© Dr Matthew Mills 2006
All rights reserved. The right of Dr Matthew Mills to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor translated
into machine language, without the written permission of the
publisher.
Published by Summersdale Publishers Ltd.
46 West Street, Chichester, West Sussex
PO19 1RP United Kingdom
www.summersdale.com
ISBN 978-1-84024-549-3
IMPORTANT NOTE
If you believe you may have a medical condition, the techniques
outlined in this book should not be attempted without first consulting
your doctor.
Some of the techniques in this book require a high level of fitness
and suppleness and should not be attempted by anyone lacking such
fitness.
The author and the publishers cannot accept any responsibility for
any proceedings brought or instituted against any person or body as
a result of the use or misuse of any techniques described in this book
or any loss, injury or damage caused thereby.
IMPORTANT NOTE
With thanks...
I would like to thank all those who have supported me in the completion
of this volume. I am especially grateful to Alan Gibson for his efforts as
editor. Thanks to Clive Kent for his superb design work. I am obliged
to Nicky Douglas of Summersdale for her support and guidance in
bringing this volume to market and Dr Jennifer Morris for her patience
in proofreading.
There are others, too numerous to mention, friends present and absent,
for whose contribution to my life I remain eternally indebted. If our
character is known from the company we keep, I am truly blessed.
With thanks
About the author
About the Author
Matthew Mills obtained an honours degree in Physiology from the
University of Leeds in 1989. He achieved his Masters degree in
Human and Applied Physiology from King’s College in 1990. Matthew
was awarded his PhD from the Department of Medicine, University
College London, in 1994. He went on to lecture in Sports Physiology
and Health Promotion at the University of Birmingham, Department of
Sport and Exercise.
In 1997 Matthew founded The Radical Health Strategy Group, drawing
together diverse interests in workplace health promotion from the public
and private sector. He led the group’s contribution to the Government
Green Paper, Our Healthier Nation, in 1998. He remains active in the
field, contributing to the Department of Works and Pensions and
Health & Safety Executive Stress at Work initiative. Matthew is widely
published on the subject of stress in the workplace and is a regular
conference speaker. Matthew consults for the Leadership and Cultural
Change consultants, Capstone International and ZOOM, whose
clients have included British American Formula One Racing, Reuters,
Johnson & Johnson, Pro-drive Rally and VISA. He has designed stress
management and executive training packages for all of these clients.
Matthew is also Director of MK Wealth Management, a City-based IFA
and investment broker.
Matthew has studied martial arts for nearly 20 years. He took up karate
at the age of 18, expanding his interest to study Eastern culture and
Buddhism. Matthew took up kung fu during travels to Hong Kong
and China, and has studied Wing Chun under the likes of Yip Chun,
whose father taught Bruce Lee. He has developed executive training
packages based on these studies, aimed at enhancing fitness, health
and mental focus, delivered through Performance First.
Matthew is 38, father to one son – Ben – and lives in London.
Contents
Introduction - The mind and body metamorphosis syllabus
Calm focus - Meditative exercises for a calm and positive outlook
Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Developing stamina - Wing Chun kung fu exercises for stamina and weight control
Developing power - Wu Shu exercises for developing muscle
Special situations:
1.1 Losing fat
1.2 Travelling: limited space, avoiding DVT, fighting jet lag
1.3 In a hurry
1.4 Lifetime good health
15
23
45
65
91
123
124
127
130
132
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11
Foreword I
Congratulations on purchasing this book. When Matthew first came to
me with his idea for this manuscript, my first reaction was, ‘Why didn’t
I think of that?’ You see, I write martial arts books myself and have
maintained a reasonable physique into middle age almost entirely by
performing related exercises.
However, after getting over my initial irritation, I found Matthew to be
not only a very easy person to work with but also very knowledgeable
and eminently qualified to talk on the subject. Also, although Matthew’s
seminars in this field are highly sought after, he is not someone who
merely talks the talk – he also walks the walk. His shape, evident on
the front cover, bears witness to the success of this method.
The most significant thing I found different in this system – when
compared to others – was the fact that Matthew consistently considers
and addresses the everyday psychological issues that are bound to
rear up at some point. This concern is something that most diet or
exercise systems completely neglect and, in my opinion, this (along
with the fact that they tend to be boring) is why they almost always fail.
The other difference, of course, is that this book is the only equipment
you will need.
Mind and body metamorphosis is a complete and robust exercise
system that can be trained anywhere and by anyone. In short, and this
is no idle boast, by applying the information available in this book it is
entirely possible for you to redefine your mind-set, body and lifestyle.
You may find later, that you want to progress further into the functional
side of martial arts, or you may just be content to be the proud owner
of a fitter, healthier and re-sculpted body. Either way, the only missing
ingredient is you. So, remember that martial arts are a journey and not
a destination, take the time to read and train thoroughly and enjoy the
benefits of a new fighting fitness.
Alan Gibson
Foreword I - Alan Gibson
12
13
Foreword II - Barry Holmes
Foreword II
Dr Matthew Mills has dedicated his life to mastery; mental, physical
and emotional, and this book, Mind and Body Metamorphosis, sums
up step by step how you can achieve this through the medium of Chi
Kung.
I first met Matt at Heathrow airport where we were both about to fly
out to Valencia to work with the BAR Honda team on a pre-season
team ‘tune up’, just prior to their best ever F1 season to date. One of
the first things I asked Matt was what he did, to which he answered
enigmatically, ‘Lots of things!’ The definition of an enigma in the Oxford
English Dictionary is ‘a mysterious or puzzling person or thing’. This
is an almost perfect description of a man whose identity includes Chi
Kung practitioner, athlete, artist, doctor, counsellor, coach and director
of his own very successful financial services company.
Now, six years later, I am very proud to call Matt a dear friend. His
insight, authenticity, values and ‘giant cranium’ make him my favourite
choice for fascinating dinner conversation and insightful counsel. I have
significantly benefited from my friendship with Matt and wholeheartedly
endorse this book.
Matt’s approach takes principles that have stood the test of time over
millennia and transforms them into a practical step-by-step guide
which can be applied by anyone. This book is powerful, practical and
could transform your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Barry Holmes, Director, Zoom GB Ltd
Introduction
15
Mind and body metamorphosis
Life is like a card game;
there’s the hand you’re dealt,
and there’s how you choose to play it
Nehru
16
Introduction - Mind and body metamorphosis
Not for the first time that day I lay, in not inconsiderable pain, on the
stone floor of the training hall. For the past 20 years or so I had been
interested in martial arts and ‘all things eastern’. In that time I had
picked up a great many useful techniques and exercises which I can
apply in facing the challenges of daily life. The inscrutable smile of
my oriental training partner’s face, framed by the sky at which I was
looking, told me I still had much to learn…
This book is a distillation of the techniques that I have gathered over
two decades’ experience within martial arts and eastern philosophies.
I have employed this system to help senior managers and executives
enhance their performance and improve their readiness to meet the
challenges of daily life. To successfully meet the needs of this group,
the system needed to deliver techniques which can be learned quickly,
applied anywhere and still produce profound results for busy people.
Whether you need to keep calm in the face of chaos or simply keep
your waistline under control on the road, this system is no nonsense
and it works.
The roots of mind and body metamorphosis
Chinese boxing, or kung fu, was first developed by the Shaolin Monks
of Northern China as a means to defend themselves from bandits while
travelling across the country. The techniques at the root of kung fu were
in fact introduced to the monks by Buddha when he arrived in China
from India. Buddha found the monks to be in such poor condition that
he developed a series of breathing exercises for them to practise. Over
hundreds of years, these breathing, meditation, boxing and callisthenic
exercises evolved into a highly efficient, scientific training system,
putting mind and body in a state of readiness for confrontation.
Introduction - Mind and body metamorphosis
17
Eastern wisdom for the western world
Consistent with its roots, kung fu does not in fact mean martial art,
boxing or even fighting. The term kung fu, which does not have a simple
translation into English, really means attainment. Developing fighting
ability, or martial kung, is only one element of kung fu. Attainment can also
be expressed as learning to remain calm under trying circumstances,
to maintain physical constitution against the effects of age or inactivity,
or simply improving ourselves through better knowledge of our own
abilities. Fortunately, life and death fights are rare these days for most of
us. However, these other areas of attainment make kung fu as relevant
as ever today – maybe even more so.
Eastern strategies for fitness
The last decade or so has seen an explosion of fitness training as a
means to better physical condition and health. Therefore, it is fair to
ask whether mind and body metamorphosis will help you become fit.
An even more important question is just what we mean by fitness.
Fitness is a fairly vague term, usually taken to mean something like
being lean, muscular and able to run a mile or two without too much
trouble. Fitness for one person, however, may mean little to someone
else. A long-distance runner is fit if they can endure for miles at a time,
but they would probably not be fit to enter a weightlifting competition
as their training is not geared to the demands of lifting heavy weights.
Fitness is more properly defined by the demands of what we are doing
and our readiness to meet them.
Introduction - Mind and body metamorphosis
18
Demands of daily life
Whether you are a specialist in a particular sport or not, we all share
the demands of daily life. The last hundred years in particular have
seen an unprecedented transition in the way we live. We have moved
from a rural economy, in which most of us performed manual work,
toward largely sedentary occupations, in which the principal burden is
the accelerating pace of technological change. As a direct result, we
are becoming increasingly anxious and depressed, overweight and
under muscled, prematurely aged and vulnerable to disease.
Mind and body metamorphosis for everyday readiness
Everyday readiness, and the training to attain it, are defined by the
demands of our lives. The following list could doubtless be expanded,
but evidence suggests our readiness attainment strategy should
target:
Self-confidence - maintaining a positive view of ourselves.
Weight control - maintaining body fat at reasonable levels.
Age prevention - maintaining the strength of muscle and bone.
Disease prevention - maintaining the health of internal organs such
as the heart.
Mind and Body Metamorphosis delivers these objectives with a
training syllabus systematically directed towards:
Mental relaxation - the ability to enjoy life and see things calmly.
Breathing and mobility - the ability to move joints freely and breathe fully.
Stamina - the ability to keep going and have energy to spare.
Strength - the ability to carry and lift with ease.
Introduction - Mind and body metamorphosis
19
The logic of such a syllabus or routine should be self-evident, and
there are various exercise systems based on it. A typical exercise
programme will, however, usually fail to deliver on its promise. This is
not necessarily the fault of the strategy itself, but rather the participant’s
inability to keep interested and involved. The effects of exercise are
short-lived, lasting hours or days, and only continued participation will
deliver lasting results. Most fitness and health promotion programmes
retain only 5–10% of entrants, so few enjoy much benefit. In addition
to the basic elements of a readiness attainment, the strategy must
itself deliver the key elements which evidence suggests will keep us
interested. In addition to its basic objectives, the advantages of mind
and body metamorphosis are:
Inclusive - anyone can join in.
Confidence - systematically develops a positive attitude.
Challenge - enough difficulty to grow, but not put us off.
Progression - seeing and enjoying improvements.
Variety - enough scope to change the strategy.
Enjoyment - scope to imagine, play and have fun.
Convenience - no special equipment or clothing required.
Portability - can be performed anywhere.
Flexibility - adaptable to time and personal constraints.
Adaptability - applicable to our own objectives.
Range - good for groups or those who would rather exercise alone.
Mind and body metamorphosis and life-long readiness
The exercises are arranged in a rough order of difficulty, in a sequence
designed to develop a relaxed mind, positive focus, enhanced stamina
and enhanced muscular power. This is not dissimilar to the natural
evolution of kung fu itself. Each series of exercises forms the foundation
for easy progression to the next. While they at first appear novel, each
exercise is thoroughly illustrated with easy-to-follow steps.
Introduction - Mind and body metamorphosis
20
Introduction - Mind and Body Metamorphosis
The kung fu system implicitly includes elements to help us remain
encouraged and keep practising over the long term. I have included
interesting variations for many exercises, along with advanced
alternatives and routines for specific objectives. These are all graded
by colour (like the belt systems in judo and karate) so you can choose
exercises appropriate for your own ability or level of comfort. Almost
anyone can therefore engage in these exercises at some level and
observe progression.
I have included elements explicitly aimed at breaking down barriers
to practice. The system of exercises is sufficiently flexible to adapt
to almost any need, location or time constraint, and guidelines have
been provided for this. Further, realising the mind’s direction is
essential to success; there are specific strategies to help preserve
your enthusiasm and prevent the urge to give up. The resulting system
is direct, complete and effective.
Using this book
This book is grounded in the idea that a strong mind will overcome
a strong fighting technique, and a strong technique will overcome a
strong body. Each chapter is designed to help you understand your
objective, provide the best techniques to reach it, and develop the
foundation for further growth. Rather than presenting a series of
disjointed exercises for you to blindly follow, the book is essentially a
syllabus through which to progress, master and bend to your will. So,
use this book to help develop a stronger mind and direct it through
technique to create a stronger body.
The mind and body metamorphosis syllabus
Mind and body metamorphosis is delivered over a 12-week period.
21
Introduction - Mind and Body Metamorphosis
Starting out with developing calm focus we progress through
increasingly more demanding stages from Yellow to Black. As we
master one series of skills, another is added at the most basic level.
