3 Essential Ingredients For Powerful Kicks - Part 2

In last week's post I wrote about the 3 essential ingredients, here I show how to make these ingredients work for you. 

Strength
People sometimes think if you want to make your shin and feet strong you need to kick hard things all the time but this is  wrong. If you want to make your leg hard then the first thing you need to do is have good stamina, if you don’t have stamina it’s not possible for your leg to be strong as you won’t have energy. It’s like a car without petrol, it simply can’t move, you won’t be able to lift your leg up or kick therefore you have lost everything.

This is the reason why stamina is so important. After you have gained stamina you then work on your flexibility and then you can work on your speed and power and then you can start on the conditioning training for your leg.

Iron Leg
The best way to warm up is to do the Si Bi Quan form from my Workout One DVD. This form consists of two ingredients: stamp and punch, the more power you can use with the stamp, the more you will build the power of your leg muscles and bone.  This movement is simple and useful. After doing this form you can then start to do bag work.

Kick Bags
It’s best to kick different bags, some hard and some soft so that your body can get used to kicking different weights. Soft bags eat energy and if you have a powerful kick then you have to hold your power otherwise you may get an injury. This is all part of the training.  When you go in the ring, people’s bodies are different, people move differently so it’s best to be as adaptable as you can when you train. Keep changing your combinations and the bags that you work on.

Kick Bamboo
After we have kicked bags we then kick bamboo. Bamboo is better than wood because it is both soft and hard at the same time. If you have ever been into a bamboo forest, then you will have seen the trees bending with the direction of the wind and this is why  they are  incredibly strong.

When you embark on kicking bamboo you have to be careful. Never try this alone but always train under a qualified teacher. You need to have a good understanding of your body, take the training step by step and keep listening to your body.

Qigong
When we do this hard training we also practice Qigong to look after our bodies and our legs. One of our Qigongs is called Bone Marrow Cleansing Qigong because it literally cleans our bone marrow. We use an Instant Health Massage brush to massage ourselves. This is the first step to body conditioning and it is a powerful way to open our meridian channels.

After we have finished our body conditioning we then use traditional medicine. I make my medicine every two years. It comes from a traditional recipe from the Shaolin Temple but there may be slight variations depending on the Shaolin Master's  personal experience and the type of body conditioning that they do. It is very different from fight oil that many fighters use. Fight oil only penetrates the skin where as the body conditioning tincture goes right into the bones and helps to strengthen the bones, helps the blood to flow and protects the skin.

How To Use
All of these ingredients make your leg into a weapon but this doesn’t mean that you know how to use this weapon or that you are a good fighter, it just means that you have a sharp weapon. So the first thing you need to do is link your punch and kick together and learn how to trick people so that you can get through their defenses. How do you fight with different people? Some people have good kicks, others good knee, other good elbows. At the Shaolin Temple we usually choose one good traditional technique and combine that with our fighting punches and kicks. We then spar against many different opponents to test ourselves and hone our skill.


Mind Control
When we fight in the ring, the judge says start and no one knows what will happen. This is why we practice our fighting kicks over and over again and we imagine many different opponents so that we can be ready for anything and even though we have no control of the outcome, in our mind all of our training gives us an inner confidence and this gives us the control.

Fore more information visit: http://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/

Ask The Shifu - Part 1

These are some of the questions I regularly get asked via email from my students. You can ask me questions by email: info@shifuyanlei.co.uk. 

Q: What are the proper times to do Qigong?

A: The only times that are not optimal for practicing Qigong is between 11- 12 in the morning and 11  - 12 in the night. If there is heavy rain or thunder then you should refrain from doing Qigong.

Q: How many times should I practice Qigong if I'm a beginner?

A: This depends on what you want to get out of Qigong. The first thing is you need to remember the movement and secondly you need to make the movement correct. If you don't spend enough time mastering the movement then you can't reap the benefit of the practice. Qigong is for your health so you should do it at least four times a week. Quality is better than quantity so a 20 minute fully focused session is better than one hour. It's best if you can make Qigong into a daily routine the same as if you eat your lunch or dinner and then it will be automatic and you don't need to think about it.

