jintouybsitecenter

New year, new content, January 2024

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:56:43 GMT

A new year and lots of new opportunities. 2024 is an exciting year and I have a brain full of ideas to improve the classes, myself and most importantly our fantastic group of students at Jintou martial arts.

Dates to remember.

Remember our closing dates

Last lesson Thursday 21 ^st December 2023

First lesson back Tuesday 9 ^th January 2024

The new class times from January are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays . Same times apart from the Tai Chi is now Tuesday 7.05-8.00 which means the adults Mizong will be 8.05-9.00. No Tai Chi or adult's classes on the Wednesday…. So far.

Chinese new year display

On the 10th February 11.00 -12.00 in Eastgate shopping centre, outside Starbucks. There are still places if anyone wants to join in.

7-13s grading days:

Next Grading = The week of January 29 ^th , gradings aren’t compulsory as students still progress to learn more through our rotating curriculum even if they don’t grade. Don’t feel pressured.

New online platform

I’ve made some headway on the new platform which will only require an email to login to get all of our online content, so much better for those that don’t like Facebook, it will also mean that the youngsters will be able to login without having to go onto a Facebook page.

I’m going to organise the pages so that you have specific programs, routines, and levels for things like stretching, strength and meditation and any supplementary exercises that we may struggle to go over in the classes.

The idea is to have it so organised that it’s easy for you to set up your own training schedule, or if you want to learn different things that aren’t generally taught in a martial arts class. To be honest you won't find another martial arts class… or possibly any class with this level or indeed type of information… and you’ll be getting it free with your membership.

If anyone's interested in the mindset, meditation and exercise you can follow my Facebook and Instagram posts, where I give tips and ideas covering the above. Just right click below to find the pages.

Gary Matthews (@martial_mind_mastery) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook my personal page

Meditations For Martial Arts Mastery | Facebook

These are some of the first things I’ll be setting up on the platform for the new year, the children will be able to gain badges and certificates for completing levels, they complete the levels at home and prove to me that they can do them in class. There will be lots more to come.

4-6 years

The levels they are working on
Tips on how to help the guys train at home and how to make equipment to train with.
Stretching level 1 program
Basics level 1
Mindful level 1

7-13 years

Videos of the grading forms
Peaceful Tiger level 1 (this is a new program I’m designing for this age-group that will deal with the mindset, learning skills, goal setting, meditation skills and plenty more to help them navigate the modern world).
Stretching level 1
Basics level 1

Adults Mizong

Mind and methods of a martial artist level 1
Martial meditations level 1
Stretching level 1
jibengong level 1

Tai Chi

43 week program
Stretching level 1
Mind and methods of a martial artist level 1
Tai Chi meditations level 1

As I say there will be a lot more added as we progress.

Dates to remember.

Remember our closing dates

Last lesson Thursday 21st December 2023

First lesson back Tuesday 9th January 2024

Chinese new year display

On the 10th February 11.00 -12.00 in Eastgate shopping centre, outside Starbucks. There are still places if anyone wants to join in.

7-13s grading days:

Next Grading = The week of January 29th, gradings aren’t compulsory as students still progress to learn more through our rotating curriculum even if they don’t grade. Don’t feel pressured.

December News letter

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 14:33:17 GMT

A new year is upon us...

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October newsletter

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:49:45 GMT

Don't expect too much...

Welcome to our October newsletter.

The season is changing and winter is coming!

It’s a good time to start taking some vitamin D supplements to make up for the lack of sunlight, it’s suggested that we need 4000 UI per day although you would need to take vitamin K2 (MK7) to counteract the large quantity of vitamin D’s affect on our bones.

We have a lot going on over the next few months and will be focussing on getting ready for the Chinese new year which will be on 5 ^th February, which means we will be doing our Eastgate display on the 4 ^th I should imagine.

Don’t expect too much...

One of the greatest skills the martial arts has given me is the ability to focus, learn and enjoy the repetitive boring stuff, Master Lu said to me many years ago that my kung fu was good (his words not mine, he was being kind) because when he shows me something I repeat it over and over. You see as a child I wasn’t very good at learning, some things just didn’t compute. I remember clearly the information given to me not making any sense whatsoever, to be fair it still takes some time for certain things to get through my thick bonce, I put it down to having a lot of bone in my skull… One time I remember being very young and painting a nose in the shape of a triangle , my teacher showed me how to paint it as an L shape…. I drew another triangle, again she showed me and again I drew another triangle and on it went until she gave up. I just couldn’t get it…. And don’t get me started on maths.

Other than me being a bit thick (skulled :D) I believe it had a lot to do with association and relevance, I wasn’t interested in learning or being good at things, I wanted to have fun, not great for my teachers…. But what I was learning had no relevance to me and I couldn’t associate it with anything else in my life at the time…

I see this with a lot of students, young and old, a youngster may struggle to copy the way I punch or kick because they don’t know what it is to really punch or kick someone (this is a good thing). Someone doing Tai Chi may struggle with the complexity of the movements and find it hard to relax because they are having to build new neural pathways, which is difficult at the best of times but when you have decades of forming neural pathways, trying to build new ones to take over from the established old ones has your mind fighting itself.

The good news is you only need time and consistency to succeed, because it’s only those that quit that fail. Keep going long enough and you’ll get there. Of course you can speed things up by training more regularly and immersing yourself in what you want to learn…. read, watch videos, train, analyse, train and analyse. Become obsessed and you’ll become the best as they say…. Just don’t expect too much, focus on enjoying the journey rather than the outcome and you’ll keep going longer. For both adults and children we should focus on fun first, and then learn organically.

