• Archive through March 03, 2002 March 03 - 08:01 pm [20]

• Archive through March 09, 2002 March 09 - 03:47 am [20]

• Archive through March 15, 2002 March 15 - 07:06 pm [20]

• Archive through March 20, 2002 March 20 - 04:09 pm [20]

Sounds interesting Walter; think I remember seeing one of those videos in a wayfarer catalog. Perhaps I’ll buy one when I have the money, although I’m likely to buy Tim’s Nei Gong book first.

Reading Mr. Hopkin’s post makes me think that perhaps I am doing little to contribute to the low noise to signal ratio of this site. My apologies to all concerned; it has been a long winter (cabin fever) and in the small town where I live there are few Martial Artists and no other Internal stylists. It’s the kind of place where it’s easy to find a fight, but difficult to find good conversation.

In closing, I’d like to relate the reasons why I include something so faddish as Pilates in my routine (6-pack? man I’m 43 and nothing short of elective surgery is going get rid of the bit of gut I carry). Last year I was taking a self-defense class at my community college (gotta get those pesky PE credits fer that degree).

The guy teaching it owned a studio where he taught Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Muy Thai. He had put together a nice program with some - what is the name of that Israeli stuff?- Krav Maga?- Muy Thai and standing grappling. About 6 weeks into the semester he brings in one of his “guys” and tells us not to hold back on him (guess he was getting him ready for a fight at the Indian Casino down the way).

When it was my turn to practice with this young man, I decided to see if I still had anything left. Technically I “won”, managed to keep control, take him down and stay on top. However, I screwed my back up something fierce( it had been marginal most of the winter before this happened- stress of school plus work I suppose). I mean it was so bad I couldn’t even do my standing practice.

Desperate, I started looking for something to help rehabilitate my back and came across an article about dancers using Pilates to recuperate from injuries.

I gave it try and discovered it worked quite well. I think a lot of it has to do with keeping your back flat on the floor in many of the Mat based exercises (the only ones I have any experience with).

After about 4 weeks I was able to start standing again, and much to my surprise, I discovered that I could do Tai Chi with more ease than before the injury. This last summer I stopped doing Pilates, and after about 2 months began to notice a negative difference in my Tai Chi and my lower back. Since resuming Pilates again both have improved. I should say, however, that my back problems did not entirely clear up until after I began using a Chinese herbal prescription for Kidney Jing deficiency.

At any rate, perhaps the above will be of some use for any of you that are also middle aged martial artists suffering from back problems (my knees were pretty bad also, but after using the herbal formulae they also improved considerably).
Good Training to Y'all

This message is for Will Tarken. Regarding your post of March 6th, could you please tell me what you've heard about Wang Shu-jin having lost some matches? I've always read that he was undefeated, in Robert Smiths' works and others. I have read the two conflicting accounts of his encounter with an Aikido practitioner. Thanks in advance.

Idaho Joe,

For your cabin fever.

http://www.wordjazz.com/cgi-bin/wordjazz/mediaplayer.pl?clip=WordJazzRadio81

Idaho Joe,

I'm sorry you took my comments to mean that perhaps you were a bit long-winded. Actually, I enjoy your posts and tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to say so in my posting.

Second, a martial arts buddy of mine is preparing to take a certification test to become a Pilates instructor. He raves about how the routines build one's core strength.

Gerry H.

Gerry,
Don't be sorry- I am pretty damn longwinded

I used to have the name of some Xingyi dude on Taiwan who all the Chinese knew but he was no big shakes in the western press or books. I don't remember the name anymore but I guess I could call the Chinese guy from Taiwan who told me (he studied Xingyi since he was a pup). If I remember right it was something about he threw Wang Shu Jin up on a table.

One thing I got a clear impression of is that us westerners have a total different view of what goes on and who does what than the Chinese do. I got the feeling that we're often like little kids telling stories about things we only half understand.

Sence this has changed into a 'workout' chain. Sounds like many of you guys are trying to do too much (even those who aren't BSing. For best progress I find it works better for me to take just two movements at a time.(say, one upper body and one lower body. Just really concentrate on these for several months before moving on. I think on this that Park Bok Nam is right, three to six months minimum each, more is better.

Your absolutely right Mark. Certainly Everything I have read and heard about the best people in both hsing-yi and tai chi indicates that is the way they trained. Bringing the subject back towards the origin of this chain, isn't that what Wang Shu Jin suggested- just practice pi chuan over and over? At least that's what I've read in one of B.K. Frantzis's books. I did meet some folks at a Bagua camp in B.C. a few years ago who knew Hienz Rottmann(the younger brother of Mannfred, both of whom trained under Wang)and they said that was the way Hienz trained people who were serious. But isn't that exactly what separates the superior from the medicore? The single minded determination to persevere in building a solid foundation of basic skills?

Mark and Joe,
You may be right about the simplified approach, focusing on one or two movements, Mark. Maybe its just monkey mind, but I am comfortable with the approach I am using for now, emphasis on for now (training is a dynamic process, to state the obvious, and I can't predict where I will be routine wise in the future.)
Joe, we may both be long-winded, but I enjoyed our exchanges. As a 46-year-old, I can relate to the knees (my right acl ruptured 4 years ago, requiring surgery), the real life commitments, and the dearth of close company with which one can commiserate and exchange ideas. Keep training. (Btw, I enabled my email addres for this post if you want to exchange ideas outside this forum.)
Tim, thank you for having this forum for the free exhnage of ideas. Its great.
Good training all,
Walter

Will,
The Xing Yi teacher you're talking about is named Cao Lian Fang (Tsao Lian Fang). He was, by all accounts (among the top experts in Taiwan) by far the most competent Xing Yi Quan fighter to flee the Mainland to Taiwan.

Thanks, and yes that's it. I remember now. Too many 3-syllable names floating around in my head. That was in reply to Frank's impression that Wang Xu Jin had never been defeated. Robert Smith wrote a lot of things that are simply not true. I get the impression from some students of his and from people I know in martial arts that if Smith had to choose between a cool-sounding story and the truth, he would always go with the cool story and as many quotations as he could slip into every paragraph.

The main thing to remember is that all these martial artists are still people and not supermen. Despite all the qi standing and stuff for his health and qi flow, Wang, like everyone else, eventually died.

But hey, good health is only the slow way of dying. ))