Q: Should I wait a number of days after sexual activity before doing Qigong?

A: Qigong builds up your Yang energy and sexual activity uses Yang energy so many people believe that there needs to be a number of days between practicing Qigong and having sex but this isn't necessarily true. For the Qigong that I teach in my DVDs and book , having sexual activity and doing Qigong is not a problem unless you are very weak. If you do practice Qigong then it is necessary that you don't have sex for 100 days. If you are not very strong and you want to build your Yang energy then it's good to stop having sex for at least 30 days when you are building up your practice. People's bodies are different. Focus on what your body is feeling. There are no rules.

Q: How many times should I be practicing the Qi Gong from the beginner DVD before I can move onto the next DVD?

A: Once the movement feels natural and your body feels as if it is getting the benefit and you will never forget this movement so you can swap the movements around  and you know exactly when to inhale and exhale then you are ready to move onto the second DVD. Once you know the forms from all of the Qigong's you can then practice different forms at different times.

Q: Is it safe to practice Qigong without the supervision of a Shifu?

A: It depends on what Qigong you practice. The qigong I teach on my DVDs and books is safe but there are some Qigongs that you can't learn from a DVD or book such as Shaolin Steel Jacket and other hard Qigongs.

Q: Most Shaolin masters seem to be vegetarian, is this true?

A: The Shaolin masters who I know that do martial arts are not vegetarian but they are very in tune with their body and know what food they need to eat to get a proper balanced diet optimal for their training. In the temple we are vegetarian but if we go out of the temple grounds then we do sometimes eat meat.

Q: Do you do weight lifting? Is weight lifting good for martial arts?

A: I don't do weight lifting. I use my body weight to do exercise. Lifting can be good but it depends on how you use it. You need to be clever. If you are a martial artist you need to be flexible, your punch and kick need to quick and strong so you need to make your body lean. When you use weights you have to know what you want. If you want to build up power then you need to use light weights & do more reps. If you want to build up strength then you have to use very heavy weights for a short time.

Q: What kind of diet do you have?

A: Your diet depends on what your are doing, are you training or not? All my life I have trained so my diet is very simple. If I train very early in the morning this means I can't cook breakfast and wait an hour before training so I make an energy drink with four or five different nuts, milk or soya milk or coconut milk, four of five fruits and vegetables like banana, carrots, or apple. I put this all in a food processor and drink it. Then I train for two hours. This gives me enough energy to do my training. Throughout the day I eat nuts and fruit to keep my energy up. For lunch I eat a very big meal which usually consists of meat, rice and vegetables . I eat less for dinner, sometimes just five different fruits. If I train later in the morning then I will eat my dinner for breakfast. I think it's best to eat heavy food earlier rather than in the evening. 

What is Shaolin Kung Fu?

To the uninitiated it’s a martial art. To Shaolin Warriors it’s the Ultimate Training Program


Shaolin Kung Fu History

The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chinese martial arts. Emperors often enlisted Shaolin monks to help them defend their thrones against invaders. As there were no guns or bombs at that time the monks had to use their bodies as weapons. They did this with a combination of Qigong and Kung Fu.


Shaolin Kung Fu Today

These days, we don’t do battle with warlords but low fitness levels or weight gain. Recent research by the British Journal of Sport’s Science shows that people in their forties and fifties who regularly practice martial arts have greater aerobic ability, balance, flexibility, muscle endurance, strength and less body fat than the sedentary controls matched for age and sex. Shaolin Kung Fu is not just for martial artists but anyone who wants to maximize their fitness levels.

Kung Fu Tai Chi Qigong – Yin and Yang Exercises

The Shaolin Temple has always believed in the importance of both Yin (internal) and Yang (external) training. The correct balance of Yin and Yang training is one of the keys to health and longevity. This crucial percentage factor is explained in depth in my book: Instant Health: The Qigong Workout For Longevity.

