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Showing posts from September, 2015

When we let go...

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I have just turned a year older this weekend. All in all- this has been a great weekend. The Springboks have beaten Samoa last night and I had a great time celebrating with my family. Even had a friend over. As you probably know by now- almost every day in my life starts with training. Saturday's training tops it all. One of the reasons why I enjoy weekend training sessions is the longer time I have to meditate. I am actually busy writing about this in my book at the moment. This Saturday I realised how funny it is that I have learnt to keep my mind in line with breath counting, and how breath following was attempted soon thereafter. That was about 21 years ago. Now- being "advanced" enough to let go these training tools I was happy to just let go and sit.  Yeah right... Without any of these techniques to preoccupy me I do manage to have my mind open, but when it is open thoughts come to occupy it yet again. I caught myself daydreaming in lot

Weekend is here-

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Hi. I am so glad this week is over. I had a lot of stress to get rid of and a good training session is just the answer. You remember the rubber bands and weights I train with? Well- these rubber bands have a limited lifespan as I have learnt a while ago, before I learnt that cargo straps make a poor substitute. Now- I concentrate on training with the weighted vest. A couple of training sessions taught me that the way my body bends when I do a high roundhouse kick tends to loosen the velcro straps on this thing- so- much as I want to- I can't really train with it as I normally train when I practice fighting techniques. So- for a while these weights found their place among the dumbells and equipment I use every second day. That was until recently when I decided to do some katas wearing them on "fighting day". Karate's katas seem to be prefect for this type of gear. These katas are now part of my warm-up before I get serious.  If you have

Less than ideal

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I am sure lots of us are aware that an actual fight is far from what our katas feel like. Nevertheless- I still regard kata as an important part of martial arts in this day and age. One thing it gives us- is the chance to slow things down and allow us to perform each technique at its best. One of the main factors that make our techniques less than ideal in a real fight is time. I used to break my head about this a lot, but have come to the conclusion that it is not necessary to do so. The fact is- your opponent is not part of the program. He is not going to act according to any plan you have. In fact- any plan you may manage to devise would be based on how he (or she) acts. As far as training goes- I regard sparring as a test and not so much as an exercise. Each encounter does give you new data to work on, but these encounters do go a lot better when we are prepared. Now- in my preparation for this test I do not resort to the traditional forms we find in

A form I have been working on...

A while ago somebody told me that the five Heian/ Pinan katas of karate were one one kata. Since that time I have been practicing all five Heian katas as one. Now- you know that I like modifying the forms. Since my last post I have been trying to get Taijiquan movements to replace the karate techniques in all 5 katas. It was not easy. This video shows the rough draft that I have been working on. I think the final product will have that spinning blow from Heian Sandan left out... It does not feel very Tai Chi to me...

Something from my new book

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Hi, It has been raining all day, so I had to replace my usual Saturday morning workout with the weapons and coffee tins- -these- with a rather tame workout in the garage wearing a weighted vest, ankle weights and wrist weights.  Still- I was able to get a lot of typing done. I have written a book about Wenhsiuquan's pushing and pulling techniques (grappling) and its percussive techniques and also on defence. This one is about training.   It is about the exercises I do to augment my fighting techniques. The exercises I show in the photos are my choice in leg exercises.   Practicing kicks with ankle weights combat's a person's natural resistance to getting his/her feet off the ground. It also develops that stable one-legged stance that is essential not only for kicking, but for footwork in general. Well- I hope you all have a nice weekend and I also hope to take my weapons outside again very soon.