Each part of the syllabus develops key skills to get the most out of the
following stages. We begin with calm focus to put us in the right frame
of mind to get the most out of training. Chi Kung breathing gives us
a strong foundation for the demands of stamina training. Developing
muscular power begins halfway through the course and only when we
have properly conditioned ourselves for the demands of hard work
through a few weeks of stamina training.
The martial arts from which this book evolved are more than systems
for fighting; at their deepest level they are systems of thought and a
way of life. Mind and body metamorphosis will not teach you to fight,
but by the end of the 12-week syllabus it will equip you to face many
other important, and hopefully more frequent, challenges in daily life.
Ultimately, wherever you go in that journey, these exercises are a tool
to help you get the most from it.
23
Calm focus Creating the right frame of mind
The mind’s direction
is more important than its progress
Mahatma Gandhi
24
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.0 - Creating the right frame of mind
What is focus?
Some people always seem to get what they want, while others constantly
miss the mark. The difference between them is often the ability of
successful people to focus the power of their mind on achieving their
goals. We can define focus as attention on a specific goal. This idea
also has the deeper connotation of directing our thoughts, will and
actions to attaining that goal. The study of the mind pre-dates written
history; from the first time one human being wondered why another
was acting in a given way. Perhaps later this prompted the questioner
to ask the same questions of themselves: ‘Why am I doing this and
how do I feel about it?’ The scientific discipline of psychology was born
of these questions and is a relative newcomer on the scene, having
only been around for a hundred years or so. As such, it is a little short
on definitive answers about why we think, act and feel the way we
do. There are, however, some common patterns in human behaviour
which give us clues as to why some people can successfully reach
their goals, and others can’t.
25
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Feel, think and act positively
When you find yourself in the company of focused people it becomes
very clear that they know what they want. Whether it’s losing weight,
succeeding in business or making a relationship work, they can see
how to get there and they feel confident that they can do it. When
you talk with them, focused people tend to be positive and upbeat.
Their enthusiasm is often infectious, it carries them (and those around
them) over problems to great achievements. Focused people seem to
get lucky, but on closer inspection it becomes clear they make their
luck with careful and systematic planning of how they will reach their
goals. The benchmarks and milestones of success are clearly laid out,
with specific actions and skills practised at each stage to ensure the
final outcome. When things go wrong – as they surely will – focused
people don’t turn the situation into a drama. They view events in a
calm, realistic way and then try, positively, to turn things around. Even
when they go off the rails and lose focus – and who hasn’t – they still
see no reason to quit. Lessons can be learnt from failure and focus
should return even stronger! In short, focused people have learned a
valuable lesson: how you think affects how you feel, how you act and
ultimately what you get. Psychology has been successful in giving us
a way to systematically improve all of these elements of focus.
26
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Benefits of learning to focus
Focus exercises can, and should, be performed as often as possible.
Developing the habit of positive focus will deliver:
• Less stress, consistently better mood and improved health.
• More energy, enthusiasm and effort toward your goals.
• Better relations with those around you, which may also help you
reach your goals.
Guidelines for developing focus
• Practise as often as you can to make positive focus a habit.
• Practise with an open mind.
• Take the time to master each exercise. There is no rush.
27
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
• Begin your practice in a quiet, peaceful place.
• Once you have mastered the techniques, practise whenever you can.
• Try and apply your practice to everyday situations and constantly
improve yourself.
Using these exercises
Learning to create focus and motivational focus is a complex skill,
based on a series of relatively simple building blocks. The following
pages lead you through the steps to developing a positive outlook
on your goals and also show you how to reach them. Work through
each step, being sure to understand it, before proceeding to the next.
Leaving any step out weakens the overall effect. Like learning to walk,
reshaping our patterns of thinking, which have been ingrained over a
lifetime, takes a while – you can expect to fall over a few times. These
are among the most difficult skills in this volume, but once mastered
you will take the greatest step of all toward realising your goals.
28
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.1 - Take a deep breath
Level: Yellow
Explanation
We have all had the experience of life getting on top of us. Too much
to do and not enough time to do it in. It is very difficult to focus under
these conditions and all too easy to lose track of where we are and
what we’re doing. When it all gets a bit too much, you just have to close
your eyes and take a deep breath. This is an in-built reflex which helps
us calm down. As we will explore in the following chapter on Chi Kung,
deep breathing slows the heart rate, helps us feel more relaxed and
focuses the mind. A calm mind is essential to develop focus and for
the motivation-building exercises that follow. As you progress through
this section, practise the following exercise at the beginning of each
session.
Performance
1. Find somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed.
2. Sit or lay down in a relaxed posture.
3. Close your eyes and take a long, deep breath. Repeat this a few
times until you begin to relax.
4. Focus your attention on your legs and feel them relaxing. If it helps
you to say or think the word ‘relax’ – or some other word that works
for you – do so.
5. Keeping your eyes closed, slowly shift your focus up your body,
feeling all your muscles relax.
6. Take a few more long, slow, deep breaths.
29
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
7. Keeping your eyes closed, and continuing to breathe slowly, try to
create an image in your mind of somewhere you find pleasant and
relaxing. This could be a beach, a wood, a garden – whatever works
for you. Try and add some colour to the scene, feeling warm sunshine
on your face, smelling flowers – once again, visualise whatever helps
you.
8. If you can’t imagine a scene, try thinking of a colour you find
relaxing – it doesn’t really matter, so long as the end result is the same;
something that helps you to relax and feel calm.
9. Hang in there for a few minutes, then slowly open your eyes and
take another deep breath.
10. Have a bit of a stretch – this feels good too – and then walk around
for a minute or so.
Variations
You can practise this sequence almost anywhere. You can be sitting at
your desk at work, on the train or anytime at home. Equally, any part of
this exercise is useful, from taking a deep breath to imagining a scene
that helps you relax.
Benefits
The ability to relax is an amazingly useful and beneficial skill. As we’ll
see later, a calm mind helps us to think more clearly, making us more
focused on our goals and effective in reaching them. Evidence also
suggests that relaxation provides us with a range of health benefits,
such as lower blood pressure and reducing the chance of heart
disease. On a social level, relating to our friends and colleagues is
infinitely easier, more pleasant and productive when we are calm and
relaxed. Investing a few moments in using these skills clearly provides
massive benefits for many areas of our lives.
30
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.2 - Keep it real
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The way we feel has a profound influence on how we think and act.
For example, if you’ve had a bad day, you may well end up feeling
low, you might begin thinking the world is against you and collapse on
the couch for a fairly unproductive night of TV. So, when we feel down
we tend to think in an unrealistically negative way and our behaviour
may follow the same pattern. Fortunately, this process can be put into
reverse. If we can think positively, we will feel better and be more likely
to act positively. This will help us to stay focused on our goals and
we’ll be less likely to get side-tracked by problems. The skill of positive
thinking – keeping it real – is a powerful tool which can be picked up
quickly and, once learned, it soon becomes a habit.
Performance
1. Grab a pen. Using the notes section at the back of this book write
down something that happened that made you feel low.
2. Write down some words to describe how you felt, e.g. upset, low,
frustrated, angry…
3. Write down what you were thinking when you felt this way, e.g. ‘I’ve
failed’, ‘I should be able to do this’, ‘how dare they do this to me!’…
4. Now have a good look at what you were thinking. Our thinking often
becomes unrealistically negative when we’re down or upset.
31
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
5. Write down what you ended up doing when you thought this way
e.g. ‘couldn’t be bothered’, ‘had an argument about it’…
6. When we feel negative, our actions that follow are often
unproductive.
7. Now write down what a good friend (someone who knows you,
likes you and is sympathetic to you) would say to you to help you feel
better, if the same thing happened again.
8. The statement from a friend is likely to be more realistic, positive
and sympathetic to us. Hearing this statement makes us feel better.
9. Write down a few more examples of situations which have caused
you to feel negative.
10. Write down what you were thinking and then what a friend would
say.
11. Every time a situation emerges which makes you feel down, go
through this process. Be sure to write things down at first as this helps
to ingrain the skill. After a few weeks of practice, it will come naturally.
Example:
• What happened: I put on a few pounds.
• How did I feel: Guilty, frustrated, irritated.
• What did I think: What a failure, I’m turning into a fat slob!
• What did I do: Forget exercise today. Watch TV instead.
• What would a friend say: OK, so you put on a few pounds. That
doesn’t make you a failure, it happens. Work out and watch your
diet for a while and you’ll lose it. I know you can do it.
32
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
What a friend might say is both more positive AND realistic – it
keeps it real.
What a friend might say makes me feel better and more likely to
take productive action.
Variations
If you have a friend who will work through some examples with you,
that really helps as you’ll be getting actual feedback from them.
Benefits
Attitude is everything. If you can stay positive and keep it real you take
a giant leap towards reaching whatever goal you set your mind to.
Equally, most of us would rather feel positive and happy than down
and negative. Changing the way you think can therefore radically
improve the quality of your life.
33
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.3 - Deal with doubt
Level: Red
Explanation
No matter how positively you see the world, every now and again a
negative thought appears to undermine even the most upbeat frame
of mind. All of us carry demons of one sort or another. Most people
spend a fair amount of time grappling with fears, doubts, worries
and anxieties. They appear most often when we are down and argue
against our thinking positively. Sometime, the more you argue against
fears and doubts, the stronger they seem to become. The stronger
the demons become, the less likely you are to stay committed to
reaching your goals. These demons are known as ‘automatic negative
thoughts’. While they can seriously undermine your thinking positively
and keeping it real, you can readily free yourself of them if you know
how.
Performance
1. Go back to the previous exercise, ‘Keeping it real’. Read through the
example and your own responses again.
2. Focus on the positive and realistic statement a friend may give you
when your are down or have lost focus.
3. Think back to a time when this has happened to you. Often we will
argue with someone who is trying to make us feel better. These are
automatic negative thoughts and they come from fears and doubts we
carry with us.
34
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
4. In the example below, automatic negative thoughts have been
included. Try and think of a time you may have thought like this and
how it made you feel.
5. When you practise keeping it real, doubts will crop up. Usually they
will follow an attempt to think in a more positive way. e.g. ‘I can be
successful… but what if I fail...’
6. The best way to deal with these fears and doubts is to accept them.
This takes away their power and leaves us able to feel positive.
7. Simply add a statement accepting fears and doubts and they’ll soon
disappear, e.g. ‘I can be successful… but what if I fail…’ and so, ‘I am
bothered by the idea of failing, but everybody is and I’m no different. I
will try my best regardless.’
Example:
• What happened: I put on a few pounds.
• How did I feel: Guilty, frustrated, irritated.
• What did I think: What a failure I’m turning into a fat slob!
• What did I do: Forget exercise today. Watch TV instead.
• What would a friend say: OK, so you put on a few pounds. That
doesn’t make you a failure, it happens. Work out and watch your
diet for a while and you’ll lose it. I know you can do it.
• Doubt: Yes, but I’ve tried already and it just isn’t working.
• Accept it: I’m afraid it won’t work, but sitting on the couch not
exercising won’t help.
35
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Accepting the doubt not only renders it ineffective, it actually
makes keeping it real more powerful.
Variations
Once again, working through some examples with a friend is very
powerful. The more often you practise, the better you become at it.
Benefits
Fears and doubts are creations of your own mind. While they do not
exist in any real sense, they can have a definite impact on our lives and
what we achieve. Many of us will not reach our full potential for no other
reason than that we believe that we can’t. There is no guarantee that
you will succeed, but banishing fear and doubt massively improves
your chances – if only because you’ll try.
36
Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.4 - Capture confidence
Level: Red
Explanation
Broadly speaking there are two important influences on how we think,
feel and act - what happens in the world around us, and our responses.
Often we may not succeed, despite a positive environment, because
we do not believe in ourselves. Equally, it seems almost no obstacle
will stop someone who believes ‘I can!’ The ideas we have about
ourselves – what we should do and how we should be – are often not
even our own. We may accept ideas about ourselves which are totally
unrealistic – like how we should look and dress – because everyone
else seems to buy into them. If we can’t live up to these ideas we
become negative and disappointed. In the same way as changing the
way we think about events can make us feel better about them, we
can also change the way we think about ourselves to our advantage.
The trick is to create a self-image which is not only positive, but
invulnerable to the winds of change or fickle opinions of others. While
the world around us may never be certain, our self-belief can become
an unshakeable positive force.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Performance
1. Think how a good friend would describe you and write this down in
a few sentences.
2. Now break down the statement into the separate qualities that make
you feel good about yourself, e.g. ‘I feel good about me because… I’m
a nice, generous guy… I always try my best.’
3. Split the qualities up into two groups: those which require you
to achieve something for them to be justified and those you’d have
regardless of the outcome. For example, you have to do something to
justify ‘I am successful at work’. You ‘try your best’ regardless.
4. Write a sentence about yourself based on the qualities in the
first group. You are vulnerable where these are concerned because
something out of your control may leave you unable to live up to them.
For example, it may be important to you to be successful at work, but if
someone lets you down you can’t finish a job. Not your fault, but you’ll
feel bad.
