Get a training buddy.
You can have one in real life that you actually get together with, but it's not necessary. People tell me frequently how lucky I am that I have my faithful sidekick (who is better than I am) Bradley to get thrown around by. Reality is that I'm only a little luckier than everyone else because of this cool get-up called the internet which in some ways makes the globe a bit like a neighborhood, at least in terms of communication. Cell phones with nation-wide calling plans condense the areas we live in even further.
My training partner and I trade off "I did this today" stories frequently, and if one of us lagged behind the other in terms of time invested or difficulty of the drills we worked, as often as not, we pick up our sorry tails and do some more whenever time and life allow. I know that personally it's committed me to a lot of training I wouldn't have done otherwise. There's no reason this kind of relationship wouldn't work electronically, though, since most of what my partner and I do is talk. We only usually see each other once a week, maybe twice (at the group get-togethers and occasionally otherwise).
We're also borrowing an idea from the increasingly popular program Cross-Fit. Our goal isn't to replicate their kind of workout so much as it is to kind of keep each other going. While grinding techniques for raw numbers is usually a bad thing, as can be turning to the clock, it makes a nice little motivator to set up a workout (we take turns) and then both, separately, try to meet it as our daily minimum: maybe it's turn at least for x minutes or to make sure we do at least y repetitions of some saber drill. Perhaps it's more ambiguous like "hit chopping strikes hard and seriously." Maybe it's a combination of these kinds of things or several others.
This kind of accountability is great for keeping motivation up. It catches the phasing "eh... I'll let training slide today because..." right by the tail and helps us both get more out of ourselves than we might have otherwise. It also solidifies our relationship.
Maybe in the future we can get some kind of system like this set up more formally and in a more widespread manner. Who knows? If you have a great workout to suggest, though, leave a comment!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Training Through Stagnation
As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working crazy-busy hours trying to prepare for my academic/work demands, and so my training has suffered a little in the meantime. I've been keeping it up with little bits here and there, drills and standing and other quick things in between long bouts with the (rather boring) math book I wrote (but won't be getting published). In the last few days, however, I've been doing less and less of that, despite the fact that I don't feel "ready" for what's in front of me yet. I'm stagnating with it.
This is putting me in a position that I'm sure is unique but not unique to me. I keep finding excuses not to work on my stuff that I'm supposed to work on (yet while remaining productive) and yet I'm not doing the training that I could be doing with the spare time because I'm "not supposed" to be training because my focus is supposed to be on this math. I get like this sometimes, and it's silly. Basically, I feel guilty for not working on the math and then somehow manage to "waste" a bunch of time doing little piddly (but important enough) things not working on what I'm supposed to be doing and still not feeling willing to use that time to train because I somehow feel like I'd be doing something I'm not supposed to do. It's weird. I know that just about everyone that gets serious about academics (and probably any career, particularly ones that don't really end up being "left at the office" at the end of the day) has times like this. It's a trap.
I broke out of it today. After spending an hour or so staring at the thing I'm supposed to work on next and then not working on it for more than about five minutes of that time, I decided I was just going to shake myself up and get unstuck. I went out for about 90 minutes and trained, hard. It did the trick. I felt great to have trained. I felt great to have exercised. I felt great to have done something different, and I came back in from my little workout feeling great about getting back to work on my mathematics, which I actually did for a while before making dinner. Still somewhat enthused about it (now that I feel unstuck), I'll be getting back on it once I finish this post, which I'm taking time to write partly because I want to and partly because I'm so excited about getting unstuck and know there are probably lots of folks out there that read this (meaning a fair proportion of my small readership) that could benefit from the following advice: if you're caught up with a lot to do and feeling a burn to train or to just do something different, get unstuck -- go train.
Believe me, you'll end up getting more done. I think this is like the people on diets that deny themselves cookies and can't stop thinking about them. I denied myself proper training so I could "focus on my mathematics," and I found that I wanted to train WAY more than I wanted to do mathematics and therefore thought way more about the training I wasn't doing (and wasn't willing to do). Stupid. Set some time aside, and go train.
This is putting me in a position that I'm sure is unique but not unique to me. I keep finding excuses not to work on my stuff that I'm supposed to work on (yet while remaining productive) and yet I'm not doing the training that I could be doing with the spare time because I'm "not supposed" to be training because my focus is supposed to be on this math. I get like this sometimes, and it's silly. Basically, I feel guilty for not working on the math and then somehow manage to "waste" a bunch of time doing little piddly (but important enough) things not working on what I'm supposed to be doing and still not feeling willing to use that time to train because I somehow feel like I'd be doing something I'm not supposed to do. It's weird. I know that just about everyone that gets serious about academics (and probably any career, particularly ones that don't really end up being "left at the office" at the end of the day) has times like this. It's a trap.
I broke out of it today. After spending an hour or so staring at the thing I'm supposed to work on next and then not working on it for more than about five minutes of that time, I decided I was just going to shake myself up and get unstuck. I went out for about 90 minutes and trained, hard. It did the trick. I felt great to have trained. I felt great to have exercised. I felt great to have done something different, and I came back in from my little workout feeling great about getting back to work on my mathematics, which I actually did for a while before making dinner. Still somewhat enthused about it (now that I feel unstuck), I'll be getting back on it once I finish this post, which I'm taking time to write partly because I want to and partly because I'm so excited about getting unstuck and know there are probably lots of folks out there that read this (meaning a fair proportion of my small readership) that could benefit from the following advice: if you're caught up with a lot to do and feeling a burn to train or to just do something different, get unstuck -- go train.
Believe me, you'll end up getting more done. I think this is like the people on diets that deny themselves cookies and can't stop thinking about them. I denied myself proper training so I could "focus on my mathematics," and I found that I wanted to train WAY more than I wanted to do mathematics and therefore thought way more about the training I wasn't doing (and wasn't willing to do). Stupid. Set some time aside, and go train.
Friday, October 23, 2009
When Time Is Short: Training Ideas for When You're As Busy As I Am Right Now
I'm crazy busy right now. In fact, the only reason I'm typing on this is because I temporarily have a mental block on what I'm working on: preparing to defend my thesis. I've been given the task of preparing the entire defense by November 9, which is barely over two weeks away. I think usually people have the date pretty well narrowed down a few months in advance, so I figure this can only go "well." In any case, the posting will be a bit lighter than usual during this time, but when I'm kind of burnt up for the moment (as now), I'll find time for this sort of thing when I'm not squeezing in some training, which seems to help unknot my fatiguing brain.
I know a lot of folks are crazy busy much or almost all of the time, and so I think this is an appropriate topic, even if left drastically incomplete. As usual, I invite folks training other martial arts to comment and add in ideas, though I'll focus my post on what kinds of baguazhang-related training I squeeze in when my time is short.
Generally speaking, I think when your time is short, you're going to get the most out of picking one or two basic things and drilling them in bursts during your free time. Perhaps you really want to get better at a technique or a movement, nothing as large as a typical "form" or "kata," unless you practice something like Yin Style which has just short of a billion very short forms in its canon. You also want to choose things that provide a lot of bang for the buck, which means that you're taking time to carefully master one fairly complex movement or you're blasting your body with an exercise that can provide a lot of benefit in a short period of time.
In Yin Style or any other traditional art, for me the exercise that fits the "bang for my buck" bill the most powerfully is standing strengthening, which admittedly I usually go a little short on in my overall training profile. Standing strengthening practice, one of the four pillars of Yin Style training, is by necessity a shorter-duration exercise than most of the other practices. It's difficult to get a good, worthwhile session of striking training in a five- or ten-minute break between other obligations. Five to ten minutes of standing strengthening is a pretty solid set of it for most folks. It also requires a minimal amount of space since very little is in motion: just the space of a yoga-mat-sized area is needed to really rock out some standing strengthening, and those fit just about anywhere. Unlike many of the other practices, as long as you're a bit discrete, standing strengthening is easy to "sneak in" in places like your office with less likelihood of being noticed (or having security called on you thinking you're an escapee from a mental ward -- true story of a member of our group) than doing something "absolutely ridiculous looking" like turning practice or strikes. Thus, when I'm in hard-academic mode, like now, I end up quadrupling (or more) the amount of standing strengthening I do while dropping almost everything else so that I can have back-to-back fifteen-hour work days for weeks on end (weekends included).
