Xue Sheng's - Old beat up guy returns to training log

Had MD appointment today.......



I'm back

 

Ahh that feels better

I was able to do part of my Yoga routine this evening.... It felt really foot to be back at it.

Still not brave enough for forward bends and inversions, but I am working my way back to them

Good night MAP

 

That, right there, is a REAL good reason why I should not post when I'm tired and my eyes are sore....

Should have been "It felt really good to be back at it"

 

Back training Taiji with my sifu again and it feels damn good too.

Next....Yong Chun

 

I'm sick...AGAIN!!!

Just got over a sinus infection and then the kids came home sick form school.... now.... I am sick

 

Those kid's always bringing colds home from school. Been there and done that way to many times!

 

Well I followed Gilad and it ain't bad for a beat up worn out old guy but the high rep low weight stuff is irritating my tennis elbow.

On the MA front, I was looking at and training a bit of Wing Chun, still think it is a cool art but after the last class I realized I know more about taijiquan than I give myself credit for and that kicked off the thought that I would be better off continuing with my Yang style and if I want something more I should work on my Chen and forget Wing Chun...of course the thought of Xingyiquan did rear its ugly, nasty, violent and oh so cool head.... but it is all just thoughts at the moment...

 

As a side

China is so far
My Brother-in-law is there
I must punch his face

Thank you...now I can carry on with the regularly scheduled thread

 

You know...

it is time to post less (on all forums) and train more.....

 

I have done, or worked on, various styles of taiji in the last 20 or so years; Yang, Chen, Wu, CMC, Competition forms, my main style has always been Yang though. But it is no secret my favorite was always Chen and recently I found 2 Chen style teachers in my area from 2 different lineages. I don't know much about either person yet, but I have been looking into it with the thought of going back to train some Chen.

But a recent talk with a friend of mine who is a Xingyi/Bagua/Taiji guy has me thinking. He was wondering why anyone needed more than one style since underneath they are all pretty much the same, his words "You know one you pretty much know them all".

Although I do not 100% agree with that statement I have to admit he is making a lot of sense.

Something for me to contemplate

 

It is very cool when you are doing push hands with a man in his late 70s, who is half your size, and he locks you, before you even realize it, and then he moves you around with great ease.

Push hands with sifu last night

 

Using the TotalGym again also last night Taiji and this morning Yoga

Still thinking about Chen and I have to admit it is not seeming all that exciting as compared to the possibility of training other again that I once trained.. that I could train again if I wanted and it would easier than Chen to train them, based solely on proximity

 

Total Gym last night and then did Yang Taijiquan.

But I have this nagging feeling, I pretty much always have this nagging feeling, that I should still be doing Xingyiquan.

 

Work on Xingyiquan Wuxingquan again last night (Xingyiquan 5 elements fist)

 

Yup, working on Xingyiquan, right knee and hip hurting again. I can do Yang style, I can work on Chen style, hell I can even work on JKD striking basics on a heavy bag and my knees and hip are fine... but as soon as I start Xingyi they hurt.

I ever say I want to start Xingyi again...or that I have started Xingyi again...someone PLEASE tell me "stop being and idiot and work on things that DON'T hurt your knees you old beat-up geezer"

 

Well I have made a decision. I am going to make the call today, talk with the shifu and set up a time to start training Chen Style again. Not stopping Yang style but the opportunity is there and I really need to take advantage of it or I will regret it down the road.

I have always liked Chen but it has been hard to train much due to the lack of good teachers locally, and that has been what I have saying for years and it is the reason I ended up in Yang. Most of my Chen training I have had to travel over 100 miles to train. A couple of times I was lucky enough to train with CZL and I got more than mist did form his seminar because my wife was his translator. Well now it is time to put up or shut up and see where it goes.

 

I have returned to working out and the challenge (Gilad) had o stop due to a minor knee issue (at least that was my excuse). This morning I was thinking about fitness folk, Gilad (60 years old), Jack LeLane (died at 96 Years old) and even the guy that plays Sporticus on the TV show my youngest use to watch, Magnús Scheving (49 years old). But it is not just them, a lot of people in the fitness business are in great shape and they should be, it is their job.

I then started to think about martial artists of the same age and I have to say, in general they do not seem to be in the same shape, or for that matter, even close to the same shape as those above… myself included.

It is not that martial artists of the same age group are not skilled, they most certainly are, it is just they do not appear to be as fit as those in the fitness arena. And I do not actually expect them to be the same since the focus is a bit different, but in some cases they are not even close (myself included)

Nothing much else to say… it just got me thinking about focus and what to focus on these days

 

Going to go waaaaaaay back in my training and go check out a martial arts school this weekend that is in the style I started in over 40 years ago, Jujutsu. I am just not sure exactly which style I trained but this one is Hakkoryu Jujutsu.

Of late, even though it was over 40 years ago, I have had the feeling, when thinking about Jujutsu that it was unfinished business... now I will go take a look and decide if this old beatup broken down old MAist thinks he could handle it again....

 

A Poem

did some sparing the other day
held my own I must say
took one in the eye
knee hurts I could cry
but the old guy did walk away

Today I can't walk
But I can still talk
It is hard to see
nothing new to me
but I think I shall see the Doc

Something I did miss
in ignorance there's bliss
now what was that thought
that I had when I fought
Oh yeah, I'm to old for this

 

Excellent poetry! One that I shall take to heart.

About a decade ago, I was sparring a young kid I nicknamed "The Rabbit" because he'd hop around the ring. For the first round, I chased him like an idiot and wore myself out.

By the second round, I'd grown wiser. I basically stayed in one place, let him hop around and come to me. Then I'd cover up for a couple of his shots, pop him with a few of mine and send him hopping again. Did this the entire time and just varied up the punch/kick combinations.

Old age and wisdom trumps youth and exuberance every time (or so I tell myself...)