5. Now write a sentence about yourself as if a good friend were
describing you based only on the items you satisfy regardless of what
you do. For example, if you feel good about yourself because you try
your best, you’ll be positive whatever the outcome of your effort.
6. Focusing on this last sentence you now have an unconditional,
positive statement about yourself which you can believe in and feel
good about no matter what happens. No one’s opinion can change
this, and the only measure you have to live up to is your own.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Example:
Ideas about self-image that are conditional and may not be met:
I must be successful
I must look good
I must never fail
Alternative ideas about self-image which are unconditional and
can be met easily:
I try my best
I am unique
I accept I’m not perfect
Variations
You can break the idea of positive self-image down into the different
areas of your life. You may find it easier to think of self-image in terms
of work, family and leisure pursuits.
Benefits
Thinking of ourselves in a positive way is one of the most powerful
means to feeling consistently upbeat. To make this work, avoid setting
yourself up with ideas which may fail to deliver. Building a realistic view
of ourselves, which is positive and can be met whatever happens, is
guaranteed to hit the mark. Previously negative situations will have
less impact on us, while enhanced self-belief readily translates from
improved motivation into higher achievements.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.5 - See success
Level: Blue
Explanation
Many goals in life can at first seem unattainable. If the very idea of
what we’re trying to achieve isn’t enough to put us off, painfully slow
progress toward our objective can lead to our giving up. The key to
staying positive and interested in our goals, is to break them down
into smaller, more easily achievable steps. Successfully completing
each step builds the ‘I can do it’ feeling, increasing commitment to the
next step. This process relies on being realistic about what you want,
what you will have to do to achieve it and how long it is likely to take.
Systematic planning will soon make success a habit.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Performance
1. Think about a goal you want to achieve. This could be anything from
losing a few pounds or running a marathon, to reaching a business
objective or improving a relationship.
2. Write the ultimate goal down – this makes it concrete and real. You’ll
be amazed how much writing your goal down makes a difference.
3. Think about what progress you could realistically make over the
course of a month. If you wanted to lose weight, your monthly goal
could be losing 5lbs.
4. Write down weekly benchmarks toward this goal. Using the same
example, you would target losing one and a quarter pounds a week.
5. Now write down what you’d have to do, on a week-by-week basis,
in order to hit your benchmark. In this example, you’d have to cut a
few calories out of your diet each day and exercise vigorously a few
times a week.
6. Then consider what you’d have to do on a daily basis to achieve
each weekly benchmark. Once again, in this example you’d select low
fat foods, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and program a run or
other activity into every other day.
7. Go through this process with your own goals and produce your own
benchmarks.
8. Use your benchmarks to show gaps in your knowledge. If you’re
not sure exactly how to achieve each benchmark, find out more about
what you’re doing. In the example above you’d find out how many
calories are in a pound and a quarter of fat. This would tell you how
much you have to cut back on your food consumption each week.
9. You can also use this system to show you how to recover if you go
off the rails. If you lapse from your daily or weekly plan, you will know
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
how far behind your benchmarks you can expect to be. You’ll be able
to take a realistic view of whether you can catch up or if you have to
adjust your benchmarks. Pretty soon you’ll be back on track, making
progress and putting the lapse behind you.
10. Stick to your daily plan and review your progress against your
benchmarks every week. If your progress is not as expected, the fact
that you’ve been systematic means you can easily feed that experience
into next week’s plan and improve your results.
Variations
You can take this process to almost any level you want. If it suits you
to plan down to the last detail, you can. Equally, so long as you stick
to the broad principles, you don’t have to be obsessive to get what
you want.
Benefits
Seeing success on a regular basis is a great way to keep you focused
on your goals. Each benchmark you reach rewards you for the effort
you have put in. Taking a systematic approach to your goals improves
your chances of reaching them immensely. At every step you’ll know
what to do, why you’re doing it and how it will help you get to where
you want to be.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
Calm focus 1.6 - Feel success
Level: Black
Explanation
An important element of self-belief is being able to visualise ourselves
accomplishing our goals. When we can conceive ourselves as
being successful, we increase our chances of fulfilling that vision.
Visualisation serves as a rehearsal for the real thing. Thinking through
the performance of a particular skill trains those parts of the brain
associated with movement, programming in better coordination. When
it comes to the real thing our performance will be better. The same
applies to preparing for specific situations, where we can enhance
our readiness by imagining what it would actually be like to be there.
Having already experienced the situation in our mind, and considered
how we might react, we will deal with it more effectively.
Performance
1. Find somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed. Close your
eyes, take a few deep breaths and relax. Clear your mind of negative
thoughts, using the positive thinking skills learned in the previous
section ‘Keep it real’.
2. Focus your mind on your goal, whatever it may be. Try to imagine
yourself when you have reached it. Create an image of where you will
be, what it will look like and how you will feel. Add as much colour as
possible by imagining who will be there, what they will say to you, what
other benchmarks of success you will see, feel, smell and touch.
3. Now focus on an important skill you require to reach your goal. This
may be a form of exercise, a work task or other activity.
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Calm focus - Creating the right frame of mind
4. In your mind, run through performing that task perfectly. Imagine
what a perfect outcome looks and feels like.
5. Think through the task again, in slow motion. Try to feel every
movement or gesture as if it were actually happening.
6. Repeat this process for a few minutes, focusing on every aspect of a
perfect performance. If one aspect of a movement or task draws your
attention, so much the better – focus there.
7. Focus again on how it will look and feel to succeed in your goal.
Create the link between the perfect performance you have seen and
your final success.
8. Take a few deep breaths and open your eyes.
9. Repeat this exercise whenever you can and especially before you
perform that important skill for reaching your goal.
Variations
To begin with you may find it easier to imagine watching yourself
perform a skill or activity. Just like watching TV, most of us are used to
watching others in this way. Persevere with trying to imagine yourself
performing perfectly, and the result will be far better.
Benefits
Visualisation is a very powerful tool. Physical performance in many
activities has been shown to improve through practice of this alone.
Equally, seeing yourself successfully reaching your goals becomes
a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you can seriously imagine yourself
succeeding, you will.
45
Developing a strong foundation Chi Kung
A life is not so much measured by the number of breaths,
but the number of moments that take our breath away
Anon
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.0 - Developing a strong foundation
What is Chi Kung?
Literally, Chi Kung means the art or attainment of energy. The practice of
Chi Kung is older than recorded history, and was probably developed in
India before being brought to China around 50 A.D. Classical teaching
has it that Chi (energy) circulates through the body, moving through
pathways called meridians, and that this enables every function of life.
Chi (which can also be translated as ‘air’), is believed to be collected
from our surroundings by the use of specially developed exercises.
These exercises focus on breathing using the abdominal muscles. It
is supposed that mental focus allows a practitioner to direct Chi to
any desired point in their body, to heal illness or give protection from
injury. The practice of Chi Kung, has been used ever since, to increase
energy, improve physical health and promote mental well-being.
Energy and relaxation through Chi Kung
The jury is still out on the question of Chi, although the obvious health
benefits to practitioners are clear. The value of abdominal breathing
(and in Chi Kung teaching us to do it), is in no doubt. We know that
oxygen, in the air we breath, fuels every activity of our lives. By the
same token, your ability to fill your lungs with air affects everything you
do. The lungs are inflated by expanding the rib cage and pushing the
diaphragm (a sheet of muscle which separates your chest and tummy)
down into the abdomen. The lungs are most effectively ventilated
only when the diaphragm is used. Abdominal – Chi Kung – breathing
allows you to take bigger breaths and bring more oxygen on board.
On a higher level, slow, deep breathing has been shown to have
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
important effects on our heart and mental state. Breathing down into
the abdomen impacts the flow of blood back to the heart, promoting
a reduction in heart rate. This, in turn, is fed back to the emotional
centres of the brain to promote a sense of calm and relaxation, with
a reciprocal reduction in blood pressure. These effects are virtually
the opposite of the symptoms of mental anxiety. Chi Kung allows you
to regulate one of the most rapidly spreading epidemics of western
society, namely stress and anxiety. Finally, Chi Kung exercises gently
stretch, mobilise and strengthen muscles and joints. It is therefore an
ideal introduction to exercise, and will also prepare the body for more
demanding activity.
Benefits of Chi Kung
Chi Kung exercises can be performed almost anywhere and will
provide several key benefits:
• You will develop a greater sense of calm.
• The strength and mobility of muscles and joints will improve.
• This will have a positive impact on your blood pressure, heart and
overall health.
• You will perform almost any physical activity to a higher level
without becoming breathless.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Guidelines for Chi Kung training
• Keep an open mind. These exercises may seem unusual, but they
work!
• Before beginning Chi Kung, clear your mind of all thoughts,
especially negative ones.
• Take the time to master each exercise. There is no rush.
• The best time to practise is at the beginning or end of the day.
• Practise outside or in a clean air environment.
• Do not practise when you’re in a hurry or cannot give it your full
attention.
Using these exercises
These Chi Kung exercises are the most fundamental, and potentially
the most valuable, of this volume. Their practice forms the foundation
of everything that follows and it is recommend that you work on them
for at least a few weeks before moving on – you’ll be glad you did! Each
exercise forms the cornerstone of the next. While you may eventually
discard some of the more basic steps as you advance, make sure you
have mastered them first.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.1 - Abdominal breathing
Level: Yellow
Explanation
Oxygen fuels every activity of life. We exchange oxygen with the air
through our lungs. The more fully we can inflate the lungs, the more
efficiently we can get oxygen into our blood and then on to the tissues
of our body. There are two principle elements to inflating the lungs:
expanding the rib cage and chest, and pushing the diaphragm into the
abdomen (tummy). To inflate the lungs fully we must use the diaphragm.
As we do, the abdomen will expand. Similarly, to breathe out fully, we
must contract the abdomen. This simple Chi Kung exercise helps us
learn to do so.
Performance
1. Stand in a relaxed posture, feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Try to clear your mind or think about something positive.
3. Place the palm of your left hand on your tummy, about 5 cm below
your navel. Place your right hand over your left.
4. Slowly breathe in, concentrating on breathing down into your
abdomen. You’ll feel your hands move outward slightly as you do. Be
careful not to ‘force’ the process and don’t actively try to push your
tummy out, let the breathing do this.
5. When you’ve inhaled as far as you can, hold for 2 seconds.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
6. Now begin to breathe out gently, and press gently with the palms of
your hands. Keep going until you reach the end of the breath.
7. Hold for a second or two, release the pressure from your palms and
begin breathing in. Do not maintain the pressure with your palms as
you breathe in.
8. Continue for 9–10 breaths, then relax your arms to your side and
breathe normally.
Variations
You can practise this exercise with you eyes closed if it helps. Focus
specifically on the movement of your tummy, felt through the palms of
your hands. You may imagine the breath being light or golden as you
breathe in, dark or black as you breathe out. Equally, you may imagine
a light coming on as you breathe in and going out as you breathe
out. These are all techniques to focus and calm the mind, focusing
on something positive as you breathe in, so feel free to use whatever
works for you.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Benefits
The ability to inflate the lungs properly will translate to easier breathing
with almost any activity. As you become proficient, the rate at which
you breathe will slow and the depth increase. People often say ‘take a
deep breath’ when you’re anxious. You may well notice yourself feeling
calmer as a result of your practice.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.2 - Lifting the sky
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The movements of our whole body can effect the mechanics of
breathing. In recognition of this fact, the Chinese developed a series
of Chi Kung exercises using specific movements coordinated with
breathing. Ultimately, these were integrated with fighting movements
to form Tai Chi. In Lifting the Sky, we learn a means of enhancing the
expansion of the chest and abdomen (therefore lungs) by coordinating
breathing in with a simple arm movement.
Performance
1. Stand in a relaxed posture, feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Place the hands in front of your tummy, palms pointing toward the
floor, fingers pointing toward those of the opposite hand.
3. Press your tongue against your palate and breathe through your
nose.
4. Slowly breathe in, concentrating on breathing down into your
abdomen. As you do so, lift your arms in an arc in front of your body
while keeping them straight. They’ll end up over your head, palms
facing up.
5. As you reach the end of breathing in, push your hands toward the
sky. Then hold for a second or two.
6. Relax and gently breathe out while lowering your hands to your sides.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
7. Repeat this movement 9–10 times.
8. On the final repetition remain in the relaxed position, concentrating
on abdominal breathing for a further 10 breaths.
Variations
This movement is fairly proscribed, so to gain the full benefits of practice
there aren’t really too many variations. The same ideas about having
your eyes open or closed apply here, as in the previous exercise.
Benefits
Importantly, this exercise helps us understand how to breathe through
movement, which we’ll use in later stamina and power training
exercises.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.3 - Catching the Moon
Level: Red
Explanation
The word ‘Chi’ is synonymous with ‘air’ or ‘energy’ and the translation
can almost be used interchangeably. Chinese medicine contends that
we draw energy into our body through the air we breath and that this
flows through the body along special channels called meridians. The
uninterrupted flow of Chi throughout the body is essential to good
health and this is the aim of Chi Kung. Catching the Moon introduces
a more advanced form of abdominal breathing, reinforced by the
movement of the whole body, plus a visualisation technique to help
the flow of Chi. Whether you subscribe to the idea of Chi or not, the
visualisation technique offers a useful means to focus the mind and
coordinate your breathing with movement. Chinese medicine also
maintains that a healthy back is central to health and longevity. This
fact is self-evident as a weak back will limit or prevent almost any
activity. Catching the Moon mobilises the spine and the muscles that
support it. Continued practice of this movement will also maintain a
healthy back.
