Robyn's Travels

Wu Dao’s 2nd Annual Traditional Kung Fu Competition

On Saturday, April 7, 2012, I participated in Wu Dao’s 2nd Annual Traditional Kung Fu Competition.  Because one of my co-workers was generous enough to cover my work shift, I was able to attend the entire event.  In the morning, I was a scorekeeper for the children’s and junior’s hand forms and weapon forms divisions.  It was awesome watching all these kids perform Kung Fu and seeing how passionate they were about it!  Made me wish that I started younger in life… but better late than never!

Then in the afternoon, it was time for the teen’s and adult’s divisions.  Which meant, it was time for me to compete!  I was slotted for the adult beginner hand form division, which meant people who have studied Kung Fu between 1-2 years. I performed my yellow belt Choy Lay Fut form of Sup Ji Kuen (also know as Cross Pattern Fist or Ten Elements Fist). I will show the video on a separate post. 

If you know me, then you know that I hate performing in public.  Doesn’t matter if it’s Kung Fu, dancing, or speaking - I get extremely nervous and shy about it.  I couldn’t sleep the night before and my stomach was in knots all morning Saturday.  Thankfully, my friends at Wu Dao gave me encouragement and the focus to fight my anxiety.  When it was my turn to go, I gave it my best.  Despite being sick this past week, I tried to focus on powerful strikes and faster movement.  Partway through, I stumbled in my footwork a little, which threw me mentally off-balance.  But instead of my usual tendency to stop abruptly or shake my head in disgust, I continued on.  It still threw me off because a couple seconds later, I forget to add sounds for two of my panther fist strikes. 

Overall though, I was pretty pleased with my performance.  The mistakes I made in my form will remind me of the areas I still need improvement on. However, I managed to win 1st place in my division, which made me very happy.  (This one’s for you, Tabea!)

I then got to watch the the intermediate and advanced students perform. The guys did a great job, but they also had their nervous moments or their “oops” moments just like me. It reminded me that it doesn’t matter how long you have been doing martial arts or competitions, stuff happens and you learn to deal with it. 

This competition was a great experience for me, both as a competitor and an observer. It is just another motivating factor in my journey as a Kung Fu student!

Kung Fu: All about Breakthroughs

Tonight may not have been the most physically challenging Kung Fu class I’ve had, but it was certainly one of the most mentally challenging since I’ve started.  And in a good way.

With the bad weather, only two of us showed up for the 7:30pm class.  This gave us the opportunity to have very individualized attention with Shi-fu. So after a core routine, we spend probably half of the class working on just 3 floor drills.  

The majority of it was spent on horse stance/cover stance.  Working from yesterday’s progress, Shi-fu was able to further critique my transitions and structure.  He better understood what I was doing wrong and how to correct it.  The “simplest” way? Practicing at Tai Chi speed.  And man - what a difference that made.  

By slowing down the movement and making it continuous, I was able to catch my breaking points and feel the bad structure.  From that, I could pivot more on my heel into cover stance.  Slowing it down allowed me to not “stomp” down on my foot to hit horse stance, but to “glide” into position so that I step with the heel and move forward, all while keep my back straight, shoulders down and back, and head facing my target.  I could feel the soreness in my muscles, but it was definitely worth it.

Then I used those same movements to do sau choy/biu jong against focus mitts across the floor, followed by back-fist/spinning back-fist. Again, I could feel when I needed to pivot on the heel and step forward into horse stance with the heel. 

The remainder of class was spent working on the two white belt forms of Choy Lay Fut: Six Sau Choy and Small Plum Flower Fist.  Again, attention to detail was key.  I think I learned more in correcting these forms tonight than the entire time I was a white belt!  Why?  Again, we slowed everything down to Tai Chi speed. From that, I found how to correctly step into a biu jong (swinging technique - swinging step) versus a chin na (linear striking technique - stepping in and then out). I learned that I lean back in stepping into chin na on Small Plum Flower Fist, instead of just “walking” into position.  Tai Chi speed allowed me to finally understand the continuous flow of the flower from chin na to biu jong. Even in the finishing move, I din’t realize until tonight than I need to turn and pull backwards to create force in striking forward.

Even after class, I talked to Shi-fu about the benefits of doing the techniques and forms at Tai Chi speed. We discussed the similarities between Tai Chi and Kung Fu.  It made me determine that I’m going to try attending Wednesday evening Tai Chi classes to continue improvement upon fluid motion in my stance work and forms.

Can you tell I learned a LOT tonight?  It was amazing. Again, it wasn’t my best night performance-wise, but it was one of my best nights learning-wise. 

Kung Fu: Improvements Achieved and Improvements Needed

In the last couple of weeks, I have been drilling into my Kung Fu classes.  Despite it being tax season, I am still trying to budget my time accordingly  so that I can go to class 3-4 times a week.