Aerobic exercise helps to prevent illness. It also stimulates the growth of new brain cells and improves the memory and ability to learn. The traditional kung fu training program tap into the innate harmony and energy of our bodies, transforming the exterior look of our body and the interior of our mind. Shaolin Kung Fu students have reported an increase in energy, concentration and confidence through the practice of Shaolin.

Shaolin Kung Fu Gung Fu Gong Fu Kungfu

Kung Fu is a Western misspelling that is so widely recognized today that it is the word most people use to describe Chinese martial arts. The correct spelling is gong fu (pronounced gong foo). Gong means work. In order to master any skill or achieve our goals we need to put time and effort into them.

Martial Arts Workout

My kung fu fitness workout DVDs offer a graded path of training. Designed for the martial artist they can also be used as an exciting fitness regime. The beauty of the Shaolin Workout DVDs is that they carry us through each phase of our life and even though we may not be aware of it now, they will help us into our old age by boosting our metabolism, helping our heart and increasing our flexibility and coordination.

Kung Fu Training

There are many different types of Shaolin kung fu training. I specialise in the most effective methods for fitness and fighting. If martial arts cannot be used in combat then it shouldn’t be called martial arts. Today a lot of Shaolin training has been reduced to little more than gymnastics and traditional forms, and the combative expression is becoming increasingly lost and forgotten. It is vitally important that Shaolin doesn’t lose the heart and authentic tradition of Shaolin Kung Fu.

Kung Fu Aerobic

Being in top shape is the first goal of a fighter. Many people have no interest in fighting or any form of contact sport but they use boxing, kick boxing or martial arts training to give them an exhilarating cardiovascular workout. Chinese Martial Arts combines strength training, flexibility and cardiovascular into one fully contained unit and - alongside Qigong - it is all you need to achieve your health and fitness goals.

Kung Fu Fighting

For the fighter, fitness is your first step towards fighting in the ring. Only when you have excellent stamina do you then have the energy to perfect your fighting techniques. I combine traditional Shaolin with modern fighting techniques and my trained fighters compete in international competitions. A day in the life of his training can be seen on my DVD: Kung Fu Journey.

Kung Fu Meditation

Kung Fu is a holistic workout which gives the mind a workout as well as the body. It’s a totally different experience to running on a treadmill and watching the TV for example. The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of not only Chinese Kung Fu but also Zen (Chan) Buddhism and the monks use their kung fu training as a pathway to Buddhahood.

Kung Fu Qigong Exercise

The practice of Kung Fu and Qigong can help us to reach the potential in ourselves that we only dreamt of before. Using the powerful life energy that exists inside our body we make ourselves healthy and balanced. If you approach the Shaolin teachings with intelligence and determination you can bring to your life the wholeness, health and inner satisfaction that you seek.

Learn Kung Fu

Whether you want to learn Shaolin in the UK, the USA or whatever part of the world you are in, I provides two simple ways for you to learn Kung Fu with me so that you can start right now.

Kung Fu DVDs – Join The Kung Fu Class

My Shaolin Workout series of DVDs are designed exactly like a kung fu class. When you insert the disc into your DVD player you are stepping into the training hall with me and joining a tradition which is thousands of years old.
The Kung Fu Workout is suitable for the martial artist and the non-martial artist. If you are totally new to Shaolin or you haven’t exercised in a long time, then join my mailing list. My article in the archive entitled: The Shaolin Workout: A Physical and Mental Overhaul guides you step by step through the DVD at a much slower pace.
The other Kung Fu DVDs in the Shaolin Warrior Kung Fu series teach more specific kung fu techniques and are more suitable for martial artists.

Kung Fu London Kung Fu Los Angeles

I also teach privately in Los Angeles and London. And I am currently working on a book: Insant Fitness: The Shaolin Kung Fu Workout. This will be released in 2011.