Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness – Help!

 Aug 11th 2016    Training

Empty carton of chocolate milk consumed to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness and then squashed after two hours of Kung Fu & Tai Chi training.

Instructor’s phone shows: New text message – “The class was great, but I don’t think I can commit to the training right now.”  Cue Instructor wondering why an enthusiastic beginner has given up before they’ve really started. But we know. It’s an open secret. Many, many people drop a new training regime because of muscle pain. Not injury, but the pain known as DOMS – acronym for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. They will rarely say so, overwhelmed by a world of Shame/Blame/Pain after finding out that they are not fit as they thought, not as strong, not as tough – what were they thinking of when they tried a Kung Fu class? never mind Tai Chi..(how can that possibly hurt??).

And it’s not only the Beginners. Committed students who have been training for a couple of years can suddenly find it hard going if they are sleep deprived (new baby?), under stress (new job?), or have a change of routine (new house?). And this is where if it works for you, chocolate milk as a recovery drink can get you over this hump.

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Chocolate Milk Addiction.

 Aug 04th 2016    Training

Richard Wagstaff, Instructor of Fujian White Crane Kung Fu 7 Tai Chi Martial Arts, drinks chocolate milk after training.

“I’m shaking under the bright lights.  Sweat is pouring off me.  My clumsy fingers fumble with the cellophane, tugging at the packaging, trying not to drop it but get it out and stab the box. In it goes and I take a long pull through the straw. Blessed relief as the sweet chocolate milk begins its journey through my exhausted body.  It’s the end of two hours of intense training. You know what it feels like – squats, patterns, combinations, leg lifts, press-ups, patterns, two-person combinations, stance work watching the mirror to make sure your head isn’t higher than the person in front (why are the front row so short?). And at the end of it all (well, just before weapons and sparring get underway) I allow myself a carton of chocolate milk.” Instructor Sharon Ngo is here to tell you all about the latest in fitness addictions. Read More

Forget Stereotypes – Classical Chinese Martial Arts are for All.

 Jun 23rd 2016    News, Training

Jill Steen, student of Fujian White Crane Kung Fu & Tai Chi Martial Arts competing in Quanzhou, China

“Could you write something about the health benefits of Tai Chi?” the Editor of Calibre Quarterly magazine asked Instructor Richard Wagstaff. “No problem”. And here it is: Fighting Spirit. Yes we all agree that 65-year old Chief Instructor Dennis Ngo looks “impressive” (in the words of the Calibre Editor). Whilst preparing the article, discussions turned to people’s perceptions of Tai Chi as for those who were not “up to” the hard style of Kung Fu. Why don’t I just come out with it and say “mature” or “older” or “middle-aged”? Because, leaving aside considerations of acceptable language and the implied stereotypes, these are labels that don’t provide any useful information. I like the word “grown-ups” – you are a grown-up when you think you are and remain so as long as you wish.

One of our Grown-Up Students, Jill Steen, did not start training with us until she had been a grown-up for quite some time. She is really making up for any lost time (if you call having a successful and interesting life “lost time”). Jill trains several times a week and has travelled with us to China, Egypt, and Crete. During training camps she gets up in the morning and goes on the dawn pre-breakfast runs. Jill has twice competed in China at International Martial Arts competitions (as in the photo above). In China competitors are grouped by age and there is no lack of competition in the older age categories.

Jill takes up her story here – and it all started with a leaflet coming through her front door…. Read More

Summer Training

 Jun 09th 2016    Training

A water bottle with the logo of the Fujian White Crane Kung Fu & Tai Chi Club on it, standing on a sunny beach in Crete, with a beach umbrella in the background.

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Seasonal Training. 

Hurray! We’ve made it all the way to Summer. As we train all year round Summer training brings its own challenges. It is not in fact everyone’s favourite time for training. The heat gets to some, then there are the allergies, the quest for a tan, the food-filled lazy days of family holidays. Fear not, here’s how you can get the most out of our British Summer and max your Kung Fu and Tai Chi skills. Read More

Training with Cystic Fibrosis – Tim’s Journey.