In the last two weeks, my Shi-Fu complimented me on two things I haven’t been able to achieve in my 1.5 years of training.  Last week, I was doing side kicks on the heavy bags.  Shi-fu stated that it was the first time I actually executed good side kicks, from chambering to striking. That made me feel good, especially since I’m been trying to overcome muscle strain in my right side above my hips.  

Tonight, I was doing back fist/spinning back fist floor drills.  Last week,  I finally realized the proper way to transition foot-wise from the initial back fist into the spinning back fist.  Performing it tonight, Shi-fu was actually impressed and stated that I’ve really improved on it.  That made my night, especially since I had such a rough day earlier at work.

So what do I need to focus on for this week?  Well, two weeks ago, I learned more of my orange belt form, Ng Lun Choy.  But certain parts need cleaning up and better execution before I can learn more of the form.  Last week, it was the butterfly palm into cover stance.  This week, it was my transitioning from horse stance to leaning stance back to horse stance while doing chuen na (a Choy Lay Fut arm strike).  My Shi-fu was having the hardest time trying to determine how I was doing it wrong, and during the second of my classes tonight, he figured out that:

1) I’m not opening my foot wide enough from horse stance to leaning stance to propel the motion, and

2) my head is not turning at the right moments, which surprisingly limits my movement. In other words, I’m delaying looking in the direction of my strike when I should be turning my head as I’m starting to switch hands to execute the next chuen na.  

Now that I understand how I’m doing it wrong, now I need LOTS of practice to get it right! I’ll just be right back at it again tomorrow, of course! 

Reflections from Today’s Choy Lay Fut Workshops

This Sunday, I was able to attend two Choy Lut Fut workshops with Sifu Daniel Tomizaki. The morning workshop involved Choy Lay Fut Applications. In this class, we utilized some of the ten elements (strikes) by applying it with self-defense techniques.  For instance, I learned Kum Jong, which is a palm strike to the neck. The applications class was wonderful because you saw how the strikes could be used in both a defensive and offensive motion against an opponent.

The afternoon workshop involved sparring.  So the techniques we used earlier for application was now being tested in “free-form” fighting. Only in the last couple of weeks have I worked with sparring, but this was my first intensive experience.  I had partner sparring where we would take turns repetitively attacking our partner so we get used to blocking and counter-attacking. It is extremely hard trying to determine how to block and strike the opponent’s open range with the most effective strike instantly.  This will take a LOT of practice.

What surprised me is when we then worked in groups of three people, where one person would attack with three strikes, and then the other person would immediately attack in the same format.  I was not used to having two people surround me and attack as I try to defend myself.  As a result, I had a psychological flashback to the bank robbery I experienced over a year ago.  A few minutes later, I emotionally broke down and tried holding back tears. My partner noticed I was not doing well and suggested I take a break.  I took some time, and explained to my Shi-fu what had happened.  We talked about it and I composed myself, eager to return to sparring.  I was still a little shaken, but able to finish the rest of class.  

After the workshop was over, I talked to instructor Steffani Tomizaki, who reassured me that such traumatic experiences will have an effect in triggering emotional responses while training. She said to not fight it, but instead recognize when it happens and to inform my sparring partner and shi-fu when it happens, so that I take the time to overcome it and work thru it.  That conversation really meant a lot to me, and I felt much better. 

Overall, I gained so much from these workshops.  I am so lucky that I was able to attend these two classes, and I will use the skills learned today to improve my Choy Lay Fut training.  These workshops further reinforced that I chose the right path… I truly love Choy Lay Fut!

Choy Lay Fut: Ng Lun Choy and more sparring…

Beginning last week, I started to learn my orange belt form under Choy Lay Fut.  It is called Ng Lun Choy, or 5 Wheel Fist.  I learned the beginning of it, which made me realize that the transition of my blocks, like when doing a gwa choy, is not smooth enough.  I had to take time on the wooden dummy this evening to practice the speed and efficiency of the block.  

In other news, I got to practice sparring again tonight.  I am starting to utilize some of the ten elements of Choy Lay Fut against my partner.  I am incorporating sau choys and uppercuts, but Shi-fu demonstrated the effectiveness of chuen na or a quick jab to the face after blocking my opponent’s strike.  Again, it’s going to take a LOT of practice to have these offensive and defensive strikes become second nature when sparring.

As I dig deep into the movements and stance work of Choy Lay Fut, I am recognizing my flaws (with Shi-fu’s help) and slowly trying to determine what I need to do execute the correct moves.  I’ve seen improvement over the last month, and that is very encouraging.

