May 2012 Training Theme of the Month - Qigong

Qi (chi) - Breath
Gong (gung) - Work


Qigong = Working your breathing


Qigong consist of:


1. Alignment


2. Abdominal breathing


3. Intention and visualization 

I 


For everyone:


The 10 Qigong Sets that I teach are:


1. Master Leung Kay-Chi's "10" Exercises 


2. Master Hayward's "30" Warm Ups 


3. I Ch'uan's  5 position Standing Meditation Set


4. Master Choi's Standing Meditation Set


5. Master Zhang's Single Leg Standing Meditation Set


6. Centering the Breath Qigong


7. The "21"  T'ai-Chi Qigong


8. The Grand Circulation Qigong


9. Master Zhang's Wild Goose Qigong  


10. Grand Master Duan's Wuji Hundun (Primordial Chaos) Qigong 






All forms can be elevated to a level of Qigong IF:


The practitioner is able to concentrate on alignment, breathing and visualization of the applications and yin/yang lines of energy when performing them 










The 9 Breath Method

- Start by feeling your feet, place them in Wuji stance with your weight centered

- Soften your knees and allow your lower back to lengthen (drop your tail bone - T'ai Gung)

- Align your shoulders over your hips and your head over your shoulders (avoid leaning)

- Release all tension downward (Sung)

- Place your palms over your navel

- Feel your abdomen expanding as you breath in and contracting as you breath out

- Count 9 breaths, with each breath getting longer, slower and deeper until you reach the 9th

- End with "centering your breath qigong"

- Stand and breath naturally and simply notice how you feel....

- Try to repeat at least once per day

II


For Karate and Arnis students:


Sanchin Breathing

- From a horse or seiuchin stance

- Breath in through the nose (he sound) and out through and open mouth (ha sound)

- There are various things you can do with your arms; What I've been doing lately in the "10" is switching #8 using palms up at the hips and going forward in a double palm heel strike with dynamic tension and sanchin breathing.

More to come........

April 2012 Theme of the Month: Keep a Training Journal

The April Theme is to keep a Training Journal:

The particular way that you keep the journal can be virtually anyway you can conceive of  that keeps a daily record of your training.
I've left copies of an outline that Jack Fox sent me yesterday by the Studio door and will continue to have some of those available.
For the month of April I'd like to see everyone's training journal once per week....no demerits if I don't ....but that's what I would like. 


Here are some suggestions about how  to keep the Training Journal:

• Keep the journal by using the form that I'm providing
• Writing in a notebook
• Writing on a calender
• Write it in an email to me (CC yourself) 
• Write it to a computer program like Word or Google.docs or a spread sheet 
• I'll make some a google.doc available too...just make sure I have your email address by requesting the form via email
• Draw or Paint (that's how the cave men did it) the journal
• Record it
• Use photographs 
• Video tape it
• Be creative....Any 'ol way you can get yourself to do it....the BEST way is the way that you'll do it!! 

A word or two about the Training Journal and daily practice:

If you do one conscious breath a day...you can consider that a 'practice' 

The journal can include any and everything that contributes to your Martial Arts development.

Any type of conditioning including walking, running, shadow boxing, weight lifting, stretching, sports...etc. etc....I consider any and all activities that contribute to my overall health as part of my "practice"

Other suggestions about what keep track of:

Forms

Basics

Shadow Boxing

Stick Twirling

Weapons training

Joint Locking

Rolls

Bag Work

Sparring

Push-Hands

 Rou-Shou (Bagua push-hands)

Trapping Hands

Self-Defense training and techniques

Focus Pad Work

Meditation

Qigong

Etc. etc. etc.......Anything and everything that you've been exposed to and practice

FYI:
I consider my musical practice as a form of Qigong as well as Skiing, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling ....etc. It all contributes to the person I'm trying to become...I'm a work in progress and I just keep working on myself;^)

Peace,
Sifu

March Theme of the Month: Elbows and Knees

Elbows and Knee can be worked from several different perspectives. A couple of suggestions are:

- Basic strikes to the air, pads or bags

- Applications from forms

- Incorporating them into free-style push/hands, free-sparring, trapping hands and joint locks

- Focusing on the knee positions when kicking

- Focusing on the elbow positions when striking

- Using them in a SD scenario

- Concentrating on alignment and the relationship between elbow/shoulder/hip and Knee/foot/hip during standing meditation and forms

This in not meant to be a complete list, but a some ideas that come to mind this morning....Please feel free to chime in and add to the list, drills, exercises and concepts around this theme.

