who looks for any excuse to go outdoors, it's trouble. I can't invite him to stay under the carport with me because there is not enough room for the two of us. He won't stay inside while I'm having all kinds of fun outside. And the wife will kill me if she finds out I let him play outside in the rain.

It's not the rain she's so afraid of - it's the thunder and lightning.

Yes, I'm well aware that the Tampa Bay Area is the lightning strike capital of the world. But I'm also aware that getting hit by lightning is a longshot no matter where you are. That's why they always compare the odds of a longshot happening, (like winning the Lotto) to getting hit by lightning.

My next house will definitely have a garage. But until then, I gotta figure something out so I can train, keep an eye on the kid, and keep the wife off my case.

Living By The Sword Will Kill You

I meant to get in a workout Friday, but Thursday's session with the swords killed me.

I get a laugh out of all those people who seem to think that using swords, or any kind of weapon, is easy. To them, I say that there's a lot more to it than "pointy end goes in here."

Each broadsword may weight only about a pound or so, but swinging that one-pound weight around for half-an-hour or more, with your arms at varying extensions, incorporating all the footwork and body twisting is like a full workout with Nautilus. Even more so.

Most modern weight training isolates parts of the body. It's designed more for sculpting individual members, not the body as a whole. Using weapons takes the whole body. Controlling a sword or staff uses the legs, the waist, the torso and, yes, the arms. And every one of those parts was hurting like hell Friday morning.

So I returned to my workouts with a little more common sense today. I'm still determined to focus on the broadswords this month, but I'll take it a little slower.

I was also hamstrung by the stormy weather here in the Bay Area. Growing up, I wasn't about to let a little rain or snow stop me. But I'm not only a little older and slightly wiser, I also live in the lightning strike capital of the world. Practicing in the rain is risky enough. Practicing while holding a hunk of metal in your hands is downright reckless.

When the weather let up this afternoon, I took up my wooden broadsword, went into the yard and ran through alternating runs of the single dao and the Sup Baht Mor Kiu fist set, (18 Devils Bridge). The latter set is typical of most Yau Kung Mun and Bak Mei forms - short, but very fast and aggressive. When considering the aggressive, nasty nature of Bak Mei forms, it's easy to see why the character of Bak Mei (also known as Pai Mei) is frequently depicted as a villain in Chinese culture and cinema.



I returned to my carport, alternating between individual drills on the dummy, claw pushups and the ab wheel. Following about 15 minutes of that circuit, I closed with a round of the Wooden Dummy form, some classic sit-ups on an incline board, and two sets each of standard pushups and dips on the Power Tower.

Today's Workout Part II

After picking up my son and nephew from school, helping my son with his homework and getting him ready for his dance class, I managed to squeeze in a good half-hour strength training workout.

For most of the past few years, I did a lot of circuit training. Basically, I would intersperse strength training, like pushups, chinups, etc., with forms, shadow boxing or bag work.

I've been wanting to split the workouts into two separate sessions for a while. The earlier workout focused on martial arts. The later workout will focus on strength.

While my son, Vitaly, and my nephew, Gavin, played outside, I alternated between leg raises on my power tower and dead lifts. The dead lifts I was taught in high school focus almost entirely on the lower back and glutes.

I start by standing on something sturdy, like some cinderblocks. I take a light barbell, hold it in front of me with my arms down. Then I slowly bend at the waist until I can't go any farther. It not only strengthens the back, it stretches the hamstrings.

Following a few sets of those exercises, I did a couple of small sets of chinups and arm curls.

I closed with two sets each of sideways crunches and a set with the wrist roller. It would have been two sets, but the sword workout took a lot out of me and I hadn't recovered even four hours later.

You Got Me!

Three days ago, I wrote about the importance of setting aside time for your workout. Treat it like a chore that must get done. After all, good exercise is important for good health.

It's easy to say that you're not going to let life get in the way of workouts. It's quite another thing to put into practice, especially when faced with simultaneous computer and car repairs, as well as babysitting my son and nephew, and getting my son ready for his violin recital at school.

So I'm determined to get in a good workout today. At least, I've got two mini workouts on my agenda.

In addition to my resolve to set aside time for working out, I have another resolution for the month of May. I'm going to focus on my broadsword training. It's not my favorite weapon. I'm partial to the Wing Chun butterfly swords sets, both the Yip Man and mainland Chinese versions, the Yau Kung Mun butterfly swords or the Taiji straight sword.

Earlier this week, I studied my treasured Yau Kung Mun/Hung Gar sets DVD to get back up to speed on the single broadsword. Today, prior to my workout, I studied the double broadsword set and transcribed the first third. I've found writing them down is a good exercise to help remember the sequence of forms.

Since I had some business in that area, I decided to treat myself and head down to Lowry Park to practice. The grass was freshly mowed right around my favorite spot under the trees. The water from yesterday's thundershowers seem to have cleared the air. My allergies feel better than they have in weeks.