Drilling something complicated that I want to get a basic hang of is another favorite. I do this a lot (in my house or on a quick jaunt into the yard for some fresh air and breathing space, though behind a closed door can work too without drawing too much attention) when I'm trying to gain a new skill. The back-step drills that came out of Beijing this spring are a notable example: often enough I'd have time to really go drill them and other things, but right about then, I got academically slammed and had to hang a bunch of training up for a while. When I wasn't standing, I was trotting across some room in my house (en route to the kitchen for refreshment, bathroom for relief, or back to the office for more toil) going through those back-step drills as a means of locomotion toward my destination. I might only get 6 or 8 reps in each direction, but I got a lot more comfortable with the stepping pattern and coordination in the process, and since I'd take breaks about once every hour or so, usually with three runs of this kind of thing involved, I actually ended up with a fair number of repetitions in a day, 6x3x10=180 to 8x3x10=240, which is far more than I would have had if I just gave up and said I was "too busy" to train.
Weights are a temptation in tight times. You can feel like you get a lot of effect for very little time input (pick up your nearest 25-pound dumbbell and do 20-30 bicep curls straight with it, it only takes about a minute and a half and your arm puffs and cramps up like it's going to explode, split, or fall off). The downside to this is that while you get a little strength training out of it, you don't get any martial training. Since you're not going to have enough time to really bust out some seriously good routines of either sort, I think it's better to do an exercise like a drill that builds up a skill over time rather than something that just gives me a little pump in my arm or leg, although squats are a great way to revitalize you when you've been sitting for too long (so those get thrown in sometimes anyway just to get the blood pumping quickly). Standing strengthening really seems to be a better choice, though, another reason I like to hit it hard and often in these busy periods, because it seems to really open the body up and get things (Blood and Qi) flowing and moving smoothly. Weights never do that for me, and standing strengthening is really an all-body kind of activity, so it feels a lot more complete for that short amount of time (working your whole body in 10 minutes instead of two muscle groups, for instance). If I'm in the market for something heavy to balance out my desk job, five minutes of basic drills with the saber (if I'm working at home!) usually is enough to get a fair sweat going and make it feel like I've done something -- something martial!
Speaking of having a job that keeps you crazy busy, you might not have one like I have that keeps you sedentary while you're working. If you do, then these kinds of exercises are perfect and great. In fact, they're pretty much necessary. The sitting still really starts to take a toll on your body, mostly in terms of circulation and muscular tension, after thirty or forty minutes. Your brain gets sluggish after that much time of relative inactivity also because of the less smooth circulation of blood (and Blood and Qi). Getting up and doing something that promotes its flow on at least an hourly basis (I've been told half-hourly by several reputable sources) is almost a necessity, so don't think of it as taking away from your work to stretch out and move yourself around a little.
If your job is more physical, and you're crazy busy, then you're probably too tired to train much. What you need, though, is something that puts you back together. Ironically, if you can put the heart into it, standing strengthening is great for that, as is "running through" drills, focusing more on the mental aspect of mastering the inherent skill rather than the physical aspect of putting in power and ferocity (like "learning speed" practice). Another option, one that I frequently employ even as a mental worker at a desk, is to get up and do some stretching. It's just nice for opening up the flow (again of Blood and Qi) and making me feel better kind of all over. It's not as directly martially beneficial as training would be, but being physically wrecked makes for a difficult push into some training, even if it's light.
Finally, when time is tight, there's a time that everyone has free: just before they fall asleep. Even though you're probably tired by the time you hit the pillow, on days that I'm crazy busy, I usually am a bit wound still when I lay down. This is a prime time to be opting for visualization of the techniques, skills, combinations, applications, forms, and other practices in the art, which is a very valuable constituent of good training. Even if there's no time, energy, or will to get up and really stand strengthening in between job requirements, it's quite easy to get yourself thinking about your training and training in your mind. That, my friends, is better than nothing when you're really strapped for time.
That's some of the stuff that I do when my time is tight: more standing strengthening, more running through "confusing" drills in slow/medium-motion, a couple of sets of saber basics (when apropos), stretching, and visualizing. What do you do?
I know a lot of folks are crazy busy much or almost all of the time, and so I think this is an appropriate topic, even if left drastically incomplete. As usual, I invite folks training other martial arts to comment and add in ideas, though I'll focus my post on what kinds of baguazhang-related training I squeeze in when my time is short.
Generally speaking, I think when your time is short, you're going to get the most out of picking one or two basic things and drilling them in bursts during your free time. Perhaps you really want to get better at a technique or a movement, nothing as large as a typical "form" or "kata," unless you practice something like Yin Style which has just short of a billion very short forms in its canon. You also want to choose things that provide a lot of bang for the buck, which means that you're taking time to carefully master one fairly complex movement or you're blasting your body with an exercise that can provide a lot of benefit in a short period of time.
In Yin Style or any other traditional art, for me the exercise that fits the "bang for my buck" bill the most powerfully is standing strengthening, which admittedly I usually go a little short on in my overall training profile. Standing strengthening practice, one of the four pillars of Yin Style training, is by necessity a shorter-duration exercise than most of the other practices. It's difficult to get a good, worthwhile session of striking training in a five- or ten-minute break between other obligations. Five to ten minutes of standing strengthening is a pretty solid set of it for most folks. It also requires a minimal amount of space since very little is in motion: just the space of a yoga-mat-sized area is needed to really rock out some standing strengthening, and those fit just about anywhere. Unlike many of the other practices, as long as you're a bit discrete, standing strengthening is easy to "sneak in" in places like your office with less likelihood of being noticed (or having security called on you thinking you're an escapee from a mental ward -- true story of a member of our group) than doing something "absolutely ridiculous looking" like turning practice or strikes. Thus, when I'm in hard-academic mode, like now, I end up quadrupling (or more) the amount of standing strengthening I do while dropping almost everything else so that I can have back-to-back fifteen-hour work days for weeks on end (weekends included).
Drilling something complicated that I want to get a basic hang of is another favorite. I do this a lot (in my house or on a quick jaunt into the yard for some fresh air and breathing space, though behind a closed door can work too without drawing too much attention) when I'm trying to gain a new skill. The back-step drills that came out of Beijing this spring are a notable example: often enough I'd have time to really go drill them and other things, but right about then, I got academically slammed and had to hang a bunch of training up for a while. When I wasn't standing, I was trotting across some room in my house (en route to the kitchen for refreshment, bathroom for relief, or back to the office for more toil) going through those back-step drills as a means of locomotion toward my destination. I might only get 6 or 8 reps in each direction, but I got a lot more comfortable with the stepping pattern and coordination in the process, and since I'd take breaks about once every hour or so, usually with three runs of this kind of thing involved, I actually ended up with a fair number of repetitions in a day, 6x3x10=180 to 8x3x10=240, which is far more than I would have had if I just gave up and said I was "too busy" to train.
Weights are a temptation in tight times. You can feel like you get a lot of effect for very little time input (pick up your nearest 25-pound dumbbell and do 20-30 bicep curls straight with it, it only takes about a minute and a half and your arm puffs and cramps up like it's going to explode, split, or fall off). The downside to this is that while you get a little strength training out of it, you don't get any martial training. Since you're not going to have enough time to really bust out some seriously good routines of either sort, I think it's better to do an exercise like a drill that builds up a skill over time rather than something that just gives me a little pump in my arm or leg, although squats are a great way to revitalize you when you've been sitting for too long (so those get thrown in sometimes anyway just to get the blood pumping quickly). Standing strengthening really seems to be a better choice, though, another reason I like to hit it hard and often in these busy periods, because it seems to really open the body up and get things (Blood and Qi) flowing and moving smoothly. Weights never do that for me, and standing strengthening is really an all-body kind of activity, so it feels a lot more complete for that short amount of time (working your whole body in 10 minutes instead of two muscle groups, for instance). If I'm in the market for something heavy to balance out my desk job, five minutes of basic drills with the saber (if I'm working at home!) usually is enough to get a fair sweat going and make it feel like I've done something -- something martial!
Speaking of having a job that keeps you crazy busy, you might not have one like I have that keeps you sedentary while you're working. If you do, then these kinds of exercises are perfect and great. In fact, they're pretty much necessary. The sitting still really starts to take a toll on your body, mostly in terms of circulation and muscular tension, after thirty or forty minutes. Your brain gets sluggish after that much time of relative inactivity also because of the less smooth circulation of blood (and Blood and Qi). Getting up and doing something that promotes its flow on at least an hourly basis (I've been told half-hourly by several reputable sources) is almost a necessity, so don't think of it as taking away from your work to stretch out and move yourself around a little.
If your job is more physical, and you're crazy busy, then you're probably too tired to train much. What you need, though, is something that puts you back together. Ironically, if you can put the heart into it, standing strengthening is great for that, as is "running through" drills, focusing more on the mental aspect of mastering the inherent skill rather than the physical aspect of putting in power and ferocity (like "learning speed" practice). Another option, one that I frequently employ even as a mental worker at a desk, is to get up and do some stretching. It's just nice for opening up the flow (again of Blood and Qi) and making me feel better kind of all over. It's not as directly martially beneficial as training would be, but being physically wrecked makes for a difficult push into some training, even if it's light.