Sifu

Last Week Review Monday 1/30 - Saturday 2/4/2012 - Sifu

Morning all,

I hope this email finds you all happy and healthy. Here's the news:

The Training Theme for the February is: Stance Work

On vacation:

Sensei Kratz - back this week

Read - away until the end of the month

Phil - away for another week

Still getting a fair amount of sick calls last week but down from the last few weeks. There's some nasty stuff going 'round. Keep washing your hands!

Tai Chi folks: Keep the help coming on Wed evening....remember that there is a class on Thursday from 5:30-6:30 for all the 2 person work, especially the Dance. Read and James are the only students currently coming regularly...and Read's away this month....James doesn't come every week and Dale comes occasionally. Colleen has been the most regular student (no surprise there) and Scott's been coming lately. Making the class a SBHQ for sure;.)

Last week in review:

- Monday night classes posted on the Staff Blog http://jrroymartialartsstaff.blogspot.com/ 

- Tuesday morning 7-8 Sandy and I worked the Dance on both sides, reviewed the single and double broadsword

- Tuesday morning tai chi - the regular crew - great class

- Tuesday youth karate class - Colleen led the class

- Wed. youth karate - med size class - great help from Thomas - worked weight distribution in all the stances in The 10 - and then in seisan stances - good class

- Wed. tai chi - good size class with some great help from Marcia, Jeff, Dale and James - I led the 30 Qigong warm ups, standing meditation and a short qigong - went on to 90 degree empty stepping and then to the solo form in groups - great class 


- Wed arnis - SBHQ Marcia and Jeff assisting - two brand new students - Jeff worked with Thomas and Marcia and I introduced the two new students to arnis, warm ups, 12 angles of attack, forward triangle stance work, reinforced blocks, posted blocks with stance work for strikes 1 and 2 - good class

- Thursday morning Bagua SBHQ group with Lenny, Bob, Sandy, Janee - detail in the 80/20 step during the Mud Treading Step - reviewed the Cheng T'ing Hwa set - great class!

- Tai Chi - med size class with the regulars plus Lenny (always a treat) - talked about weight distribution - 

- Little Dragons - SBHQ with Colleen assisting - new student Zack did great!

- Youth karate class - med size class with great help from Colleen, Scott and Thomas - lot's of work on stances both classical and modern

- 2 person class - SBHQ - James, Colleen and Scott - did a 'round' of tai chi - I worked the dance with James and Colleen and Scott worked together

- Adult karate class - SBHQ - with great help from Colleen - lot's of line work to pads - talked about refining the starting speed of the tech and the delivery of the kicks - worked on hook kick/round house combo

- Saturday morning tai chi - Sandy led class - I came in at 9 for the 'round'

- First youth karate class - Colleen, Thomas, Scott and Simon assisting - I led the 10 with lot's of basics emphasizing stance work, then line work and finished with kata

- Second youth/adult karate - good size group - Colleen, Thomas, Scott, Simon assisting - classical stance work and modern stance work - both classes were good.

That's it for this morning...please stay in touch and keep checking the Staff Blog. Hope to see you in classes this coming week.

--
Breathing in peace,
Sifu/Richard

www.JRRoy.com - Studio's Web Site
JRRoyMartialArts.blogspot.com - Sifu's Studio Blog

J. R. Roy Martial Arts Studio
1 Osgood St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
413-774-2888

Theme of the Month - Jan. 2012 - Joint Locks - Sifu's notes

Sifu's note on Joint Locking:

- Joint locking is one of the most advanced practices in martial arts training. It demands incredible accuracy and feeling to apply effectively. The original design was to hurt the attackers joints in order to incapacitate them. In real life S.D., joint locks can also be used to (forcefully) throw them to the ground. Caution: Throws can cause lasting injury and IF they head their head, that could be REALLY bad, so use control whenever using a lock to throw them to the ground in practices. Join locks are also used to put them in a disadvantaged position in order to strike them more effectively.

- You must be in good balance to apply locks effectively - So pay attention to your body's alignment and  position relative to them! If it feels like it's to close or too far away....it is!! Adjust with stance work...

- A good place to start students (especially new ones) is with either arm bar, single finger lock (index) or backward throw.