I know this because I was a kid that couldn’t draw a nose and yet I ended up studying art and becoming and illustrator.

Stretching

Getting flexible doesn't have to be hard and the benefits are huge. In fact studies have shown that you only need to stretch each muscle group for 30 seconds per day for 5 days per week, and that is the biggest takeaway, consistency and persistence (I know I bang on about that but really it’s the only way to succeed at anything).

And they found that passive static stretching, where you aren’t in pain, had the greatest benefit. It’s that easy simply pick a muscle group and hold a stretch for 30 seconds per day.

You increase your range of motion, increase pain tolerance, reduce stiffness and lactic acid build-up.

Start by doing a quick 5 minute warm up to heat up the muscles choose a muscle group and stretch it for 30 seconds, alternatively you could do a sun salutation (you can find these on you-tube) and hold each move for 30 seconds for a full body stretch.

Dates to remember

Chinese new year display

Probably on the 4 ^th February in Eastgate shopping centre

7-13s grading days:

Next Grading = The week of December 12 ^th

Knife sense and defence for 7-13’s

Starting in November through to February

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:

Oliver, Rory Isaiah level 1 Ninja
Joshua level 3 Ninja
Nihal level 5 Ninja
Jeevan, Ethan level 6

Our youngsters are really starting to move well, this is great because they will have such a head start for the bigger syllabus when they get to the 7-13’s, those that have moved up already have proved this.

7-13 years

Congratulation to everyone that passed their grading, good work there were some great forms displays
Well done to Darius and Teodora on moving from the 4-6 years class to the 7-13’s they’ll soon do their first grading.
Nearly at the end of Mizong Kao, ready for the grading in December and the Chinese new year.
We’re getting ready for our knife sense and defence course running through, November, December and January.

adults

Mizong dagger form and knife self defence. Trying to defend against the soft knife is some of the most tiring, frustrating and best fun to be had. Wait until we get to the counter ambush….
Yan qing jia: Moving through the framework form to really understand Mizong and it’s shapes.
Lizard, frog and bridge moves for strength and mobility…. Everyone still loves it :D

tai chi

We have looked at different stretches to target the various muscle groups.
Healing meditations from the Silva method and Reiki
Understand the uses of the 4 basic Tai Chi energies of ward off, roll back, press and push

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

training

9 section chain basics (trying not to hit myself in the head with this chaotic weapon)

Running through our 9 sets of 2 person forms.

OBE’s, (out of body meditations). I get very deep into a meditative state, but not out of body, more dreamlike…. It’s an interesting experiment.

Courses

Building a website funnel… (still working on it)

How to set up a linked in profile

books

The forever dog…. well I love my dog, but it also brings up some very interesting correlations between how we and our canine companions have evolved in what we eat and our lifestyles and the similarities and differences in our health and well-being.

Dates to remember

Chinese new year display

Probably on the 4 ^th February in Eastgate shopping centre

7-13s grading days:

Next Grading = The week of December 12 ^th

Knife sense and defence for 7-13’s

Starting in November through to February

August newsletter

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 08:30:59 GMT

Injuries I've had a few...

Welcome to our August newsletter.

Injuries …. I’ve had a few, from bruises to popping tendons, tearing ligaments to fractures, it’s fair to say that the more we move the more chance we have of getting an injury, but if we don’t move it’s far worse (I only ever get injured if I’m too sedentary). I recently tore something near my knee… I hope it’s muscular but I fear it could be a tendon, it did ping quite nicely :D

Why did I get injured? Well it has to do with what I did previously, I had 2 weeks off, and although I was still active it wasn’t at the intensity or length of time that I teach or train. Now this kind of break can help the body and mind adapt and recover (as long as you keep moving daily), my problem came when I returned…. because I broke my own rule and spent 4 days sitting at the computer for several hours each day catching up with paperwork and then went to class doing high intensity, explosive movements. This is possibly the worst way to exercise, sedentary to explosive….

This prompted me look at some healing meditations in our Tai Chi class, using both the reiki healing method and the Silva method. Both of which I’ve had very good success with. So with a combination of ice to stop the bleeding and swelling and deep focus healing mediations, my leg was feeling much better in a few days, It still isn’t great but it was a fairly bad tear that left the back of my knee black and bruised from the bottom of my hamstring to mid way through my calf.

So my process for dealing with injuries are generally the following (depending on the injury of course).

Day 1

R.I.C.E – rest it, ice it (every hour or so), compress it, elevate it.
Healing mediations (the mind is incredibly powerful).
Zheng gu shui ointment (you can get this at Kam’s in eastgate) or comfrey cream (get it here https://www.sacredearth.org.uk/?store-page=Creams-p473266461 )

Day 2 onwards

Ice it, compress it.
Healing mediations (the mind is incredibly powerful
Zheng gu shui ointment or comfrey cream
Start to move. This is super important, rest for the bare minimum that you can get away with and then get your backside up and get your movement back. Tai chi and stretching are my go to methods at this stage because I can easily adapt and control the movements. Later I will move to more strength work, before moving to more explosive movements.

Remember moving helps blood flow and healing… anything static starts to die….. in fact you can lose 12% of your muscle mass through muscle atrophy in just a week of not moving. MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!

HIIT – High intensity interval training

All you need is 15 minutes per day to get fit, lose weight and look younger….

The reason that I was fitter doing Mizong quan than as a much younger kick-boxer I put down to the high intensity anaerobic forms and techniques, here are a few of the benefits you can get from high intensity exercise.

