Martial Arts News 6.12.08

I’m refining how I gather my martial arts news. So, until I get my technical difficulties sorted out, I may not have any more news until next week. In the meantime I found this the old fashioned way: My Sunday paper!

Lopez is living proof that America’s “silent killer” exempts no one. In 95% of cases, the cause is unknown. But Lopez says his high blood pressure is, in part, the result of a common culprit: stress.

It’s worth a quick read. And while we are on the topic of high blood pressure check this Prevention Guide from the U.S. government.

~BCP

Everyone is on vacation!

Both my taekwondo instructor and my kung fu instructor are on vacation this week. This meant that my almost-41-year-old body got a MUCH needed rest. Mr. Hip has been a tad sore and I’m starting to think it has something to do with over-training and the ligaments or muscles in my hip area.

In addition I have a few of those taekwondo dings (mostly on my feet) that have not gone away and my right hand is basically jacked. It’s been jacked since before my cho dan test in May. I caught a punch to the thumb joint which started the whole affair. I also tend to prefer open hand blocks but the down side to that is I usually strain my wrist on a strong kick (they also look like grabs in a sport setting but I don’t give a rip). Finally, between the tournament and the concrete break at my black belt test; well, the right hand is kinda shot to hell!

Add to this a little Chin Na where things get cranked on and that hand really has not had time to heal.

Anyhow, it’s starting to feel better than it did in a long time and so are most of my dings. I’ve modified my dojang garage workouts to omit any bag work and I think that has helped too. In a week I’ll be mostly healed so I can then tear it all up again!

Past that the only thing on my mind is what to do when taekwondo ends in August…

For a few more bucks I could study chin na AND Praying Mantis. I have to admit I’m very tempted to. Partially because Mantis has not been diluted by sport competition. Still, I need to see how they spar before I’m crazy enough to take that plunge. I don’t feel the constant pressure of testing for belts or getting ready for tournaments so that is nice. In addition their black belt equivalent takes about 3-4 years. So, if I do move from the area in three years I’m sure there’s much from Mantis I could take with me and all the better if I end up somewhere that has another Mantis school. A little about the Seven Star style…

The skills that make Seven Star Praying Mantis so effective are based on balance, coordination, and body-linked “supple” movement. This way the power generated in the waist can travel through the body efficiently. It is this efficiency that made the Seven Star Praying Mantis system superior to the Shaolin approach. This waist-torque method of generating power does not require as much physical strength to have powerful techniques as the more muscular oriented “hard Shaolin styles.” In fact, when fighting, this method offers quite efficient movement and aerobically does not require as much physical exertion. With its shorter movements it also consists of extremely fast techniques.

I guess we shall see. If I like what I see and if they are OK with my uncertainty I just may take the plunge in August.

~BCP