Stress test

Whenever I'm training, I always tell myself that no matter what, this is the hardest class will ever be, because I will always be a little bit stronger every time. Of course that's not true and doesn't take into account factors such as food, sleep, who's teaching, the weather and many other things that affect how one feels while training. But still, that little lie sometimes helps me get myself to class when I'm not feeling the chi.

When I have a tough training because I ate too many ginger cookies before coming to class, or I was out late the night before, I sort of slap myself on the wrist, but manage to soldier through. Physical variables I am able to take in stride. Mental ones not so much. We often say things like "the pain is in your head" or "training is all mental" etc. so it goes without saying that those days when you can't mentally commit to training are the hardest.

There were lots of stress factors contributing to my enormous psychological handicap last night, and by the time we had to line up I wasn't sure if coming to class was the best idea. I am pretty sure there was a lot of sloppiness in my moves, but I have really no idea; all my chi was focused in my head and trying to find the mental will to get through class. It was a huge class with amazing chi, but even that wasn't enough to get me through. In the end, I had to keep telling myself that no matter what, this was the hardest class would ever be. And that sort of backwards optimism is what helped me finish.

For all the physical things that have affected my training none have ever been as hard to plow through. I don't know if I got much else out of training than the satisfaction of having gotten through without asking to go home, but that's still something. It's amazing how stress can weigh on us physically. What finally sent me home in a lighter mood was having dinner with all my KF friends and feeling that, maybe the light at the end of my tunnel was not that my next training would be better, but that after my nest "hardest" class (and I know there will be others) there will always be people there to cheer me up afterwards.

Breaking it down

So folks, testing is around the corner -- some speculate it might be the weekend of October 6th-7th, which means just about a month away. Eeek!

There are a good clump of us in erluquan purgatory right now -- I myself just finished the dreaded five kicks very recently, and have been trudging forth, trying to make training whenever I can, sneaking a peak at Hannah and Sucheela and the others ahead of me for a preview of what's to come.

Some days, I wonder if I will indeed be able to finish erluquan in time for testing and therefore test for the third form, thereby giving myself an opportunity to move to Level 2.

I know historically, there is usually a mad rush in the weeks leading up to testing to cram as much learning as possible into those on the cusp. Luckily, for the past two testings, I didn't feel rushed. I had learned chujiquantao and then yiluquan respectively well in advance of testing, so by the time the actual testing date came around, I was still nervous, but could still rely on muscle memory to carry me through to victory!

This time, though, should I manage to finish the remaining moves in erluquan in time, I won't be testing for it in a totally rehearsed fashion. Erluquan is such a long form -- so much to remember! But, according to Richu, I only have about 21 moves left. If you break it down, that's less than a move a day -- so it should be totally do-able, and I'll still have a week or so to brush it up. I hope.

The concept of breaking it down is so important! If you had said to me over 20 months ago, Hey 'Playa, you gon' be sweatin' up a storm and doin' all kinds of mad shit 3-4 times a week, and jumpin' and kickin' and stuff, and enjoying it, I would said you must have gone and lost yo mind. But from the start, from the day we learn our first caijiao, from when Heng Li says, okay, stick your foot out light as a feather, you realize you don't focus on kicking the ceiling lights. You break it down and do it bit by bit. And you crawl through the basics little by little, like Shaolin babies striving for more. And then some. Bottom line, you learn that just about nothing is insurmountable if you break it down into baby steps and don't let the whole shebang overwhelm you and defeat you even before trying.

So, in the meanwhile, I will train as hard as I can. I will push myself to go both Saturdays and Sundays. I will try to be more efficient at work to avoid being stuck at the office (although writing this post right now is probably counter-productive). I will not overthink it. And even if I end up sticking it out in Level 1 another six months, so be it cos I will use that time and make myself tougher than I ever dreamed before. 'Cos I got all the time in the world!

You know you're a Kung Fu Dork when....

Inspired by Qbertplaya's discovery of a geek hierarchy chart, she and Richu began creating a list for us kung fu dorks (or geeks or nerds). Ji and I pitched in as well, and we came up with so many that I don't have the mental ability organize them into a pretty chart, but here's what we got. Please add on in the comments.