It burns as much fuel (fat) in the recovery phase as in the active phase.
It burns up lactic acid (disease thrives in an acidic environment).
You will release human growth hormone which releases an enzyme that breaks down fat cells.
It increases circulation to the skin which in turn helps slow down the ageing process.

Just another reason not to stop moving. This is why the rich and famous pay thousands of pounds for human growth hormone, us mortals can get it with Mizong quan training.

Dates to remember

7-13s grading days:

Up to yellow belt = week starting 3 ^rd October

Everyone below yellow belt needs to know section 2 of Mizong Kao

Yellow belt and above need to know section 1 and 2 of Mizong Kao

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:

Joshua level 2 Ninja
Olivia, Hridya level 3 Ninja
Sharav level 5 Ninja

Some great work with the shuriken (throwing stars) and chain and I think everyone enjoyed the beanbag game.

7-13 years

Great work on finishing Mizong Kao section 2 we just need to perfect for Octobers grading.
Well done to Joshua, Mathias and Lilith for getting up in front of everyone on their own and running through the form. It takes bravery to do that.
Some great sparring with the swords I’m getting hit far more often.

adults

10 step Tai Chi form
Yan qing jia: Building those mizong quan iron legs, with muscles and tendons made of high tensile steel.
Cha Quan: Looking into the applications of this fast and furious form.
We are building strength through the lizard movement… everyone loves it :D
9 section chain basics.

tai chi

Working on Tai Chi walking and linking waist movements.
Healing meditations from the Silva method and Reiki

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

training

9 section chain basics (trying not to hit myself in the head with this chaotic weapon)

Stretching flow routine.

Breath work, getting back into some of my old yogic breathing and looking at some new ideas.

Courses

Building a website funnel… (still working on it)

Out of body experience training

Forest bathing (meditations in nature)

books

The devils plantation (looking at the old magic and folklore of east Anglia)

Dates to remember

7-13s grading days:

Up to yellow belt = week starting 3 ^rd October

Everyone below yellow belt needs to know section 2 of Mizong Kao

Yellow belt and above need to know section 1 and 2 of Mizong Kao

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

July newsletter

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 13:31:32 GMT

July Newsletter

Welcome to our July newsletter.

It’s been a bit of a sweaty one, but well done to those that made it to class in this heat, Master Lu Jun Hai always said it was hotter in China whenever we complained about the heat, he was right, it’s why they trained at 5 in the morning… maybe we’ll have to start doing that if this heat continues :D

A story about Lu Zhen Duo https://mizongkungfuandtaichi.weebly.com/lineage.html

My Shifu’s father was famous for his fighting skills and became famous for his ability to knock opponents unconscious with his palm strikes, which earned him the nicknames “Iron Palm Lu”, “Lu the Hero” and “Lightning Hands Lu”.

He often entered competitions under assumed names (not sure why) and on one occasion entered an army competition even though civilians were not allowed to enter. The competition was in 3 parts, a forms competition, the winners of which would fight bare hand and then with weapons.

Getting through to the forms competition Lu met his opponent in the bare hand section and knocked him out, so winning the competition as his opponent was unable to continue.

Unfortunately his opponent later found out that Lu was not supposed to have entered the competition and through a mutual acquaintance invited Lu to his school.

Lu understood that this would be a test and told his own students that if he wasn’t back by midnight to bring a cart to the school as things had probably gone badly.

When Lu arrived he was invited to eat with the shifu and his students, but on each occasion when he went to pick up some food with his chop sticks someone would try to block him with theirs (much like in kung fu panda), this was a way to test his kung fu.

After the meal the shifu of the school, the opponent that Lu had beaten, got up to perform a spear form, when he'd finished Lu jumped up and performed a spear form of his own. By choosing to perform with the same weapon Lu was offering a direct challenge, ultimately saying “I can do the form better”. The shifu again got up and this time showed a staff form, to which LU immediately performed his own staff form. Finally the shifu picked up his sword and on finishing Lu picked up a sword to begin his own form, this was too much and the shifu and his students all jumped up to angrily confront Lu.

Now Lu’s students had done as their shifu instructed and waited until midnight, and fearing the worse took their cart to the other school looking for Lu. On arriving they heard noise from inside the school, worried about what they might see they peered through the window… to see Lu, his opponent and his students eating and drinking and getting on wonderfully.

Luckily the mutual acquaintance was able to convince the school owner that Lu was a good man and they shouldn’t fight and so they ended up getting drunk together… the moral of the story? I have no idea. But it’s an interesting glimpse into a martial artists life in China at the start of the 20 ^th century when fighting and weapons were still common place.

Dates to remember

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th

7-13s grading days:

White up = September/October depending on how hard everyone works

Everyone below yellow belt needs to know section 2 of Mizong Kao

Yellow belt and above need to know section 1 and 2 of Mizong Kao

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:

Leo, Sienna level 1 Ninja
Lydia level 3 Ninja
Nihal, Jeevan, Cooper level 4 Ninja
Rishik Level 7 Ninja

We have been through plenty this month, working on our roundhouse kick, blocks, sweeps and plenty of tumbling and ninja stars, building agility and hand eye co-ordination.

Well done to those that made the extra lessons you did really well with the staff, chain and ninja stars.

7-13 years

We have nearly finished section 2 of Mizong Kao, and have been practising combinations including the stamp kick, arguably one of the easiest and most useful kicks to learn, everyone's power is improving.
Everyone is getting better at the hip throw, well done.
Force the moon into the sea, armlock and elbow.
It was nice to see so many at our extra classes where we went through some staff, chain and shuriken/chop stick throwing.