Finally, when time is tight, there's a time that everyone has free: just before they fall asleep. Even though you're probably tired by the time you hit the pillow, on days that I'm crazy busy, I usually am a bit wound still when I lay down. This is a prime time to be opting for visualization of the techniques, skills, combinations, applications, forms, and other practices in the art, which is a very valuable constituent of good training. Even if there's no time, energy, or will to get up and really stand strengthening in between job requirements, it's quite easy to get yourself thinking about your training and training in your mind. That, my friends, is better than nothing when you're really strapped for time.
That's some of the stuff that I do when my time is tight: more standing strengthening, more running through "confusing" drills in slow/medium-motion, a couple of sets of saber basics (when apropos), stretching, and visualizing. What do you do?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Local Introductory Seminars in Yin Style Baguazhang in and around Knoxville, TN
In an effort to achieve two goals, our study group has decided that we're interested in offering the opportunity for us to come in and discuss some of the principles of Yin Style Baguazhang with friendly local or regionally located martial artists, preferably at their schools. To be clear, let me elaborate.
Mission Statement and Statement of Goals:
Mission: We, as the Knoxville, TN, study group, officially recognized by Yin Style Baguazhang International, are interested in seeing the growth of martial arts and martial artists in the area as well as promoting interest and growth in the art of Yin Style Baguazhang itself.
Goals: Our goals with these seminars are twofold -- to introduce Yin Style Baguazhang as a martial art to local/regional martial artists to enhance their training in their own arts or to generate interest in studying and training Yin Style Baguazhang directly.
Furthermore, we'd like to drum up enough interest to have more folks attend our (hopefully) annual seminar (see here for some details concerning the one that we just held) with He Jinbao of Beijing, our teacher and a true master of the martial arts with nearly unparalleled skill.
What is meant by local/regional:
Local: We live in Knoxville, TN, and some of the very nearby communities. If you live or train in Knoxville or a town very nearby, then we'd be happy to come by and share a little of what we've seen with you.
Regional: If you don't live really close to Knoxville but are within an hour or two away, we'd be willing to consider visiting your group or school as well.
What we can offer:
There are three things, really, that we can offer to local martial artists that already train in some style or another.
Ultimately, we feel that this art is very underrepresented given its effectiveness, and we'd like word to spread. Realizing it won't spread without someone spreading it, we feel that we can reach out and offer something to the local martial artists that they can really take home with them to enhance their training and potential. We'd also like to increase exposure of the art so that more folks will feel that it is worthwhile to take the opportunity to meet He Jinbao when he comes to this neck of the woods, his level of expertise in the martial arts being high enough so that certainly anyone that spends time training under his direction will be able to improve in their own practices substantially.
What we're not interested in:
Challenges:
I know it makes me look a bit the puss to say that we're not interested in challenges. We're offering to spread knowledge here, which you can reject freely if you don't like it. Our goal isn't to prove ourselves to anyone. I'm more than happy to have you leave thinking that I suck without anyone having to eat a knuckle sandwich to prove it or say otherwise. I'm also more than happy if you think I'm awesome, particularly if I don't have to kick you in the jangles to prove it to you. Personally, I tend to thank people for not kicking me in the jangles and like reasonable folks that feel the same way.
Making money:
Our goal with these seminars is not to get rich or even to make money. We would be, however, asking for a small honorarium or per capita fee for our time, and that money would only be used to offset our travel and training costs, which are rather modest and would therefore be reflected with a similarly modest fee (approximately $10 per attendee per hour or thereabouts). Furthermore, we're not interested in making money via invitation to the seminar with He Jinbao. We do not make money off those seminars: we are charged an honorarium/per capita fee for those (pay this much or however much you bring in, whichever is more) and do not retain any profit from them. Additional seminar income would be used to help us offset our expenses in hosting/lodging/feeding He Jinbao and his translator when they come to town. We're about getting more attention and interest in this art and recognize that direct access to He Jinbao is just about the most effective medium for that goal to be realized.
Gathering Students:
We do have a study group, and it does get together. It's nothing even closely akin to a martial arts school, however, and thus, while we do want our group to grow larger, it does not present realistic competition to an established, real (if you will) martial arts school. We currently meet once per week and have no set curriculum. We offer no ranks or anything of the sort, and we meet where it is convenient, as often as not in someone's yard or garage or in a public park. Generally, we get together and work on what we're individually working on in a community-like setting, and those with more experience help and direct those with less experience in that endeavor. This group is and always has been open to anyone that's interested in trying it out, no strings attached, no commitments to ever come back, no requests to put a halt to any other training you might be doing or interested in. Feeling competition from our group would be like an established church feeling competition from a small-scale Bible-Study group that meets once weekly. With the seminars, we are hoping to be able to come and share our slightly different perspective on the martial arts with folks that are interested in learning martial arts.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you're even remotely curious or interested in hosting us!
Mission Statement and Statement of Goals:
Mission: We, as the Knoxville, TN, study group, officially recognized by Yin Style Baguazhang International, are interested in seeing the growth of martial arts and martial artists in the area as well as promoting interest and growth in the art of Yin Style Baguazhang itself.
Goals: Our goals with these seminars are twofold -- to introduce Yin Style Baguazhang as a martial art to local/regional martial artists to enhance their training in their own arts or to generate interest in studying and training Yin Style Baguazhang directly.
Furthermore, we'd like to drum up enough interest to have more folks attend our (hopefully) annual seminar (see here for some details concerning the one that we just held) with He Jinbao of Beijing, our teacher and a true master of the martial arts with nearly unparalleled skill.
What is meant by local/regional:
Local: We live in Knoxville, TN, and some of the very nearby communities. If you live or train in Knoxville or a town very nearby, then we'd be happy to come by and share a little of what we've seen with you.
Regional: If you don't live really close to Knoxville but are within an hour or two away, we'd be willing to consider visiting your group or school as well.
What we can offer:
There are three things, really, that we can offer to local martial artists that already train in some style or another.
- We can offer insight provided via our training in Yin Style Baguazhang into how you can improve your current training methods for real, remarkable results. We can do this by introducing some of the methods of training used in Yin Style Baguazhang and offering advice on how to tailor those methods to the arts that you already train.
- We can offer a basic introduction to the art of Yin Style Baguazhang including a variety of its basic practices, methods, and some of its underlying theoretical framework.
- We can offer Yin Style Baguazhang based applications and host the seminar in a self-defense-for-martial-artists perspective.
Ultimately, we feel that this art is very underrepresented given its effectiveness, and we'd like word to spread. Realizing it won't spread without someone spreading it, we feel that we can reach out and offer something to the local martial artists that they can really take home with them to enhance their training and potential. We'd also like to increase exposure of the art so that more folks will feel that it is worthwhile to take the opportunity to meet He Jinbao when he comes to this neck of the woods, his level of expertise in the martial arts being high enough so that certainly anyone that spends time training under his direction will be able to improve in their own practices substantially.
What we're not interested in:
Challenges:
I know it makes me look a bit the puss to say that we're not interested in challenges. We're offering to spread knowledge here, which you can reject freely if you don't like it. Our goal isn't to prove ourselves to anyone. I'm more than happy to have you leave thinking that I suck without anyone having to eat a knuckle sandwich to prove it or say otherwise. I'm also more than happy if you think I'm awesome, particularly if I don't have to kick you in the jangles to prove it to you. Personally, I tend to thank people for not kicking me in the jangles and like reasonable folks that feel the same way.
Making money:
Our goal with these seminars is not to get rich or even to make money. We would be, however, asking for a small honorarium or per capita fee for our time, and that money would only be used to offset our travel and training costs, which are rather modest and would therefore be reflected with a similarly modest fee (approximately $10 per attendee per hour or thereabouts). Furthermore, we're not interested in making money via invitation to the seminar with He Jinbao. We do not make money off those seminars: we are charged an honorarium/per capita fee for those (pay this much or however much you bring in, whichever is more) and do not retain any profit from them. Additional seminar income would be used to help us offset our expenses in hosting/lodging/feeding He Jinbao and his translator when they come to town. We're about getting more attention and interest in this art and recognize that direct access to He Jinbao is just about the most effective medium for that goal to be realized.
