Harden the fuck up!

HTFU is the tagline of  "Chopper" Read as played by Australian comedy actor Heath Franklin on the Ronnie Johns show.

As far as traditional kung fu training goes he's right. It's very important to have a conditioning routine to toughen up the body. By conditioning I don't mean the plank, situps, burpees etc but hitting the body to toughen it up and also to get the practitioner used to the pain from taking hits.

When I first studied "kung fu" 10+ years ago it was something I was interested in but we never did in class. I learned about it from CMA forums and the internet and made my own "kui sau" post from a meter long log, some rope and some duct tape. This I hung off a bracket on my garden fence and used it daily to harden up my hands, arms, limbs etc.
When I went along to my first Chow Gar SPM class some 5 yrs later conditioning was one of the first things we did. I was sold!

Conditioning is something that can be done alone or with a partner and there are loads of single and two person drills available from many different systems.
What I'm going to do is link to some articles and videos on the different types of conditioning regimes practiced in CMA.

It's also very important to remember that if you are practicing conditioning you will need to use copious amounts of Dit Da Jow (fall hit wine) as this will increase the recovery time and also help with healing etc. I will cover Dit Da in more detail another time.

A good article from Sifu David Ross of NYSanda:

http://nysanda.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/making-pain-a-friend/


Some Chow Gar conditioning and training drills:

Ground and Pound.

Back into my Chow Gar Mantis lessons and have been having a great time the last few weeks.
Back to learning the ground fighting/kicking form Poon Loong Gerk. Had some cracking lessons lately going back over the form (I am rusty!) and going through applications.

I am very lucky to be learning this rare art so many thanks to my teacher Drew for putting me through so much pain lol.

Some basic apps are shown here:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=711262032275207



Also feel free to check out the Midland Kung Fu Schools facebook page and contact Drew Alpine for some for some lessons.

https://www.facebook.com/MidlandKungFuSchools

Traditional training hurts!

Hi folks. Had  good week of home training this week. Iron palm, gau choi conditioning and lots of strength and grip training using the implements below.

Grip training using the bamboo canes - these are really good for twisting etc to train locking etc and can also be used for body conditioning as demonstrated here from one of the UK Dit Ngau Tong Long schools:

alone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ftZxK9_M-w&list=UUZLcaxkdJioiEJgTrsDSdfw

with a partner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z827EMzPW2E&index=74&list=UUZLcaxkdJioiEJgTrsDSdfw

. Supplement jars - these are filled with iron filings and are a great tool for strengthening the grip for use in grabbing, clawing, ripping etc.

Logs - again another great grip and claw strengthening tool

Iron Palm bag - for the obvious reason and for conditioning hammer hand

Long pole - great for strengthening the wrists and forearms to help with grabbing etc.

Iron Bar - good for strengthening the arms, shoulders, back as well as conditioning the arms and help develop an iron bridge.

Stool - for sitting on after a knackering training session.

All these tools are easy and cheap to make or purchase and a great tools for traditional kung fu training.

Oh and not forgetting the good old chin na catch bag:

This can be filled with sand, gravel or shot and is a great tool to strengthen the grip, fingers, hand and forearm. Can be used solo or with a partner.

I'm Back!!

Apologies for lack of input over the last year or so. I have been really lazy and for that I apologise.
There will be some new instructional dvd reviews coming soon and updates to my Chow Gar Mantis training.
There's a very good Southern Praying Mantis page on facebook that has people from all the different Mantis systems from around the globe (and some from other CMA systems too!) sharing information, articles and even training footage.

I'll post the link as it's a very good resource even though there is the odd disagreement from time to time.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/southernmantis/

Enjoy!