Wooden Dummy Demonstration ... on a very 'large' oversize dummy

This is a very large dummy indeed. (Did that even need saying). I like the way he throws this around. He is ballistic like Michael Wong. The way the dummy has 2 sided arms and he spins it is good. This must be a bit of a workout.

Expert in a year ?

I have read Sam Priestley and Ben Larcombe's book 'Expert in a Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge', (2015).

The idea here was to give Sam quality coaching in a year and see if he can penetrate the 250th ranking in the UK with his expertise.

He cannot. But the process did lift him into a quality adult player but the level of 250th ranked player is very high, indeed and the pair recognise this.

At the end of the book the process of growth is the success. It shows how repetition and practice feed into success - realistic success that can be mimicked. At the end of the book he has about 25 core findings. His 22nd point is 'Practice, Learn, Reflect, Repeat'.

The reflection idea is for us to be our own coach.

Another comment he makes is 25 Don't compare yourself to others, as that sets you up for unrealistic benchmarks and a feeling of inadequacy.

1 Turn it into a thing.

This means make the activity a part of your life pattern. It is like a new arm, no a collectable toy.
He said if he was not part of the challenge - which had set the goal of being an expert in a year then this would not have progressed at all.

The pair had posted youtube videos which can be looked back upon to show growth.

A by-product of the challenge was it inspired others to progress too and mimic this idea. Sam has gone onto accept other challenges - such as be a Brazilian expert in a year. Be aware however, Sam has time and money to travel off to training camps for coaching and competitions, too, which we wont all have but if you take point 25, above, that is not an issue really, it just shows he is doing what he can to achieve his goals within his means.

Qi Gong 3 years on

I have been doing qi gong - chi kung - for 3 years now.

This is my yearly update.
The
I cannot say I have made any improvements in this year. I have struggled to get my mind into neutral too many times this year, which is why. I have had to come back later in the day and repeat the session to get the effects of the moves.
Something I did learn however, if I do the yoga moves, salute to the sun, first, then that tiers out my body, which helps calm the mind for the qi gong session. This is a good find.
I bought a yoga mat that folds up and is quite thick off, of ebay for £17. I can use it outside if I put some cardboard down too.

To make an advance in qi gong, I think I need a teacher. I know there is one near by, and I ought to go. The group situation is meant to be conducive to producing chi and will help for focus, I bet.
Having said that I have not gone backwards, I think in qi gong. I have been maintaining my efforts and any skills in here but I cannot expect advances. I do not do the fire/water moves any more as they are demanding on the knees I think.

I do have some things 'to do': investigate the  dragon and tiger qi gong books I bought by Bruce Frantizis. This looks doable. I want the videos too. (Need the exchange rate to be better).
Then I want to go thought the qi gong sounds cd I have. That would be of value.

I have put these new areas off, for a bit, as it has to be done properly or not at all, I think. I do not want to learn new moves without properly knowing why I am doing the moves and what is needed. (Youtube vids on qi gong are plentiful but they do not stress often what internally the focus is / what type of breathing or thinking should be going on. (This is why I like Dr Yang Jing Ming's work for example - very theoretical).

Bruce Frantzis does however do this. 

I taught my sister the 8 moves of brocade recently. Or rather I showed her the moves and we did it together a few times. The wu chi position seemed to make an impact. This was good, as I had to relearn the ideas behind the moves properly, so you know what organs are benefiting for instance. I showed my nephew the moves too but he did not keep these up. Pity. They are the 8 'treasures' after all.

What Makes A Good Instructor?—Core JKD Students Speak

Focus Mitts How We Hold Them—Core JKD

barack obama does wing chun.

Another Plastic Wooden Dummy

 Bought this off ebay,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAhdnCN68Ms

I had seen this on Blitz's web page a few years ago. It cost about £200 then and I wondered about this for months. I thought mmm ... that is cheap but what is it like?

Then on ebay I saw it and bid for it not expecting to win it. I knew it costs £300+ these days and I got a very good price for it. (In fact the seller said people contacted him after the bid, offering him more money that me! Pah - I thought martial artists had honour and ethics ..... The seller definitely had ethics and honour and I picked it up from his house).

When I first touched the dummy, at first my heart sank. I half hoped the body was solid, even though I could see that the base was water filled. Nope. It felt like a water-butt you get in the garden. It is hollow. Next I was thinking can this thing take hits ? I drove home and then next day assembled it.

