The Dragon is Restless

So as it turns out, Ryan isn't headed to South America as we intended because of various happenings. I'm bummed that he's going to miss out on a what was sure to be fantastic trip but excited that I get to keep his Kung Fu mind trust here in Seattle.

We chatted briefly at poker night and it sounds as if this Summer will be geared towards working up solid combinations with focus mits, bag work, etc. with the eventual goal of full contact sparring.

I can't wait. I'll update you with more information as soon as I can. Until then; eat a balanced breakfast and do your chung choi(s)!

[if you don't know what those are, check my earlier posts]

Training Scrapped Due to an Injury

Trent hurt his shoulder on the day of practice. I haven't gotten the details yet but as he's a roofer (a job I spent some time on in my youth) a shoulder or arm injury is always just a slip away. It's terrible news, not only in terms of his livelihood, but in terms or our training group. As we have a pretty small group (usually only 4 on most sessions) losing one guy is a big blow. Trent, I hope you heal fast and if surgery is required, I pray that it goes as well as possible. If anyone can bounce back though, he's the one. This guy has tough sinewy muscles, great speed, and forearms like Popeye. (I'm barely exaggerating on this one) He'll bounce back.

I've kept up with my modified chun choi drill. Hitting the mattress in my living room actually helps as it gives me targets (via the ridiculous print pattern) to hit. I aim my punches at the face of a grandfather clock, and my blocks at bells to each side. I do need to find a way to do some cardio though as it's too cold for jump roping in the patio this week. It sure would be nice to have an elliptical machine in my living room.

Training focus for the week:

1. Base. "All your base are belong to us!" I'm focusing on keeping my base throughout all of my training, whether it be punch drills, weight training or what have you. If I can train myself to naturally be in a good base, I'll have a significant advantage against most 'drunk guys at a bar' scenarios that I might run into. A punch strongly rooted to the ground that efficiently transfers my body weight into the strike is going to be stronger and quicker than one which isn't, hands down.

Some Kung Fu With a Side of Emotional Healing

Much has happened since I posted last, mainly, the passing of my father, Jack Arthur Davis.

I'm still quite shaken by all of this but I know my broken heart will heal. He was a friend, mentor, hero, and an inspiration throughout my life. He was a man of conviction, faith and strength. A friend to every man, a skilled musician, craftsman, and woodsman. The best kind of man through and through. It pains me to face the world without him behind me, knowing that there's so much I've yet to learn from his wisdom. Knowing that he'll never be at my wedding or hold my future children brings up bitter tears. Dad, I love you and I miss you so much. I promise that I'll be as strong as I can and take care of the family the best way I know how. Please watch over me and send me strength, I know you're up in heaven, helping to prepare the way for us, please rest in peace until we meet again.

At any rate (and please excuse my digression there) this Tuesday the boys and I were able to meet up and train once again. Despite the layoff, most of the principles we've been drilling seemed like they were still fresh in my head. I'm glad that I kept up with my daily practice at home, punching air and doing twitch drills might seem strange to my roommate but it has kept my muscle memory intact.

We got right into it with flow drill; essentially the primary holds his arm out with a clenched fist while the secondary slaps it out of the way. This triggers the primary to bring the other arm under the slapped arm (while it in turn loosely recoils around) in order to trap the secondary's lead arm (pressing it against his body) before finishing with a straight punch. Rinse, wash and repeat. After doing it over and over, I was really starting to get a feel for the 'flow' of the exercise. Manny noticed however that after I trapped, my jolt (a quick push of the opponent, knocking him off balance) was incorrect. He could see that I was trying to use my strength a little too much. Instead of jolting, I sometimes try to just push. My big frame and past experience always makes me feel as if I ought to overpower someone, instead of finessing them. After some work with Manny, I finally did one perfectly. It was as if that proverbial 'light bulb' went off in my head. As soon as it happened, I could see that tell tale smile spread across Manny's face. He jumped back and said, "There, that's it, now do it on Trent!" It worked, my muscles remembered how it felt to really jolt someone and I was able to do it again and again.

I'm I really getting it?

Next, Manny started working on getting me to do the blocking drills with a simultaneous strike included. This may sound impossible, but it really isn't. Let's say someone is throwing a straight punch at your face. (Scary business I know) Wing Chun teaches that you intercept the punch with a tan sau block. (it really kind or reminds me of just slapping some one's hand away if they're trying to stick gum in your hair or something) It's not a hard block, just enough to keep the punch from hitting home. Back to the strike, during the tan sau block I'm taught to start throwing a straight punch immediately. It seems unnatural at first but I could slowly feel my non-blocking arm start to go on its own during the drill. By the end, it was almost becoming second nature. For soft blocking however, I really came out of that one with some nasty bruises, thanks Trent. I can hardly wait for the day when my forearms are hard enough for that not to happen.

