Learn A Bit At A Time

Learning Kung Fu is not an exact science.  Each student learns at a different pace and has different levels of natural ability, coordination, learning aptitude, focus and self motivation.  Everybody loves learning new techniques and forms but it is important to remember to take your tome to allow your body and mind to absorb the new material.  It is natural to think that you can absorb more than you were taught but it is best to channel that energy into repetitions of the things you learned in the current and past classes.  It is almost impossible to be correct without repeated execution.  Remember to take as much joy in improving as you do in learning new.  This will greatly increase your overall result over time.

New Instructor in the School - JP

We proudly promoted JP to Instructor level on Thursday night.  Congratulations JP!!  The only question we have is whether or not you wore the new belt to work.  

I have been away for quite some time due to work related reasons.  Now that I have a chance to return to do some writing, I took a browse through some past posts and came across this one.  We are all a bit older since I last posted so thought I would link back to it.

http://sifuchow.blogspot.ca/2009/06/as-you-get-older-in-martial-arts.html

Hopefully I will be adding more content again very soon.

Where Have I Been?

As I discussed in a previous post, life sometimes gets in the way of other things we do. I have not had an opportunity to write for a while due to some changes in my work life. Once I get ramped up I plan on finding time to post again.

Tournament Training

The next CCKSF Kung Fu tournament is being planned for October this year. Students that are interested in competing should start thinking about it and slowly begin to prepare.

Although it isn't necessary to do any kind of special training, it is a way to increase your chances. For anybody that is interested in trying, here are some tips on preparing.

Forms:

1. Decide which form(s) you will be performing and make sure that it gets some exposure during your workout even on days that you are focused on other things. Just running throught the forms a couple of times continues to build on your muscle memory.


2. Clarify any confusion you have on the techniques of your form now. This prevents trying to make late stage changes the week before a tournament.


3. Self regulate - look at your stances, look at your body positioning, look at your techniques. The less time we spend on correcting your form, the more time we have to work on improving your form.


4. As we get close to tournament time, shift your focus to the forms you will be using for competition. Since there are other forms with the same or similar moves in the style, it is best to avoid confusion.


5. Prior to tournament day, make sure you are comfortable with the routine of the tournament - introduction, procedures, etc. If you are not sure, ask.

Fighting:

1. Fighting is much more difficult to prepare for because your opponents are unknown. Start by making sure you get a bit of practice in whenever possible, even if it is just working on specific techniques instead of free sparring.


2. Make sure to practice against various opponents instead of just one regular sparring partner. This will give you some work with different fighting personalities, different favourite moves, different sizes and different levels of aggressiveness.


3. Vary your fighting style between aggressive and passive to give you options depending on situations that may arise during the tournament fights.


4. As you get closer to tournament time, make sure you take some time to fight in more aggressive situations. Make sure your partner agrees and have some of the instructors watching...this will simulate some of the more aggressive tendancies that come out during the tournaments.


5. Well before tournament day you should review the rules to make sure there are no surprises.


6. Make sure that you are prepared to have fun and learn from the tournament whether you win or lose.

I want to be clear that this preparation is optional. The main idea is to compete to experience the atmosphere, push yourself out of your comfortable setting of your school, see what other styles do and make a few new friends so those students that choose to go without preparing can still have a valuable experience. As you gain more experience in martial arts, you will find that you can be asked to perform without much notice so it is much better to be prepared all the time.

Qigong to Prevent Cancer Seminar

The CCKSF is putting on a seminar on Qigong to Prevent Cancer. All experience levels are welcome.

Details are on their website.

Blocking Theory

Blocking techniques are obviously very important to protect you during a fight. With a bit of work and the proper understanding of the techniques, everybody can become proficient at defending themselves. The next step is to use the blocks the way they are intended which normally means there is more than just stopping an attack.

In a past post I spoke about blocking softly. This is exactly what should be done when redirecting a strike or trying to control with a grab but there are times where you are trying to do something else with the strike. There are times when the technique is intended to be hard because you are trying to damage the striking arm or leg. Look at the blocks you are executing and determine if it is something that is intended to deflect or something that is meant to be more aggressive. With practice and/or the help of your instructors you will see when you can use blocks for the various purposes. Take some time to make some mental notes the next time you are working on your techniques and you will notice a difference in your fighting. Deflections will become harder to detect and hard blocks will become more of a distraction to your opponents. Better understanding the blocks will also help you focus on the correct angles to execute your block.