I played with it 'empty' and had a reflection on it and how it differs from my Immortal Dummy. Mmm. This is this. It is different. I could tell it can be used differently as you can walk all around it easily, and it has the very novel 2 sided porcupine arms, which give it extra options.
One move I did was to spin the arm, as if clearing it to my hip. This allowed me to spin the whole dummy, which was interesting. You could not do that on the Immortal Dummy really, as that is 85 KG net (13 stone) . This is like 2 stone net. I added some water to the base and tried it ... then added some more. It now weighs about 6 stone. This trades off weight to give some stability and mobility. If I wanted it to be maximum weight it would be around 72 KG or 12 stone. I wont do that, as I want a different feel from the other dummy.

These pictures show you some set up and use options:

You can plug the body of the dummy in two ways. That gives you options when you step next to the dummy which I like. On the Immortal Dummy you cannot step flush to the base easily which means there is a gap between your body and the dummies body, (unless you angle it but that is a bit specialised that possible angle).

The third picture shows how the leg can stabilise the dummy if pushed a certain way, which is good. That means you can do some moves along that angle without fear of it falling once it topples.

The dummy is hollow and sounds like a plastic drum when you hit it on the body. I do not see you getting recoil issues into your wrist however. The Immortal Dummy is solid and you know about it if you elbow that. Here if you elbow this dummy with long sleeves on you can take it, and with the weighting I have the dummy will accommodate the force. Good - as I gave it a lateral kick on the leg and that was quite hard, and the dummy moved. (Phew - I was not thinking. If that had a full water base then a lateral kick would not be a good idea, possibly, but I think it would 'fold' a bit vs a direct crack. It could crack if you continually kicked that leg as hard as you can for ages and the plastic aged).

Conclusion after a few weeks use.
Yes I am glad I got this. The more I use it I can see its possibilities. The 2 sided idea is good, and gives you options that other dummies won't. I would not pay £300 for this. Maybe £200 I would pay. If you have paid £300+ for this, then providing you use it continually for 6 years, say two times a week for about 6 years then you will get your money back. (That is how I priced out the cost of my Immortal Dummy and I have got value out of it).
I managed to email the Taiwanese manufacturer and ask them if the plastic has been treated for Ultra Violet light and they said yes, it will withstand 5+ years outdoors. (This uses HDPE plastic - google it). I still put a cover on it - a long garden / rubble sack but I may not bother. I have this at the back of the garden. I could hang washing on it even!
The arms screw in. They are not really designed to be pulled to give that 'clack' sound. Same with the arms sat in the dummy. There is no 'gap' there so when you give it some fa ging energy you wont get that clack, if you want that sound. You maybe able to unscrew the arms a bit to get a gap but I think eventually the caps will fly off if not secured. You could try adding in your own arms but that would be involved as the gap is narrow for the arms like a broom-handle pole.

Conclusion II All Dummies are expensive. They become value for money if you use them. This one is worth having but has unique properties due to its hollow design. You could put pads on this and punch it very hard I think. You could have gloves on and give reasonably weighted strikes to the body. The arms will take hits and the legs seem to allow a sliding-off feeling to dissipate forces.

Conclusion III: if you want to learn forms on this, then it needs to be made as stable as possible. That means full water in the base. If that still is not good enough then put sand in rather that has more density. Or put sandbags on top of the base.
When the dummy moves however, I like the idea of chasing it, so this is not an issue for me.

Qi Gong 2 years on

Yay, I have been doing Qi Gong 2 years now.

I have kept up the 8 pieces of brocade and it is very rare to skip a whole day of that. I even do it twice a day sometimes. (I do that if I have flagging energy later in the day, or the first session was not that good - maybe I had not calmed my head enough perhaps but still carried on).

Benefits still to be had are warm hands. Circulation has got better. My room was 14.9 o C the other day and I was not really feeling discomfort. I have had migraines before when it has got to 15 o C and used to turn on heating when it was getting to 17 o C. < So good circulation is a plus then. My Sister had visited from overseas and she had twisted her ankle. I out my hands on her ankle and she noticed that the hands were warm. Good :> I cannot claim I healed her, however. I think ibuprofen helped her swelled ankle, rather.


I also picked up a new routine from a DVD by Michael Cohen. I got this DVD as it was cheap but had good reviews. Amazon.com in fact had so many good reviews I wanted to see what it was like. At first I was a bit skeptical as I am used to working with books where the theory is explained and then I seek out a DVD / video to watch the moves to complement the text. Here I gave it a good go.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gong-Fire-Water-Matthew-Cohen/dp/B000TGL9XC/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1513212556&sr=8-9&keywords=cohen+qigong

This video was interesting has he had 2 workouts. One fire and the other water. They last about 40 mins each so I could not do both. I chose 'water' as I wanted calm rather. I stuck with this and my legs got better at doing his shapes. This tired me but was helping me sleep. I started to recognise the moves in books I saw and this gave me more confidence in the routines. For instance Bruce Franzis's Tiger and Dragon book has moves that looked similar, so I knew these moves must be good; and possibly see where Cohen would have got his insights from. (Cohen's moves seem eclectic from various Qi Gong styles).

