Synchronized Chi!

(The one on the right is Randy...)

Tonight, during forms practice, Randy got on the carpet at the same time as me and suggested we do a form together. So I selected yiluquan and called out the beat, which I hadn't really done before. As I yelled Zou! I tried hard to find an even pace that I could maintain throughout the form while sneaking glances to make sure I wasn't rushing through too fast or herky-jerky without him.

I found it invigorating and tons of fun synchronizing my chi with Randy. It felt like a performance for the others in line watching us. It became a special opportunity to shine and do our best and get everyone's collective chi up. Yeah YEAHHHHHHHHH!

To Train or Not to Train

It was a decision today to come to the class. My nose is still stuffy. There are things to finish at work. I didn't train for a week it would be difficult and I would die. But it would be good for me to train - and most of all I missed the company of my fellow Kung Fu Dorks...

Made it through the training. It wasn't as difficult as I had thought. There were a lot of chi going around. The stuffy nose cleared with a few blows into my uniform. :P

There were two new guys at the class today (Assante and Simon?). They joined us for dinner after the training. One of the guys kept saying that we trained at a great temple with great people.

I was proud.

I love training here and hanging out with people I train with. It's nice to hear somebody else from the outside confirm it.

Kiss Your Foot!

Last night's class was muy fantastiche! After Sunday's fun class with Zhou, I walked around Monday and Tuesday before class with a sore right butt cheek and inner thigh, presumably unrelated to the Shaolin sword, but more due to the over-pubu-ing I did as a result of learning more erluquan. Yesterday's class managed to loosen that all up, so now I feel great. Also, during basics I decided to test the Shaolin sword that's been living with me for the past month and a half or so and did just about everything, and it felt pretty good. No residual ouchiness. I am pleased that I am recovering and that my being careful was not for naught.

Training lately has been interesting; Shifu has been shaking it up a bit. I mentioned how last week, he spent the end of class while we were lined up dispensing philosophy. Yesterday, after stretching, he made us line up and led us through an extra 20 minutes or so of additional stretch time, working our legs for kicks such as zhengtantui, cetitui. We stretched our hips, our hamstrings...we did straddle, splits...and each time, he wanted us to try going lower and lower each stretch...Grab your leg...Use your elbow...Kiss your foot! Be youthful like children filled with energy. Pain is life and all that. Needless to say, all of our legs were jelly after that extended stretching period.

Then, at the end of class, thankfully we did not do mabu-gongbu when we lined up. He spent a few minutes dispensing more philosopy. Doctor yourself, he said. I am Doctor Handsome Shifu, which led to giggles, but maybe was appropriate given the point of his lecture. Happiness is the best medicine, he advocated, and it's best to brush away stress and not let things bog you down. And if you're happy, you're healthy. If you're happy, all is good.

Sunshine Sunday

Today Heng Zhou taught class. We were about 25 strong including quite a few faces I hadn't seen in a while, so it was energizing. Zhou, who's always great at mixing it up, did a neat twist on basics before we got in line to practice forms. He had us all line up in two lines as if we were going to drill basics again, so people got in line according to how fast they normally go, but then he reversed us and had the rear of the line lead as we did a quick set of some basics (so all of a sudden, I was 3rd!). He wanted those usually in the back of the line to get a feel for the kind of chi the front of the line has to generate. By the same token, I hope those who are usually up front gained a little perspective (or reminder) of what it's like to train at the end of the line, where sometimes one has to deal with crowding.

After that exercise and after we practiced forms for a bit, Zhou then broke us up into groups according to how far we had progressed in the various forms and made sure a lot of us learned a bit more, so I'm happy to report I got a little further in erluquan. Yay!

And, of course, at the end of class, Zhou engaged us in his signature madcap exercises including my personal demon, alligator jumps (pushups) across the floor. Whenever we do them, I remember how my very first day training way back when, Zhou taught, and I couldn't do more than one push forward, but now I can go the full length of the carpet, albeit slowly. I know I have gotten stronger as a result of training, and am proud of the results.

I don't usually come on Sundays because I usually like to get training out of the way on Saturday so I can loaf around the rest of the weekend, but I'm glad I got my butt out of bed this morning!

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head!

So the weather's kinda misty and grey out. Various thoughts are swimming through my head...