Gathering Students:
We do have a study group, and it does get together. It's nothing even closely akin to a martial arts school, however, and thus, while we do want our group to grow larger, it does not present realistic competition to an established, real (if you will) martial arts school. We currently meet once per week and have no set curriculum. We offer no ranks or anything of the sort, and we meet where it is convenient, as often as not in someone's yard or garage or in a public park. Generally, we get together and work on what we're individually working on in a community-like setting, and those with more experience help and direct those with less experience in that endeavor. This group is and always has been open to anyone that's interested in trying it out, no strings attached, no commitments to ever come back, no requests to put a halt to any other training you might be doing or interested in. Feeling competition from our group would be like an established church feeling competition from a small-scale Bible-Study group that meets once weekly. With the seminars, we are hoping to be able to come and share our slightly different perspective on the martial arts with folks that are interested in learning martial arts.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you're even remotely curious or interested in hosting us!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Training Anchors
Training the martial arts, particularly Yin Style Baguazhang, can be very dry and very challenging at the same time. That's a recipe for making it very difficult to pay the full attention to the practice that you need to in order to develop well. With physically demanding practices that have to be done repetitively a large number of times, it is very easy to "check out" mentally and just let the process become one that is mechanical until the body points out that it's just too much to continue. That's pretty much the last thing you want if you want to get real development in this (or any) art. So how can you avoid it?
The easy answer is "mental discipline." Forging your will to your practice (one of the internal harmonies). Unfortunately, that easy answer is tough to act on when you're pounding out hundreds of repetitions of something and starting to feel the wear on your body that those repetitions bring or when you suddenly have all kinds of interesting ideas for what to do next, later, or in a way entirely unrelated to training while you're training. Those ideas come up often enough on their own and distract the mind even during training. Something I've found that helps in those kinds of situations are what I'm referring to as "training anchors."
A training anchor holds you to your practice. I'm going to take it as a given that unless you're an absolute Superman with an unnaturally disciplined and tamed will that during longer training sessions, you're going to check out sometimes. The goal isn't so much to prevent this naturally occurring process, which will become a distraction in its own right, as it is to pull your attention back to the training at hand. Like an anchor for a ship, which doesn't keep it fixed in one place, it holds a slightly drifting ship close to where it's supposed to be. We all know, if we train Yin Style, that we're supposed to be putting certain attention on several things at once while we drill: proper hand form, proper alignment, proper execution, proper breathing, proper body use, proper motion of the waist, proper speed, proper timing, proper standing, proper generation and emission of force, proper harmonies, proper etc., etc., etc. We also know that it's frickin' hard to do it the whole time and that our minds wander. If Jinbao was watching us train when that happened, he'd tell us that we need more spirit in our training and have to keep our minds on the task.
So when my mind wanders, I've found a number of "anchors" that help me bring it back to task. For me, one of the best anchors is the feeling that properly making the hand-form gives me. In the ox-tongue palm shape, it's the stress in the opponens (thumb) muscles that I can most quickly and easily turn my attention to when I catch it wandering. When I'm making a fist, it's on keeping it as hard as rock. From there, I can do one better and, since my mind is already on my hand: I set my new anchor as double-religiously watching my hands as I practice. For some reason, keeping my eyes firmly fixed on my hand opens the door to being able to focus again on something more subtle, perhaps the tension in my waist properly generating and emitting force, without the desire to close my eyes and just feel it happening. This same kind of attention works great for me during standing and turning pratice as well as during striking and forms drilling.
When I turn, I have massive amounts of mind-wander that sometimes (frequently?) overcomes my ability to think about the hand and settle everything into that first as a gateway to running through the checklist of proper form. Often, I find myself thinking over-much about my feet to the exclusion of attention on my upper body. When that happens, I redouble my effort, usually pulling harder with my thumb (which makes it hurt) to force my attention to that area until I reaffix my gaze and mind to my whole-body experience.
I don't know what anchors other people use and am curious, though. If you've got something to share, particularly something more effective than the "think about the stress in your thumb and then watch your hand" that I use, I'd love to hear it!
The easy answer is "mental discipline." Forging your will to your practice (one of the internal harmonies). Unfortunately, that easy answer is tough to act on when you're pounding out hundreds of repetitions of something and starting to feel the wear on your body that those repetitions bring or when you suddenly have all kinds of interesting ideas for what to do next, later, or in a way entirely unrelated to training while you're training. Those ideas come up often enough on their own and distract the mind even during training. Something I've found that helps in those kinds of situations are what I'm referring to as "training anchors."
A training anchor holds you to your practice. I'm going to take it as a given that unless you're an absolute Superman with an unnaturally disciplined and tamed will that during longer training sessions, you're going to check out sometimes. The goal isn't so much to prevent this naturally occurring process, which will become a distraction in its own right, as it is to pull your attention back to the training at hand. Like an anchor for a ship, which doesn't keep it fixed in one place, it holds a slightly drifting ship close to where it's supposed to be. We all know, if we train Yin Style, that we're supposed to be putting certain attention on several things at once while we drill: proper hand form, proper alignment, proper execution, proper breathing, proper body use, proper motion of the waist, proper speed, proper timing, proper standing, proper generation and emission of force, proper harmonies, proper etc., etc., etc. We also know that it's frickin' hard to do it the whole time and that our minds wander. If Jinbao was watching us train when that happened, he'd tell us that we need more spirit in our training and have to keep our minds on the task.
So when my mind wanders, I've found a number of "anchors" that help me bring it back to task. For me, one of the best anchors is the feeling that properly making the hand-form gives me. In the ox-tongue palm shape, it's the stress in the opponens (thumb) muscles that I can most quickly and easily turn my attention to when I catch it wandering. When I'm making a fist, it's on keeping it as hard as rock. From there, I can do one better and, since my mind is already on my hand: I set my new anchor as double-religiously watching my hands as I practice. For some reason, keeping my eyes firmly fixed on my hand opens the door to being able to focus again on something more subtle, perhaps the tension in my waist properly generating and emitting force, without the desire to close my eyes and just feel it happening. This same kind of attention works great for me during standing and turning pratice as well as during striking and forms drilling.
When I turn, I have massive amounts of mind-wander that sometimes (frequently?) overcomes my ability to think about the hand and settle everything into that first as a gateway to running through the checklist of proper form. Often, I find myself thinking over-much about my feet to the exclusion of attention on my upper body. When that happens, I redouble my effort, usually pulling harder with my thumb (which makes it hurt) to force my attention to that area until I reaffix my gaze and mind to my whole-body experience.
I don't know what anchors other people use and am curious, though. If you've got something to share, particularly something more effective than the "think about the stress in your thumb and then watch your hand" that I use, I'd love to hear it!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Mirrors and Training Martial Arts
I think a lot of folks are hoping for something different for my first real-content post after our seminar, but since we trained in an indoor facility equipped with mirrors, a first for me in training baguazhang, I was able to pause and think for a while about how the mirror was helping my training... and messing with it.
Here's what I've decided: mirrors are a great training tool as long as you can ignore them.
Mirrors are awesome for checking yourself out, so you can correct abnormalities in your posture that perhaps you can't feel so well. Once you correct them, you can learn what the proper posture feels like, be those standing strengthening, striking, or otherwise, and that gives a tremendous advantage in being able to get into the correct position or movement later on. A quick glance at the mirror can tell you if your wrist is bent incorrect, arm is too high or too low, hips are cocked one way or the other, or lots of other little mistakes that are really easy to make and make into habits. For that kind of correction, nothing short of video of yourself training or direct, hands-on corrections from a more senior practitioner can compare.
On the other hand, mirrors are awesome for checking yourself out, and don't we all like to see how awesome we look when we're training? That's really the problem with them! I found myself checking myself out far too often during the seminar, mostly because I could. That really started to help me after a while, not because of the little tweaks to my training it provided but rather because of the amount of extra attention it forced me to place on watching my hands while I trained instead of my sweet reflection. Mastering myself to that change in focus, however, was really difficult, so I can conclude that ignoring a mirror is far harder than it seems!
As far as other martial arts go (since I like reaching a broader audience), I know that in karate we are usually told to look straight ahead, instead of at our hands, as if we're staring at the opponent (during kata/basics practice) and at our opponent during sparring practice. I have no commentary on whether that's right or wrong at this point -- they're just different methods of training, each surely with its advantages. I also know that an awful lot of students doing both of those exercises are enchanted by their reflections, so I know it's just a dangerous and helpful a thing in many other arts to train near a mirror.
My verdict on the matter, then, is that mirrors are a good tool to help you train, but ultimately, you have to learn to master yourself an ignore it completely once you've used it for its purpose, and added difficulty comes from the fact that most people are quite fascinated with watching themselves do things.
Here's what I've decided: mirrors are a great training tool as long as you can ignore them.
Mirrors are awesome for checking yourself out, so you can correct abnormalities in your posture that perhaps you can't feel so well. Once you correct them, you can learn what the proper posture feels like, be those standing strengthening, striking, or otherwise, and that gives a tremendous advantage in being able to get into the correct position or movement later on. A quick glance at the mirror can tell you if your wrist is bent incorrect, arm is too high or too low, hips are cocked one way or the other, or lots of other little mistakes that are really easy to make and make into habits. For that kind of correction, nothing short of video of yourself training or direct, hands-on corrections from a more senior practitioner can compare.
