Edward Goodwin: KungFu

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 13:25:57 GMT

So I was sparring last night and I came down on my ankle in what can only be described as "the wrong way." I fell to the floor and screamed in what was most definitely not a becoming manner. Then my ankle swelled to the size of a baseball. It's bruised today in that weird internal way that means it will get yellow, and blue, and black, with a hint of green. It'll be like my own little rainbow of pain.

Other than that life is swell.

Damn.

Alright, I guess this means I'm missing the tournament this weekend. Double damn.

On a more positive note, I guess I'll have an excuse to work on kung fu hand techniques (punches, jabs, etc.) which I've been neglecting lately in favor of kicks.

Sun, 13 Apr 2003 19:26:12 GMT

test...hopefully this updates the nav links. Success!

Ok, it appears that Radio will look for any file with a #navigatorLinks prefix...whether it be .txt, .xml, .opml, or .bak (which Windows editors love putting all over the place...which is what was screwing me up).

Sat, 12 Apr 2003 23:33:13 GMT

updated the menu list since a lot of my web reading was getting stale...

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 03:59:23 GMT

The eight Trigrams of the I Ching

The term Pa Kua literally means eight trigrams and refers to the eight trigrams found in the I Ching, or "Book of Changes" of ancient Chinese philosophy. It is believed the I Ching was originally used as a method of fortune-telling but has expanded and developed into a storehouse of Chinese wisdom and Taoist philosophy. The symbols are not static concepts but are transitional states which all things go through in life (and death) and the metaphors attached to them (sun, mountain, water, etc.) are guidelines and not concrete concepts.

The diagrams are imagined laid out in a circle (which is the core concept of Pa Kua), which the practitioner follows during practice. Changes take place on each of the eight faces. Thus, Pa Kua becomes a metaphorical reenactment of the constant change that drives the universe.

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 03:49:53 GMT

A discussion of the use and interpretation of the 8 trigrams of the I Ching.

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 03:48:06 GMT

When you learn Pa Kua you must initially take its form and structure into your movements, but the main aim is the total loss of form. This is true of all the internal arts. The Pa Kua form tends to be hard to learn in a precise manner, because the style strives to be as unpredictable as possible. Anyone who relies upon preformed ways of moving is predictable, and thus, destroyable. The Pa Kua master reacts to events as they unfold and constantly changes form, baffling his opponents. Pa Kua strives for expression of the "true self."

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 22:04:20 GMT

The message of Pa Kua is profound: Form is captivity, and the loss of form is freedom.

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 14:10:03 GMT

From "Shaolin Chin Na" by Yang Jwing-Ming (paraphrased):

Every Chin Na technique is based on certain principles. Without these guidelines, the techniques become useless and even dangerous, turning the attack into a compromiseable position, making the attacker into the defender.

The first principle: you must neutralize the opponents power. You must take away some option of attack or defense before each move is executed. In other words you must have control.

The second principle: you must begin your attack from a stable base. You cannot be trying to achieve balance while the technique is being executed. This also means not relying on your opponents ineptitude to deliver your technique for you.

The third principle: the technique should never be based on power or forcing your opponent. Let your opponent destroy him or herself. If you have to use more than half of your power to deliver a technique than it is either a poor technique or poor execution.

The fourth principle: always cover your vital regions from a counter-attack. Your techniques should never leave you vulnerable.

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 14:01:16 GMT

EmptyFlower is an incredible Hsing-I resource.

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 04:52:38 GMT

I've become more interested in Pa Kua (8 Diagram Palm) and Hsing-I (5 Element Boxing) lately. For those of you who have seen the Jet Li movie "The One" you have seen both of these styles. The evil Jet Li in the movie used Hsing-I, which is a very linear and aggressive style, while the good Jet Li used Pa Kua, which is based on the concepts of circular motion and the physical and mental application of the "I Ching", the Chinese "Book of Changes".