Performance
1. Stand in a relaxed posture, feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Place the hands in front of your tummy, palms pointing toward the
floor.
3. Using the thumb and forefingers, form an ‘O’ shape between both
hands.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
4. Press your tongue against your palate and breathe through your
nose.
5. Slowly breathe in, down into your abdomen. Focus your attention
through the ‘O’ between your hands. As you breathe in, lift your arms
in an arc in front of your body while keeping them straight. Arch your
back and take your hands back over your head, still looking through
the ‘O’ shape, as far as is comfortable. You should end up looking
up and back through the gap between your hands. Then hold this
position for a second or two.
6. Relax and gently breathe out while lowering your hands to your
sides. Continue breathing out and bend forward, reaching with your
fingertips toward the ground.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
7. When you have fully exhaled, gently breathe in, repeating the whole
sequence again.
8. Repeat this sequence a few times, then as you begin to breathe in
imagine the air flowing down the inside of your chest into your lower
abdomen. As you breathe out, imagine air from your abdomen flowing
up your spine and over the back of your head before exiting through
your nose. Repeat this sequence a further 7–9 times.
Variations
Visualisation is the key to this exercise. Once you’re comfortable with
the movement, focus on the flow of air, or Chi, around your body.
Different images work for different people, so find one that works for
you. Think of the flow of energy as a bright light, stream of water, air,
or whatever appeals to you.
Benefits
The coordination of breath, movement and visualisation is central
to many martial arts. The ability to achieve this coordination can
significantly increase your focus and achievement in almost any
physical activity, a fact demonstrated by kung fu practitioners who
have mastered this skill. The demands of practising such focus also
takes your mind off other concerns, giving you a mental break from
day-to-day concerns and promoting mental relaxation.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.4 - Three Circle Stance
Level: Red
Explanation
The Three Circle Stance is used extensively in Tai Chi for cultivating
the flow of energy throughout the body. The wide stance not only sinks
the body’s centre of gravity, but is believed to assist the accumulation
of Chi in the abdomen. The idea is that this ‘reservoir’ of energy can
then be directed to where it is needed in the body. This may be for
the purpose of promoting health, or directing energy through the
fists and into an opponent during combat. If you don’t like the idea
of Chi and energy reservoirs you can think of this as an advanced
abdominal breathing exercise. Having mastered the mechanics of
abdominal breathing, the real value of this exercise is the deeper level
of visualisation, focus and relaxation it promotes. Thus it is a more
complete exercise than abdominal breathing alone.
Performance
1. Stand in a relaxed posture, feet about twice shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees and drop your weight about 6 inches.
2. Place the hands in front of your chest, with your hands positioned as
if holding a football. Your elbows should be bent and pulled in towards
each other just in front of your chest.
3. Slowly breathe in, down into your abdomen. Focus on absolute
stillness. At the end of the inhalation, hold your breath for a second or
two.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
4. Relax and gently breathe out from your abdomen. Throughout,
there should be no visible movement of your body, with the exception
of your abdomen rising and falling with the breath.
5. Repeat this sequence a few times, then as you begin to breathe
in, imagine the air flowing down the inside of your chest into your
lower abdomen. As you breathe out, imagine air from your abdomen
flowing up your spine, through your shoulders, along your arms and
out through your fingers. Repeat this sequence a further 7–9 times.
6. Next, as you breathe in tense the perineal muscle (the ones you
clench when you can’t find a toilet!). As you breathe in, imagine energy
forced to remain in your abdomen, pushed down into your legs and
through your feet into the ground. Relax the perinea and breathe out.
Repeat 7–9 times. Then, slowly return to a normal standing posture
and relax.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Variations
There are few variations to this exercise as there is little movement.
You can practise this posture while holding the lower abdomen as
described in the first Chi Kung exercise. Equally, you can use any
visualisation technique which works for you. The essential point is to
focus on stillness.
Benefits
The wide stance posture provides excellent exercise for the lower limbs
as a primer for more demanding physical exercises. The emphasis on
physical stillness and singular mental attention will focus and relax
the mind. Both qualities will enhance the performance of exercises
described later. The focus on stillness is without doubt the most
beneficial element of this exercise. Busy lives rarely permit physical
or mental relaxation, usually leading to fatigue, anxiety and illness.
Learning the skill of being still offers us a degree of protection.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.5 - Energy in motion
Level: Blue
Explanation
Just as movement can support proper breathing, as in Catching the
Moon, poor coordination can prevent it. Think about a time you have
lifted a heavy object, a natural reaction is to tense up and hold your
breath. Continued for any length of time, your chest will be heaving
as you pant for breath and you’ll start running out of energy. From
a classical point of view, holding your breath or breathing rapidly
prevents a regular intake of Chi, while muscular tension prevents its
flow around the body. For those less willing to accept the classical
standpoint, we can just as easily use the word ‘oxygen’ instead of Chi
here and the explanation still holds true. If you’ve ever seen anyone
performing Tai Chi and wondered why the movements are so slow and
soft, this is the reason. Tai Chi practitioners are developing the flow of
Chi within their limbs, in coordination with their breath and movement.
The amazing power demonstrated by Tai Chi masters is a testament
to the effectiveness of this ‘internal’ training. So, having learned to
breathe with the abdomen, the next advancement in Chi Kung is to
regulate your breathing during movement.
Performance
1. Stand in a relaxed posture, feet fairly close. Bend your knees and
drop your weight a few inches.
2. Place the hands in front of your chest, palms facing out, fingers
pointing upward. You should look like you’re just about to push
something away from you.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
3. Keep your feet where they are and turn your upper body towards
your left.
4. Slowly breathe in, down into your abdomen. As you do, lean back
slightly and place your weight over your right leg. At the end of the
inhalation, hold your breath for a second or two.
5. Relax and gently breathe out from your abdomen. As you start to
exhale, slowly step forward with your left foot and push your hands out
in front of you. Keep going until your weight is over the left leg, arms
extended and you have fully exhaled. Keep your movements slow and
graceful. Imagine power rushing from your abdomen, through your
shoulders and down through your hands.
6. Keep your feet where they are and slowly breathe in, down into your
abdomen. As you do, draw your hands back to your chest and shift
your weight back over your right leg. At the end of the inhalation, hold
your breath for a second or two.
7. Slowly exhale and push forward again.
8. Repeat up 9 times. At the end of the last movement, keep your arms
extended and turn your torso to the right. Now repeat the process on
this side.
9. At the end of the next cycle, turn to face forward again and assume
the Three Circle Stance for a few breaths. Then slowly assume a
normal standing posture and relax.
10. As you advance in Chi Kung you’ll find each breath becoming
deeper and longer. The next phase is to repeat the movement cycle
several times during one breath. After a few weeks of consistent
practice you may find yourself able to repeat two pushes forward, at
the same speed, for one breathing cycle.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Variations
You can try this kind of breathing with almost any movement. The key
is to keep movements slow and relaxed, focusing on your breathing
and visualisation.
Benefits
Consistent practice of these exercises will very quickly pay dividends.
The ability to coordinate deep breathing, muscle relaxation and mental
focus will help improve both your level of energy and resistance to
fatigue. Don’t be surprised if many activities which used to cut you
down to size with aching limbs and gasping breath become less of a
challenge.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
Chi Kung 1.6 - The Thousand Steps
Level: Black
Explanation
Kung fu masters can spar for hours without becoming tired or
breathless. Their secret?; a form of breathing control called the
Thousand Steps. This exercise aims to develop a reserve of Chi,
or energy, which is always carried in the abdomen to fuel physical
exertion. Once again, for those whose focus is more firmly fixed on
contemporary science; the typical response to physical exertion is
panting, taking shallow breaths using the chest, or not breathing at
all. The Thousand Steps teaches us to buck this trend and ensure the
lungs are always working to capacity, feeding oxygen to the body. As
a word of caution, this is an advanced technique which will prepare
you for the stamina and strength exercises later in this volume. Do not
attempt this exercise unless you have mastered abdominal breathing
and practised regularly.
Performance
1. You’ll need to be somewhere open like your garden or local park.
2. Stand in a relaxed posture and clear your mind.
3. Perform abdominal breathing 3 or 4 times.
4. Slowly breathe in, down into your abdomen. At the end of the
inhalation, hold your breath for a count of five.
5. Keep your mouth slightly open and allow yourself to slowly exhale.
Your breath should escape naturally and without conscious effort.
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Chi Kung - Developing a strong foundation
6. When you feel you have breathed out 70% of a full exhalation,
breathe deeply into your abdomen and repeat the cycle. At no point
should you reach the point where you feel breathless or distressed. If
this happens you are either;
- not ready, and should go back to practising abdominal breathing
for a while,
- not inhaling fully using your abdomen,
- or, you are forcing the breath hold for too long and not allowing
breath to escape naturally.
7. Next, and only when you’re comfortable, start walking. Focus on
deep inhalation, holding your breath and allowing 70% to escape
naturally before inhaling again. It will take a while to get used to, so
start walking only slowly and for short periods. Rest and then go at it
again.
8. Gradually, extend the period of breath holding and exhalation. Then
pick up the duration and speed of your walking until you can take a
thousand steps.
Variations
This breathing technique can be applied to almost any physical activity
and will improve your endurance. Hold in mind to start slowly when
applying this technique to a new activity, probably about half your
normal pace, and build up gradually.
Benefits
The Thousand Steps is a great achievement in your Chi Kung training.
The effort you put in, will have an amazing impact on your physical
performance and endurance.
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Wing Chun kung fu exercises for endurance and weight control Developing stamina
The longest journey starts with the first step
Lao Tsu
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Stamina - Wing Chun kung fu exercises for endurance and weight control
Stamina training 1.0 - Wing Chun kung fu exercises
for endurance and weight control
How stamina training works
Whenever we want to lift or move something, we have to produce the
force to do so in our muscles. This process requires energy, and the
more muscles we use at one time, the more energy we require. The
fuel to drive our muscles comes from the food we eat and the oxygen
we breathe. Muscles have enough fuel built in for short bursts of work
(anaerobic), but to continue for longer periods they must be supplied
by additional oxygen resources from the blood, pumped by the heart
(aerobic). The more muscles we use, the more energy we require, so
the heart must work harder to provide oxygen – as a result we must
breathe harder.
Stamina training helps us to increase our readiness to perform longer
bouts of work, exercise or play. There are three vital links in this
process:
• Breathing properly, to get the maximum amount of air and oxygen
into the lungs.
• Training the heart to deliver oxygen rich blood to the muscle.
• Training the muscles to use oxygen more efficiently.
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Stamina - Wing Chun kung fu exercises for endurance and weight control
Combined arm and leg stamina training
The best way to train for stamina is to use as many muscles as possible,
for prolonged periods. The most effective way to accomplish this is to
exercise our arms and legs at the same time. Combined arm and leg
exercise produces the greatest overall workload, and therefore training
for the heart and breathing. Equally, as many muscles as possible
are trained to use more oxygen. This is the basis for kung fu stamina
training.
Benefits of stamina training
Stamina training will deliver a number of valuable benefits. Most
important are:
• The heart becomes stronger and less prone to disease, especially
coronary artery disease.
• The chemistry of the blood changes to further reduce the chance
of heart disease, mainly by lowering cholesterol which contributes
to coronary artery disease.
• Blood pressure (associated with 50% of all deaths when elevated)
tends to lower.
• We become more able to sustain heavy exercise. Previously
difficult activities feel easier.
• Our resistance to fatigue goes up, we have more energy and
recover more quickly when tired.
• The high levels of energy expenditure (highest during combined
arm and leg exercise) helps weight control.
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Guidelines for stamina training
There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some pointers for
stamina training:
• Don’t train for an hour after eating or an hour before doing so.
• Drink plenty of water and keep hydrated.
• Do not exercise if you have drunk alcohol beforehand and refrain
from smoking.
• A specific warm-up is probably not required, but start at around
50% of your top effort and build up the effort over a few minutes.
• Work at a level which makes you breathe hard, but where you’re
not fighting for breath.
• Work continuously and rhythmically in any stamina exercise.
• Throw in bursts of intense effort now and then to really push yourself.
• Train at this pace for 20–30 minutes 4–5 times a week.
• Focus on combined arm and leg exercises, and specifically using
large muscle groups, like the shoulder girdle, back and legs.
• Train for stamina before you train for strength, as power training will
tire you out.
• Ease down gradually from maximum effort, don’t just stop.
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Using these exercises
These exercises will systematically develop your stamina. Each
exercise builds the foundation for the next. Be sure to work through
the exercises in order, progressing to the next level only when you
have mastered the previous one. There is no rush and you will not
get the most from your training if you neglect the basic foundations.
Patience and diligent practice will reward you with far greater and more
sustainable results.