Weapons we have looked at are:

Jian (double edged straight sword), we are lucky to have the Qingping Jian (green water-lily sword) https://mizongkungfuandtaichi.weebly.com/qing-ping-jian.html as a part of our training. It is a sword system considered to be a Chinese treasure and was passed down to my Shifu who fiercely guarded it. A nimble and fast system that has 365 moves spread over 6 forms, it also includes a 2 person fighting set.

adults

10 step Tai Chi form and the difficult bung (ward off), lu (pull) , ji (press), an (push) (the 4 basic energies of Tai Chi) push hands drill.
Yan qing jia: Building those mizong quan iron legs, with muscles and tendons made of high tensile steel.
Cha Quan: Moving faster and jumping higher! If you’re not out of breath at the end you’re doing it wrong.
Some nice conditioning in the heat… animal movements, stretching sequences… using each other as punching and kick bags.
Starting to ponder your 4 go to techniques/strategies.

tai chi

We’ve been slowing the breathing down by using the 4 - 8 method and expanding the out-breath as long as we can, a 30 second out-breath is the aim.… not there yet
Releasing the shoulders by contracting the latissimus dorsi.
Releasing the tension in the empty leg.
Brush knee twist step, linking the foot, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow and hand. Turning from the centre and pushing the button.
Squatting, how to do it properly and why to do it.

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

training

Stretching flow routine.

Breath work, getting back into some of my old yogic breathing and looking at some new ideas.

Courses

Building a website funnel… (yep as interesting and confusing as it sounds)

books

The Harvard medical school book of Yoga (the science behind the art)

Don’t sweat the small stuff (a great book on how to put challenges in perspective)

Dates to remember

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th

7-13s grading days:

White up = September/October depending on how hard everyone works

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

June newsletter

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 07:57:31 GMT

Perseverance and consistency, winners never quit and quitters never win

Dates to remember

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th although a part of our monthly fee you can make these classes up before and after August as a bonus. I’ll also be putting on some free extra classes over Gloucester park in July and possibly August, we’ll do some weapons training and get a chance to learn some of the staff.

July extra lessons: check out the WhatsApp group for the bonus lessons for those that you miss in August.

7-13s grading days:

White up = September/October depending on how hard everyone works

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:

Mia level 1 Ninja
Poppy level 2 Ninja
Hridya level 3 Ninja
Ethan level 4 Ninja
Darius Level 6 Ninja

We have been falling and practising our shoulder throw. Building co-ordination and I’m super impressed with everyone for getting some of the complex tantui moves. The guys are building their skills and their brains with this stuff.

7-13 years

Avatar, we’ve been looking at the fire nation combination, Shaolin sweeps, kicks and jumps, fast aggressive and powerful.

Gradings congratulations To:
Kaiya, Ramsha – Yellow belt orange stripe
Ishaan, Dylan, Alex, Joshua, Mathias Scarlet, Evie, Alan, Emil – Yellow belt
We have moved onto section 2 of Mizong Kao, and have been practising the shoulder throw with tame the tiger move.

Weapons we have looked at are:

The double axes made famous by one of the 108 heroes of the marsh (water margin) Li K'uei the black whirlwind. These are heavy weapons used for strength training.
The Dao (translates as knife) a single edged chopping sword much like a sabre. This is an aggressive attacking weapon using circular blocks and chops. It is said to have the spirit of the tiger, strong and ferocious.

Adults

10 step Tai Chi form and the difficult bung (ward off), lu (pull) , ji (press), an (push) (the 4 basic energies of Tai Chi) push hands drill.
Yan qing jia: We've looked at some of the hand movements that translate to catches, chops, locks and throws and have been practising some take-downs from kicks.
Cha Quan: It’s getting harder :D, jumping, crouching and running. A tough form.

tai chi

We’ve been slowing the breathing down by using the 4 - 8 method.
We’ve been practising bouncing the opponent away with correct body structure and how to release the arms and use the waist for movement and power.

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

Training

Stretching flow routine.

Breath work, getting back into some of my old yogic breathing and looking at some new ideas.

Courses

How to present yourself on video (this is a new skill and I’m rubbish at it… determination – I want to be good at it because it will help my videoing, consistency – I’m doing it everyday, persistence – I’m not giving up when it gets difficult (because my determination/reason is good enough)

Books

Breathe (the science of breathing)

Don’t sweat the small stuff (a great book on how to put challenges in perspective)

Dates to remember

July extra lessons: check out the WhatsApp group for the bonus lessons for those that you miss in August.

7-13s grading days:

White up = September/October depending on how hard everyone works

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

May newsletter

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 21:00:15 GMT

May Newsletter

Welcome to our May newsletter, it’s been another busy month of gradings, sparring and evolving.

Breathing correctly, the powerful life-hack.

You can last over 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, but only minutes without air! Around 40% of today's population have obstructed nasal passages and half of us are mouth-breathers and when we are congested, airflow decreases, bacteria can flourish and poor health and illness take hold. Studies are now showing how truly important the way we breath is, and that it can even help to heal us of some serious illnesses.

Over the years I have trained in a large variety of breathing methods, some will calm you down and will boost the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us heal and cope with things such as anxiety, depression or sleep disorders (there are doctors that claim they can completely cure these problems with breathing techniques). There are other techniques that boost the immune system to fight illness, to the point that patients in a study were able to boost the immune system to rid themselves of e.coli using breath and meditation.