It feels very peaceful to practice outdoors, especially near the Hillsborough River at Lowry Park. It's one of those things that makes me glad to live in Florida. Not only because of the warm weather and the beautiful scenery, but because of this state's lenient weapons laws. In my former homes in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and California, I'd get arrested for taking my swords outside.

I started with six runs of the single set. It felt pretty good. I still remembered the sequence and it flowed well. The well-maintained fields at Lowry Park make for a nice training area, unlike my yard which looks like a sandbox as a result of the ongoing drought.

Following a short rest, I broke out my double swords and the written instructions for the first third. It's pretty simple. There's only six moves going one way, you repeat them going the other way, then I added a false close.

Weapons work is not easy. Whether you're speaking about any of the Asian or European versions of fencing or stick work, it takes a lot out of you. A sword may only weigh a few ounces, but it'll take a lot out of you, especially after doing the same set five to 10 times.

One of the strongest girls I ever knew was a baton twirler at my high school. That was her sole form of exercise. As she pointed out, the baton may only weigh a few ounces, but after twirling it for several miles on a parade route, it feels like it weighs a ton.

I could sure relate to that today. Following five runs of the single sword and 10 runs of the double-sword subset, I was winded. Inspired by Don's recent posting on his own Yau Kung Mun blog, I decided to do five runs of the Say Mun Bagua Kuen set.

After all that sword work, I could only do four runs of SMBK before I had to quit.



But I felt pretty good when I checked my watch. I got all of that done in less than 40 minutes. I rewarded myself with a half-pint of fried rice, returned to my computer and sat down to plan my afternoon strength training workout.

Stay tuned.

Living by the Sword(s)

Several paying assignments kept me busy for most of the day. But I've resolved recently that I won't let work get in the way of my workouts.

I used to take the attitude that you should find something to do that you enjoy when it comes to exercise. I still believe that.

But my former editor and writing mentor, Susan Ladika, told me that she makes it a point to set aside time for her yoga, just like she does any other chore. She depends on yoga to keep her healthy, especially for minimizing some back problems. If she didn't treat it like a chore to get done, she says she'd be too tempted to postpone it in order to work on more paying assignments.

I've also concluded that barring a miracle, I am not going to be able to get to Dallas this year to compete in the Legends of Kung Fu Tournament. It's somewhat liberating because, as much as I love it, it means I don't have to focus the bulk of my workout on Wing Chun forms and techniques.

So today I decided to brush up on my Yau Kung Mun. Following the full-body stretch, I launched into runs of the single and double sabres. It took longer than I planned because I was very rusty on those forms. I had to keep stopping what I was doing, go to my laptop, and play the DVD I made of the Yau Kung Mun sets.

Still I managed to do eight runs of the single sabre and three runs each of the opening moves of the double sabre. Afterward, I followed with five runs of the Gao Bo Toi (Nine Step Push) set, with sets of claw pushups and the abwheel between each run of the form.



I closed with a set of crunches and 30 pushups between a couple of bowling balls.

Thank God for the Throwback!

I don't smoke. Haven't since I was 16.

I hardly ever drink. I can't remember the last time I used beer for anything other than as an ingredient in chili or marinara sauce.

Easily, my biggest vice is my sweet tooth. And my drug of choice is Mountain Dew.

I wasn't always crazy about Mountain Dew. I made it through most of my 30's without drinking any caffeine. But as I got older, I found that I sometimes need a little something to get going. As I never acquired a taste for coffee, I developed a taste for highly caffeinated soft drinks, particularly, Mountain Dew in its various flavors.

And in recent months, I've come to learn that I was doing greater harm to my health than my usual consumption of cookies. I've come to identify a new food-based enemy.

Two words - corn syrup.

The local listener-supported radio station, WMNF, had a number of shows recently about the effects of corn syrup, how it is harder to digest than other sugars. It's possibly one of the biggest culprits in the modern-day scourges of obesity and diabetes.

What's more, the corn industry has been pushing corn syrup as a cheap alternative to sugar. Corn syrup turns up in everything from ketchup to salad dressings, but one of the biggest users of corn syrup is the soft drink industry. Because it is so much cheaper than other sugars, it is the reason restaurants and convenience stores are pushing those monster-size, bladder-busting cups of soda.

Wanting to do something about my own weight, I decided to try to reduce or eliminate corn syrup from my diet. I'm researching recipes for barbecue sauces and salad dressings, as well as storage methods so I'm not having to cook a new batch every time I make dinner.

I'm also looking for products that don't use corn syrup.

Enter the new Mountain Dew Throwback. Unfortunately, it's available for a limited time. But I've been using it instead of the regular Mountain Dew. I have to admit. Natural sugars do taste better. It's much sweeter going down and it doesn't have the aftertaste other sodas have.

I realize that switching soft drinks may not seem like something so outstanding when it comes improving my health and watching my weight. But it's a start. As Lau Tze once said, "The journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step."

After recently abstaining from red meat for nearly two months, I'm looking forward to this next health challenge of reducing, and hopefully eliminating, corn syrup from my diet.