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Stamina - Wing Chun kung fu exercises for endurance and weight control
Stamina training 1.1 - The character two stance
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The Character Two Stance is named after the Chinese character which
the stance resembles. This is the basic training stance of Wing Chun
kung fu and the foundation for all the techniques we’ll use later. The
arms and legs are positioned to protect vital points along the centre
line of the body (head, heart and groin) while not committing the body
in any particular direction. Like the tennis player awaiting a serve, the
Character Two Stance leaves you ready to react and move in any
direction.
Performance
1. Stand with your feet together, hands by your sides.
2. Bend your knees slightly, dropping your body about 10 cm.
3. Keeping your heels in place, turn your feet outwards at least 45
degrees.
4. Now keep the balls of your feet in place and turn your heels outward
so your feet end up pointing inward about 45 degrees.
5. Push your backside forward, rotate your pelvis upward and press
your knees inwards so there is about one fist distance between them.
Your legs and buttocks should be tensed.
6. Place your left hand, palm facing in and fingers pointing upward,
about 10cm from the centre of your chest.
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7. Place your right hand, palm facing in and fingers pointing forward,
in front so that the elbow is alongside the left hand. This is your guard.
Now you’re ready to rumble!
8. Press your tongue against your palate and breathe gently through
your nose.
9. To close the stance, jump your feet together, landing on the balls
of your feet. Then lower your feet to the ground, place your hands by
your sides and relax.
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Variations
Practise opening and closing the stances 10 times or more in
succession. Practise holding the stance for a minute or more, keeping
your legs tensed and breathing steadily as you do. Try performing
the Chi Kung exercises in this position. You can also try this stance
standing on one leg, pulling the knee toward your chest and holding
for as long as you can. When you’ve mastered this, try standing on
one leg, holding the other outstretched in front of you.
Benefits
You’ll quickly find that practising this stance tones up your thighs and
backside. Climbing stairs will also become easier.
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Stamina training 1.2 - Chain punches
Level: Yellow
Explanation
Kung fu contains a huge variety of strikes and punches. The chain
punch is used to attack an opponent with a series of repetitive strikes,
which are very difficult to defend. The idea is to strike as often as
possible. Chain punching utilises muscles from the entire upper body
and therefore helps to build stamina in muscle groups that are often
neglected. At the same time the waist and legs must also work to
provide a stable platform from which to launch the attack. When we
consider that 60% of muscle is in the upper body, the potential benefits
of this exercise become clear.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance and place your hands in the guard
position.
2. Form your hands into a fist with the knuckles aligned vertically and
the thumb on top of the hand.
3. With the rear hand, punch down the centre line of the body at nose
level. At the same time withdraw the other hand toward the chest under
the punch. You’ll finish in an on-guard position with hands the other
way around.
4. Practise this movement until you can punch smoothly, hand over
hand. The movement is not unlike cycling the pedals of a bike with
your hands.
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5. Practise cycles of 3, 5, 7 and 9 punches non-stop. Try to punch as
fast as you can, without losing the form of the punch.
6. Gradually build up the number of punches until you can perform a
minute non-stop.
Variations
Practise launching a series of punches at waist height, chest height
and head height. Try launching punches off to your left and right-hand
side. For added variety try cycling the hands in the reverse direction.
The rear hand comes forward, under the lead arm as you pull it back.
You may want to open your hand for this variation as you are pushing
an opponent away.
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Benefits
Few exercises target the upper body for stamina training and fewer still
will tax them like chain punching. Results will come quickly in terms of
the tone, shape and stamina of the entire upper body.
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Stamina training 1.3 - Squat and kick
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The legs are more powerful than the arms and have a longer reach.
Kicking, and training the leg muscles forms an important part of kung
fu. Different forms of kung fu emphasise different kicking techniques.
All have in common the need for strong muscles to execute the kick
and, more importantly, to support the body weight on one leg while
doing so. The squat and kick exercise is a basic exercise to accomplish
this aim.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance and place your hands in the guard
position.
2. Squat down, keeping your back straight, until your thighs are parallel
with the floor.
3. Push up rapidly, driving the right foot up from the floor and outwards
to strike an imaginary opponent on the shin using your heel.
4. Recover the kicking foot to the starting position.
5. Repeat the squat, kicking out with the left foot.
6. Practise 5, 10, 15 and 20 kicks on each side until you can keep
going for a whole minute.
7. Speed up the pace of the exercise as you improve.
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Variations
Practise launching kicks alternately at shin, knee and waist height. As
your flexibility improves you may wish to kick higher. You may wish to
switch your guard hands around as you kick, i.e., right hand forward
as right leg kicks. An added twist is to punch out on the same side as
you kick. Add another dimension to the exercise by chain punching
after each kick or even throughout the entire exercise.
Benefits
This simple exercise is a fabulous conditioner for all the muscles of the
lower body. Your breathing after one minute will attest to the amount of
work you are doing and thus conditioning for your heart. Adding chain
punches means you will be working over 95% of the muscle in your
body and establishing a firm foundation for all the exercises to come.
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Stamina training 1.4 - Turning Stance and
Asking Hand
Level: Red
Explanation
You may have the most devastating fighting techniques in the world,
but if you can’t direct them toward your opponent, you’re like a
cannon without wheels. This exercise shows how to turn the Character
Two Stance. The body turns and the guard swings out towards your
adversary while you prepare to face them. This arm movement is
called Asking Hand. This movement also sets up the kung fu fighting
stance from which we’ll begin to add a new, dynamic element to our
exercise.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance and place your hands in the guard
position, right hand forward.
2. Keeping your heels in place, turn the toes of the right foot outward.
3. Now, two things happen at once: swing 90 degrees around to the
right from the waist while swinging your right arm out to the right side,
so the hand ends up at eye level and palm down. Try to keep your hips
roughly in line with your shoulders as you perform this action.
4. Most of your weight should be on your back leg (as a test, you
should be able to lift the right leg off the ground while remaining steady
on the back, left leg).
5. Once you’ve swung around to face the right, place your hands back
in the guard position.
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6. Return to the starting position by turning the toes of the right foot
to point inward at 45 degrees again. Keep your hands where they are
and turn the body inward from the waist.
7. Change your guard, so the left hand is forward, and repeat on the
left side.
Variations
At the end of the Asking Hand movement, snap your arms forcibly
into the on-guard position. Add a series of chain punches before you
turn and when you reach the final position of the turn. Imagine you
are facing and taking out multiple opponents. You can also throw in a
kick at the beginning and end of the turn. Another interesting variation,
which will really emphasise those waist muscles, is to turn quickly, left
to right, swinging your arms vigorously as you go.
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Benefits
Aside from setting up the basic fighting stance, this exercise provides
conditioning for the muscles of the waist and shoulder from
the swinging arm movement. Pulling together the whole series
of movements will also offer an interesting challenge for your
coordination.
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Stamina training 1.5 - Chain punch and chasing
steps
Level: Red
Explanation
Most opponents don’t oblige you by standing still when you try to
strike them. Particularly against a flurry of attacks, like the chain punch.
Most people will try to back away. So, we now have to give chase. This
exercise teaches us how to achieve this whilst maintaining the integrity
and protection offered by our fighting stance. Chain punching with
chasing steps also aids better coordination of the arms and legs.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance and place your hands in the guard
position, right hand forward.
2. Using the Turning Stance and Asking Hand, turn to the right and
assume the guard position in the fighting stance.
3. Lift the lead leg and step forward.
4. The back foot stays in close contact with the ground and does not
move until the lead foot touches the ground. It is essentially dragged up
toward the lead to establish the original distance between the feet.
5. Try a few steps with hands in the on-guard position to get the feel of
it. When you’re ready, throw in a few chain punches as you step.
6. When you reach the wall or boundary of your practice area, or whenever
you feel like it, turn using the Asking Hand and go the other way.
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7. Practise 5, 10, 15 steps and chain punches in each direction, with
turns. When you’ve got the hang of it, work up to a solid minute of
stepping and continuous punching without pause. At this point try
to speed up the steps and punches, really going after an imaginary
opponent.
Variations
At the end of a series of steps, try pretending to forcibly push your
opponent away from you with both hands, before you assume the onguard
position and turn. You can also try stepping backwards whilst
punching. Another variation is to step backward and reverse the hand
movement (the rear hand comes up under the forward hand as it is
pulled back) and open the hand, as if pushing an opponent away.
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Benefits
In addition to working 95% of the muscles in your body, you’re also
moving the whole body weight around in this exercise. When you move
at speed, your energy expenditure here outstrips almost any other
exercise. The potential for weight control, and conditioning the heart,
are therefore tremendous. Your coordination will improve dramatically
with practice and the range of variation lends this exercise to expansion
by a playful imagination.
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Stamina - Wing Chun kung fu exercises for endurance and weight control
Stamina training 1.6 - Chain punch, kicks and
chasing steps
Level: Red
Explanation
This is the next evolution, and natural progression of chain punching
and chasing steps. Once we’ve coordinated the arms and steps in
attack and defence, we bring in the big guns with kicking. This exercise
adds another layer of coordination and skill, but also takes you up a
gear in terms of energy expenditure and conditioning potential.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance and place your hands in the guard
position, right hand forward.
2. Using the Turning Stance and Asking Hand, turn to the right and
assume the on-guard position in the fighting stance.
3. Before you step, drive the leading foot up from the ground in a kick
to an imaginary opponent’s shin.
4. Rather than return the kicking foot to its original position, let it fall
forward, about the distance of a natural step.
5. Drag the back foot up towards the lead foot, chain punching as you
go.
6. Practise 5, 10, 15 or more steps with kicks, punches and turns until
you can go for a full minute. Then try and speed up the process, getting
in as many moves as possible within a minute.
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Variations
Try driving kicks to shin, knee, waist level and even higher as your
flexibility improves. Try kicking twice before you put your foot down, to
the shin, then the waist for instance. When you kick forward, try holding
the kicking leg outstretched for a few seconds and chain punching
before you set the foot down. Try driving kicks from the back leg, this
will change your guard around and the back leg will end up taking the
lead position.
Benefits
This exercise offers unsurpassed exercise for the entire body. Even
the muscles of the abdomen will be called forcefully into play as you
lift your legs to kick. Once you’ve mastered this technique, and can
keep going for extended periods, you will have a tool to promote a
level of conditioning which would make most athletes sit up. You are
not neglecting a single muscle in your body – and it can all be done in
your living room!
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Stamina training 1.7 - Boxing rounds, the
Rickshaw, side jump and kneeling walk
Level: Blue
Explanation
Having mastered kicking and punching on the move, we’re now
ready to move on to the next level and add a few more advanced
techniques.
Performance
1. Work up your kicking and stepping with chain punches, until you
can keep going for a full minute. Now start building a routine by adding
a few more rounds of boxing.
2. Work up to 5, one minute rounds, with a minute break between
rounds. You can do this simply by adding a round of boxing a day for
a week.
3. Gradually extend each round, until you can perform 5 rounds of
three minutes When you can do this comfortably, you are now ready
to add in some advanced exercises.
4. Lift the knee of the lead leg toward your chest and hop backwards
and forwards on the rear foot while chain punching. This is called the
Rickshaw. Practise 10, 20, 30 hops on each foot, then continue with
steps and punches.
5. Imagine you suddenly see an opponent attacking you from the left
side. Jump to the right, landing on the right foot and kicking out at
shin level with the left foot. Now look to the right and without putting
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the left foot down, jump off the right foot, land on the left and kick out
with the right. These are jumping kicks. Practise 5, 7, 10 jumps to each
side, keep punching all the time, and then continue with stepping and
punching.
6. Keeping the right foot on the floor, kneel on the left knee. Staying as
low as possible, step forward so you end up kneeling on the right knee
with the left foot on the floor. Practise, 5, 10, 20 steps, punching as you
go. Then return to steps and punches.
Variations
As you finish a sequence of the kneeling walk, kick out as you stand
up. You can also try the Rickshaw with your lifted leg stretched out
in front. As you perform the side jump you may want to combine an
Asking Hand or punch on the same side as the kick. Throw these
exercises into a round of boxing whenever you feel like it. You may
also want to drop in a sequence of turns or squat kicking. None are
absolutely essential, so if you fall in love with one exercise, feel free to
go with the urge.
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Benefits
The advanced routine and exercises add a new dimension of workload
and variation. The Rickshaw emphasises the muscles of the calf, while
the jump kicks and especially the kneeling walk will do things for your
thighs and buttocks that you would not believe.
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Stamina training 1.8 - Free form
Level: Black
Explanation
The foundations having been thoroughly built, with correct breathing,
mental attitude and technique, you’re now ready to make up your own
form. Free form routines combine all of the skills you have learned,
but without rigid structure. The following is a suggested Black level
performance and progression, although whether you follow this
particular routine is your choice now.
Performance
1. Work up to 10 or more, 3–5 minute rounds, with a 30 second break
between rounds.
2. Towards the end of each round consciously push yourself harder,
punching faster and kicking more regularly.
3. Throughout the round, throw in bursts of intense effort for 10–20
seconds before returning to your usual pace. Coordinate bursts of
chain punches with equally aggressive and rapid chasing steps. Really
go after your opponent.