The way we breathe has a huge affect on our psychology and physiology and although there are a multitude of different breathing techniques and we will be going through quite a few different ones in our Tai Chi, Adults and 7-13’s classes… we will keep it simple in the 4-6’s…. they tend to breathe a lot better than us oldies anyway. Below there are some simple instructions to get you started if you want. It’s a way to affect your breathing in a positive way and help open your airways (over the centuries our airways have shrunk due to bigger brains and smaller jaws).

Stop breathing through the mouth and breathe through the nose (the nose will warm and purify the air).
Slow your breathing down (optimal breaths are 5.5 second inhales and exhales).
Don’t let the shoulders and rib cage move too much and breath deeply so that you expand the front, sides and back of the stomach.

It’s that simple (to start). Something else to consider, Nitric oxide, we produce 50% more through nasal breathing. If you want a superpower this is it, science has discovered that it can improve heart function, blood pressure, immunity, cognitive function, and decrease inflammation, but also helps improve your performance during a workout, aids in weight loss, improves digestion, decreases anxiety and depression, decreases neuropathic pain and aids in wound healing.

We’ll be looking at other techniques over the months, some that create calm, some to boost energy, focus and the immune system.

Dates to remember

Tuesday June 21 ^st the hall is being used so classes on this day will move to Friday June 24 ^th . Or you can use one of our other days if you prefer.

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th although a part of our monthly fee you can make these classes up before and after August as a bonus. I’ll also be putting on some free extra classes over Gloucester park in July and August, we’ll do some weapons training and get a chance to learn some of the staff.

7-13s grading days:

Yellow and Yellow orange belts = June 13 ^th , 14th and 16th

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:
Joshua Vincent, Ezra and Aurora level 1 Ninja
Joey, Rufus and Rocco level 2 Ninja
Sharav and Theodora level 3 Ninja
Rishik Level 5 Ninja
Congratulations to Humza and Riley who have both levelled up to the 7-13 years class!
I will be putting in more breathing exercises to see how this age group get on with them. Slow controlled breathing has a great affect on aligning the body and mind and can be very calming for this age-group.
Lots of jumping and crawling (monkey), these are seen as some of the most fundamental movements we can do for the greatest gain. Climbing is another one, but we wont be doing that in the class :D

7-13 years

Gradings congratulations To:
White yellow belts: Lilith, Rares, Rehaan, Matthew, Henry, Olivia, Sophia
White orange belts: Harmony, Damari, Dennis, Albert, Daisy, Vinny
We have moved onto section 2 of Mizong Kao, in this section we will be pushing, throwing and locking.
Some great effort with some really complex moves, we have some talented fire benders :D. Fantastic for the brain and body. Well done everyone.
We have started to look at some of our traditional weapons. Our first one is the 9 section chain, one of our flexible and easily hidden weapons. These kinds of weapons were historically used as backup weapons when a sword or spear were not around or if you were in a situation that weapons were not permitted to be carried openly. They can easily be hidden and although are predominantly used at long range can also be used at short range.

adults

A tough sparring session this month, everyone was exhausted. We were working on improving the front hand and leg jab to set up rhythms in the opponent.
Higher grades have been working on the 10 step Tai Chi form to really come to an understanding of moving from the centre and Chinese martial arts body mechanics.
Yan qing jia: The framework form we have just started. This form can take 20 minutes to over an hour to complete, it’s slow and then fast with balances held for between 3 and 10 seconds. It’s full of low stances and balances and forces you to focus the mind, stretch and strengthen the body. An integral part of the mizong system and a great way to build iron legs.
Cha chuan: Muslim fist, a fast and exhausting form with plenty of jumping, squatting and running.

tai chi

We have been working through the 10 step form and linking the breath with the movements.
Cloud hands: cloud hands is an important move in Tai Chi, it focusses on circular defensive movements (which can turn into attacks) we have been looking at controlling the opponents direction by sticking to them and moving them in a circular pattern and so affecting the O.O.D.A. loop (observe, orient, decide and act)..
Breath: We have been looking at slowing the breathing down and the hissing breath with elongated out-breath, very good for depression and anxiety.

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

training

Animal movements: (bodyweight exercises from the Shaolin temple and modern primal movement ideas) Martial arts have always used animals as inspiration for movement and intent of movement. I’ve trained a little in Monkey style and my first Martial art “Muay Thai” has it’s history in the system of Ling Lum (to do whatever works… or fight like a monkey).

The names of the moves from qingping jian 2: (with help from shifu Kevin who has done all of the research and hard work) The names can seem a bit weird as the translations are difficult, but they can give a real sense for what the movement should be or feel like.

Courses

Jim Kwik - super brain (nearly finished, my brain isn’t super but I’ve learnt a lot).

Journaling – I’m using this to understand my own thought process

books

Breathe (the science of breathing)

Wabi Sabi (the Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life)

Dates to remember

No classes on Monday the 20th, these classes will be moved to Friday 24th June. Tuesday the 21st there will be very limited parking, suggestions are that if you are driving you can use the asda car park which has free parking for 3 hours or you can use one of our other days, or take your lesson over to another week.

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th although a part of our monthly fee you can make these classes up before and after August. I’ll also be putting on some free extra classes over Gloucester park in July and August, we’ll do some weapons training and get a chance to learn some of the staff.

7-13s grading days:

Yellow and Yellow orange belts = June 13 ^th , 14th and 16th

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

April newsletter

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 12:36:32 GMT

April 2022 newsletter

Welcome to our April newsletter, it’s been another busy month. One of the things we want when we learn something new is to evolve and grow which will cause us to change, our training will change us psychologically and physiographically, in fact change is one of the only things we can be sure is going to happen in life. Some changes are good and some are challenging, so how can we make sure that changes are a positive thing?

