Kung Fu Dork Profile #3

Name: Chris
Temple Name: Heng De (also sometimes Biggie)
Occupation: Student
Borough: Manhattan
Chinese Sign: Tiger

When was the last time you trained? I'm training right now OOOOOH philosophy

How is your commute to the temple? Well right now it's a little long as I'm in Hong Kong as I write this, but my apartment is a 10-15 minute walk from the temple.

How did you learn about the temple? And what made you start training? (Long story short) I came home one day and said "Mom, I wanna learn kung fu" and she looked in the phone book. At that time I also lived 15 minutes away. I went to watch a class, and like Heng Jie (揭) says, "If you feel the chi, that's the chiiiiii."

When did you start training? May 4, 2003

What is your favourite basic move? I like fanyao. I feel like it's one of the few moves I actually can do decently.

What injuries have you had from training? Uh...sometimes my knees hurt when I do middle splits? That hasn't happened in a while though...Oh yea speaking of fanyao actually one time I hit someone's hand and I broke a tendon or something and now my right pinky is twice as big as it should be.

What's the most important lesson you learn from training? Read the heart sutra, it's all in there...and more confidence in myself.

Soup or no soup? Soup.
Shower or no shower? Not at the temple.
Gatorade or water? water, I don't do all of them fancy electromolytes.
How many uniforms? 2 orange, 2 blue, 1 vest with black pants.
Straddle or wall stretch? Straddle, it improved my middle split immensely and I find it more comfortable.

Side Kick!

I missed class on Tuesday because I got handed three new files at work and had two closings. Grrrr! I heard that Shifu broke just about everyone into groups to work on new things, so I was especially bummed to get stuck at work, but at least I somewhat made up for it by meeting kung fu folks after I left the office at Li Hua for a yummy bowl of spicy pork ramen.

Ever so determined to train, I whizzed through my work and bolted out the door at 6:18. When I arrived at Temple, it was very warm, at first causing me to glance up and make sure the heaters weren't on. And it's not even summer yet! Oh man...

Tonight Joshua taught class. He reminded those of us who train towards the end of the line to go all the way and finish our basics even if people are getting ready to start up forms.

After we practiced our forms for a while, Joshua broke us up into groups to work on forms. I was happy to work with Han from whom I rarely have the privilege of learning stuff. She reviewed what we had already learned in erluquan which for me was up to the erqijiao, and told my group to do better defined stances. And then she taught me a chunk beyond where I had stopped to the second xiebu. When class was over, I practiced what she had just taught me, and then she taught me a little bit more -- up to the side kick! Yeehaw!

After a relaxing dinner at Thai Son with Niederwelt and Nick, I waited for the train back to Brooklyn for a little while. And, yes, I actually did practice erluquan on the platform. Hee!

Open My Hip Part II

So I got what I asked for. I got to work with Esther and a bunch of other people on the 5th kick of the 5 kicks today. And now my hip is so open it hurts when I bend over or walk or sit or laugh or do anything...

Anyway - a few new things I learned about the kick from Esther:

• Jump up on my right leg to get into the kick.




• Kick up in the front just like Waibaitui and then open my hip and kick my right hand.




• Keep my hip open and extend my right leg when I'm done with the kick.




• Extend! Look up!




• Don't worry about the next move. Finish the kick properly first.

Open My Hip

I have a confession to make.

I forgot how to do Waibaitui. I don't remember any pointer or how I was taught to do the move. It was one of those moves that was taught to me once and has never been refined since.

So in the line, I would just kick my leg up - and then rotate it to the side trying to touch my hand - hope for the best - and then land wherever I land. Yesterday when I thought about it I felt very awkward - even lost my balance and had to take extra steps in between.

How is this supposed to be done correctly? When to extend? Where to land? When to take step? Does anybody know?

Maybe I should just volunteer to go to the side next time.

Hey! How's it hangin'?

Ahh...it's Sunday night already! The weekend melted away much too fast mostly cos it was jam-packed with kung fu goodness. Friday night, I caught dinner with Niederwelt and her friend before we headed to Temple for Movie Night, and it was great to see everyone in a nice, relaxed context. I gotta say, it did feel kinda funny to drop popcorn on the rug where I usually drop sweat...

So, on Saturday, Zhou taught class, which is always a treat. When we practiced chuji quantao together, he broke us up into two groups so that we could practice the form on the rug in front of the mirror and look at ourselves, which can be quite useful. Also, he had us work on throwing punches with chi while doing yiluquan. In the afternoon, I did some laundry meditation cos all three of my uniforms were dirty. Then, in the evening, I met up with Niederwelt and my friend Julie in Williamsburg for some excellent barbecue at Fette Sau where we sat outdoors and then just some good hanging out time on Niederwelt's balcony.

This morning when my alarm went off at 9, for about half a second I played that but I trained yesterday game with myself, but I knew I had to get my butt out of bed because (a) I overindulged in the pork last night (yum!), (b) I had already promised myself I would train both days this weekend since I'm missing next weekend entirely, (c) I always look forward to seeing my friends at Temple, (d) it was too nice of a day to veg out on my couch alone, and (e) if one has an opportunity to train, shouldn't one do it since who knows what'll happen in the coming days?

It ended up being the right decision to train (of course) cos I always feel better that I did, and a lot of friends were there. The amazing thing was that there were 22 of us in class, and 11 of us ended up going to Thai Son for lunch together after class! We squeezed in tightly around the table, and had a blast (as always). Then, after lunch, a bunch of us headed to Soho to see Billy and some of his bandmates from The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn play on the street.

And on our way to the subway to head back to Brooklyn, Hannah R., Sucheela and I ran into Parris who was also on the sidewalk selling his artwork. We talked to him for a bit and remarked how many talented creative people train at Temple. Love it!

And now it's Sunday evening...and I'm lounging on my couch, summing up the weekend for you. Saw my lovely kung fu peeps. Enjoyed the beautiful weather. Did a double training. Had so much fun. So awesome!

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!