I've learned the basics of "walking the circle," a Pa Kua drill that basically has you walking in circles for hours. It is designed to teach balance, mental fortitude, and evasive offensive and defensive movement, as well as condition the waist by ingraining power generation through twisting motions.

The two styles compliment each other well since one is based on the line and one based on the circle, which are the basis of all attack and defense movements.

I also learned an interesting little tidbit from my instructor (sifu) today. He was once told by a master of Pa Kua that Hsing-I was for the young, Pa Kua for the middle aged, and Tai Chi for the old, which explains why they are almost always taught together.

Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:00:31 GMT

Shaolin Monks performing on Conan O'Brien tonight at 6 on Comedy Central! Since Conan comes on at 2 in the morning in Houston, I only watch him on Comedy Central.

Sat, 16 Nov 2002 15:06:31 GMT

I don't know what it is about the weather cooling down but I find myself getting into the habit of eating more and sleeping more. It's hard to explain. It's not a depression thing, I've actually been extremely happy. Maybe it's some sort of hybernation type evolutionary response. Either way, this has caused my schedule to get out of whack as I try to cram a lot more stuff in my day then I have time to do.

I haven't been as serious about my martial arts training lately due to all the travelling I've had to do. I've only been averaging about 2 days a week (down from 4) and very little out of class training. That needs to change. I've recently begun seriously going back and reviewing all the forms and exercises I know and have been absolutely amazed at how much speed I've acquired over the last year. I need to start working on strength and power now because I have none.

Wed, 13 Nov 2002 20:17:05 GMT

"The best soldier does not attack. The superior fighter succeeds without violence. The greatest conqueror wins without a struggle. The most successful manager leads without dictating. This is called intelligent nonaggressiveness. This is called mastery of men."
Lao-Tsu, Tao Teh King

Tue, 29 Oct 2002 03:54:01 GMT

Zazen: The Fundamental Meditation of Zen. An introduction to Zen meditation via [kuro5hin.org]

Sun, 27 Oct 2002 02:21:24 GMT

Updated theme on the weblog to Moveable Radio: Blue. I think I'm done with theme updates for a little while so I can focus more on content

Sun, 27 Oct 2002 00:22:36 GMT

all the categories should have the same theme now

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 15:00:28 GMT

Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself--Chinese Proverb

Sat, 07 Sep 2002 08:20:53 GMT

I have a belt test in my kung fu class later today (11:30am). I don't know what it is about belt tests, but they are a minor irritation to me. I don't get very excited about them. Basically what happens is you stand up in front of your teacher and the advanced students and go through forms and basic techniques (punches, kicks, blocks, etc.) and they determine if you're ready to advance to the next belt level. Sometimes there is sparring of some sort involved and some schools (particularly those that teach Korean arts) have you break stuff like bricks, wood, etc. It all depends on the school and the instructor and the candidates skill level.

The thing that bothers me about belt tests is that they seem like a distortion of what martial arts is about. I don't really get excited about the belt because to me it is just a fashion accessory. I'm not going to stop training when I get my black belt, and I don't train harder for the test than I do every other day of the year, so what is the big deal? I'm not particularly concerned about what rank I am at any given time, I'm more concerned with how well I can execute techniques, what kind of shape I'm in, and how well I fight.

So, I'm off to take this test and hopefully when I'm done I'll get another color belt to tie around my waist. Wish me luck!

Update: I passed the test...now I have a yellow belt in the current system I'm studying (northern praying mantis)

Thu, 29 Aug 2002 02:20:47 GMT

The style of Kung Fu that I am studying currently is Northern Shaolin Praying Mantis. It is defined by strong, quick, bursting movements and rapid hand strikes.

It's different from the stuff I've done previously and I find myself unlearning techniques from my past in order to progress. The good news is that I can feel my speed increasing almost daily. My flexibility is getting better too. The bad news is that I am reminded almost daily how much I need to improve my physical condition if I'm going to progress even further.

I am a good fighter right now, but not a competent martial artist. That will come in time.