Choy Lay Fut Lessons: Ten Elements, Butterfly Strike, and Fighting Stance

This week, I learned and practiced the ten elements (or ten strikes) of Choy Lay Fut. My instructor and some of the advanced students came up with a way to better memorize the ten elements, by categorizing them as: 2 linear, 3 rolling, 2 uppercut, 3 swinging.

Broken down:

• 2 linear: chuen na (shooting arm bridge, to seize), chop (panther fist)
• 3 rolling: kum (circular over the head as slapping deflection), gwa (block and elbow/roll into downward backfist), ding (elbow strike)
• 2 uppercut: pow (both arms circle over and back), jong (shield armpit and punch from below hip)
• 3 swinging: sau chue (inward sweeping punch), kup chue (elbow bent and hand to ear before executing straight-arm downward strike), biu jong (outward shooting forearm strike)

In addition, I also learned the butterfly strike where I move from horse stance to cover stance, as my arms move in a circular fashion.  As I complete the strike, I do a side front kick and land back into a horse stance before repeating on the other side.

I also got to do light contact sparring, in which I learned to better my fighting stance.  I basically need to stand sideways in a relaxed position, then bend my knees, then lean to the back an inch or two. Simple as that, even though I often overthink it.  

This 4-day practice week was wonderful!

Yay for Kung Fu sparring!

After a challenging day of work, I almost went straight home to recuperate.  Thankfully, I forced myself to make it to my 4th night of Kung Fu in a row.  And although I was tortured in the first 30 minutes with excruciatingly sore stretching exercises, I was rewarded with the first opportunity to do light sparring in class!

The idea is to go very slowly in your sparring, to get an understanding of how to move, how to block, and how to strike.  Sometimes one gets a little excited and goes a little too fast, which could cause some unexpected bruising so soon in the game.  My friend Liesbeth and I were having a lot of fun trying to incorporate Choy Lay Fut arm strikes into the sparring, while trying to protect ourselves from low blows and kicks.  I realize that I am better being defensive than offensive.  This will take A LOT of time and practice, but I can’t wait to really dig into sparring in 2012!

First night of intermediate kung fu

After getting my orange belt on Monday, I decided to suffer thru my body aches and attend my first intermediate kung fu class offered on Wednesday evenings. Surprisingly, I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure what to expect.  There were only 4 of us in class last night, one green belt and three orange belts. After warm-up, the class broke up into who was focusing on each style, Shaolin or Choy Lay Fut.  I was the only student who was focusing on Choy Lay Fut, so I was on my own for practicing drills and forms.  This really worked out to my advantage.  

These intermediate classes are apparently great for getting more individualized attention so that Shi-fu can pinpoint incorrect techniques, why they are incorrect and how to train into the proper technique for better advancement.  

For the longest, I have been having difficulty moving from a cover stance to horse stance.  Shi-fu was able to determine that I have been picking up my back leg from cover stance, lifting it up too high and dropping it in a perfect 50-50 horse stance.  This then makes it ineffective to have forward motion towards my next move. I should be starting from cover stance, transitioning into a back stance, then striking into a forward horse stance.

I also learned in that drill that I cannot move the back leg in a circular motion; it needs to move linearly.  Therefore, I need to find the right balance of moving my foot forward into horse stance without lifting the foot prior to movement, nor scraping my foot across the floor.  Easier said than done.  But the “a-ha” moment has been reached so at least I can now sense when I do the movement wrong and know what I need to do to fix it.  I just need to practice extensively to correct that transition.

I really gained a lot from that one practice and I feel so motivated.  My focus is to really correct my techniques so that I can be more fluid, faster and powerful in my approach! 

Success - Earned my Orange Belt in Kung Fu!

I’ve been out for the last 1.5 weeks from Kung Fu.  The half week was due to my back flaring up in pain again, and then last week was spent on a cruise vacation to the Eastern Caribbean. (Yes, I’m still working on photos.)  During that time, I was extremely bummed that I was missing class. I managed to walk a lot while on vacation and hit the gym a couple of times with Ben.

So Monday night was my first night back at Kung Fu and surprise, I was going to be testing into my orange belt! I’m thinking to myself, “great… haven’t practiced the Ten Elements Fist form full out in a week, I’m doomed.”  Thankfully, I had enough time to practice before testing in front of my shi-fu.  My main focus for improvement needs to be striking with the arms versus just placing them (again, another learned behavior from dance class that I need to break free from).  But I managed to earn my orange belt at the end of class.  I’m extremely proud of myself.  I don’t think anyone, including myself, expected for me to come this far.  But I really developed a passion for this and there’s no stopping me!  Now I can attend the intermediate Kung Fu classes on Wednesday nights and begin more work on self defense and sparring.  I’m so happy and this achievement just refocuses my efforts on getting better and stronger in Choy Lay Fut!