Not just hot, hot-ER!

The last week or so has been a welcome break from the heat plaguing me at home and abroad. Unfortunately, in spite of lower temperatures outside, temple had still been stifling hot and the sweat was flying off my soaked robes. Last night, however, the cooler air finally made itself felt in the Temple, and it made a wonderful difference in class.

It’s amazing how much the heat and humidity can really sap your energy, even if you are well hydrated and rested and the rest of it. Being in that oppressive haze of heat makes your breath shallow and your body unresponsive no matter how psychologically you feel the chi. A sudden break of a mere 5 or ten degrees makes you feel like a new person. You can jump higher, kick more times, and explode more in forms.

Watching the weather report this morning, they’re forecasting another heat wave beginning this weekend. I can’t help feeling that the USA Shaolin Temple L.A., or some such place where it’s always 72 degrees, would be a really good idea.

Tropical Heat Wave

I have been blogging rather sporadically of late. Writing posts when I don't have much to say and not posting when something of interest actually happens. I decided this is probably partly a result of getting out of my training rhythm since testing. For some reason after testing my schedule got thrown off a little and it's been hard to fall back in to my 5 days a week routine, which, has seemed to throw off all my other living rhythms and thus my blogging. I've been training about 4 times a week, but never the same days, and me, I like routine. But what with a butt sword, or a messed up neck, or too much work, I end up doing doubles on Fridays just to make up for missing a Wednesday and a Thursday. It feels a little forced.

So in an effort to recapture consistency, I decided to just train as much as my body would let me, until a pattern re-establishes itself. Yesterday, I woke up right at 10 (which is as late as I can wake up and still make class) so I decided to go, even though I hadn't eaten, and even though the weathermen had been telling us all week how it was going to be 96 degrees. Putting on my uniform before class I was already sweating, but I saw that I was probably going to have to lead at least one of the lines so I pushed thoughts of heatstroke out of my mind. Sure enough I was in the front, and too soon, I was in front of the single line Sifu created.

It was HOT. And contrary to recent form, Sifu didn't let us walk until after ceshoufan. I was drenched, but reminded myself that the summer I first began walking breaks didn't exist, and I was way weaker in those days, so by God there's no reason to wimp out now. Still, even after stretching, a change of uniform, and spending the second half of class teaching I was dripping wet all over. I drank three bottles of water, versus my usual 1/2. I was proud of all of us who trained through that hazy day. It was great chi having some other Austrian friends visiting as well and keeping us all inspired. I was really glad I got out of my hot apartment and trained; the last time I was that dripping I was still working on five kicks. It was a good catalyst for evaluation of my progress, and helped recapture the way it felt to train when I first started. Plus, the watermelon after class was the most delicious thing I ever tasted.

Significant Growth

So, it's taken about seven months, but I've finally gotten back to where I was in September: my hair that is. Friday and last night I finally gotten to experiment with pulling my hair back and out out of my face for pretty much the first time since I originally hacked it off a year ago. It was just getting to this length in September when I shaved it all away and I have to say, as totally comical as it may look, it feels 100% better to have it out of my eyes. I don't know how guys manage with these medium-short haircuts.

Getting my hair and the dripping sweat out of my face made for a much better training situation. However, I was still whipping sweat around during the hour of xuanzis we did last night. Is it really the Shaolin Shower time of year again already? Soon having the hair pulled back won't be enough. What to do? I have toyed with the idea of a sweatband but I think it will look kinda silly. Elaine rocks a bandanna, but I would probably end up spending more time fidgeting with it than using it to keep my face dry. Now, if we had Shaolin temple sweatbands that said "More chi!" I would wear them. Because that wouldn't look silly at all...

The hair (that ain't) up there

Ever since the loveliness of shaving my head people have asked how it feels to train with it. I haven't been able to come up with a really definitive answer other than "sweaty." Without my lovely locks (short though they were) to hold in the sweat, I find it coming down my face a la a Gatorade commercial. Only it isn't red or yellow or blue. Not yet.

What this results in is a lot of wiping my face. Not biggie, except I fidget enough as it is, and there really aren't many dry spots on my uniform by the end of class. But tonight I encountered one unexpected and bizarre Shaolin injury. I looked in the mirror when I got home tonight and my nose was bright red. I had rubbed it so much I had chapped it! Ow!

Of course, shaved has its benefits too: no worries about how to strap it back for training, no muss no fuss in the mornings, lots of compliments from strangers. And it feels great. So now that it's gotten juuuuust long enough to warrant a little shampoo again, (yes I was still washing my head just not with shampoo) I have to make a decision about letting it grow out or keeping it short. Keep it short I have to learn to leave my nose alone. Grow it long, it's back to brushes and blow dryers... Ah the many unexpected decisions of Shaolin...


P.S. My legs hurt... :P

I keep going and going and going.....