C.h.a.n.g.e.s (I got this from a coach Gordon Burcham)

C . Choice, no matter what happens to us we have a choice in how we react. We are a product of our choices, we can choose to react badly or well, we can choose to quit or carry on. (The saying goes “quitters never win and winners never quit”).

H . Happiness, is a choice. As above, our reaction and happiness or sadness is a choice we make.

A . Affection and love, show love to others but especially yourself, give yourself a break. We spend most of our time in our own heads imagining all kinds of bad things that never happen… make your head-space a nice place to be.

N . Never judge, respect that another persons model of the world is different to yours. How nice would it be to live in a world without judgement.

G . Gratitude, the world is crazy at the moment but we still live in some of the safest and most prosperous times, we have a lot to be grateful for.

E . Energy, if you're going to do something go all in.

S . Self development, you should work harder on yourself than anything else.

Fajin (releasing power) is something we work a lot on in our classes, from our 4-6 years developing their coordination or our 7-13s learning to hit using the whole body, to our Tai Chi and adults classes developing reeling silk power and learning to move in the most efficient way. My instructors father LU Zhen Duo was nicknamed “fast hands Lu” for his ability to knock people out with his palm strikes in full contact matches, he was a small man and he couldn’t have done it without his ability to generate more power than his frame should allow, when I was younger I was known to have “thunderous kicks” due to the noise they made when hitting the pads and often had people stop and watch me kicking in a kick-boxing class. Studies have shown that in the animal kingdom there are creatures that can do this to:

It has been noted that Cuban Tree Frogs have a measured jump power of 1,047 w/kg while their muscular power is measured at 327 w/kg. This is three times more than the measured pure muscle power (Peplowski & Marsh, 1997). This indicates that their jump performance is not solely dependent on the muscle power.

All martial arts use waist power but in our kung fu we take it to another level by building corkscrew power from the feet, spiralling up through the waist until we whip it out through one of the limbs. Through these movements we create tension in the opposing muscle groups to build and store, for a short time, an elastic energy before releasing it and so generating far more power than we should be able, just like the tree frog. We use standing post exercises and sit in Mabu (horse stance), great exercises to build strong and springy muscles and tendons and our arm swings to develop whipping power. We also need to develop our type 2 (fast twitch) muscle fibres to get the proper acceleration needed to generate the power (our sneeze reflex training).

Nature has given us these fantastic bodies, martial arts allows us to get the most out of them.

4-6 years

We have been working through our ninja levels congratulations to:
Kian, Rocco, Jayed, Rueben, Emilian, Ria, and Josh for completing their level 1
Humza for completing level 3
Jeevan for completing level 4
I’m always happy to see the progression from our youngest age group, happily taking on the challenge of complex and cross lateral movements so that they are building their co-ordination strength and brains! Just by practising the juggling they are increasing their grey matter.
Several studies have shown a correlation between juggling and changes in the brain's grey matter, the cell bodies responsible for computation and processing within the brain, and white matter, the nerve fibres that connect different parts of the brain by way of electrical impulses on top of this Juggling improves hand-eye coordination, reflexes, peripheral vision and a host of other motor skills. Eric Jensen, author of "Brain-Based Learning: The New Paradigm of Teaching," recommends that students get up and move every 20 minutes. Kung fu makes us brainier :D

7-13 years

The first section of Mizong Kao is finished so with a little work the white yellow and white orange belts will be ready to grade in May.
I have been accessing the students basic techniques for their gradings.
We continue to work on the sword sparring, building timing, coordination and bravery. The ability to stay calm and not panic is integral for sparring but also a great life skill.
Some have started our one step sparring with bare-hands a great intermediary step to get the students being creative and solving the problem of how to counter the attack they have coming at them in a safe controlled way. This is something we will be doing more of going forwards.

adults

Higher grades have been working on the 10 step Tai Chi form to really come to an understanding of moving from the centre and Chinese martial arts body mechanics.
Working on fajin and some useful combinations.

tai chi

We have looked at various breathing techniques including:
Belly breathing… really diaphragmatic breathing, learning to use the bottom third of the lungs to increase fresh oxygen intake and calm the mind and body.
Box breathing, a method used in the military to help soldiers remain calm in stressful situations.
4-7-8 breathing designed by Dr Andrew Weils from yogic pranayama to help people fall asleep.

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

training

Jujitsu for the streets (ground fighting)

Chinese sword sparring

Courses

Jim Kwik - super brain

Journaling – I’m using this to understand my own thought process

Out of body meditations – This is an interesting one, I’ve used similar meditation methods to access my subconscious which is a great way to not only get a better understanding of your true thought processes but to break your programming and conditioning. We all have those annoying habits that we’ve been programmed with over decades that hold us back.

books

kung fu 1560 (general qi jiguangs book on unarmed combat)

Effortless combat throws

Dates to remember

Tuesday June 21 ^st the hall is being used so classes on this day will move to Friday June 24 ^th . Or you can use one of our other days if you prefer.

Our summer shutdown August 1 ^st – August 14 ^th although a part of our monthly fee you can make these classes up before and after August. I’m also working on a plan to keep the classes open.

7-13s grading days:

White yellow and white orange belts = May 9 ^th 10 ^th and 12 ^th

Yellow and Yellow orange belts = June 13th 14th 16th

Orange belt and up = November, December or earlier if you're ready

March newsletter

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 09:33:25 GMT

March newsletter

Hi all, this is the first of our monthly newsletters where I can give you some information on what our students have been training in this month and why.