- Explain the concept of fulcrum, lever, base and the energy of 'split' (two energies going in opposite directions)

- Always keep a bit of peng energy in the elbow when on the receiving end while practicing arm bars

- Go slowly and evenly once their joint get's near the end range

- Always go to a slap

- Speak to your partner if you are afraid are practicing in a way that will eventually induce injury. If that doesn't work, stop training and speak to Sifu....I'll help.

- Know the single locks that you are going to put into a flowing series BEFORE you flow them

MORE ON THIS TO COME......

January 2012 - Theme of the Month - Joint Locks

Joint Lock training includes single joint locks that progress into combinations of joint locks for flow and mobility, counters to joint locks, two person joint lock series, disarms for stick and knife with and without weapons, take downs and ground work.
Forward and backward break/falls are important if the student is healthy enough. Not good for those with neck and/or shoulder issues. Always start from a kneeling position and progress to standing only when the forward roll is smooth (without 'flat' spots)

Theme of the month for December 2011: Free-Style

A few ideas that come to mind when I think about this whole idea of free-styling or improvising and the creative space that the magic comes out of. For me it's a very interesting subject. I hope that all of you can add some of your own ideas and favorite drills on the subject to the Staff Blog, to your daily practices and the classes that you lead.

Here's a few ideas in random order for you to ponder....Hmmmmm.....

* Free styling is to be in the moment.......mind focused and relaxed.... and then to spontaneously improvise


*We often do semi-free style drills and exercises as in trapping hands. Free Style Platforms such as push hands, rou shou and tapi tapi  can be used to jump into an improvisational sequence, then back into the platform.

*Improvising uses knowledge that has been actively trained, perfected and consciously inputted/uploaded to the unconscious mind. With repeated practice over time the unconscious mind gets 'wired' with the material. 

* Improvising is where preparation (Yang training) meets opportunity (Yin training).

* The four F's: Form, Function, Feeling and Forgetting -  Note: Forgetting is the non-thinking state of mind that allow's you to access the material that lives in your unconscious mind

* The Japanese word for the forgetting state of mind is: Mushin - mind no mind

*The conscious mind training is Yang the unconscious mind training is Yin.

*Free-Style is Yin mind training while a portion of your consciousness is observing and adjusting the  practice 'in the moment'. Some traditions call this state of consciousness the "watcher"

 (Just try and wrap your brain around the incredible complexity of neurons that have to fire and internal chemistry that has to happen in order to achieve that kind of state of mind! Yikes!)

*My personal experience is that the 'watcher' is a semi-conscious portion of your unconscious mind...But I'm still actively pondering and researching this in my daily practices

* The unconscious mind cannot think in negatives......

*I'm continually blown away at the complexity of human consciousness. To study it, is to observe the Tao 

*Improvising has a 'play' feeling to it....it's light....it's creative....it's spontaneous. 

*Personal Qigong has a listening aspect that is used in order to diagnose yourself, that information then used to select the appropriate material to be practiced.

*One of basics of daily martial arts practice is:  "If it hurts, don't do it"! 

When your injured there is a necessary adjustment that is important to insure that you don't continue to re-injure yourself as you do your daily practice. Otherwise how could you continue?

*There are some aspects of developing improvisational skills that are easier than others.

*As with all skill sets, improvising is easier for some than for others. 

Here are few ideas to start with:

I - Warm Up's-

              I suggest a moment of stillness in order to listen to yourself then proceed to warm up with what 'feels' right to you at that very moment in time. Improvising your warm up demands and encourages that you are listening to yourself. Listening is the springboard that decide what and when to do something. 

II - Basics -

             Again starting with a moment of stillness, listen internally and feel the technique of the moment crystallize. Once you start with one tech. let yourself naturally flow into the next tech that 'feels right' for that particular moment in time. You can do this with individual basic tech's or movements from forms.

Sometimes Free-Styling is built into the basics of the Art's as line work, bag work and shadow boxing in American Karate-do, and weapons twirling, trapping hands and Tapi Tapi in Modern Arnis. 

III - Partner practices - 

            Free-Sparring, line work (with a partner blocking) and gauntlet self-defense exercises in American Karate-do, push hands and free-style 'Dance' in Tai Chi Ch'uan, Rou Shou in Bagua Zhang and trapping hands and tapi tapi in Modern Arnis 

This is by no means a definitive list of free-style exercises and drills, but I'm hoping is gives you a good start and stimulates some thoughts, practices and teachings that lead to a better understanding of the Yin side of Martial Arts.

Peace,
Sifu