Training

I haven't been able to post in a bit because our electricity has been off for a few days.  Even that was a blessing in disguise though.  It really made me think about how much time I waste on electronic devices.  I've done nothing but be outside this week and it has been amazing.

My training is progressing incredibly fast.  I feel like the Bo Staff has to absolutely be the most beneficial thing I have ever trained with.  It is helping everything I do.  I'm becoming stronger, faster, more aware of my balance, I'm learning how to generate power with my body in ways I didn't know I could.  My reflexes are increasing rapidly, I'm becoming more confident with other weapons because I'm more aware of how circular motion works.  My timing is improving, I'm finding ways of supplementing the staff I never thought about before.  It is helping me learn balance with my kicks and ensuring that I have a perfect pivot when attempting any full rotational kicks.  Honestly, this staff is the best thing I have ever purchased.  I'm addicted to spinning it, attacking with it, walking with it, it really is becoming and extension of me and I can understand why the samurai felt their swords possessed a warrior soul within them.  I'm activating muscles in my body more efficiently than I ever have before.  Before I started using the staff lifting in the gym was more of my main workout and martial arts was supplementary, but now it is the other way around.  I spend the majority of my time outside working on moves, closing my eyes and developing new techniques, figuring out ways to run and jump while using the staff.  It has opened up my mind to new possibilities and is making me understand angles and leverage much better.  I'm starting to feel like if someone were to throw a punch at me, I would be able to grab their arm and rotate it in the same way I do with my staff to use their own momentum against them.  I can understand how Judo and Aikido came into existence now, because I can feel how they can be so powerful.  Once I began to understand the economies of motion, I feel like it has unlocked so much potential inside of me.  There are so many things that I want to try, so many training aids I want to build.  I need to increase my reaction time slowly over time until I can generate such tremendous speed that people won't even understand how it is possible.

The only potential downside to my love for the Bo Staff is how sore it leaves me.  I wake up everyday with aches in my shoulders and my hands have had some skin ripped off in several places, but the Jow I am using seems to combat most of the aches and pains.  I'm not sure if I would be able to train as consistently as I have been without the use of it, because before I put it on I struggle to even put a shirt on.  Because the Dit Da Jow I have is actually for advanced stages of Iron Palm, I have been diluting one of the bottles so that it won't be so incredibly potent on my muscles.  I know it is a very powerful formula meant for repairing broken bones and healing bruises, so I don't want to abuse it on sore muscles and have some adverse side effects.  Not that I know if it could happen, but I think in this situation it is best to err on the side of caution.

Another positive note about training with the staff is my muscle is becoming much more defined.  I have unlocked my abdominal region and activated it in most of my techniques, so I am starting to see some very real definition in my obliques and my abs are noticeably more solid.  I always tell myself I need to do more ab exercises,  but now that I am training in the way that I am, I feel that typical ab exercises in the gym might no longer be necessary.  Instead I will just use heavy weight on the ab machines in the gym with low reps to actually make them stronger and just continue training outside to see where those results take me.

I've also been training with my three sectional quite a bit lately.  I had a realization while swinging around my nunchaku and ran home to grab my three sectional.  The realization I had was correct and I am very confident using that weapon now.  Like I have said before, I do still feel like there is a misconception about how to actually use the three sectional.  The way I have found makes it much more realistic and practical to use in a real fight.  I will post more to it when I start sectioning things off better on this page.

Day 1: Training

My training today will consist mostly of weapons.  I went out last night to celebrate my good friend's birthday and although I normally don't drink, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  Dead Guy Ale is just way too good to pass up.  But, like what always seems to happen, I overslept, missed my gym time, and ate some crappy food.  So that is why I try to keep drinking down to a minimum.

After I get off work, I will go home and begin some more weapons training.  Last night, I tested a new 3 section staff that I just purchased over the weekend and really enjoying the way it moves.  You really have to appreciate the raw power of this invention and it made me glad I was not the first person who unfortunately happened to face someone wielding one for the first time. It is deceptively powerful and when I say powerful, I mean swing it incorrectly and easily break a bone or much much worse type of powerful.  I'm still afraid of it to be honest, even after swinging it around for a few hours and getting the feel for it, I have to respect what it can do.  I made one simple mistake and twisted my wrist while I was swinging it over my head and I felt the 3rd section whip and clip the hair on the back of my head, I was very lucky.  Had it clipped my head, I would probably still be laying on the ground.

The three section staff is the most unique weapon I've wielded so far.  It is scary to use because you can essentially generate the force of. . . say a baseball bat, but at the end of this bat you have a rotating, whipping, solid oak rod.  Many people fail to realize the power of nunchaku alone, but with this weapon you are essentially adding the force of a nunchaku to the power of a baseball bat.  Unlike other weapons when swung, the only thing keeping the staff looking like a staff is the centripetal force being exerted upon it, which is obviously broken whenever you strike with it.  You are essentially dealing with the whiplash of this highly unstable, highly dangerous, highly powerful weapon and it really helps you appreciate the laws of physics.  Understanding how the force you apply and based on the angle you apply it is vital in making sure you are not standing in the way when it comes whipping back.Because I spend most of my time using my weapons on my heavy bag, it is continuously swaying.  Timing, force, speed, these are all vital concepts to understand while swinging this weapon around.

I hope to one day make some videos as I become more proficient with my weapons, tomorrow I will go into more detail about other weapons I train with too.