On the other hand, mirrors are awesome for checking yourself out, and don't we all like to see how awesome we look when we're training? That's really the problem with them! I found myself checking myself out far too often during the seminar, mostly because I could. That really started to help me after a while, not because of the little tweaks to my training it provided but rather because of the amount of extra attention it forced me to place on watching my hands while I trained instead of my sweet reflection. Mastering myself to that change in focus, however, was really difficult, so I can conclude that ignoring a mirror is far harder than it seems!
As far as other martial arts go (since I like reaching a broader audience), I know that in karate we are usually told to look straight ahead, instead of at our hands, as if we're staring at the opponent (during kata/basics practice) and at our opponent during sparring practice. I have no commentary on whether that's right or wrong at this point -- they're just different methods of training, each surely with its advantages. I also know that an awful lot of students doing both of those exercises are enchanted by their reflections, so I know it's just a dangerous and helpful a thing in many other arts to train near a mirror.
My verdict on the matter, then, is that mirrors are a good tool to help you train, but ultimately, you have to learn to master yourself an ignore it completely once you've used it for its purpose, and added difficulty comes from the fact that most people are quite fascinated with watching themselves do things.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Fall Tour Seminar, Knoxville, Success!
He Jinbao and Matt Bild just left Knoxville yesterday morning after our first-ever, mostly successful seminar! The intensity of training was maintained at a pretty high level for most of the workshop, even if our attendance was a bit on the low side. All-in-all, though, I'm quite happy with our first stab at hosting those fine folks.
As for what was covered, it was a beautiful blend of solid foundational practices, with fantastic attention to small details, and some really new stuff: kicking practices courtesy of the Monkey System, which are completely different from essentially everything else that we've done in our trainings in the past.
I had a lot of time to think about things before and after the training sessions, and I think that the seminar itself provided me with a number of interesting topics to talk about in the near future on here, hopefully some stuff that will really help some folks out there with the training.
Probably, if anything, the only down-side to the entire ordeal was that our attendance was rather low. Recruiting for one of these things is apparently fairly difficult despite Jinbao's level of expertise. Thus, for the next year, because they will be back next year and we'd like to see a better turnout, we'll be trying to get around and introduce this art to folks via very affordable seminars.
This particular workshop seemed to strengthen our group, though, not just in terms of our training and knowledge but also in terms of numbers. Hopefully I didn't misread things when some of the folks that attended the seminar asked many very curious questions about our study group.
As for what was covered, it was a beautiful blend of solid foundational practices, with fantastic attention to small details, and some really new stuff: kicking practices courtesy of the Monkey System, which are completely different from essentially everything else that we've done in our trainings in the past.
I had a lot of time to think about things before and after the training sessions, and I think that the seminar itself provided me with a number of interesting topics to talk about in the near future on here, hopefully some stuff that will really help some folks out there with the training.
Probably, if anything, the only down-side to the entire ordeal was that our attendance was rather low. Recruiting for one of these things is apparently fairly difficult despite Jinbao's level of expertise. Thus, for the next year, because they will be back next year and we'd like to see a better turnout, we'll be trying to get around and introduce this art to folks via very affordable seminars.
This particular workshop seemed to strengthen our group, though, not just in terms of our training and knowledge but also in terms of numbers. Hopefully I didn't misread things when some of the folks that attended the seminar asked many very curious questions about our study group.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Belts and the Martial Arts
Since Yin Style Baguazhang is such a tight niche within the martial arts, as I've mentioned before, I'm going to try to expand the audience of this blog by posting topics on occasion that relate both to Yin Style and to other martial arts. Nearly ubiquitous in the martial arts are belts, usually of varying colors to indicate level, or some equivalent: I've seen colored shirts, pants, uniforms, sashes (which I consider belts), and necklaces all to the same function, and I'm sure there are even more variations on the theme. For the purposes here, all of these "equivalent" indicators will be considered in the same pile and referenced as being "belts" and will mean "rank-distinguishing belts." Now for the particularly interesting bit that makes this post worth making: belts are "nearly ubiquitous" in the martial arts world... but in Yin Style Baguazhang, they are not used at all. I'd like to discuss some of my thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages surrounding belts since I've spent considerable time and made considerable observations on both sides of this fence.
A quick history, if my information is correct, on this practice is that thin cords of various colors were worn in Japan by swimmers to help distinguish them at some point in that sport's history, and this practice was observed by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of Judo, and observed to have merit for ranking students, since the judo gi required a belt to hold it properly closed as it was. The practice then spread to other martial arts, and then all kinds of ridiculous legends about where the colors came from arose, such as the following: "In the beginning, everyone's belt was white, and then it yellowed with sweat over time and got grungy. Due to being thrown in the grass repetetively, it took on green hues, and then eventually grime built up until it was mostly brown from dirt, grass stain, and sweat. Eventually, the stains were so substantial that the belt appeared black, and hence a black belt meant someone who was accomplished." This story, given the meticulous clenliness of the Japanese alone, is absolutely fantastic. Belts could be washed and surely were, and the amount of rotting and degredation to fabric for it to turn black from that kind of soiling would have caused diseases that just didn't happen. Furthermore, why are students only thrown in grass at first, preventing dirt stains on their belts from arising until it's so grass-stained that it is largely green? If you throw someone down a bunch of times in one spot, the grass dies and there's dirt, usually before there are all that many grass stains. Honestly, I can't believe this kind of thing has been spread through time, continues to be spread (obviously without actually thinking about it), and (worst of all) was something I actually believed made sense when I heard it the first time.
Advantages of Belt-Ranking Systems
Ranking markers have a few distinct advantages, some of which are objective and some of which are subjective, or, rather, cultural. For the purposes of the ensuing discussion, unless otherwise noted, assume that the belt-ranking system is ideal and genuinely meaningful in an objective way. Points about how it is, in practice, sub-ideal will be discussed primarily in the "disadvantages" section below.
The disadvantages of belt-ranking systems in the martial arts world are probably more substantive than the advantages, although from a martial-arts-as-a-business perspective, I don't believe they're genuinely outweighed.
A quick history, if my information is correct, on this practice is that thin cords of various colors were worn in Japan by swimmers to help distinguish them at some point in that sport's history, and this practice was observed by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of Judo, and observed to have merit for ranking students, since the judo gi required a belt to hold it properly closed as it was. The practice then spread to other martial arts, and then all kinds of ridiculous legends about where the colors came from arose, such as the following: "In the beginning, everyone's belt was white, and then it yellowed with sweat over time and got grungy. Due to being thrown in the grass repetetively, it took on green hues, and then eventually grime built up until it was mostly brown from dirt, grass stain, and sweat. Eventually, the stains were so substantial that the belt appeared black, and hence a black belt meant someone who was accomplished." This story, given the meticulous clenliness of the Japanese alone, is absolutely fantastic. Belts could be washed and surely were, and the amount of rotting and degredation to fabric for it to turn black from that kind of soiling would have caused diseases that just didn't happen. Furthermore, why are students only thrown in grass at first, preventing dirt stains on their belts from arising until it's so grass-stained that it is largely green? If you throw someone down a bunch of times in one spot, the grass dies and there's dirt, usually before there are all that many grass stains. Honestly, I can't believe this kind of thing has been spread through time, continues to be spread (obviously without actually thinking about it), and (worst of all) was something I actually believed made sense when I heard it the first time.
Advantages of Belt-Ranking Systems
Ranking markers have a few distinct advantages, some of which are objective and some of which are subjective, or, rather, cultural. For the purposes of the ensuing discussion, unless otherwise noted, assume that the belt-ranking system is ideal and genuinely meaningful in an objective way. Points about how it is, in practice, sub-ideal will be discussed primarily in the "disadvantages" section below.
- Objective Advantage: A ranking marker like a belt has the distinct advantage of indicating hierarchy within the system in a clear way, which is useful for instructors to keep tabs on the general level of the group and of individuals without requiring extensive observation. It provides a level of expectation and allows a level of assumption that facilitate the process of instruction. It also gives a clear indication to lower-level students on which people from which they should be able to expect to gain valuable insight.
- Objective Advantage: The belt-ranking system is a clear and effective external/extrinsic motivator. Students are likely to be able to identify with and find value in the promotion from one belt to the next. Sometimes, a little extra motivation is very helpful in getting a body out there and training. The method, for the beginners of an art at least, has a strong effect in both short-term and long-term goal setting. These situations, of course, have their downsides, discussed below.