I can't tell you enough how thankful I am to train Wing Chun. Having a physical outlet like this to channel my emotions into from time to time is a Godsend. Losing my dad made me, the consummate pacifist, frustrated and angry in ways that I'd never had to confront before. Being able to lose myself in the quasi-meditation of training was just what the doctor ordered.

This weeks practice points:

1. Loosen up. I need to get my shoulders and arms ready to go. I need to keep the tension away as to not lose any speed or sensitivity. Keeping loose will also keep my own arms from becoming energy that my opponent can use against me, via traps and the like.

2. Simultaneous striking. Instead of just punching air at home (to the chagrin of my roommate) I need to punch AND BLOCK air. I'LL GET YOU AIR! Practice makes perfect.

Back to Work!

It had truly been too long since training last. For various reasons (and there always are) we couldn't get together for a few weeks. While it was nice to let some bumps and bruises heal up, I've been really missing my new found physical outlet. My arms and shoulders have felt restless without my normal Tuesday's worth of self-inflicted torture.

During my break, I had worked diligently on being cognizant of my center line, keeping my hips and shoulders square with each other, and feeling my base. It was nice to have Ryan notice my dedication as we practiced a few drills to warm up for sifu Manny's arrival. (Sifu essentially means teacher) We started off with fan sau (or returning hand) drills. During fan sau, the primary controls the secondary's arms near the wrist (not grasping mind you) trying to keep the secondary from slapping him in the face or body. Seems easy right? It's not. Firstly, if you tense up for even a moment, an experienced martial artist like Ryan can pull his arm away in the blink of an eye for a strike. Secondly, if you're too loose (i.e. yielding) you're going to get hit as well. We went for about half an hour, trading off as primary and secondary. My best drills occurred when I had my eyes closed. I used to be surprised by this but now it just reminds me of Obi Wan Kanobi's instruction to Luke on the Millennium Falcon, "Be mindful of your eyes, they can decieve you." This is very true in Wing Chun applications. If I can feel Ryan's energy (or intentions) without seeing them, why do I need to second guess those instincts by opening my eyes and letting him fake me out with jukes and head bobs? Not to say that I'm going to close my eyes for sparring or an actual street fight but for the drills, it can be very useful.

Manny and Trent arrived soon afterwards and it was nice to see them. We caught up a little and then took our positions outside in the patio. Fan sau was the drill of the day, as we got right back into it. Manny immediately caught a few flaws in my technique. Ryan had tried to explain this before but apparently my shoulders were too tense and that tension was moving right up my arms. In order to stay loose, you almost have to prop your arms up with your lats, and lock your shoulders out. Bruce Lee was a master at this, I'm not. My other flaw was not transitioning my fingers properly when moving to a palm down (also thumb down) wrist locking position. Manny used the analogy of a snake moving across the forearm, each finger independent yet one right after the other, leaving no gaps for possible escape.

Next up was twitching. Sounds like a dance move huh? (C'mon baby, let's do the twitch!) Really it's just the fast twitching of your hands, coupled with a full turn. Imagine your palm face up, quickly being turned over and whipped outward, before being returned to a face up position. Manny helped by having us imagine flicking a booger off of our fingers using this motion. Coupled with a startle (see description of startle in my first post) the twitch is the building block for all of the simultaneous blocks/strikes. The key is to recoil back to the starting position and it's harder than one might think.

We ended with some good old fashioned chi sau. (or sticky hands) The drill that separates Wing Chun Do from other forms that claim to teach sensitivity. In chi sau you face your partner and (in the right handed version) place your left arm atop his right and prop his left arm up with your right. Then you take turns rolling the down arm up, creating a fluid back and forth motion. From this, various attacks can be attempted at any time (known as interrupts). Because you're already touching your partners arm, the theory is that you can feel his energy and intercept the attack. It is really a game of cat and mouse. Up until yesterday I had really sucked at it but after working with Manny for a little yesterday, I figured some things out and actually went for about 5 minutes. (before succumbing to sore shoulders) I'm very excited to continue working on this.

This week's practice points:

1. Startle. It was one of last week's too but I need to get better. I will never be able to fully utilize what I'm learning until I add a good startle into the mix. I'll be sure to do some twitch drills on my own everyday.

2. Breathe. Trent was really helpful last night by reminding me to breathe during drills. It's impossible to relax if you're gasping for air.

3. Recoil. I should be able to bring my hands back to proper positions after every technique, there's no excuse not to anymore.