First a couple of stories… During the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (WWII), my instructors father Lu Zhen Duo was riding his bike through the streets of the Japanese occupied Shanghai when he was spotted by a Japanese truck full of soldiers, Lu was known as a martial artist by the Japanese and so they decided to run him over. Lu was taken by surprise and rammed by the truck, he immediately went into a roll, coming up ready to fight. His bike was wrecked but he was unscathed and the Japanese soldiers carried on their way disappointed.

The second story is from a national Koushu (national art) competition 20 years ago. After such events the masters get together to eat, drink and talk about old times. On this occasion they were in a first story room above the entrance to the building and one of the masters, a 70 year old man was sitting on the seal of an open window. When a joke was told he laughed so hard that he fell backwards out of the window. Panicking everyone ran down the stairs to see how badly he was injured to find him smiling and walking up the stairs as if nothing had happened. On falling he had relaxed and gone into a roll and didn’t seem any the worse for ware after a 20 foot fall.

So what do these two stories have in common? Tumbling and rolling. Did you know that in bare-hand conflict 90% of deaths are from a person hitting their head on the ground rather than from a punch or kick? This is why we tumble and roll in our system, not so we can roll and attack someone, but so that we are so comfortable on the ground that we relax and immediately go into a roll. So be prepared for more tumbling… maybe not in Tai Chi... although I am tempted :D.

Did you know?

When your body moves your brain grooves, if you want to be brainier and pass an exam participate in physical activities that involve complex movements. There are numerous studies looking at the link between sports and it’s affect on the brain. These studies have found that people participating in sports have larger and more active hippocampus regions of the brain, which are associated with learning and emotions. Not only this the regions that control thinking and memory, the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex, are often larger in people that exercise and the more complex the movements the greater the benefit. Which is why activities such as dancing and martial arts are promoted for their affects on brain health.

All of this is on top of reducing inflammation, better sleep and reduced stress and anxiety.

So how does this work… quite simply our brains were designed to move our bodies (a bit like the computer-chip moving the machinery) and the cognitive demands required to perform complex physical tasks creates neurogenesis (new braincells) and neuroplasticity (new connections) and the harder the brain has to work with the body to perform the movements the greater the benefit.

So if you look at what I’m doing in class and think, nope didn’t get that, or quickly forget the movement when left to practice it on your own (believe me you’re not alone in that) you are actually getting brainier.

What we have been doing this month.

4-6 years martial arts

Well done to everyone that moved onto their next level, keep up the good work.
We have been using our 7 – 11 – 7 memory trick when using the nunchucks, the trick works by associating one thing with another and makes it easier for our brain to recall the information.
Ducking, both deep squats to build stronger legs and small quick ducks for better speed and co-ordination.
We still have our splits competition running, no winners yet in the 4-6’s, keep trying.
We have been using reverse stretching (bending the knees and then straightening them, this tends to remove the use of the back muscles when stretching the hamstrings) to improve the hamstring flexibility.
Basic sword work, block and counter. Not only is this a safe way to develop attack and defence co-ordination it also gets our students used to having something move at them with speed and calmly react to it. They are getting used to physical conflict without knowing it.

7-13 years martial arts

Well done to Denis for being the first to get the prize for beating me to the splits, some of you are close keep pushing. 
We are working through the first section of Mizong Kao (secret sect lean). This form teaches the students to use their whole body to hit with more power.
Using the names of the moves as memory training (association) to help remember the sequence.
Using a side step and turning the waist into the kicks to deliver more power.
Ditang quan (ground boxing, or Hou quan, dog boxing), leg wrapping and entangling techniques.
Side step and chop to an arm lock, we are developing combinations and counter moves.

Adults 14+ martial arts

9 step joint lock flow, so that you can flow into another direction when confronted with resistance.
Elbow combinations, spinning back-fist and turning elbow, for that surprise in grappling range.
Turning side kick, hook kick, turning hook kick, turning moves aren’t used often but give you options when caught off balance.
The Mizong Kao and Tao hua san forms are now finished, a bit of polishing before we move onto the next forms.

Tai Chi

We’ve been doing some new exercises to help practice moving from the centre, spiralling up and down, getting to grips with using the body as a single unit.
Working through the first section of the 13 step Tai Chi sword form 2, this allows us to study balance and control in more extreme ranges. 
Memory tricks using the body parts, who remembers the first sequence?
Without writing it down read this list and try to repeat it in your head in number order.

1. Avocado

2. blueberries

3. Broccoli

4. Coconut oil

5. Egg

6. Leafy green veg

7. Oily fish

8. Turmeric

9. Walnuts

10. Dark chocolate

These are all brain foods.

Next you align them with parts of the body to help remember them. But you need to use your senses and visualisation. So Avocado will be number 1 which is the top of the head. You can visualise squishing it over your head, imagine the feeling, smell etc. The more outrageous and real you make the visualisation the better. So here they are with some visualisation ideas, do this list then try to remember them in order again…

1. Top of head = Avocado

2. Nose = blueberries - coming out of your nose

3. Mouth = broccoli - taste spitting them out

4. Ears = coconut oil - flowing out of ears

5. Throat = Egg - stuck in throat

6. Shoulders = Leafy greens - shoulder pads

7. Collarbone = Oily fish - salmon necklace

8. Fingers = turmeric - yellow fingers

9. Belly button = walnuts - shooting out of belly

10. Bottom = Dark chocolate - nothing too gross ��

Now see how many you remember.

