Steam and Gas at Wushu Class (12/21)
(The alternate title for this blog was “Add Oil, Not Gas”, but I liked the rhyme better …)
I’m going to keep this one relatively short since I don’t have videos of photos to share. And also because I’m busy with work.
Today was my first morning class since training with the Shaanxi Team. A few things about the morning class I noticed right away:
- Holy Mother of Darth Vader, it is COLD outside at 8:00 AM. And it was cold in the wushu guan too. After 30 minutes of warming up and starting basics I still hadn’t broken a sweat yet. Getting your body temperature up in wushu class when you can see your breath steaming away is not all that easy.
- The wushu guan isn’t quite as crowded in the morning as it is in the afternoon. I guess that a lot of the little kids who do wushu don’t train that early — most likely in school where they belong — so it was just Coach Zhang’s group and the taiji folks today.
- Way more emphasis on forms in the morning than the afternoon. Which is kind of nice. Also, Monday morning is when Coach Zhang puts up the week’s training schedule on the wall so all the athletes clamor around it to see what hellacious tasks are in store for them in the coming 6 days. It is kind of fun.
The other problem I had going for me today was a really bad case of gas. No, I wasn’t passing gas. I just felt very uncomfortable and it was not easy to focus on training. After doing a couple combinations and sections I let the coach know that I wasn’t feeling well and sat out the rest of practice, watching the athletes do their thing.
Yue Xiao Yu asked me as we were leaving the wushu guan why I didn’t leave when I stopped training and I explained that I like to watch so that, even if I can’t train my body, I can at least train my mind and learn from what I see. She admitted that she liked doing that too. In fact, today her knee was acting up so she was sitting out pretty much most of the class, instead working out on the side thinking through her form.
I kept track of today’s schedule as well as what was on the schedule for Wednesday and thought I would share it with you guys here:
Monday:
- Jibbengong: All basics x 2
- Nandu: Each x 4
- 1/4 Forms: 16
- 1/2 Forms: 2
Wednesday:
- Jibbengong: x 1
- Nandu: x2
- 1/4 Forms: 40
So … everyone has to do 10 of each section on Wednesday? I was keeping track today and I’m not sure we did a whole 20 single sections, and I only saw a few guys doing half sets. But then, I was feeling gassy so I might not have noticed. lol.
Also, since I wasn’t taking video of the class, I was able to actually watch and analyze the athletes a bit better. There are a couple of them that are really quite amazing. And a few of them that weren’t as good as I thought they would be. hahaha. I suppose I should pay better attention and stop trying to snap video and photos for you guys. But then … I’m guessing you would prefer I take videos and photos, huh? 
Next practice is on Wednesday. I’ll see if I can’t actually keep up and get in a good workout this time around. And maybe bring a bottle of hot water with me to keep myself warm.
Also, I think on Wednesday afternoon Yue Xiao Yu and Wu Ya Nan (and possibly Qi Peng Hui) are coming over to my place to practice some English, so I’ll try to snap a few photos of that, or maybe do a WYN interview video.
‘Till then ….
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4 Responses to “Steam and Gas at Wushu Class (12/21)”
- Ruhi and Mark in L.A.! Come join us for pizza and yogurtland! Fri 7/30 @6:30 in Arcadia
- goodbye hong kong. i know not when i shall see you again ... stay muggy (as if you have a choice). http://tweetphoto.com/27296500
- @seeker009 "see the world you wish to change in your being" - me
- @DY_Sao love? self-determination? freedom? faith? the grace of God? cheetos?
- 2 meetings down, one more to go. heading from north point to shatin. http://tweetphoto.com/27024657
- the view from the train i am riding. on my way to admiralty for a meeting. http://tweetphoto.com/27002417
- i'd like to care about the world cup, but i just can't muster the energy. I'd rather do it than watch it ... and i dont even want to do it.
- at the McCafe in Shatin, waiting for my 10am meeting. i miss xi'an. http://tweetphoto.com/26753522
- i think 3a.m. is late enough for work. time to head home so i can make it to my morning meeting in shatin!
- @gohnakamura if you ever get np in a mv for that song you are golden!
Mark,
Its been a while !
your site has EVOLVED! as well as your SKILLS! great work!
Still jealous of you!
Stephen =D
Hey Stephen, Long time no talk. To be honest, my skills have actually deteriorated thanks to lots of tools that do most of the work for me. But keeping busy, as I’m sure you are as well. Take care!
Oh man, I am looking forward to the WYN interview! That guy is my Taiji hero! Could you ask him what kind of strength training they do for Taiji? I’m guessing it’s a lot of leg/quads work, but the type of leg strength required for Taiji and Wushu seem to be a little different (imo) so I am curious. Thanks!
Actually, he didn’t come over to my house after all. But it is still a plan of mine to interview him someday so I’ll keep your question in mind whenever that happens. In the meantime, I’m in the process of uploading some footage of his Friday morning practice, so hopefully that will hold you over for the time being. It should be up on my blog in an hour or so.