As per my last post, there are lots of external factors contributing to how difficult/easy a training session feels. And even though I know I'm stronger, have more endurance, and can train harder than when I began, I still find myself panting and dripping sweat at the end of every class. Don't get me wrong, it's a great feeling, and I know it's a result of pushing myself and not relaxing into a comfort zone, but it does sometimes make it hard to be aware of my progress. Yesterday was no exception, but later that evening, after eating, going with some folks to watch the Blue Vipers for a bit, meeting up with a friend, going grocery shopping, and then going home and cleaning my apartment and working, I realized I NEVER could have done all that when I started.

In the beginning, class left me comfortably wiped of all thought and all energy; whether I got to got to the park or I had to go to work afterwards, I spent the remainder of the day in an exhausted haze. In the mornings I rarely did anything. If I wasn't sleeping then I was lying very still on the sofa, reading and conserving my energy. Now I can wake up, run an errand or do some chores and then go train and have plenty of energy left to not waste the rest of my day. Or on a weekday, get through 8 hours of work then jump on the train for class. Usually around 11pm I get a second wind and want to go out and work on whatever it is I worked on in class that day. On days when I don't train I'm able to get much more accomplished before curling up in my bed. This lets me know, that while I'm never going to make it through a class sweat-free with no shortness of breath (and what would be the point?) I am getting stronger. Heck, right now I'm up two hours early making cinnamon rolls. Hopefully that energy and endurance will also help me make it from one end of erluquan to the other.

Sweatology

Here are interesting articles in Tuesday's New York Times on sweating and the composition of sweat.

In keeping up with the spirit of posting wacky throwback music videos on this blog, I tried just now, but my work computer is doing funky things to the embed code. I'll have to update later. CHI!

Update: Here's what y'all been waiting for!

You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)

Made it to class tonight after an entire week of not training. Mercifully, Xu taught so I didn't have to endure any special coaxing from Shifu. Felt the effects of the humidity again which made training a little woozy. At one point during forms practice, I went to the changing room to retrieve my hand towel so I could mop myself in between turns on the carpet. Heng Jian recommended I not do so because he believes that removing the sweat results in your body perspiring even more, and causes you to get dehydrated even faster. Whatcha think?

A week off from training might have done me some good, at least in terms of practicing the all mighty sweep kick. I guess because my head wasn't entirely in it tonight, I just slashed through forms and when I got to the gongbu right before the sweep, I dropped down and just went for it. And to my delight, I managed to make it around a number of times. The no-think method of approaching the hump served me well tonight. I ran out of gas a little by the end of class, but I avoided rebruising the inside of my right knee that kept slamming into the carpet last week. Yay!

After class, we headed to Thai Son with a good number of the crew -- almost had a dirty dozen, including some faces who hadn't joined us before -- Ryan, Brian and Raul. On our walk over, Niederwelt, Billy and I entertained ourselves (and made children cry and dogs bark) with our renditions of classic '80s tunes by bands like The Cars and Journey! So in honor of that, and my good sweep night, I'm doing a long distance dedication to all of you dorks with a video by one of the best one-hit wonders to come out of that lush decade. Here's Dead Or Alive singing "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)." Yeah, baby!

RE: Sweat

I trained yesterday! The first time after more than a month!

There were fright, tightness, sore, being out of breath, blah, blah... the whole deal. Oh, also a warm welcome back.

One thing new I noticed: my sweat was more smelly than usual!

How could this be?!!!?!

Have I become dirty and smelly? Was it because I just came back from a tropical weather? Did I get old and smelly in a period of one month?

I refuse the above thoughts and my genius mind came up with new answer...

I didn't exercise and sweat vigorously for a while. Dirt, hair, dead skin cells, food, etc. built up on my body (ewww). Although I soaped and bathed myself occasionally, my pores are not cleaned. Therefore, my sweat from my first training running through these pores became more smelly. QED.

Summertiiiime...and the stretching is easy.....

Tonight was the biggest class I've been in for a long while. 44 people! The long lines were especially welcome today because it was H-O-T. It was my first really hot training of the summer and it was more than a little- well, ok, it was totally freaking exhausting. I was sweating buckets. I opted to risk throwing up from guzzling water because I figured if I didn't I would end up throwing up from dehydration/overheating. Well, ok, not that much, but I definitely can't wait until I reacclimate to training in the summer and the hazy/wooziness goes away. It was still a great night. Lots of people. Lots of chi. Lots of slippery floor.... Did I mention it was hot? But-

Summer training means warmer muscles means further stretching and less soreness! Hooray! Even though I have to relent and buy a new cotton uniform - I love my airwick ones but I'm poor these days and can't keep trying to keep the same two clean for every class- I am really excited out the super sweaty heat wave that's coming. Maybe that straddle split isn't too far off! Of course, as I was warned with Bikram yoga, (which, if you're wondering, I haven't gotten around to trying yet) I can't let the heat fool me into over-stretching. There's still the potential for injury if I'm not conscientous. Even so, I am very happy; because in addition to further stretching ...wait for it... I'm not sore right now! Even after sitting through soup and the train ride home. I'm not tightened up or stiff or anything. It's such a beautiful thing! I had pretty much reconciled myself to being in a perpetual state of tight muscles unless I just did a good half hour of stretching. No longer. Summer is my friend! Now if I can remember to bring a towel for after class we'll be in business.....