What I’m learning/ reading at the moment

Martial arts isn’t just about kicking and punching (although that is a fun part of it), it’s a tool to help us learn and evolve. It’s important for me to be constantly learning and training so that I can teach more effectively. This is what I’ve been working on this month.

Training

Chinese sword sparring seminar

Tai Chi push hands seminar

Courses

Jim kwik – speed reading

Jim kwik – super brain

Books

Skilled success (how to learn anything)

Mind bending beliefs (the science of consciousness)

Dates to remember

Tuesday June 21st the hall is being used so classes on this day will move to Friday June 24th. Or you can use one of our other days if you prefer. Our summer shutdown August 1st – August 14th although a part of our monthly fee you can make these classes up before and after August. I’m also working on a plan to keep the classes open

40 simple ideas to think as a martial artist and meditator.

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 15:00:07 GMT

Think more, think deeply, think differently

The world at the moment is a frustrating and chaotic place... or is it just full of different opportunities?

As humans our programmed mindset is how we view the world..... and that is all it is, programming. In fact experts estimate that our nervous systems, through our five senses, are bombarded by 2 million bits of data each second of the day. We can only digest 126 bits of that data, the rest is deleted, distorted and generalised. In effect, a substantial chunk of what we believe we see is actually a generalised blend of old bits of data and is distorted by our programming. The thing is as human beings we have known for thousands of years that the way to happiness is to break our programming, look deeply at and contemplate ourselves and the world we live in. So while on a train, well over a year ago now, I started to list some of the ideas that had stuck with me over the last 30 years of martial arts and meditation and I recently stumbled across it. The list isn't exhaustive and it's purposefully vague and contradictory and can have several meanings, some of it can seem simple or obvious but simple and obvious is often overlooked, some ideas are things to do and some are things to contemplate, not just think about but swill around in your mind and observe where your thoughts take you.

Evolve and live a happy healthy life.

1. Break your programming and understand your glitches.

2. Realise you aren’t as bad as you think you are.

3. Realise you aren’t as good as you think you are.

4. In other words don’t take yourself too seriously.

5. Meditate, deeply (this will help with number 1 and plenty others.)

6. Breathe, study the different ways to breathe and how they affect your physiology and psychology.

7. Do good and do your best.

8. Understand that none of it really matters, the mountains and trees were here long before us and they will be here long after we are forgotten…. Hopefully.

9. Don’t let external things affect you negatively.

10. Don’t fret and worry over things that are out of your control.

11. Exercise daily, get out in nature.

12. No matter what you do some people will choose not to believe in you, keep going.

13. Have a flexible mind and body.

14. Adaption equals survival.

15. Develop a strong, kind, giving and growth oriented mindset.

16. Timing is very important.

17. Have fun.

18. Treat each day as a new start.

19. Be positive.

20. Allow yourself to break a little sometimes.

21. Look for solutions and see problems as fun challenges.

22. Be easy-going.

23. Be indignant.

24. Don’t judge. Know that your view of the world is yours, don’t expect others to have the same.

25. Learn everything you can.

26. Discover a love of the simple things.

27. Be curious about everything (great for learning potential).

28. Don’t look for quick wins anything worth while takes time.

29. The journey is more important than the destination (cliched but true).

30. Leave one goal unfinished.

31. It will never be perfect, or be the perfect time.

32. Learn from successful people.

33. You are a product of everyone you have ever met, thank them.

34. Blame never ends, let it go. In fact let it all go…. Really let it go…. I mean everything…

35. Let go….

36. Now is perfect.

37. Find joy in repetition.

38. Have less stuff.

39. Discover the flow state.

40. Smile.

A brief anatomy of the horse stance

Tue, 23 May 2017 11:07:19 GMT

A brief anatomy of the horse stance

A fundamental part of traditional training the horse riding stance (Ma Bu in Chinese) is a popular yet painful exercise. Here we are going to look at the anatomy of Ma Bu and some of the benefits it produces.

Ma Bu is an Isometric exercise in which the muscles are contracted and held in a static position, what is great about Ma Bu though is that it performs two tasks simultaneously; it is both isometric strength training for the quads and glutes and isometric stretching for the inner thigh.

Muscles stretched:
Adductor longus, Adductor brevis, Adductor magus.
Gracilis, Pectineus, quadratus femoris

Isometric stretching can be uncomfortable, but holding tension in the muscles while they are lengthened will increase flexibility and improve the strength of the muscle fibers.
By pushing out the knees we will stretch the muscles of the inner thigh which are used to adduct the leg (pull it towards the centre of the body,) if you want to increase your hip flexibility, kicking range or do the box splits, isometric training of the adductors is of substantial help.

Muscles Working:
Quadriceps femoris (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis,) Gluteus maximus (used to outwardly rotate the legs.)

The quads and glutes are some of the largest muscles in the body and used for things such as running, jumping and kicking.

Physical and mental endurance:
Holding Ma Bu for even two minutes is tough, (five minutes is great, going beyond this is said to have little impact on strength gains,) but by holding this high intensity position we are improving our muscular endurance and lactic threshold.
Importantly it isn’t the body that gives out first for a majority of people it’s the mind, we just give up. Holding through the pain when you really want to quit will increase your mental endurance and discipline.

Ankles knees and hips:
Because we are talking about a low horse stance with the feet facing forwards, we will increase the tension on the tendons and ligaments of the hips, knees and ankles, this is fantastic for drawing blood to these areas increasing their strength and health.

Ma Bu may be limited by its static training position when most of our training requires us to move, but it provides some unique benefits and can quite easily be added to your training regime if you have a few minutes spare, which let’s face it we all do at some point.