Kung Fu and shape :)

**g3ost** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 5:23am

I used to live in Athens, a big city so I don't know about all the instructors there, but, the ones that were close to my place (and when you are young and don't have a car your neighbourhood is what you know of) were like the ones I pre-mentioned, then I moved to Cyprus to study, new country I thought, lots of foreign guys here, I will surely find someone that can teach me kung fu, but then after four years and after searching all the schools in Limassol, it's the same thing, so yes I thought it was a general rule, if it's not I am really happy cause I will be moving to Portsmouth UK soon and I hope I will find a good school there.

About the strength and conditioning, yeah it's ok for my teacher to tell me what to do at home, but I think, as I said before, a warm up is necessary :)

THOSE threads?

**slamdunc** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 5:53am

Originally Posted by Lindz

This guy looks in decent shape

http://www.wujikungfu.com/who-we-are.html

As with anything else, this is the difference between someone who lives it, and someone who does it as a hobby or part-time. I have seen fat, out-of-shape karate instructors. Rarely, even a judo practitioner gets to be round(see video).

When teaching kung fu was my job, I did it six days a week, and that kept me in shape. When it became my side job, and I only trained one or two days a week, I had to find something else to stay in shape.
When I got into my current line of work, I felt as though I owed it to myself, and my family to stay in the best shape I could. I trained three days a week; I stretched before shift and when I took my breaks, just to be ready if I got into a foot chase. Fifteen years later, not so much.
It ultimately comes down to the individual.

**BKR** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 6:59am

Originally Posted by slamdunc

As with anything else, this is the difference between someone who lives it, and someone who does it as a hobby or part-time. I have seen fat, out-of-shape karate instructors. Rarely, even a judo practitioner gets to be round(see video).

When teaching kung fu was my job, I did it six days a week, and that kept me in shape. When it became my side job, and I only trained one or two days a week, I had to find something else to stay in shape.
When I got into my current line of work, I felt as though I owed it to myself, and my family to stay in the best shape I could. I trained three days a week; I stretched before shift and when I took my breaks, just to be ready if I got into a foot chase. Fifteen years later, not so much.
It ultimately comes down to the individual.

Judo instructors rarely get round? You need to stick with your area of experience. Hell, even some legit high level judo competitors are "round".

For example:
Here are a couple of svelte very famous judoka.

Here's another one.

And another one.

**hoodedmonk** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 7:47am

Originally Posted by Alex

i dont go to class to go pushups, i go to learn how to fight. why the **** would you want to do strength training at class? hes dead right you should be doing it in your own time.

also, i cant think of many guys who have a 6 pack at 40. you sound like a bit of a mong.

On the same token! If a guy cant do a push up, he might not be the guy you would want to teach you how to fight lol. And Mong.......Dont listen to Alex I'm 41 and I still have a six pack at least once a week!

**Lindz** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 11:22am

Originally Posted by BKR

Judo instructors rarely get round? You need to stick with your area of experience. Hell, even some legit high level judo competitors are "round".

For example:
Here are a couple of svelte very famous judoka.

Here's another one.

And another one.

Hey Ben y u no go for the kill?

since this isn't YMAS edit for on topic

Listen TS You don't have to be in shape to have been in shape. Most instructors are probably older than most competitors. It's the competitors that absolutely need to be in shape. You should probably worry more about whether they can teach well and if what they're teaching is any good.

there's a visible difference between someone who used to be in shape but let themself go and someone who was never in shape.

**alex** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 4:15pm

Originally Posted by hoodedmonk

On the same token! If a guy cant do a push up, he might not be the guy you would want to teach you how to fight lol. And Mong.......Dont listen to Alex I'm 41 and I still have a six pack at least once a week!