4. Do not limit your self to kicking forward, but try (with caution) kicking
in any direction that speaks to you.
5. If you’ve seen boxing on the television, feel free to incorporate any of
the moves you’ve seen into your routine.
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6. Don’t just step forward and backward. Step to the side and move
around your opponent.
7. Throughout, try to develop your engagement and enjoyment with
a little healthy imagination. Imagine you are sparring with opponents
coming at you from all directions. If you feel like letting out a ‘Wah!’
or ‘Hiya!’ as you strike out, go for it (I’m pretty sure Bruce Lee would
approve and it’s remarkably liberating!). This will add an element of
much needed play to your routine.
Variations
At this stage, while remaining true to the basic techniques which have
got you to this point, you should feel free to improvise. An excellent
variation, however, which will take you to an even higher level, is the
addition of resistance. You may not have any small weights you can
hold in your hand while boxing, but canned food serves just as well!
They are cheaper and you can pick them up anywhere. Equally, you
can apply what you’ve learned to almost any other stamina exercise. If
you like to jog (and you’ll have already noticed how your kung fu has
improved your running), try holding a tin of canned food in each hand
as you run. The weight is small, but the combined effect of arm and leg
exercise is impressive.
Benefits
By now you have access to complete conditioning for your whole body,
a routine you can perform anywhere with enough scope for growth and
variety to maintain your long-term interest. The level of conditioning
potential is unrivalled and the possibilities are limited only by your
imagination.
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Developing power Wu Shu exercises for developing muscle strength
Anything that doesn’t destroy me
makes me stronger
Milo of Crotona
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Power - Wu Shu exercises for developing muscle strength
Power training 1.0 - Wu Shu exercises for
developing muscle strength
How power training works
Every action of our lives is dependent on muscle. Whether you’re
performing a complex kung fu move or simply sitting at rest, hundreds
of muscles are working together to maintain the position of your limbs.
Muscles are composed of thousands of individual fibres. Each fibre is
packed with specialised proteins which, when activated by our nerves,
cause the fibre to shorten. The shortening muscle fibre pulls on the
skeleton and this force causes the joints to move. Muscles become
stronger when then are forced to work harder, or produce more force,
than normal. Repeated, forceful muscle contractions signal more
protein to be incorporated into the muscle, which becomes larger as a
result. Larger muscles not only produce more force, but can do more
work in a given time, and are said to be more powerful.
Muscle without weight
Most people equate building muscle with lifting weights. In this type of
training the muscles are forced to work harder by lifting progressively
heavier weights. While there is no doubt that these exercises are
effective they require expensive equipment or access to a gym, which
may be both inconvenient and unaffordable. An alternative form of
power training is to work muscles against themselves, pushing the
palm of one hand against the other for instance. Using our muscles to
resist our movement is called dynamic tension. We can also position
ourselves so that our muscles have to work harder than usual. Standing
in a semi-squat for instance, forces the thigh muscle to work harder due
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to the poor leverage of the muscle around the knee joint in this position.
All of these techniques have been developed and refined by Wu Shu
(Chinese martial arts) exponents over thousands of years to develop
powerful muscles. They are cheap, convenient and highly effective.
Benefits of power training
Training for muscle power is associated with a range of benefits.
• Central among these are:
• Every action of our lives becomes easier, as we have more power
at our disposal.
• We are capable of higher levels of physical performance.
• Increased resistance to fatigue from high intensity effort.
• Power training prevents the decline in bone strength and muscle
strength with age.
• Power training increases muscle mass and metabolic rate,
enhancing the effectiveness of any weight loss regimes.
Guidelines for power training
Interestingly, the widely accepted ‘rules’ for strength training have little
scientific basis. Forceful muscle contractions are essential, but an
absolute formula does not exist. Experience will guide you, but based
on traditional methods some good pointers are:
• Warm up and finish with some light exercise to prevent strains and
enhance recovery.
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• Exercise somewhere you can concentrate fully on what you are
doing.
• Focus your attention on the muscles you want to exercise.
• Breathe steadily throughout your power training and do not hold
your breath.
• Exercise large muscle groups first, like the legs, because this
requires more effort.
• Move slowly in each exercise concentrating on maintaining the
tension in your muscles.
• Exercise at an intensity which causes your muscle to shake slightly
– this means you are getting the most powerful muscle fibres to
work hard.
• Push yourself. Muscles only get stronger if they are forced to work
to their limit.
• Intense muscular exercise is tough and you should expect it to
feel uncomfortable. This said, stop exercising at once if you
experience pain.
Using these exercises
These exercises are designed to systematically develop power in all
of the major muscles groups. Each level of exercise lays the building
blocks for the next, so use them in order. Learning the skills of dynamic
tension equips you with a powerful, muscle building tool. Neglecting
this skill deprives you of your full potential. Results do take time, but if
you work conscientiously and patiently, progress will come.
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Power training 1.1 - The Prayer Press
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The Prayer Press introduces power training for the upper body and the
concept of dynamic tension. This exercise focuses on the muscles of
the arms and shoulder girdle which pull the hands across the chest and
push outwards. The idea is to produce tension in one group of muscles
by using another group against them. In this case, one arm resists
the movement of the other. As one muscle group grows stronger, the
resisting group will have to become stronger as well. There are some
superficial similarities with isometric exercise here. Rather than holding
the limbs static, here we move against and through the tension. This
means that we increase strength throughout the entire range of joint
motion, rather than in just one position.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance.
2. Place your hands together, as if praying.
3. Point the fingers up and position your hands with thumbs touching
the middle of your chest.
4. Now press your hands firmly together and maintain the tension.
5. Breathe deeply and steadily.
6. Keeping the tension on, rotate the hands at the wrist so the fingers
point down toward the ground. This should take a second or two.
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7. Rotate the hands to point the fingers in front and then push your
hands outward as far as possible while keeping the palms tightly
pressed together. This should take about 2 seconds.
8. Draw the hands back to the chest and rotate the hands to point the
fingers upwards.
9. Start with 5 repetitions and slowly work up to 12 or 15.
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Variations
Try pushing the hands upward or down, rather than just straight out
in front. This will emphasise different elements of the shoulder girdle.
You could also try pushing the hands out toward the right or left, and
this will emphasis one side more than the other. You could also try
holding the arms extended for a few seconds – a variation I like is to
do this pressing the finger tips together to emphasise the muscles of
the forearm. Experiment with holding the extended arm position and
describing a large figure eight in front of you.
Benefits
This simple exercise affects almost every muscle of the upper body.
Just a few attempts will convince you how hard your muscles are
working, and you‘ll soon find carrying most things becomes noticeably
easier. The Prayer Press develops tremendous upper body power and
as it can be performed anywhere, it lends itself to further development
and experimentation.
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Power training 1.2 - The Merry-Go-Round
Level: Yellow
Explanation
The Merry-Go-Round is actually a Shaolin Chi Kung exercise designed
to promote the flow of internal energy. Many practitioners report an
invigorating effect from this exercise. Whether you subscribe to the idea
of ‘Chi’ touched on in the first section of this book, or not, the Merry-
Go-Round provides excellent conditioning for the entire midsection.
Most contemporary conditioning programs fall back on sit-ups to firm
up the tummy. These exercises neglect the muscles of the back and
sides, and also assume a basic level of strength, which may not be
available to all of us. The Merry-Go-Round provides a challenge to all
of these important muscle groups while the intensity of exercise does
not exclude those not yet ready for sit-ups.
Performance
1. Place your feet about twice shoulder-width apart and bend the knees
to assume a stable posture.
2. Place your hands together, arms outstretched in front of your
chest.
3. Turning from the waist only begin to sweep your arms anti-clockwise
in a wide circle.
4. Make a deliberate effort to move through the widest circle possible,
leaning as far to the side and backwards as is comfortable for you.
5. Breathe in during the first half of the circle, and out during the
second half.
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6. Take about 10 seconds for each full circle at first, going in each
direction 5 times.
7. Build up to 12–15 circles in each direction. When you reach this
number, slow down the rate at which you move until each circle takes
20 seconds.
Variations
Some find the hands together uncomfortable, especially when reaching
backward at the rear of the circle. You may therefore want to start out
keeping you hands on your hips. For the more adept, try stopping and
holding your position for 5–10 seconds at each point of the compass
as you turn.
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Benefits
The midsection forms the lynch-pin about which your body moves.
The Merry-Go-Round provides excellent overall conditioning for all
muscles of the midsection. Regular practice will help you firm up a
soggy tummy without neglecting the strength in the all-important lower
back, helping you maintain mobility long into old age. As an added
bonus, you may also notice the exercise the thighs get as they work to
maintain a stable base for upper body motion.
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Power training 1.3 - Horse Stance and Golden Bridge
Level: Yellow
Explanation
Prior to teaching a new student any fighting technique, masters would
often insist on a prolonged period of intensive physical training and
preparation. The Horse Stance is a fundamental training stance for
a huge number of martial arts. It develops power and flexibility in the
lower limbs as a strong foundation for other stances. The Chinese
also believe that the Horse Stance helps the accumulation of Chi, or
energy. The Golden Bridge is a hand form often used in conjunction
with the Horse Stance to help to condition the upper limbs, especially
the muscles of the forearm which are central to the performance of
every hand technique.
Performance
1. Open the Character Two Stance.
2. From the Character Two Stance, perform the same sequence of feet
movements again, turning the toes and heels out as before. You’ll end
with your feet twice shoulder-width apart.
3. Keeping your back straight, sink your bottom down until your thighs
are almost parallel with the floor. There is a tendency to lean forward
and let the bottom stick out, so concentrate on pushing your pelvis
forward and keep the back straight.
4. Once you are comfortable place both hands in front of your chest,
palms facing forward and fingers upward.
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5. Curl the fingers inward so only your index finger points straight up.
Point your thumbs toward each other so the thumbs and index finger
forms an ‘L-shape’.
6. Breathe in through the nose, then exhale and push your hands out
until your arms are straight, keeping the same hand position. If you’re
doing it right you will feel tension along the top of your forearm.
7. Hold this final position breathing slowing and steadily. Focus on
maintaining your hand position and keeping your legs still.
8. Hold this position for 30 seconds to begin with. Work up to a minute
by adding 10 seconds every day or so that you practise. Work up to
holding the Golden Bridge for 3–5 minutes or so.
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Variations
Instead of holding the arms static, try pulling them in as you inhale
and pushing them forward as you exhale. Once you’ve built up some
endurance in this exercise you can try using it in your stamina training.
Whilst chain punching, assume the Golden Bridge stance and keep
moving in this low position. Splicing a few minutes of this stance into
your stamina work will markedly increase the staying power of your
legs – not to mention shifting the workload up a gear.
Benefits
The tension created in the thighs and forearms speaks for itself. With
early and continued practice, this simple and effective exercise will
serve you well. You’ll soon notice how the added power translates to
easier kicking, climbing stairs and walking.
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Power training 1.4 - Pushing Mountains
Level: Red
Explanation
Pushing Mountains is a Chi Kung exercise for building powerful arms.
Its performance builds on the experience gained from practising the
Prayer Press and the Golden Bridge. Using the principle of dynamic
tension, resist your own movement as you attempt to push your palms
away from you. If it helps, visualise actually pushing a really heavy object
– like a mountain. The intensity, and therefore value, of this exercise is
rounded off by assuming the Horse Stance, rather than the Character
Two Stance. Now you’ve progressed through the Yellow level, use this
stance whenever possible in your power training. When you practise
the Prayer Press, assume the Horse Stance from this point onwards.
Performance
1. Open the Horse Stance.
2. Place your hands in front of your chest, palms outward and fingers
pointing upward.
3. Inhale, breathing into your abdomen. Hold your breath for a moment
and then begin to exhale.
4. Slowly, push your palms away from you, resisting the movement
with your own strength.
5. When your arms are fully outstretched, pull your fingers back toward
your body while pushing the heel of your palm forward a few times.
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6. Resisting the movement, slowly clench your fingers into a fist and
squeeze the fists as tight as possible a few times.
7. Inhale, breathing into your abdomen. Hold your breath for a moment
and begin to exhale.
8. Once again resisting the movement with your own strength, pull
your elbows backward until your hands return to your chest.
9. Unclench the fist and return the hands to the palm facing out
position.
10. To begin with, pushing your arms out (and pulling them back),
should take about two or three seconds. Clenching your fists should
take about the same time. As you progress, slow the movement down
and apply greater resistance.
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Variations
You can try alternately pushing out to the front, side, downward and
upward, for well rounded conditioning of the upper body. You can also
emphasise any part of the exercise which suits your training goals.
Holding the open palm at arms length, pulling the fingers back and
pushing the palm heel forward, is a great forearm exercise, as is
forming the fist with dynamic tension. You could also throw in a few
dynamic tension chain punches.
Benefits
Once you’ve mastered the dynamic tension concept, you can apply
it to build strength and improve performance in any movement. Note
the effect a few sessions of dynamic tension chain punching has on
your stamina training. Not only will you be able to punch harder and
longer, but dynamic tension will also develop added muscular control
and physical awareness. The addition of the Horse Stance offers the
opportunity to provide superb power conditioning to the entire body
without ever lifting a weight.