- Subjective Advantage: Students are likely to take pride in and elevate themselves to a perceived level of practice indicative of the rank they hold or belt they wear, particularly in the lower/initial phases of training.
- Cultural Advantage: Prospective students and even students themselves place cultural value in the symbol indicated by the ranking belt. In what I've seen, belts and sashes are held in largely equal esteem culturally, since they are, in fact, essentially the same thing (belts carry the idea that they are for holding your pants up, but martial arts belts are no good for that purpose and are indeed used more appropriately as a "sash" to hold closed a kimono or gi, a typical traning uniform in Japanese-derived martial arts). It's often enough easy for the students to make the "leap" from belts to colored shirts or pants or even necklaces, and so there is a perception of value in any ranking system that lends credibility to the art and its instructor, since there is a perception of some objectivity in the promoting of students to various ranks (although no such objectivity truly exists in any meaningful way across the board). A high-ranking belt held by an instructor is therefore, objectively, a valuable marketing tool.
- Cultural Advantage: Particularly prospective students, but indeed many students of the martial arts in the West, at least, associate belts with a "real" martial arts program. The concept of "black belt" is so deeply ingrained in the iconography of West that literally a program without belts, or some equivalent, is often deemed to be a charlatain operation -- a real and present challenge for recruiting to Yin Style Bagua study groups since we do not wear or use belts or any equivalents, at least not to my knowledge and certainly not officially. It is possible that the growing attention to MMA (mixed martial arts) which seems to discard this line of thinking may change that perception, but as there are also no rings, octagons, widespread media outlets, or multi-million-dollar cash purses for training YSB, I doubt we'll see much positive effect from the MMA-loving community. Time may change that, but we shall have to see about that... in time.
- Marketing, as mentioned above;
- Selling belts (or equivalents), typically at a steep profit;
- Belt testing (or equivalents), typically with steep testing/promotion fees, i.e. profit;
- Student retention, via goal-setting, though this usually eventually backfires;
- Marketing again, in a more insidious but increasingly popular way: Many schools now offer an all-inclusive, pay upfront deal "this much (usually thousands upon thousands of dollars) money now and all of your lessons until you earn x belt/rank (usually black) are paid for in advance, good for your whole life or until you achieve said rank." This is particularly insidious because only about 0.01 (one in a hundred) students make it from beginner to black belt even in a fairly watered-down program and would usually have therefore paid less to have tried it until they didn't like it, quit, and then paid out the remaining of their training contracts (another typical vestage of martial arts schools in the West). This kind of program is obviously manufactured to the owner's advantage or else it wouldn't exist, particularly because it starts to give off a strongly rotten stink of "buying a (black) belt," see below for more.
The disadvantages of belt-ranking systems in the martial arts world are probably more substantive than the advantages, although from a martial-arts-as-a-business perspective, I don't believe they're genuinely outweighed.
- The belts are arbitrary: This is pretty clearly true to anyone that doesn't buy into them, and more strangely seems to be held simultaneously true and false by everyone that wears a belt for long enough in many of the martial arts programs I've seen. "The belt doesn't matter," people say. "It's what you know that counts, and you still know it when you take off your belt." Right. Then why are you holding it when you walk around and demanding people call you by your rank-given title? Why do you put stripes on it? Why do you care what color it is? One problem with this situation is that eventually people either realize this fact and lose some faith in the belt system and are kind of forced to believe in double-speak or they never realize it and live a proud, empty life centered on their rank and title (see below for more). Another problem is that the entire system, because there isn't an infinitely large rainbow and because there isn't an infinitely long belt, is that this system is inherently limited. That puts a "finish line" on the process for many people, and for most, that finish line is "black belt." Look at the attrition rate of almost any commercial martial arts school's black-belt level students compared with its rate among students that clear the first half of the "under black belt" ranks. I'm pretty sure more people quit within a few months of earning black belt than otherwise. That seems a bit disturbing and is obviously centered on the belt-awarding system itself: "I achieved this goal, so now I'm done with this." What an empty practice.
- Ego and pride: I've met an awful lot of people that believe they're very important or, in some cases, some of the best martial artists in a town, state, region, country, or the world based on the fact that they wear a particular belt and umpteen-three people signed a certificate saying that they deserved to wear that belt. Many of them might deserve some recognition for what they've done, but as often as not it seems to grant more self-importance than anything else. It certainly doesn't grant martial skill, even in the case where it's warranted, and in fact seems, often enough, to grant just the opposite in a way (see the next point).
- Sense of having accomplished: Possessing a sense of accomplishment about one's training is very important, I think, and valuable to the continuity of it. This, in fact, is one of the advantages of a belt-ranking system. This disadvantage, which is different -- a sense of having accomplished, which is in the pluperfect (past perfect) tense, is very common, as I've seen it. I've even been guilty of it. It can be summed up by the following attitude: "I am a Glory Belt; I have accomplished; I no longer have to accomplish," although the last part of that attitude is only actually expressed in regards to things like doing basic exercises and whatnot. For myself, after earning a black belt in karate, I essentially stopped the practice of stretching all together and lost a huge proportion of my once rather impressive and quite valuable flexibility. I figured that warm-ups and stretching were optional for black belts, and so I didn't really need to do them any longer. I had arrived, if you will. The prevalence of "coffee dans," as they're somtimes called (dan means black-belt-level ranks in the world of Japanese-based martial arts, usually with an ordinal number given before it to indicate rank and can be taken to mean "__-degree black belt," where the __ indicates the ordinal, like third) is pretty high. I'd guess more folks with 3rd degree black belts and higher don't do as much working out/training as they do talking and "instructing," as compared with how many do train regularly and honestly, and even fewer still work hard on basic developmental exercises. While that's a subjective proportion, I think I'm probably qualified in making that guess from my observations and experiences. I've also noticed that as the ordinal increases, particularly past "fifth," the amount of doing seems to decrease proportionally, though this is not a universal situation. In my opinion, though, higher rank should indicate more work, not less, but it usually goes the other way.
- Extrinsic motivation: The motivation conferred by belt systems, because they are ultimately arbitrary and actually rather empty of meaning, is entirely extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation can only take you so far, particularly in a system where faith is lost in the motivator as time passes because of its obvious arbitrarity.
- Non-objectivity: There is no, and really can be no, universal board that indicates meaningfully what the level of black belt means. It varies widely from style to style, system to system, and school to school within any given system. Of course, these requirements are typically a huge source of pride for people at each school, usually all of whom believe their belt requirements are the best, most comprehensive, most meaningful, etc. That means that one of the main values of a belt-ranking system is only valid in the microcosm: the tiny world within a particular martial arts school, occasionally a larger martial arts system of schools, or a necessarily rather small organization of similar martial arts schools. The rectification of this issue is a nearly impossible goal to realize, even on the small scale, because as everyone knows, the more rules, regulations, and beaurocracy that enter into any system, the more sluggish and ineffective it becomes. Furthermore, people in terms of both students and instructors are different people with different opinions on what is passing quality and what isn't, on what is important and worth ignoring, and so on. The only way to really make objectivity work is to have a central testing board with well-written, clear, objective proficiencies that must be obtained, and that is strongly limiting in terms of how large such an organization can hope to become. It also turns the higher-level practitioners into administrators instead of active participants in the art. They just can't possibly have time for both. That's going to lead to a degredation of the objective quality over time all by itself. Subjectivity is the rule in this regard, but it further renders the ranking system meaningless.
- Money talks: It's commonly said and largely true: if a school is commercial and wishes to retain its students, eventually rank promotion has to occur. That means eventually, almost without regard to proficiency so long as some very basic requirements can be satisfied, people move forward if they've played for long enough, unless the instructor is so high in his/her standards that (s)he is willing to sacrifice his/her own business to adhere to principles. In this world, most people can't afford that kind of austerity, and those that can frequently aren't willing to. That further degrades the objectivity of rank in a deeper and more meaningful way than from school-to-school: it really means that a belt rank is meaningful only in context to the individual. This, of course, is the only real measure of performance that actually matters, and so this could be a good thing hidden within a bad one except that the rank is still billed, particularly within the school, as being substantive in an objective sense. Students aren't universally sheep and can see this kind of thing, which makes it clear that there is some level of double-speak even within the confines of a particular school. Of coruse, the ability (or perceived ability) to "buy a belt" at "McDojo" is perhaps one of the biggest injuries to the spread and growth of martial arts that's out there, turning off perhaps the most valuable sector of the population from training -- those that think training should be about getting good at something, not just about getting, earning, or wearing a belt (or equivalent).
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Two Weeks Until the Seminar
The 2009 Fall Tour kicks off here in Knoxville in just a day over two weeks. Yikes! The preparations still to do for the seminar and for my training... what a list! In any case, here's a slightly more detailed version of what's going on, just in case anyone stumbles upon this and is interested. For practical "I'm interested in coming" information, see my previous post on the matter by clicking here.