Cohen has shapes in his DVD that are like some of the poses from standing like a tree, which I had started out with. I used these and my knees did not hurt. Good. I do not really stand for long time as a tree however but to see some of the poses being re-used is reassuring. Overall my wu chi stance has got better. I know when I am in a good stance and it is having some calming effect on me, I really want to be able to say I can feel the qi moving about but do not want to be deluded. I can feel a fizzing in the hands sometimes when a session is 'good'. (Good means calm head and good breathing, no racing thoughts. NO rushed moves. Rushed moves is like a rushed dinner). I do get a feeling in the dan tien area and when I project the qi or think about moving it to my feet I can get a slight sinking feeling like I am going down a hill fast.

Even if this is just improved circulation and breathing that enough is good for well being effects, I feel. The stances have other benefits that can assist martial art balance.

I bought more books. I got one on the Qi Gong sounds and it came with a CD too. That is for the future. I need to do that properly or not at all. Same with Dragon and Tiger Qi Gong. That book looked very well written with good diagrams. I want the videos too that go with that. Again that needs research and full dedication to do and I have 2 things on the go already, so wont rush in a third routine.

I may take a jpeg of my books so far.

This is a good thing to get into. I should have done this earlier as health and mind are important. The control over your body is always good to get into and even minimal movements are hard to master with breathing and correct intent in the head too. [In fact I now see why in the Standing like a tree book the author  (see post Nov 2015) leaves it a year before you start imagining too, to accompany the moves. Doing all 3 things at once is not easy at all. The cow gazes back at moon with breathing and thought force is the hardest of all the moves I found and always have to concentrate extra hard for that one). Using colours to think and visualise with too adds variety. Green for the liver and dark blue for the kidneys for instance adds something to the thought patterns in the moves. (Each organ has its own colour).

If anyone reads my posts I would always welcome comments.

The King of Street Fighter II Who Disappeared

Terry Waite Talks About Chess

I was fascinated by this video. Terry Waite touches a few chords here on multiple levels. He shows why chess is interesting - it creates that losing yourself in the activity feeling, (called 'flow experience', where time flies).

Also, he shows the deeper meaning of the game in relation to other people and the situation they were in.



This is applicable to other activities.



In many respects, and less extreme that Mr. Waite, we are all in some forms of captivity and need escapes, or ways to make meaning of that.



The light and dark contrast he makes is good. Also he does state correctly that prisoners and chess have a long history.

Best Piano Exercise for Beginners - The Miyagi Technique

I like the way he shows how the body gets involved in playing music and also breathing can be applied. (I saw that too in photography, you should breath out when pressing the button, to avoid a jerk / blurry picture as you are relaxed. So do not hold your breath. Same here).

How To Use The Energy Gates Qigong Book

This is a good video. I have this book. I got it recently and there is a lot of theory and explanation, good diagrams etc.



Here this teacher shows a focused cut down way to use this book . (He teaches as part of the 'Energy Arts' syndicate that the books author promotes, so I found this very honest to be ... honest!).



The author of the book notes that 'cloud hands' captures much of Tai Chi movement and is worth focusing on. That stuck in my mind. Also I had seen the forward folds in Mathew Cohen's fire and water DVDs and I sensed that Cohen has drawn on some ideas from Bruce Frantzis (who wrote this Energy gates book).

Doctor Who Knew Kung Fu

Novag Robot Adversary Chess Computer

 I think there is lots of applications for robot arms.

I want one for my dummy. This one looks good. This was a commercial set in the 80s I think. It beats the other design from MB games that had magnets under the board.



Robots are 'in' now in the news. Driver-less cars gets coverage and so does potential unemployment.

What if we have robots teaching martial arts will they make Sensi redundant?

freestyle on dummy

This practitioner uses some Vietnamese  kung fu and main land Chinese moves he says. This and the associated video he has shows the fastest hands I have seen with hard hitting. This is not a tippy-tap' set he has here, I sense. He is kicking that wooden leg. His bones know about this, trust me. Respect. 

Dit Da Jow: Iron hit wine in Traditional Chinese medicine

This is a well thought through analysis of this Chinese medicine.

Does Dit Da Jow Die Da Jiu really work The power of ancient kung fu me...

Here is an experiment. I am glad he massaged one side and did not just let it lie fallow at all, with no massage. I expect the next step is to do the same thing again but use a different chemical - say olive oil - on one leg to contrast vs the dit da jow.

BUT ... I have used this and I go with it.

