Wednesday, July 11, 2007

'The Wall'

Last night was definitely the hottest day of the year. I don't know about you but my head felt like it was going to explode. One quick word from shifu "Don't wash your head down, only wash your neck and face. Your head is where you lose the heat." Yes shifu... but I feel so woozy and it wants to explode and the water feels sooooooo good!

I left class a little down-trodden. I was nearly pushed to my limit (due to 6 of us doing forms for an hour) but knew that I hadn't reached the proverbial ‘wall’. How close do you think you came to hitting 'the wall' yesterday?

At the end of class I got some special shifu love... "Train Harder". I knew it too… I hadn't taken full advantage of the day. Of course he was right.

Great job to everyone who trained yesterday!

17 comments:

  1. When I read the title to your post, it made me think of Pink Floyd:

    We don't need no dehydration
    We don’t need no limb control
    No dark corners in the Temple
    Shifu, leave them dorks alone
    Hey! Shifu! Leave them dorks alone!
    All in all it's just another kick ‘til you fall.
    All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

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  2. I know what you mean. I was bent over for the first time ever, standing on that line. And I asked for a water break for the first time ever too. It was definitely hot hot hot, we all felt it, but I think I allowed that mentally psych me out as well. I wanted to let Sifu in on my anniversary, but I was such a mess in class I didn't feel it was worth mentioning. I've got to remember that when my body is struggling that's when I should make my mind the strongest.

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  3. Also, wouldn't putting water on your head help aid in the release of heat from your body? I'm just saying....

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  4. awesome rendition! yeah it was pretty wicked last night (all meanings apply here). i remember looking at the clock close to 7pm thinking: man, it's just gonna be us tonite. i thought the heat would bring more people out. at least the sweat the stung my eyes was my own! also i only heard the last part of what sifu said, i don't get why we shouldn't dunk our heads in water. spaciness is the price of the heat for me. every day is your anniversary, don't forget that. more chi!

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  5. Oh! I feel soooo sad I couldn't be there to join you guys in this heat. I always have class on Tuesday nights.

    It sounded like it was quite a challenging experience to push your chi limit/potential!

    Yeah! Yeah! More Chi! More Chi!

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  6. about the top of your head - in chinese medicine there's one of those 365 points called the bai hui point, and shifu's mentioned it's like a chimney. Sometimes I've seen some people's heads steaming (not in the wintertime) and asked Shifu about it, and he said something to the extent of it means they were open and training hard and whatnot. So putting water on it blocks the chi from coming out i suppose. Something like that =P

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  7. Interesting theory, De. It is a fact that we lose 80% of our body heat through our heads, which is why hats rock in the wintertime, especially for people like you with no hair :) But I am still on Quantou's side on this one, water on the head feels so good!!

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  8. maybe if you get your hair wet, it becomes harder to sweat because your head is already saturated. like when you train with a really soggy uniform versus changing into a dry one. harder for sweat to escape your body and evaporate if it's coming across an already soaked barrier.

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  9. Since we've been talking about heat related topics. I decided to do some research on the net. I think these articles are very informative and since we are all training at the temple in the summer heat, we should all be aware and watch out for each other as well as pushing each other's chi potential.

    There also doesn't seem to be a consensus as far as putting water on the head to cool down. But I would trust the National Institute of Health's treatment of Heat Related Illnesses (Last Link) that says "Apply cool, wet cloths (or cool water directly) to the person's skin and use a fan to lower body temperature. Place cold compresses on the person's neck, groin, and armpits."

    In their diagram, they didn't suggest cooling on the head directly. I would trust Shifu's Shaolin wisdom. It's probably handed down from centuries of real-life practice.

    Understanding Heat-Related Illness -- the Basics
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-heat-related-illness-basics

    Heat Illness
    http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec21/ch318/ch318a.html

    Understanding Heat-Related Illness -- Symptoms
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-heat-related-illness-symptoms

    Heat Loss Through the Head and Hypothermia
    http://wildernessmedicinenewsletter.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/heat-loss-through-the-head-and-hypothermia/

    Heat Emergencies
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000056.htm

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  10. thanks for expanding on this, everyone. i did just get a giggle visualizing us with cold towels in all those places on the body.

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  11. When Shifu said "No water on top of head" on Tuesday night I quickly thought Whoa! he is old school like my parents & grandparents. Nice research Leo.

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  12. Good to get some information on the net!

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  13. What did people do before the internet? Good info, Leo. Though I hope none of us gets so hot that we actually need to employ first aid. Tonight should be much better; it's gorgeous out.

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  14. I needed to know ... so I talked to a few folks who are very traditional about the water on the head thing. Traditionally they believe putting water on top of the head will cause "Feng Shi" .... Feng meaning wind and Shi meaning wet.

    Here is the Chinese wiki:
    http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A3%8E%E6%B9%BF%E7%97%85

    There is only one English word in the meaning "Rheumatism"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheumatism

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  15. wow, richu! you have a true "thirst" for knowledge. ba-dum-dum.

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  16. I wish I could read chinese..... Maybe there's something to this though. I've developed the beginnings of a headcold today.....

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  17. Feng Shi is also the galbladder meridian in acupuncture:
    http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB31&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
    this is interesting too - tibetans use Feng shi medicines to cure dampness in the system:
    http://store.orientalpharmacy.com/rhcatifofesh.html

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