01/october Not much to log of late due to extra long hours at work once again . Focusing what little time I have on taiji . Our class has shrunk to half a dozen which has actually helped us in making good progress with pau chui ( and fajin training ) , a new jian form and our Grandmasters new frame. Went to an event at the Tang Long school in north London last weekend with my daughter who was competing . Made more interesting by the small size of the venue and that there was just one mat for all categories ; hand/weapon forms and sanda . My daughter did well in the adult chen hand form , coming third competing against much older opposition , with afore-mentioned new frame . Hoping to get back on track with my running when this week's over - time to treat myself to some new shoes as another pair bites the dust .
26/nov Enjoying my taiji in class and at home , not much time for any other training until current work project is over in a couple of weeks . Just saw this Showreel clip , from the competition I mentioned in my previous post , at the Tang Long school in north London ; see brief account above . ( My daughter makes a brief appearance with her spear at about 1.30 ) https://youtu.be/oZthBD8iT9k
Ned that is an outstanding vid- no, film. Very nicely done; professional and dignified. That's a TMA school one can be proud to be associated with. { ::belltoller --> :cry: ::}
Happy new year to all those who care to look in on my log ! Been slowly building up my cardio again over the last few weeks after a bit of a lay off at the end of last year . Back running again regularly and doing skipping/bag routines when it's too late/dark/wet to get out . Only really had the time for my taiji class of late but am hoping to go check out a local TKD club run by an old mate where they have a kickboxing session midweek. Also planning on competing in push hands again early this year so that's an incentive to shift a few pounds - I'm almost a stone heavier than when I competed last year .
Glad to hear from you again. I've put on weight over the holidays as well, of course! Its soooo easy - its the one part of my physique that I don't have to work at at'tall to see any gains. Hateful curse of the post-30's-testosterone-decline
06/feb Yesterday I (along with my daughter and four other seniors from my class) had my first lesson with my shifu's taiji master ; grandmaster Kongjie Gou. Having had occasional seminars with him before , now we are starting a two year instructor course consisting of a supplementary class every other week the initial syllabus being largely based around silk reeling , fajin exercises and his own new frame. He's probably the top chen teacher in the country so it's a fantastic opportunity to develop and improve what I've learnt in taiji over the past five years or so. Enjoying regular running again and the usual home training routine coupled with a month off the booze and sensible eating means I've shifted about 5lbs of xmas flab. I have just begun learning bil jee (WC third form) and am continuing with dummy training , my daughter meanwhile has been having additional training sessions with a friend of my shifu's who is an ABA coach at the local boxing club and has also started learning the guan dao (a sort of broad bladed pole).
14/02 Interesting session at my daughters class yesterday . The visiting coach from the local ABA club brought down an old mate who's a local ex - pro called Barry Bennett , to work with them. He was fighting through the late 80's to early 90's and was a sparring partner to Nigel Benn , Chris Eubank and Michael Watson amongst others with some great stories/insights to share. He still has an obvious enthusiasm for training and love for the sport and the kids all came away with a buzz and some invaluable tips - hoping he'll be back nxt week... I might get the chance to put on some gloves myself !
04/April Been upping the cardio the last 6 weeks or so , in preparation for push hands competition at the end of the month. Mainly running on the evenings I'm not training plus some skipping alongside usual circuit exercises ,also been trying to get my weight down to a similar level to last year(68k) . Have been getting plenty of fixed/moving ph practice in taiji class , free and drilling sweeps and throws ( as well as new frame and weapons with grandmaster gou ). Did some sparring with my daughter after her lesson Saturday , also with a lad who's fighting in the sanda at the same event in a few weeks. Went through some drilling of low kicks/defences , catches and throws/sweeps from clinches mixed in with rounds of free sparring - all in all good prep for us both .
13/june Been a while since I updated this - pretty much been focused on just taiji this year . Am now about halfway into the first year of a two year certification course with our Grandmaster Kongjie Gou , focus at the moment being on silk reeling , learning new frame and broadsword. A trip to China is planned for next summer. Competed in two push hands competitions , with my first gold in moving step at Oxford in april and a bronze a couple of weeks ago in London. Although it was a relatively small turnout the standard was probably the best I've seen there and nearly all the matches were tight. I also made some interesting new connections , with plans for another more informal day of push hands matches in the pipeline , with the aim of getting in as many rounds against opponents from different clubs/schools as possible. Nothing in the way of clips this year ( unless I can retrieve them from other people ) but the organisers sent me a link to the competition gallery on their website where I found this action pic - yours truly with orange sash and serious expression
Back here on page 3, I've not updated in a while ! My middle daughter ( now 18 ) has recently been certified as a chen style tai chi instructor under her teacher Grandmaster Kongjie Gou. Need less to say I'm very proud of her application and perseverance to get to this point after ten years !
On Saturday my middle daughter, now 19, took part in her Baishi ceremony and was accepted as one of the last three disciples of our (Chen) taiji teacher Grandmaster Kongjie Gou, whilst I became his senior student. For anyone interested in lineage, our teacher was an indoor senior student of Chen Zhaokui ( son of Chen Fa Ke, father of Chen Yu. )