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Power training 1.5 - Abdominal curls
Level: Red
Explanation
Many martial arts place a premium on developing powerful muscles
in the midsection. Much of the power for striking out with the hand or
arm comes from the waist. Equally, a strong midsection supports the
back and upper body stability, which allows you to take a punch if
you have to. The major muscle group around the tummy is the Rectus
Abdominis – or six-pack to the rest of us. These muscles draw together
the rib cage and pelvis and help with the motion of sitting up. While
very simple on the surface, the abdominal curl is extremely effective at
concentrating your effort in the midsection.
Performance
1. Lie on the floor, placing your hands on your chest and drawing your
feet up toward your buttocks.
2. Inhale, breathing into your abdomen. Hold your breath for a moment
and begin to exhale.
3. Slowly lift your head, moving your chin to your chest. Then lift your
upper back off the floor. You should only be able to move an inch or
two.
4. Hold the final position for a second and then slowly lower yourself
back to the starting position.
5. Lifting and lowering should take about 2 seconds each.
6. Start out with 5–7 repetitions, adding one a day until you can do 30
or more on the trot.
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Variations
Like many of the exercises here, the abdominal curl lends itself to real
growth. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can add intensity to
the curl by placing your hands on your shoulders and then stretching
them out behind you. You can also move and hold the contracted
position for extended periods. If you find this too easy, you can hold a
heavy bag or weight on your chest. You can also try not to fully relax
as you unfold to the starting position, instead maintain the tension on
your rectus muscle and go straight into the next repetition. Equally,
you can emphasise one side of your tummy by adding a slight twist at
the top of the movement, pulling the right shoulder toward the left hip
and so on.
Benefits
The midsection is the pivot around which the body turns. You’ll soon
find that regular and continued practice of this exercise will improve
your performance in almost any activity. Your chances of back injury
will fade dramatically, as will your waistline.
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Power training 1.6 - The Empty Stance
Level: Red
Explanation
Once you’ve started to develop a solid foundation with the Horse
Stance and Golden Bridge, the Empty Stance is the next evolution in
training intensity. The Empty Stance develops power in the lower limbs
to support the body during kicking. The Horse Stance spreads the body
weight evenly over both legs. In the Empty Stance one leg carries the
entire body weight and therefore receives more intense training. The
supporting leg is said to be solid, because it carries the whole body
weight. The other leg, which can be lifted from the ground without
toppling over, is said to be empty. This exercise is complemented
by the addition of the crane beak hand, not only adding upper body
conditioning but also a touch of elegance to the whole movement.
Performance
1. Open the Horse Stance and hold this position for a few seconds.
2. Turn your head to the left and shift your body weight over onto your
right leg.
3. Inhale into your abdomen. Hold your breath for a second and then
slowly exhale.
4. As you shift your body weight, bring both hands up toward your
chest, then two things happen at once:
a. Push your left palm out over your left leg (just like Pushing
Mountains exercise).
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b. At the same time pinch the fingers of the right hand together to
form a beak shape with the tips of the fingers pointing down. Now
push the right hand back behind you turning the wrist anticlockwise
as you do, until the fingers are nearly pointing upward.
You should feel tension in the right forearm and shoulder if you are
doing this correctly.
5. Hold this final position for a count of 10 and return to the Horse
Stance. Then repeat on the opposite side.
6. Start with 5 repetitions on each side. As you progress, work up to
holding the Empty Stance for a minute or more. Also try to sink lower
on the supporting, or solid leg.
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Variations
If you don’t like the crane beak exercise just leave it out. It’s not
indispensable and can be replace with hands in the guard position.
Once you’ve got the basic stance, you can try forcefully pointing the
toes of the empty leg, like a ballet dancer. You can then try slightly
lifting the empty leg off the floor and holding this position. This is a real
challenge for both power and balance.
Benefits
All the benefits of Horse Stance training will be magnified by practising
the Empty Stance. The added power, coordination and balance will
also translate into enhanced performance during stamina exercises.
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Power training 1.7 - Taming the Tiger
Level: Blue
Explanation
Because striking power is transmitted to an opponent through the
arms, upper body strength is a key component of kung fu training.
The development of upper body power through kung fu training is
referred to as iron arm training. Taming the Tiger is central to iron arm
training, and is similar to the regular press-up. Taming the Tiger has
some subtle differences to the regular press-up, which not only make
it a more productive exercise, but give it greater scope for growth.
Performance
1. Lie face down with your palms on the floor beside your chest and
elbows pointing back towards your feet. Makes sure you are resting
on the instep of the foot, not the toes as in regular press-ups (which
makes them easier).
2. Inhale through your nose. Hold for a second then begin to exhale.
3. Slowly push your body off the floor, take a count of 5 to fully extend
the arms.
4. Begin to lower your body at the same rate, but stop half way down
and hold this position for a count of 5 before continuing to lower
yourself to the floor.
5. Do not fully lower yourself to the floor, but hold yourself a few
centimetres off the ground for a count of 5 before going straight into
the next repetition.
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6. Start out with 5–7 repetitions, gradually working up to 15–20. When
you can perform 25 or more repetitions, try increasing the intensity of
the exercise with some of the variations suggested below.
Variations
If you don’t yet have the strength to fully ‘tame the tiger’, try performing
the exercise leaning up against a wall. Gradually move your feet further
back, so your body forms a greater angle with the wall as you become
stronger. Soon you’ll be taming the tiger with the best. If you are very
strong, or want more challenge, try adding more stops as you lift and
lower yourself. You can also perform the exercise with your feet elevated
by placing them on a chair. This variation alters the leverage at the
shoulder and places even greater emphasis on the arms. Alternatively,
lean over on one arm so that is carries more weight, using the other
for balance. Eventually, you can lift the balancing arm off the floor
altogether. One-handed ‘taming’ is performed with the hand of the
‘resting’ arm held behind the head, touching the elbow on the floor at
the end of the lowering phase. The final evolution is holding the resting
arm straight out to your side and touching the floor with your palm at
the bottom of the repetition.
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Another interesting variation, which you can train on its own or slot
into your stamina routine, is to try walking on your hands, from the
low position of two-handed taming. Simply, hold your weight a few
centimetres above the floor and then drag yourself along using your
arms.
Benefits
Taming the Tiger will build tremendous power into your upper body.
This will translate into other exercises, such as more powerful chain
punches when stamina training, and the ease with which any daily
activities involving carrying can be accomplished. The scope for growth
in the exercise also ensures that it always provides a challenge. Once
you can tame single-handed, you will truly have iron arms.
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Power training 1.8 - Drawing the Moon
Level: Blue
Explanation
The major muscle of the tummy, the Rectus Abdominis, pulls the chest
toward the pelvis. It also contracts statically, to support our posture
when lifting the legs in kicking or when lying on the floor. Drawing the
Moon is a deceptively simple exercise which takes advantage of this
fact. Moving the legs to the side, during the upward and downward
part of the movement also exercises the often neglected muscles at
the side of the tummy.
Performance
1. Lie flat on your back, feet together, placing your hands on your
tummy or by your sides.
2. Inhale through your nose. Hold for a second then begin to exhale.
3. Slowly lift your feet just off the floor and point your toes.
4. Moving in a clockwise direction describe a circle, or draw the moon,
about two feet in diameter.
5. Each time you draw the moon should take no less than 10
seconds.
6. Start out with 5 repetitions clockwise and then anticlockwise.
7. Gradually increase the time it takes to draw the moon, working up
to 30 seconds for each repetition.
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Variations
If you’re not ready to draw the moon yet, try slowly lifting your feet
straight up and down. Once you can perform 5 repetitions of 10
seconds each, ‘draw’ one moon before you rest. Then work up to
more repetitions. As an alternative movement for the very strong, keep
your feet at a constant height from the floor and move your legs over
to one side and then the other. You could also try separating the feet
and circling them in opposite directions at the same time (drawing
two moons, as it were). A final evolution is to prop yourself up on your
elbows while drawing the moon, placing even greater stress on the
Rectus Abdominis.
Benefits
Drawing the Moon will build power and staying power into your waist.
As the waist forms the vital link between the upper and lower body,
this enhanced power will translate to better performance in almost any
activity. The effect on your waistline will also be dramatic. Once you
can draw the moon 10 times in each direction for 30 seconds you’ll
probably need to restock your wardrobe.
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Power training 1.9 - The White Crane
Level: Blue
Explanation
Many movements and forms of kung fu are based on the observation
of animals. White Crane borrows from the poise, powerful flapping
motion of the wings and sudden strike of the beak. A fundamental
training stance of White Crane is standing on one leg, as the bird
itself can often be seen to do. The White Crane stance builds a strong
foundation of strength and balance for posture and kicking. The entire
body weight is carried on one leg. Bending the supporting knee places
tremendous stress on the muscles of the thigh and buttock. Lifting the
resting knee toward the chest emphasises the muscles of the thigh
and waist.
Performance
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your sides.
2. Inhale through your nose. Hold for a second then begin to exhale.
3. Shift your weight onto your left foot and draw the right knee toward
the chest while keeping your back straight.
4. Keeping your arms straight lift them out to the side (like a bird
flapping its wings), keeping the fingers together and pointing at the
ground.
5. Slightly bend the knee of the supporting leg until you feel tension
in the thigh.
6. Start out holding this position for 30 seconds, then switch to the
opposite leg and repeat.
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7. Gradually increase the time you stand on each leg until you can do
so for 3 minutes or more.
Variations
Once you can stand for 3 minutes, try slowly squatting as low as you
can and returning to the starting position 5–10 times at the outset, then
maintain the White Crane till the end of the 3 minutes. You can also try
slowly extending the resting leg, as in kicking, a few times. In the fully
evolved White Crane, keep the resting leg extended while you squat,
so that it is parallel to the floor throughout.
Benefits
This is a tough exercise, but continued practice will deliver tremendous
power, balance and poise. After time, most activities which emphasise
the lower body will become effortless. Once mastered, you can use
this stance while practising your upper body conditioning like the
Prayer Press and Pushing Mountains.
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Power training 1.10 - Muscle metamorphosis
Level: Black
Explanation
If you have progressed through the levels of power training you will have
a full pallet of techniques at your disposal to develop your body. You
should have also created a solid foundation of conditioning, enabling
you to practise advanced techniques. Black level training introduces
the concept of muscle metamorphosis. These techniques were among
the first taught by Buddha to the monks of the Shaolin Temple. Muscle
metamorphosis is several thousand years old and is the basis of all
modern kung fu. Today these exercises offer advanced conditioning,
drawing together the attributes of breathing, visualisation, stamina and
power.
Performance
1. Place your feet together and close your eyes. Keep your mouth
closed and touch the tip of your tongue to your pallet. Breathe
slowly and deeply into your abdomen for 9 breaths. Clear your mind.
Imagine a ball of powerful energy growing brighter in the base of your
abdomen.
2. Keep your arms straight and raise them up in front of you so your
hands are level with your shoulders. Form two fists with the thumb on
top, and imagine your are holding a steel ball in each hand. Imagine the
energy in your abdomen rushing through your chest and arms to your
fists. Clench your fists as tight as you can, imagining yourself crushing
the steel. Hold for a second and release. Keep your breathing slow
and steady, only breathing out 70–80% before breathing in. Repeat up
to 49 times before relaxing your arms to your sides.
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3. Keep your arms at your sides and breathe steadily. Point your palms
at the ground and your fingers straight forward. Once again, imagine
energy rushing into your palms as you press the heel of the hand
down and try to lift the fingertips forcefully. Repeat up to 49 times, then
relax.
4. Smoothly open the Character Two Stance. Imagine the ball of energy
sinking toward your thighs. Clench the pelvic floor muscles (the ones
you clench when you’re trying not to urinate), then the buttocks and
then squeeze the knees together to tense the thighs as hard as you
can. Hold for a few seconds, breathing steadily throughout, then relax
in reverse order. 5–10 repeats will be more than enough.
5 Lift your arms out in front, so your hands are at mid-chest level,
open with palms facing inward and elbows slightly bent. Imagine
you’re holding an invisible beach ball and you‘ll get the idea. Now,
imagine energy rushing through your arms and flowing out of your
finger tips. Then without actually moving your limbs clench your fists,
arms and chest as if pushing against an immovable object as hard as
you can. Hold for a few seconds, breathing steadily throughout, and
relax before repeating 5–10 times.
6. Remain in this position opening the hands so the palms once again
face inward. Sink your weight slightly by bending your knees. Breathe
steadily and deeply, once again visualising energy rushing from your
abdomen outward through all you limbs. Enjoy the tingling sensation
in all your muscles as a result of this exercise. When you are ready,
slowly lower your arms to your sides, stand upright and open your
eyes.
7. As your condition improves, try to produce more powerful and
longer periods of tension, working up to 5–15 seconds.
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Variations
The muscle metamorphosis exercises can be practised in order, or in
isolation. If you can’t quite get the hang of clenching all the muscles of
the chest and arms, try assuming the Prayer Press position and doing
it that way until you’re ready to practise the exercise as described.