Very General Overview:
The first two days (Thursday, Friday) focus on foundational training and the last two days (Saturday, Sunday) focus on turning, forms, and applications. Both dadao (big saber) and shuai jiao (fast wrestling) practice are scheduled during the last two days. The seminar is open, requiring no previous experience in Yin Style Baguazhang, although having some background at least in the martial arts or fitness would be helpful. Interested parties can schedule to attend full days or half days (save the last half-day) individually or attend the entire seminar (recommended in all cases where it is possible). Contact us for details (see below for a link to contact information).
Thursday, September 24, 8:00a-12:00p
The morning session of this foundational day focuses on the Sweeping Palm of the Lion System. First is standing strengthening practice in the Lion representational posture and the sweeping palm posture. Then the remainder of the morning is devoted to practicing sweeping strikes and basic striking combinations. If you've never done any Yin Style Baguazhang and are interested and able to come to a Thursday morning session, this is the ideal place to start.
Thursday, September 24, 1:30p-6:00p
The afternoon session of this foundational day focuses on the Cutting Palm of the Lion System. The afternoon will proceed like the morning with "cutting" replacing "sweeping" for the first three and a half hours of this 270-minute session. Cutting is another excellent place for beginners to find something, so if you can't make a Thursday morning session but can make it in the afternoon, this is good for you. The afternoon session finishes with a new-to-essentially-everyone session in some of the basic kicks of Yin Style Baguazhang, lasting for one hour. The time in between the sessions, obviously, is a break for rest and lunch.
Friday, September 25
This foundational day follows the same framework as the previous day, focusing on the Chopping Palm of the Lion System and the Hooking Palm of the Lion System in the morning and afternoon respectively. The times are the same as Thursday's times for both sessions. These practices, while different from the material on Thursday, are also excellent foundational material, and in some ways they echo the themes of the material from Thursday. Thus, if you cannot make a Thursday session but can make a Friday session, this day would still be great for beginners to come to. The day will wrap up with another hour-long session of studying the kicks of Yin Style Bagua, sampling a few others from the system.
This is a photo from one of the foundational days in the recent London Intensive in which He Jinbao directs myself and another noteworthy practitioner in some fundamental practices. Applications such as these will be largely or entirely reserved for the final day of our seminar. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.
Saturday, September 26, Morning
The times are the same as for the previous days, but the focus on Saturday is different. The morning session starts off with circle-turning practice in the representational posture of the Lion System and then studies one of the forms from that system: Enfolding Cutting. Drilling the form and strikes from the form, likely with combinations included, is on the menu. If you're a beginner and interested in coming to this session, it may be in your best interest to contact one of us as soon as possible for a quick primer in this seven-movement form.
Saturday, September 26, Afternoon
This day's afternoon session focuses on another of the forms of the Lion System: Windmill Cutting. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this day's session will be on basic drills with the bagua big saber (dadao)
Sunday, September 27, Morning
The morning session on Sunday, with the same times as previously, is similar to that on Saturday morning: circle turning training and a Lion System form -- Moving with the Force Seizing. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this session will be the beginning of a structured, long applications session. We will hold this session at a different location from the others to have access to mats.
Sunday, September 27, Afteroon
The afternoon session on Sunday is for applications practice, reviewing and learning to apply many of the techniques studied in the previous days' sessions. This is the sole session that carries a full prerequisite that you've attended something previous to it in order to attend. The session will be structured around the material we covered throughout the seminar and last for three and a half hours, the last hour of the last day being reserved for some fun tussling in shuai jiao, which is a bit like judo but faster and with a different philosophy. The goal here is less to develop skill in shuai jiao and more to get some practice with that kind of exercise and feeling the weight of a resisting opponent. We will still be in the matted environment for this session.
This photo is of myself and yet another noteworthy practitioner practicing applications. In this scene, I am taking him down with a basic cutting palm strike. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.
If you think you can or want to come and you haven't made that explicit to our tour organizer, please follow this link to his contact information and contact him as soon as possible.
Very General Overview:
The first two days (Thursday, Friday) focus on foundational training and the last two days (Saturday, Sunday) focus on turning, forms, and applications. Both dadao (big saber) and shuai jiao (fast wrestling) practice are scheduled during the last two days. The seminar is open, requiring no previous experience in Yin Style Baguazhang, although having some background at least in the martial arts or fitness would be helpful. Interested parties can schedule to attend full days or half days (save the last half-day) individually or attend the entire seminar (recommended in all cases where it is possible). Contact us for details (see below for a link to contact information).
Thursday, September 24, 8:00a-12:00p
The morning session of this foundational day focuses on the Sweeping Palm of the Lion System. First is standing strengthening practice in the Lion representational posture and the sweeping palm posture. Then the remainder of the morning is devoted to practicing sweeping strikes and basic striking combinations. If you've never done any Yin Style Baguazhang and are interested and able to come to a Thursday morning session, this is the ideal place to start.
Thursday, September 24, 1:30p-6:00p
The afternoon session of this foundational day focuses on the Cutting Palm of the Lion System. The afternoon will proceed like the morning with "cutting" replacing "sweeping" for the first three and a half hours of this 270-minute session. Cutting is another excellent place for beginners to find something, so if you can't make a Thursday morning session but can make it in the afternoon, this is good for you. The afternoon session finishes with a new-to-essentially-everyone session in some of the basic kicks of Yin Style Baguazhang, lasting for one hour. The time in between the sessions, obviously, is a break for rest and lunch.
Friday, September 25
This foundational day follows the same framework as the previous day, focusing on the Chopping Palm of the Lion System and the Hooking Palm of the Lion System in the morning and afternoon respectively. The times are the same as Thursday's times for both sessions. These practices, while different from the material on Thursday, are also excellent foundational material, and in some ways they echo the themes of the material from Thursday. Thus, if you cannot make a Thursday session but can make a Friday session, this day would still be great for beginners to come to. The day will wrap up with another hour-long session of studying the kicks of Yin Style Bagua, sampling a few others from the system.
This is a photo from one of the foundational days in the recent London Intensive in which He Jinbao directs myself and another noteworthy practitioner in some fundamental practices. Applications such as these will be largely or entirely reserved for the final day of our seminar. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.Saturday, September 26, Morning
The times are the same as for the previous days, but the focus on Saturday is different. The morning session starts off with circle-turning practice in the representational posture of the Lion System and then studies one of the forms from that system: Enfolding Cutting. Drilling the form and strikes from the form, likely with combinations included, is on the menu. If you're a beginner and interested in coming to this session, it may be in your best interest to contact one of us as soon as possible for a quick primer in this seven-movement form.
Saturday, September 26, Afternoon
This day's afternoon session focuses on another of the forms of the Lion System: Windmill Cutting. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this day's session will be on basic drills with the bagua big saber (dadao)
Sunday, September 27, Morning
The morning session on Sunday, with the same times as previously, is similar to that on Saturday morning: circle turning training and a Lion System form -- Moving with the Force Seizing. Again, you might want a primer on the seven-movement form if you can come to this session. The last hour of this session will be the beginning of a structured, long applications session. We will hold this session at a different location from the others to have access to mats.
Sunday, September 27, Afteroon
The afternoon session on Sunday is for applications practice, reviewing and learning to apply many of the techniques studied in the previous days' sessions. This is the sole session that carries a full prerequisite that you've attended something previous to it in order to attend. The session will be structured around the material we covered throughout the seminar and last for three and a half hours, the last hour of the last day being reserved for some fun tussling in shuai jiao, which is a bit like judo but faster and with a different philosophy. The goal here is less to develop skill in shuai jiao and more to get some practice with that kind of exercise and feeling the weight of a resisting opponent. We will still be in the matted environment for this session.
This photo is of myself and yet another noteworthy practitioner practicing applications. In this scene, I am taking him down with a basic cutting palm strike. Click on the image to see it slightly larger.If you think you can or want to come and you haven't made that explicit to our tour organizer, please follow this link to his contact information and contact him as soon as possible.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
How a Timer Can Help Your Training
Someone's going to jump up and down about this, particularly after my recent post about tips for circle-turning practice in which I had a subject heading labeled
Convenience
You can easily set a timer and decide to do an exercise, class of exercises, or exercise routine until the timer goes off. This is convenient if you have a known, limited amount of time in which to train ("my roast is done in an hour, time to rock out some training without worrying about burning it!") or if you need/want something external to really push you. Be sure to get a timer with an alarm that is loud enough so that you don't have any desire to go running over to it to check it periodically which is a sure sign that your mind is not fully on your training. A good use of the timer is to take your mind off of how long you have to train and let it do the worrying-about-that for you. This, by the way, is a distinct difference from using a clock, which you'd have to continually check.