Cus D'amato wasn't exactly a prime physical specimen when he was training monsters like Tyson. it depends entirely on how you teach.

anyway, why would you want a 6 pack when you can have a whole keg

**slamdunc** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 9:17pm

Originally Posted by Lindz

You don't have to be in shape to have been in shape. Most instructors are probably older than most competitors. It's the competitors that absolutely need to be in shape. You should probably worry more about whether they can teach well and if what they're teaching is any good.

there's a visible difference between someone who used to be in shape but let themself go and someone who was never in shape.

This is true, but sometimes it is hard to tell the difference, unless you knew them back then, or they have videos and photographs.

Originally Posted by BKR

Judo instructors rarely get round? You need to stick with your area of experience. Hell, even some legit high level judo competitors are "round".

Just goes to show, the potential is there for anyone to get round. What level of experience is required to ascertain that someone is overweight?
Some of the kung fu guys who got round were legitimate too. "Rarely" was my choice of wording and me being a bit sarcastic. If the round judo guys are effective, that is great, whatever works for them. I strive to stay in (relatively good) shape; that is my personal choice. I don't move quite as well as I did in 1980, but I'm almost fifty now.

**hoodedmonk** · Posted On: 4/20/2012 7:28am

Originally Posted by Alex

Cus D'amato wasn't exactly a prime physical specimen when he was training monsters like Tyson. it depends entirely on how you teach.

anyway, why would you want a 6 pack when you can have a whole keg

I cant argue either pointl.

**Eddie Hardon** · Posted On: 4/20/2012 1:30pm

Originally Posted by Alex

i dont go to class to go pushups, i go to learn how to fight. why the **** would you want to do strength training at class? hes dead right you should be doing it in your own time.

I'm with Alex on this. We used to do a ferocious warm-up when my instructor ran the usual 3 hour class. Part of his reasoning was that we had to fit enough to survive the Grading even if we were dog-tired and technique starts to fail owing to tiredness. Anyway, you get the idea. We were always able to drench our Gis in sweat.

OTOH, his instructor never did a warm-up, he expected them to get fit in their own time and to have warmed-up before he started the class and went straight into teaching.

I have moved away from hard warm-ups but this is for want of time. I tell them that they will only reduce their Trad JJ training time if I run a warm-up. I also remind them that I use my lunch hour to run St James' and Green Parks. They should consider the same :-)

**W. Rabbit** · Posted On: 4/21/2012 12:37pm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20594090

Am J Health Promot. 2010 Jul-Aug;24(6):e1-e25.

A comprehensive review of health benefits of qigong and tai chi.

Jahnke R, Larkey L, Rogers C, Etnier J, Lin F.
Source

Arizona State University College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation, 500 N 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Research examining psychological and physiological benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi is growing rapidly. The many practices described as Qigong or Tai Chi have similar theoretical roots, proposed mechanisms of action, and expected benefits. Research trials and reviews, however, treat them as separate targets of examination. This review examines the evidence for achieving outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of both.

DATA SOURCES:

The key words Tai Chi, Taiji, Tai Chi Chuan, and Qigong were entered into electronic search engines for the Cumulative Index for Allied Health and Nursing (CINAHL), psychological literature (PsycINFO), PubMed, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar. STUDY INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs reporting on the results of Qigong or Tai Chi interventions and published in peer-reviewed journals from 1993 to 2007.

DATA EXTRACTION:

Country, type and duration of activity, number/type of subjects, control conditions, and reported outcomes were recorded for each study.

SYNTHESIS:

Outcomes related to Qigong and Tai Chi practice were identified and evaluated.

RESULTS:

Seventy-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The nine outcome category groupings that emerged were bone density (n = 4), cardiopulmonary effects (n = 19), physical function (n = 16), falls and related risk factors (n = 23), quality of life (n = 17), self-efficacy (n = 8), patient-reported outcomes (n = 13), psychological symptoms (n = 27), and immune function (n = 6).

CONCLUSIONS:

Research has demonstrated consistent, significant results for a number of health benefits in RCTs, evidencing progress toward recognizing the similarity and equivalence of Qigong and Tai Chi.

PMID:20594090 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID:PMC308583