...you train both Level 1 and Level 2 classes in a single day.
...you have your own staff.
...you own a staff but don't know a staff form.
...you scour YouTube for examples of kung fu.
...you eat #1 soup all the time.
...you create kung fu blogs.
...you contribute to kung fu blogs.
...you hold onto worn feiyues like trophies.
...you've actually read (and not just skimmed through) Shifu's book.
...you turn down social activities to train.
...your social activities involve training!
...you bring feiyues to the Hamptons.
...you have gone on a kung fu retreat.
...you have gone on a kung fu retreat in another country.
...you bring extra uniforms instead of regular clothes.
...you video record yourself doing kung fu.
...you video record others doing kung fu.
...you order your feiyues online and in bulk because you go through them so fast.
...you have a kung fu pose as buddy icon.
...you use "train harder" to refer to multiple aspects of life.
...you shave your head to be cooler (temperature-wise) while training.
...you own multiple New Temple New Life uniforms.
...you train three or more days in a row.
...you take gymnastics for "fun."
...you have ideas for kung fu t-shirt designs.
...you've slept at Temple.
...you sleep in the meditation room specifically.
...you have brought multiple guests to watch classes.
...you have gotten multiple people to try a class.
...you come to movie nights (and bring friends).
...you have a kung fu movie library.

...you've printed out and scotch taped the Temple Rules somewhere in your apartment.
...you talk about kung fu all day long.
...your IM list is made up of more than 50% Temple people.
...you only date people who train, or who have at least studied some kind of martial arts so they can hopefully understand your addiction to training.

...you give those who you date extra points depending on what kind of martial arts.

...you get excited at having a long weekend due to a holiday -- train harder!

...you consider using your vacation time so you can go to class more.
...you sit at work counting the minutes till class.

...you pester friends to go train.
...you make Level 2 on your very first testing.

...you do kung fu in the bathroom, elevator or hallway, or on a subway platform.

...you've made someone fall asleep by talking incessantly about kung fu.

...you've worn your uniform on the subway.

...you've done some kung fu as a party trick.

...you specifically seek out food that has more tendon.

...you introduce yourself to people outside of Temple using both your street name and your disciple name.

...you learn pinyin and tones so you can pronounce the names of the basics and forms properly.
...you answer the phone with "Amituofo" when a Temple friend is calling.

...you answer the phone with "Amituofo" when your mom is calling.

...you schedule your classes/work around training times.

...you've invested in some super strong laundry detergent for your uniforms. (Stinky winky!)

...you own a leg stretcher.

...your idea of training gear includes plastic bags.

...you bought a backpack based on it having a handy place to store feyiues.

...you started eating meat again.

...you think bald is BEAUTIFUL.

...you come up with categories for a kung fu dorks hierarchy.

Food

We need new ideas for food after training....

As long as I can remember we've been eating at:

• Thai Son - 450 times a month


• Li Hua - once a month


• Nyo Nya - 0.5 time a month


• Jaya - 0.2 time a month


• Occasional brunch places in Tribeca - 0.1 time a month

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE eating at Thai Son. Lovely waiters. Fast and friendly service. Delicious food (especially extra bean sprouts) and cheap!

But sometimes life needs variations, creativity.... and ummm more money?

How about we go here next time? :P

Ummmm.....Ohmmmmm....?

After a great class Saturday, (and my first number 1 soup!) Ji, Richu, Shen and I went and took a yoga class up on Astor Place. It was a lot of fun and felt great after training harder at temple. Though I think it was a low impact class by yoga standards, it definitely still took a lot of chi; I was sweating buckets by the end and sliding all over my mat. Today, (in a class of 15!!) my arms were feeling fairly sore; all those downward-facing dogs from yoga were talking to me through my shoulders. I've always felt like they don't get the same workout in training as my legs do, and I'm in an eternal debate over/search for the perfect cross training for me. If I had the time/money/energy, I'd do it all: gymnastics, yoga, chi kung, join the gym, cycle, and do some mixed martial arts on the side. But obviously that's not going to happen, so I want to find the right fit. Yoga seems like a strong contender. I'm always looking for flexibility and it still works on strengthening as well. I think I'll start trying other classes at various studios to see if I find a winner.

Today after class Heng Nai showed up so he, Billy, Rob, Ji, a new visiting student named Adrian, and I went out for food. Adrian is from L.A. and here on business. He talked to Ji on the phone yesterday and at her recommendation, after he flew in this morning, he came and trained before even checking into his lodgings! That's chi! So we had a really interesting conversation about the different kinds of training Adrian's done, what Nai is doing out in California, Billy talking about how he's started chi kung, and a lot of discussion about cross training and the different ways to go about it. The general consensus was that cross training is important not only for improving your kung fu but maintaining the health of your body. The intensity of our training is pretty high-impact on our bodies, especially Level 2, and it's good to balance that with something more restrained to help strenthen your body without stressing it. So maybe yoga would be a better for that than gymnastics. But as Adrian also pointed out, when we were comparing the differences in his forms and ours, kung fu is like a person's handwriting; just as everyone's writing is different, there are also equally unique methods of training that suit each individual. There's no ultimate perfect form or best way to train; there's what you find works for you. So I'll keep looking for my perfect cross-training, and the next time I go to yoga I'll bring a towel.