Accountability
A timer is a funny little object in that it has no mind, no authority, and no power whatsoever as it is only measuring an arbitrary duration with arbitrary (but agreed-upon) units to some debatable level of accuracy, and yet it's pretty easy to hold yourself accountable to those little bad-boys. Set the timer, do whatever you've decided to do until the timer goes off, and let it be keep you on task until the time goes off. You can always do more if that wasn't enough or if it lit your fire, with or without the timer. Remember one of my golden training rules, though, when you set out on this kind of practice: things are easier to write down than to do.
Challenging Yourself
Let's say you have a good idea of how many such-and-suches that you can do effectively and roughly how long that takes. Using a timer to tack on a little more time ("a little" is defined in terms of the exercise you're doing) than what you are pretty sure you can do well and committing to trying your damnedest to perform through that whole time. If you can, then it benefited you. If you can't, then remember that the goal is quality, not quantity, and so you can do what you can do with quality, rest a bit, and then pick it back up to finish out the time (you might stop the timer while you're resting) when you've had a little break to regain steam. Since it's easy to be accountable to a timer, this is an excellent use of the timer in your training. After convenience (because I have a lot of crap to do in my life too), this is my primary use of a training timer.
Keeping Your Mind On Task
This really falls under "convenience" and was mentioned there, but it's so valuable and important that it gets its own little separate place too. If you're doing strikes or turning or whatever, and you're measuring what you're doing by counting them, which is totally natural, commonplace, and fine for certain things, then your mind isn't entirely on your training. It's great for group training, but then again, the timer serves the same function here. You can set a timer to a rough number by knowing roughly how many strikes you can do in a minute if you're doing them at the right speed (~30, btw). How can you find that out for yourself instead of comparing against my numbers? Do some strikes, count them, and time it. Figure out strikes per minute by dividing the number of strikes you did by the number of minutes it took (Math Note: There are not 100 seconds in a minute, and thus there is a meaningful difference between "one minute and twenty-three seconds" and "1.23 minutes." You can avoid having to convert to correct for this kind of thing by setting the timer for something like five minutes, doing your strikes, and letting the count be as it will). The same goes for turning if you're a revolutions-counter. Make sure to keep the timer out of view while you train, or this aspect probably goes right out the window as the timer becomes a distraction instead of a tool to increase focus.
There are also improper ways to use the timer and should be watched for and avoided: letting it be your cop-out if you're not pushing yourself hard enough when you have the time to train more than you are (the timer went off, so I was done), allowing "how long" you did something to matter in any way to you whatsoever other than as a rough measure of progress or conditioning, and allowing your training goals to start to center more on time (quantity) than on quality, for some examples. These insidious little problems are easy to let creep in, so you want to stay aware of them and let them pass.
Here are a couple of examples of how I use a timer to get in some really nice little workouts (ignoring the obvious "convenience" factor labeled above):
Do Not Base Your Turning on a Clock, a Number of Revolutions, or Some Other Crap that Isn't Worth a Damn.I hope not to be flamed about this because a timer can be and is a helpful training tool if it is used correctly. Here, I endeavor to describe more fully what role a timer plays in my training and how it could help or potentially hinder yours. Here are some proper uses of the timer in training:
Convenience
You can easily set a timer and decide to do an exercise, class of exercises, or exercise routine until the timer goes off. This is convenient if you have a known, limited amount of time in which to train ("my roast is done in an hour, time to rock out some training without worrying about burning it!") or if you need/want something external to really push you. Be sure to get a timer with an alarm that is loud enough so that you don't have any desire to go running over to it to check it periodically which is a sure sign that your mind is not fully on your training. A good use of the timer is to take your mind off of how long you have to train and let it do the worrying-about-that for you. This, by the way, is a distinct difference from using a clock, which you'd have to continually check.
Accountability
A timer is a funny little object in that it has no mind, no authority, and no power whatsoever as it is only measuring an arbitrary duration with arbitrary (but agreed-upon) units to some debatable level of accuracy, and yet it's pretty easy to hold yourself accountable to those little bad-boys. Set the timer, do whatever you've decided to do until the timer goes off, and let it be keep you on task until the time goes off. You can always do more if that wasn't enough or if it lit your fire, with or without the timer. Remember one of my golden training rules, though, when you set out on this kind of practice: things are easier to write down than to do.
Challenging Yourself
Let's say you have a good idea of how many such-and-suches that you can do effectively and roughly how long that takes. Using a timer to tack on a little more time ("a little" is defined in terms of the exercise you're doing) than what you are pretty sure you can do well and committing to trying your damnedest to perform through that whole time. If you can, then it benefited you. If you can't, then remember that the goal is quality, not quantity, and so you can do what you can do with quality, rest a bit, and then pick it back up to finish out the time (you might stop the timer while you're resting) when you've had a little break to regain steam. Since it's easy to be accountable to a timer, this is an excellent use of the timer in your training. After convenience (because I have a lot of crap to do in my life too), this is my primary use of a training timer.
Keeping Your Mind On Task
This really falls under "convenience" and was mentioned there, but it's so valuable and important that it gets its own little separate place too. If you're doing strikes or turning or whatever, and you're measuring what you're doing by counting them, which is totally natural, commonplace, and fine for certain things, then your mind isn't entirely on your training. It's great for group training, but then again, the timer serves the same function here. You can set a timer to a rough number by knowing roughly how many strikes you can do in a minute if you're doing them at the right speed (~30, btw). How can you find that out for yourself instead of comparing against my numbers? Do some strikes, count them, and time it. Figure out strikes per minute by dividing the number of strikes you did by the number of minutes it took (Math Note: There are not 100 seconds in a minute, and thus there is a meaningful difference between "one minute and twenty-three seconds" and "1.23 minutes." You can avoid having to convert to correct for this kind of thing by setting the timer for something like five minutes, doing your strikes, and letting the count be as it will). The same goes for turning if you're a revolutions-counter. Make sure to keep the timer out of view while you train, or this aspect probably goes right out the window as the timer becomes a distraction instead of a tool to increase focus.
There are also improper ways to use the timer and should be watched for and avoided: letting it be your cop-out if you're not pushing yourself hard enough when you have the time to train more than you are (the timer went off, so I was done), allowing "how long" you did something to matter in any way to you whatsoever other than as a rough measure of progress or conditioning, and allowing your training goals to start to center more on time (quantity) than on quality, for some examples. These insidious little problems are easy to let creep in, so you want to stay aware of them and let them pass.
Here are a couple of examples of how I use a timer to get in some really nice little workouts (ignoring the obvious "convenience" factor labeled above):
- Turning: I set the timer, put it "over there" and turn until it goes off. If I cannot maintain the posture even by switching sides often, then I rest my arms by bringing them down or picking another posture to turn in (lower posture, chopping posture as a counter to the Lion posture, "tripod posture" for strength, Rooster posture because I got told to do it sometimes when I was in London, etc. There are lots of postures to choose from). After a bit, I go back to the Lion posture (or whichever you're currently focusing on) and do it as well as I can again. This process repeats until I use up all of the time.
- Saber: A favorite new drill of mine is to set a timer for a fixed time (usually 20 minutes) and then "not put down my saber" in that whole time. The real goal is, of course, to do drills for the entire time, and it's a wicked workout. There are drills, sections of the form, turning postures, and standing postures to choose from, and none of them lasts for a terribly long time with that beast, so it's a varied and exciting workout. If I "can't think of another drill to do" at any given moment, I do tracing the saber until something comes to mind. It doesn't ever take long. I do most of the drills as equally as possible in each hand to give one a rest while the other gets some work. It would be far harder to do it otherwise.
- Basic Drills: This applies to any martial art, actually, not just Yin Style Baguazhang. I pick one drill, set a timer, and try to do the best I can with it until the timer goes off. I usually pick a time period that pushes me a little but that isn't so hard that I have to really cheat to finish. For example, today I did tracing the saber for five minutes, switching hands whenever I needed to. It worked great. I got about 100 on each side, so now I have a rough timing mechanism too (40 traces per minute, roughly). I do this with strikes and forms as well. Strikes, I think, is obvious in method, and forms go by setting the timer to several minutes (5 or 8) and doing a particular form repetetively until time runs out, trying to make it as good and powerful as I can throughout. It's kind of sad to think about, but eight minutes straight of a form is kind of hard, and that's really not that long of a time period.
- Standing Practice: Obvious. Stand for a set time on a side, switch (helps to have a person working the timer for you). Do it again until you don't want to do it any more (two or three times on each side is usually pretty good). Alternatively, set a time (5-10 minutes is hard) and stand, switching sides as needed, until time runs out.
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