Wing Chun Dummy ~Deluxe 木人樁 Made in Taiwan

Kortschnoi, Grand Master - Mirror Glasses

This is a picture of Viktor Kortschnoi. He died this year aged 85. We can learn a lot from him. He was a world class chess player who knew the meaning of struggle.

He was a good player in the 60s but not world class until he re-evaluated his style and changed the way he played. He then started getting stronger and stronger. This is unusual as he got better the older he got. But age was the reason why he got passed over for Soviet state support, as they thought Karpov would be more likely to beat Bobby Fischer.

In 1976 Kotschnoi defected from the USSR. (He smuggled his chess library across the boarder in 2 batches). He left his family behind and his son was put into hard labour for 'dodging draft'.

Korschnoi did not get top level support but was able to qualify for the 1978 World Chess Championship - beating fellow Soviets and even playing under the Jolly Rodger flag, as he was stateless!

The picture here shows an event from the final match. Karpov's group had KGB support and a parapsychologist staring at Kortschnoi -from the front row ..... who lost games when this started. The mirror glasses gave some respite - as well as a group of religious gurus vibing for him to counter the parapsychologist. Kortschnoi went 5-2 down in the match. You needed 6 to win and he pulled it back to 5-5.

When I read about this match, when I took up chess and started reading and studying. I was transfixed by these events. Korschnoi played the same openings I  did so I identified with him. But ... he lost the final game and the match 6-5. Damm. I still read and re=read about this match and his life. I still want him to win that final game and I have played through these games again and again as if I was there, or part of his team - a second - helping him with ideas and approaches.

He came back. He defeated other challengers again, in the next World Chess Championship Cycle and qualified for the final in 1981 in Merano. He was 50 now and past his best. He still ahd to face Karpov again, plus his entourage and KGB tricks. He played one or two great games but lost. (These events in his life are well worth looking at in-depth for more details. The nuances are excellent to read about. Who else could cope with all the things he faced and perform).

• I want to be like Kortschnoi - 
• Getting better as I get older.
• Overcoming massive barriers - State level bad tricks / efforts to unnerve me / 
• Massive resilience / 
• Top skills.  
• A fighter.
• I WANT THOSE MIRROR GLASSES.  

One year on standing like a tree and Chi-Kung

Last year I said I would report back on my new exercise inspired by the channel 4 series from 1995 and the supporting book, on standing like a tree - Zhung Zhang.

Well despite some very, very sincere effort and real attention to detail, I had to give up after 5 months doing it. I had managed to get 30 minutes into the stance and work my way to the 2nd pose (no including the neutral start up stance).

I stand by the benefits I noted in my blog entry last year .... but there began to be a pain in my knees. I could not prevent that and I could not work out why it was being caused. I was really careful not to have knees beyond toes, and I varied the depth of the stance to make it more forgiving but the pain came back. I tried stopping the 8 pieces of brocade, to see if that was involved but no.
This was a real blow as it had good benefits on my mind. Also for the first few weeks when I started it had a real energy boost. I did not need sleep in the amounts I usually needed. The mind benefits were to make it feel calmer, anaesthetic-like, once the session got started  by 10 mins in and had ended. I can get this effect from the wu chi neutral position which is something I salvaged, however.

My knees developed a creaking noise now, that was not there before. Wonder what caused that?

I did manage to keep up with the 8 pieces of brocade, however. I had stopped for 3 weeks in Spring to give knees a rest but then kept going back to it. I am glad I did this. This does give me something constant to do and come back to. The more you do it the more skilled you become, (there is a surprise). Even though the moves are simple the co-ordination of the mind / moves and breathing is not easy. In Dr Yang Ming's book he gives the supporting ideas of where the chi should be directed - I see it as mind control - and that takes some work. (He does say breathing can be just natural but he then goes on to say you can coordinate it later when you feel more confident).
The work is the beneficial thing too. I do feel more focused vs a year ago at times. Also my stretching and joints have improved in my legs. There are 2 moves, when you grab your feet, and 'shake head and tail like a bear' that give you a nice leg stretch / hip stretch. It is gentle and over the months the benefits accumulate. My hands feel warm at the end of these sessions and I tend to put them on areas of my body that feel bad and 'need healing'. Ok I cannot promise that is chi energy and the warmth is magic powers but I know my circulation is better and I do not feel the cold as much as a year ago.

Conclusion: Standing still for the 5 months showed me that simple things are not easy but there is something to be said for this. Real pity I could not keep it up. I would if I could.

Pleased I am still doing the 8 pieces, however.

So mission was partially successful.

I stopped massaging my knees in the way shown in the Tai Chi video below. I think picking up the patella and manipulating it was not a good idea. I think that is for extreme one-off pain, not a post exercise thing.