Last night, went to train as usual. At the end of class, instead of making us do mabu-gonbu, Shifu used the few minutes left as an opportunity to talk to us. A lecture, if you will. Those of us who have been training for a while are familiar with what Shifu says: Polish your body, polish your mind. Be honest with yourself. Push yourself. Why are we here? No talking during class. Pain is life. Respect yourself, respect others. Life is bitter, sour, sweet, etc. Et cetera. Perhaps this was for the benefit for the newer students, but it all got me thinking as well.

After class a small group of us went to Thai Son to grab some good eats, and it was a fun time as always. One of our newer friends was curious about discipleship -- what it entails, the significance, how does one become one, and so forth. As none of us at dinner is currently a disciple, perhaps we were not most knowledgeable in providing information regarding such a process, but we still had a decent conversation, I thought.

And on the subway ride back to Brooklyn, Sucheela and I talked quite a bit about our earlier experiences meeting people at Temple. How quickly each of us integrated ourselves into the community. What got us really motivated to go regularly.

What I love about being a part of this crazy journey in addition to making my body stronger is meeting so many different people with all their different ideas and thoughts. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has his or her own reason(s) for being there. And it is this richness of diversity that makes it all so compelling. This also means everyone will have a different approach to life, to training. It is what you make of it. We are all adults who are capable of choosing to engage however we wish. But it is up to us as individuals to make that commitment and push ourselves.

We learn pretty quickly that training at USA Shaolin Temple is not just another gym membership, like how I "donated" so much green chi to New York Sports Club for years. Being at Temple, meeting all these wonderful people, writing this blog -- it all has gotten me thinking and has made the whole thing a much more active process beyond merely exercising my body. I've learned that Shifu ain't gonna hold my hand through this journey I've chosen for myself. I am not accountable to Shifu. I am accountable only to myself, in the grand scheme of things. I am deciding where I wanna go and how far. I can either limit myself and say no way, or keep pushing forth and surprise myself. I ascribe meaning to my life however I choose. I will keep fighting because I want to, and because I can. Because it's all about me, baby!

D'oh!!!

From Niederwelt.

Soak it up!

So not much new to report. My Shaolin sword pain continues to subside. I am still being careful by staying towards the back of the line, but last night I was at least able to do some decent caijiaos, cetituis and even a few pubus, albeit slowly, on my bad side. During stretching, I am still solo-ing it and working through my injury, so I think what I've been doing over the last few weeks by not rushing it and testing my injured leg too soon is exactly what I needed. I am impatient to get back to where I was before, but I realize that it's especially important to take my time with this kind of injury lest I set myself back even more.

At the end of class, Shifu had us line up and do mabu-gongbu. He urged us to go lower and reminded us to lock our knees and not bend our leg during gongbu. Then, apparently dissatisfied with some of our gongbus, he said something to the effect of You don't lock your knee! Do I have to call you by name?! Don't bend your leg!

I don't know about you, but I automatically assumed he meant me, and tried to straighten my leg even more. I wonder how many of us had that same reaction. I guess the point is, do we need Shifu to call us out specifically, or shouldn't we all always make a concerted effort to train harder? Similarly, when he has a pointer for another student, I try to listen and see if I can and apply it to myself. Trying to be like a sponge and absorbing all that I can...

Zhang Ziyi's soup is too salty

Banned Food

I have been training for over a year now. One thing I learned (but not only one) is that there are certain kinds of food I should avoid at least 3 hours before training.

Here's my list:

• Kimchi - gives me gas.


• Indian food - makes me burp curry in the line.


• Raw onions - gives me bad breath especially when my mouth is dry while training.


• Tabasco sauce - burns my stomach while kicking.


• Milk products including yogurt and cheese - gives me gas and other things.


• Alcohol - dehydrates and gives me headache.


• etc...

Surprisingly, coffee is fine for me. I thought that I shouldn't be drinking coffee before training. But I heard somewhere that caffeine is actually good for you when you work out. It causes higher metabolism and endurance or something.

Anyway, I'm not training today. So I'm going to eat very spicy indian food with lots of fresh onions and chillis - followed by milkshake and a beer!

No Death No Birth. No Dirt No Cleanliness.

That's what Sifu said yesterday after the class. I don't remember the context but I thought it made sense.

He said it in Chinese too.

So now - what does it mean?