newbie- the basics (beginning training concepts)

[Xiaobeeno]

If you did want to get a decent weighted vest - it'd probably set you back about £100. But you do have to be careful about joint/back pain.

www.physicalcompany.co.uk have a good reebok vest that you can adjust the weights you're carrying to suit you. So you can start nice and light.

This is assuming of course that you're actually interested in using a weighted vest

[blooming tianshi lotus]

And putting weights in your jockey shorts is just sheer madness.

As if we russbo men don't have enough there to start with....

lol @ both of those comments! I think you'll find I said "jockey weights in your vest" not weights in your jockey shorts but amusing nonetheless. My brother is a jockey ( as in rides horses) and the weights they use are little thin slabs of lead that fit nicely into a slit pocket you fill and sew yourself. The good thing about the DIY vest is that you get to balance the weight distribution exactly to your needs. I don't really talk to him often but I'll ask around and see if I can find a supplier. For the padded and lined vest, try a ski - shop?????


Btw : I have kyphosis and consequent lumbar curvature myself. If you distibute your weight balance over your body, on your upper back over your blades, lower chest and at your mid lower back and lower front, and yourself a good spine stretch to realign, you should be fine. I also find pushups to strengthen corrective muscles are a neccessary must. Take care and listen to your body.....

Blooming Lotus.

[shaolinstylee]

Great workout site +

Weight vests


Or Here

[daodejing]

Start doing pushups on your fists. This will strengthen your chest, shoulders, forearms and especially your wrists.

Just work a set of 20-50 pushups into your morning workout.

[blooming tianshi lotus]

speaking of wrist strength, maybe some sidepresses from a lateral plank ( again with the pilates/ callisthenics....... highly recommend you give it a try)



BL

[shakes]

thanks for all the advice

really appreciated

its frustrating, like i already wanna skip to doing the serious business but i got so much basic fitness and stregth to achieve. i suffer from my back a bit too (bad posture) i need to pay some attention to lookin after my back..

found an instrament pretty much based on grip and resistance for wrist and forearm excercises im going to try that. the body suit sounds good but im honestly not ready. its easy to get carried away- as for any techniques they will have to follow as well but trust me i will constantly refer to this!!

also excuse my ignorance cos im 110% but ive heard off stress postion endurance techniques something i would like to know more about...

for now though its a couple of months of runs and basic excercises i need a routine to grow from.

'slow down bruce lee' haha

thanks

[arhat]

honestly, training correctly in gong fu is all the exercise you really need. you don't need all these bells and whistles to start training, let those evolve as you train.

a couple of students got these ankle weights to wear in class. Shifu sort of frowned upon it until he felt them. He said to never go any heavier, just regular kicking was more than sufficient...

While Shaolin certainly contains strength building exercises, for example we do a lot of hand stand pushups and body resistance stuff, that comes on a base of gong fu training.

Just start training, the knowledge is all cumulative.

The first time I watched a class at the USAST I was in shock, and decided right then and there I would need to train to get ready to train there, I thought it was that intense. I don't regret the decision, per se, because it gave me the opportunity to take a crash course in a few disciplines I was interested in anyway, but I would be about a year further in my Shaolin, which is the most important thing to me. And the thing is, I could have easily started the next day after I saw class, and despite all my training to get ready to train, I still couldn't walk for a week after my first 2 hrs of gong bu.

[blooming tianshi lotus]

I still couldn't walk for a week after my first 2 hrs of gong bu.

lol........ and this is why it doesn't hurt to have your legs in condition first. I think he's pretty covered on that score though, so really , just listen to Arhat, he's right.

BL

[shaolinstylee]

I don't see any problem with supplementing ones training with some plyo and some lifting.

[blooming tianshi lotus]

Neither do I really and there's nothing wrong with any type of workout or activity outside of class. I was reading http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/foru...adid=23765this this thread at www.kungfumagazine.com this morning and I think besides plyo being a part of most good gongfu class drills I 've ever attended , I think when you get to a certain lvl of fitness, when you do take on training outside of class, it often gravitates toward this anyway. If you look at shaolin gongfu for instance, how much of your class time is just straight out forms anyway??

I often get a bit of a bounce on myself throughout my day and bounce up stairs , or break into an explosive sprint occassionally for a few blocks when walking through town. Same thing really. I also find that my body weight exercises ( which I just do as part of my day) seem to feel better and help my maing conditioning more when I do some of them plyometrically. Like abs done in this way, ( and more so when you're doing them with a machine for a little extra resistence) plays exactly like a good boxing workout, targeting the muscle group relating to endurance and you get a cardio workout and some explosive developement aswell. You can only do so much with one fibre group and really, I often don't feel well worked unless I've covered all angles. ( as in a few slow and hard, some weight assisted dynamic speed sets ( and a kid on your back for pushups is nice one to use as well) and then a good looong burn ( like the crazy sets of abs I often get ribbed for...... as long as I know my goal I guess ) ).

If you want to take it up a lvl, then by all means train your as* off as you choose ( as you do, what ever your pleasure -pain combo of choice ) and expect to see the benifits in your ma training , and I don't really think it's entirely neccessary, but I don't think anyone here's knocking out of class activity so much as saying that a good class should have you covered regardless.

BL

[mortal]

I agree doing other exercises could be good. But I am always way too sore from my shaolin training to even think about it. When I'm not working, training, or out with friends I am on the couch.

[shaolinstylee]

Mortal, I know that fealing too well....lol.

I've been getting into forms practice after a sporatic 3 1/2 months this summer dealing with too much work load and a leg injury. I barely have time to train, and rest to get to class every couple of days, but I've made squats, bench, bwe (crunches, pushups, etc.), curls, and upward rows a part of my bi-daily routine (this is recent though). I get to other muscle groups, and work around sore muscle groups.

[zachsan]

it depends what you want this muscle for. if you want to look good, gongfu will probably not do it for you. it is generally much more concerned with practicality than shapely but unimportant muscle (please refer to old potbellied monk drawings). you can kick ass without a tight ass.

one thing that seems surprisingly absent from a lot of gongfu curriculums these days, though, is running. running to and from battle quickly and while retaining energy is today and always has been the most important martial skill, yet too few martial artists are concerned with it. being able to run quickly for long distances will do much more for your self-defense, and will make you a much greater threat to real-world opponents, than a few cool hip throws alone. aerobic exercise will also do a lot more for your general health than body building.

[arhat]

that's because most martial arts have nothing to do with martial anymore.

mortal, that's why they invented Halo II. get your stretch on while slaughtering covenant, lol...

I think all that stuff you guys are talking about is part of good kung fu training.

[arhat]

also, I can't speak for other schools but our boys (and grrrrls) are getting ripped.

the fat belly monks are the ones who fell off training...in general.