Benefits
Muscle metamorphosis is extremely demanding. The strength for
which Shaolin Monks are famous, is not gained easily. Metamorphosis
exercise will, however, teach you to appreciate and coordinate breath,
will and action as almost no other exercise can. You will reap the
rewards in the enhanced performance of any activity – the pelvic floor
exercise also has some very specific benefits you might notice with
your partner! After a few weeks of consistent practice you’ll notice the
remarkable toning effect on your muscles. After a few months your
sinews will have metamorphosed beyond recognition.
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We can always start again
Jack Korngold
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Special situation 1.1 - Losing body fat
Explanation
The subject of weight control (more properly fat loss) has become
a multi-billion dollar industry. The success of this industry is largely
based on the desperation of its target audience coupled with an
ignorance of the facts and unwillingness to put in the effort to achieve
results. Despite an industry bent on convincing us of the existence of
a magic formula, successful fat loss relies only on applying a few basic
physical principles. Body fat is a mechanism we have evolved to store
energy against less plentiful times in the future. When we are inactive
or food is freely available, we tend to overeat and store fat. The plain
truth is that fat loss is a simple and uncomplicated process. If you eat
less and move more, you will lose fat.
Performance
1. Engage in vigorous stamina training for 30–40 minutes, 4–5
times each week. This burns energy and also signals a reduction in
appetite.
2. Throw bursts of intense exercise into your stamina exercise. This
helps burn energy faster and build muscle.
3. Exercise to build muscle. Muscle uses most of your energy at rest.
More muscle burns more energy.
4. Stay active. This wastes extra energy and makes snacking and
overeating less likely.
5. Build exercise into your schedule. Take the stairs instead of using
the lift, etc.
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6. Focus on foods with no added sugar and fat. Fruits, vegetables,
whole grains and lean meat will hit the mark. These foods contain less
energy and tend to be very filling. Fat and sugar also stimulate the
appetite. Avoiding them will tend to mean eating less.
7. Avoid cakes, sweets, fried foods and fatty meat. These foods contain
a great deal of energy for little volume. They stimulate the appetite and
predispose you to overeating.
8. Avoid temptation. Keep only the foods you should eat in the
house.
9. Eat regular, small meals. Remember, fat is a survival mechanism to
protect you against starvation. Not eating puts your body on alert to
famine. You will tend to overeat when you finally eat and feeling tired
will mean you are less likely to exercise.
10. Don’t try to lose weight quickly. This sends the message to your
body that it is starving and should store fat whenever it gets the chance.
Slowly ease the weight off and you are more likely to keep it off.
11. Eat what you want every now and again. Feeling deprived will only
make you want to pig out.
12. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration will make you tired and can
provoke a sensation of hunger.
13. Avoid fad diets, they will help you lose money rather than fat.
14. Learn about the physiology of body composition and exercise.
The more you know, the more effective you can be.
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Variations
There is an argument to reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat
and increase the level of protein. Essentially, excess carbohydrate
signals a hormonal response, releasing insulin into the blood, which
promotes fat storage. Insulin levels rise toward evening, so the idea is
that you reduce the amounts of carbohydrate you eat as the day goes
on. Checking food labels will quickly show you which foods contain
the most carbohydrate. Protein requires a great deal of energy to break
down and helps you to use up excess energy. Foods rich in protein
are usually low in carbohydrate anyway, so changing the amount of
one in your diet will normally affect the other.
Benefits
Carrying too much fat is associated with a range of serious illnesses.
Even being slightly overweight can increase blood pressure, risk of
heart disease and premature death. Carrying excess weight is tiring,
reducing the energy you have for work or play. Being lean not only
reduces the chance of illness, but increases energy and has a positive
impact on your life as a whole.
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Special situation 1.2 - Travel, jet lag and Deep
Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Explanation
The world is becoming an increasingly small place. Whether it’s for
business or leisure, we are travelling more than ever. With this new
freedom comes a few problems. Travel often involves prolonged hours
of enforced inactivity. If you fly long-haul you can find yourself sitting in
one position for 8–12 hours. When you arrive it may be night-time but
your body is used to eating breakfast. Even if you have the energy for
exercise, there is no guarantee your destination will be furnished with
a gym.
Performance
1. Whether sitting at the wheel of your car or on the red-eye to New
York, you can use the sinew metamorphosis exercises to stretch
and tone your muscles. You don’t need much room and there is little
movement involved.
2. On an airliner, you can move around so you can perform these
exercises standing up. Tensing and relaxing the legs prevents pooling
blood in the deep veins of the thigh and calf, reducing the risk of
DVT.
3. In your car, you can supplement the sinew metamorphosis by
straining against the wheel and pressing your legs against the sides
of the foot well.
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4. Remember that inactivity is a key ingredient in telling your body to
gain fat. Be careful not to overeat at the same time. Avoiding in-flight
alcohol and leaving the pudding out will help too.
5. Always seek an opportunity to practise, there is no reason you can’t
use this time to work on creating calm focus or practising abdominal
breathing.
6. When you arrive on the far side of the world, the change in time
zones may leave you feeling jaded and jet-lagged. This is simply the
body’s chemistry gearing up for sleep at it’s usual time, regardless of
the time where you are. East to west travel is typically the hardest for
the air traveller because day breaks just when your body is expecting
bedtime.
7. A session of stamina training can redress the worst of the feelings,
as you start to adjust.
8. Also, avoid carbohydrate rich foods during the day, as these will
promote changes in your body chemistry, leaving you feeling tired. Try
and stay awake until your normal bedtime. Have a carbohydrate rich
meal an hour or so before you retire and you should pass out nicely.
9. Of course, muscle metamorphosis allows you to maintain superb
condition anywhere as it needs no special equipment. A few sessions
while you are away, will fight off the worst travel has to offer.
Variations
You can apply these principles wherever you go in the world. The
limitations of where you find yourself will dictate how you adapt your
skills. If you have limited space, focus on those skills which require
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little movement: focus, breathing and sinew metamorphosis, until you
have the freedom to express yourself with stamina training.
Benefits
Muscle metamorphosis allows you to maintain superb condition
anywhere, anytime.
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Special situation 1.3 - In a hurry
Explanation
There never seems to be enough time. There is always one more thing
to do. The pace of life for most of us has increased tremendously. In
response to an increasingly global economy, and rising expectations,
we are all being driven to become busier. This often leads to some
activities being sacrificed. These may well be the very activities we
enjoy or those that benefit us the most. Modern life, and especially the
twenty-first century workplace, predisposes us to inactivity and stress.
At the same time our physical condition is suffering. No matter how
busy you get, scheduling exercise into your routine offers real benefits
to your energy levels, health and focus.
Performance
1. A workout is a workout. Even if you can only afford 15–10 minutes
stamina and 5 minutes strength training – it all helps.
2. Exercise is exercise. You can work it into your daily activities. Take
the stairs instead of the lift. Walk or cycle rather than taking the car.
3. There will always be something else you could be doing but schedule
exercise into your diary even if the sessions are short. Keep a regular
routine and make it a priority – soon it will become a habit.
4. If time pressure means you can’t get through a full routine, split it
up. Focus on your lower body in one session, emphasising kicks and
lower limb strength exercises, and on your upper body in the next
session.
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5. The results of exercise are dose related. Benefits come from how hard,
often and long you train. To some extent these are interchangeable.
Train harder and more frequently when you have more time. Weekends
and days off are excellent times to squeeze in a few training sessions.
Keep things ticking over with lighter work when you are busy.
Variations
Your own schedule will dictate how you adapt your own exercise
routine. So long as you follow the basic principles, there are no firm
rules. Experience will soon tell you how much exercise you need to
reach your goals, or how little you require to maintain them when you
arrive.
Benefits
Having mastered the principles of muscle metamorphosis, you can
adapt them to the particular pressures of your own lifestyle. Rather
than a rigid prescription for exercise, you can develop your own unique
strategy.
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Special situation 1.4 - Lifetime good health
Explanation
From the moment of conception, the human body is subject to a
remarkable process of growth, development and ageing. No aspect of
our physiology or psychology is exempt from these effects. It follows
that we may respond differently to the demands of daily life depending
upon our age, gender and circumstances. Equally, our preparedness
to meet the challenges of life tomorrow may well depend on the efforts
we make today.
Performance
1. Values promoted by our parents and role models will usually form
the basis for those displayed by children as they grow-up. If these
tendencies lead to poor physical development and obesity, they
can establish a self-reinforcing cycle which is very hard to break in
adulthood. Parents and adult role models have a golden opportunity
to help children get a head start on a lifetime of good health. Childhood
defines the patterns carried into adult life.
2. Children are usually not interested in the reasons to avoid sweets
and fatty foods: the bottom line is they taste good. Equally, exercise
is hard work and bites into playtime. The key to establishing good
habits early on is a role model emphasizing moderate indulgence and
fun in movement. Having played the video game, why not challenge
a recreation of the SmackDown in real life? This also has the effect of
getting the adult children off the sofa. Carry the same principles over
into the mealtimes – Bruce Lee did not get his washboard abs from
eating candy bars – and you’ve got a plan that’s coming together.
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3. The transition to adolescence heralds a greater distinction between
genders. Exercise during this period can be a useful way to understand
these changes, build confidence and release some of the tension from
raging hormones. Importantly, the transition to adulthood probably
suggests a different emphasis in exercise for men and women. Given
the greater risk of heart disease faced simply by being male, men
should be sure to include some regular aerobic exercise in their
routine. The loss of bone mass and lean tissue associated with aging
in women may well be offset by early and continued emphasis on
power training. The foundations for health in later life, as well as the
patterns of behaviour to maintain them, are reinforced here.
4. Not content with promoting bone and muscle loss in old age, nature
also deals the female of the species a trial by childbirth. Pregnancy
does not, and should not, preclude physical exercise at all. Almost
any kind of exercise is completely safe up until a few weeks before
birth. Exercise helps mothers adjust to the physical challenges of
pregnancy, may make labour easier to endure, and should stimulate
faster recovery.
5. Weakness and infirmity are not the inevitable conclusions of old age,
but usually the consequences of choices made while younger. While
there may be some obligatory loss of physical capacity with age, this
can be delayed or avoided with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle.
Over 60 is not over the hill and retirement offers a fantastic opportunity
to be physical. Muscle, joint and bone health seem to suffer more with
age than heart and lung function, so an emphasis on building strength
and mobility seems very much in order for more senior participants.
134
Special situations
Variations
In addition to a shifting emphasis on exercise across our lifetime, it
does appear there are a few other lifestyle factors strongly associated
with robust good health at any age. In no particular order these are:
eat regular meals and don’t skip breakfast, drink plenty of water,
don’t smoke, drink alcohol in moderation, take regular exercise, keep
regular sleeping patterns and aim for eight hours a night, maintain a
positive outlook on life. Many of these factors are almost self-evident,
but it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves.
Benefits
Vigorous good health is among the greatest assets you can possess.
Any amount of wealth becomes meaningless when you cannot
exploit it. Even the closest relationships suffer when you cannot fully
engage in them. Whatever your aspirations, at any age, you will be
handsomely rewarded by attaining a higher level of physical and
mental readiness.
136
Wing Chun - Books, posters and DVDs
Wing Chun books
Beginning Wing Chun: Why Wing Chun Works by Alan Gibson.
The most comprehensive Wing Chun book available... A functional
reference that gets to the heart of Wing Chun.
Simple Thinking, Intelligent Fighters by Alan Gibson. Clear
guidelines on how to develop the techniques and concepts shown in
the first book. Easy to read and absorb.
The Wing Chun Forms: Combat Textbooks by Alan Gibson. A
detailed journey through the first two forms and the Wooden Dummy,
using practical applications.
Wing Chun DVDs
Wing Chun – In a Class of its Own by Alan Gibson. An overview of
the Wing Chun system; Siu Nim Tao and Cham Kiu demonstrated. All
the major drills and theories are investigated.
Wing Chun – Keeping It Real! by Alan Gibson. Featuring the wooden
dummy form and application. Also pressure testing drills.
Improving Wing Chun Forms by Alan Gibson. All six Wing Chun
forms demonstrated clearly from start to finish. Commentary on each
form.
Improving Wing Chun Drills by Alan Gibson. All the major Wing
Chun drills. Clearly filmed and explained from multiple angles to
facilitate easy learning.
Improving Wing Chun Chi Sau by Alan Gibson. How to train and
improve your fighting skill through Chi Sau. Includes many drills and
common mistakes.
137
Wing Chun - Books, posters and DVDs
Cross Training in Martial Arts by Jamie Clubb, Geoff Thompson,
Peter Consterdine, Rick Young, Alan Gibson, Iain Abernethy,
Shihan Chris Rowen, Mo Teague. Including never seen before
interviews, techniques and more!
The Master’s Seminar by Alan Gibson. Wing Chun key footwork
concepts that can help anyone improve their art.
Beginning Wing Chun by Alan Gibson. A syllabus-based training
film showing the progression of practice and understanding of Wing
Chun.
Posters
Siu Nim Tao and Cham Kiu. Top quality, large (A1) size posters of the
forms.
Web
All merchandise is available to order from The Wing Chun Federation
website: www.wingchun.org.uk
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Visit us at
mindandbodymetamorphosis.co.uk
or
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