 May 12th 2016    Training

“How hard can it be?” is one of our favourite questions. It prefixes many of the training challenges we have done, and is based on presumptions of strength and fitness that we (almost) take for granted.  But physical condition should not be. After the vanities of testing VO2 max a couple of weeks ago, we spent some happy time at the next training camp testing all those who wanted to give it a go. Nobody beat Instructor Adam Prout’s score of 74 (with grumbles from the purists insisting it’s not a “proper” test) though the youngsters now have boasting rights about their “superior” scores. But “how hard can it be?” is a different question for people who are mostly glad to breathe without too much difficulty. And so here is Tim Rutherford-Johnson’s account of his Kung Fu journey with FWC London South.

“Breathing and eating. Maybe two of the most important principles behind Kung Fu. OK, sinking lower in your stance first, then breathing and eating. For most people it’s a simple place to begin: breathe deeply, eat well; learn to generate and direct your energy as a consequence. Everything else can be built on these basic foundations.

Not so much for me – I have cystic fibrosis. Read More

Spring Training – Resurrection Time.

 Mar 31st 2016    Training

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Seasonal Training. 

It’s been a mild Winter, but now it gives way to Spring. Time for a change in training. But why?

It’s a reasonable question. Most sports traditionally have an on-season and an off-season. Martial Arts don’t fit into that category. For a start Martial Arts are not sports*. And in the Good Old Days there wasn’t a league table for attackers and defenders, with a champion at the end of the season. In parts of the world which became impenetrable by snow and ice there may have been respite from attack, unless the hordes were already inside the gates. Further South there were the annual floods to keep invaders at bay (or trapped). There was never a reason to stop training.There still isn’t.

Given that Classical Chinese Martial Arts are trained all year round why do we change our training according to the seasons?

It’s about harmony

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“I’m sorry, but middle of the road isn’t big enough for both of us.”

 Mar 23rd 2016    Training

Image of part of the face of an adult male bullmastiff called Thunder, with his left eye gazing a the viewer.

“That was almost average” comes the “praise” from Chief Instructor, Dennis Ngo. Hard to hear, but low expectations are the bane of progress. So what are Dennis’ views on averages?

“Until recently, I had two dogs. The combined weight of my dogs was 79kg, What is the average weight of my dogs? Answer: 79 / 2 = 39.5kg – 2 marks please (I showed my workings and included the units). What is wrong with this answer? Nothing, except that one dog weighed 77kg and the other weighed in at 2kg. That’s the problem with average. Read More

International Women’s Day – “Once Upon a Time in China…”

 Mar 08th 2016    News

International Women's Day version of the Fujian White Crane Kung Fu Club logo

“Once upon a time there was a human being. This human being was dutiful, educated, courteous. This human being came under attack and had to fight or surrender. This human being took what was already known and came back to fight another day.  “I will surrender if you can beat me.”  This human being was Fang Qi Niang.

I wish I had known her. I often think of her.

She founded the White Crane System of Chinese Martial Arts. She was unbeatable. She taught great warriors, tacticians, generals. They defended the South of China from invasion over and over again. A Chinese woman from 300 years ago. She probably had bound feet. She was probably small and light. She had Filial Piety and pursued the men who killed her father.  She married another martial artist who was her student. She could have walked this earth without leaving a mark. She was a genius.

She was unbeatable but she felt pain, she cried, she bled, she laughed. She could have surrendered.

She did not. She was a human being.

You are a human being too.”

Celebrate International Women’s Day – it’s a day for humanity.

 

Sharon Ngo – Human Being, Woman, and Fujian White Crane Kung Fu Instructor

Use Evolution to Earn the Right to Train Hard.

 Feb 25th 2016    Training

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Beginners' training. 

Chief Instructor Dennis Ngo has seen many many people start their training and then falter, or take a break and then try to restart.  In this article he explores the mechanisms at work in those first few weeks, and the role of evolution in it all.  It’s a familiar scenario….you are in class – everyone is doing the same drill. The count goes on and on. How did you get here? Tried a class? Tick. Joined up? Tick. Set aside which day(s) for training? Tick. In uniform? Tick. Feel like you are about to die on the spot? Tick. Think that you would be grateful if you did? Hmmm.

“Your body is the current end point of millions of years of evolution plus a few decades of what you’ve done to it.  And of what you haven’t done.  Even of what you think you’ve done.  And now you’re in class because Evolution called out to you; “Those muscles and tendons and bones are there for a reason.  Get out of your head and into your body.”  You answered the call, rang up your local Fujian White Crane Kung Fu Instructor and here you are, wishing that Evolution had just left you alone.  If it’s a really tough class you’re making up sarcastic responses in case Evolution calls again. Read More