30 Degrees

Today in Atlanta the high was in the 30's.

The building in which we do Kung Fu is basically a large concrete and metal warehouse. It was a like doing Kung Fu in a giant refrigerator.

There is a women who religiously drives an hour and half to Fu 3 times a week. She has a teenage son, who Fu's as well and I always figured she was one of those "cool" moms. The other day she brought a 4 year old, and I asked if it was her daughter. Nope...her granddaughter.

Well, since I am fighting someone's grandma now, it kind of changes everything. I can't beat up a grandma, no matter how young and hip she is lol.

Well everyone is getting pretty comfortable and familiar with form lately and tonight, and R was overseeing the groups, and told me I should do this and then that, and the young, hip grandma and I hit shins together so hard. This is how I felt, and what came to mind.

I think that's it. Just wanted to let everyone know I was alive.
I guess I could make a list of my adventures.

-Bought my first thing off Ebay.
-Won "Dancing With the Stars" in Atlanta ;)
-Made Crepes
-Took a real Pilates job...terrified about it
-Went through a pair of red flats in one month
-And the Russians are begging me to resume my Argentinean Tango training.

And that's all I can think of at the moment. Because...well...this week actually was actually pretty (insert obscure, nondescript, negative adjective here). But there is only one week until Thanksgiving. And I cannot wait.

Tea and Tai Chi

There are only two things I enjoy waking up early for.

1.) Disneyland

During college I went to DLand A LOT.  J and I always wore the same outfits, Beatles and Black.

 2.) Kung Fu

I can't believe it took me 22 years to figure out my life's purpose...to do Kung Fu.)

Despite enduring an exhaustive weekend, I planned to arrive at Kung Fu for the 8am Tai Chi class. Usually I force myself to get up around 8:30, but 7am came and I was reared and ready to go by 7:20.

Now Tai Chi, or Taiji, is the master of all Kung Fu's so of course I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to Fu, and what better way to start the day? They also offered tea after class, and I love tea!

I did not like Tai Chi. So slow. Tai Chi is like water bending (not my style at all), and is all breath dominated. We went through a form and Sifu told us it should be done in 28 breaths...and I said "We were supposed to breathe?" Though the tea was the best part. Hands down was the best part of Monday. Definitely will be going back for the tea...

Kung Fu Update- I know boring title

Last night I was fighting someone called Big Phil.  He hit me in the face by accident. I was careful to keep my arms up after that haha...my arms are so sore from blocking him. He's kind of a big guy. I feel like I am fighting the "Boulder" when we are paired up.

And I like the new form, even better than summer's form. It's coming along much easier (very dance like.)

And speaking of dance I have not taken a dance class in over a month. But here is a list of things I have done.

-15 pilates classes,
- learned to use a sewing machine,
- finally cleaned my room,
- traveled to Boston,
- walked my dog,
- pondered life,
- did some back handsprings,
- volunteered,
- made 3 great discoveries,
- tried prime rib (So GROSS),
- auditioned for a movie,
- leased a space for a business,
- researched woodworking,
- watched call the midwife
- played the african drum,
- and did Kung Fu.

September was the longest month ever. Here is 10 seconds of Kung Fu.

Kung Fu Anniversary

New interior of Kung Fu, like stepping into China.

The new season of Kung Fu has begun.  It was probably exactly a year ago I made my way in looking for a new start, something fresh, and authentic.

And today was a good class. Sifu really made it engaging but I was in a rut.

I was (am) very frustrated. I had been so one-sided with the Kung Fu I felt my movement pattern had changed. And I found myself miming the motions, and mildly upset they were so bound and grounded. Why couldn't Kung Fu be free flowing and weightless today, why couldn't it be more like dance?

I found the dance moments. Varying kinespheres within the form, contact improv with the applications, the silly fact that I have a hard time with upper/lower in applying the forms.

Then Sifu told us we needed to to put more force behind our movement into the form applications quote "Be more violent." So I tried to hit people with real intent. (Intent - just like in dance.)

Master Chan Tai San's Death Day

I arrived home from my Saturday job anticipating leaving for the weekend.  I discovered my siblings knee deep in mopping floors with no sign of imminent departure. I remembered that today was the Death Anniversary Chan Tai San, our school's most important ancestor.

 "We are going to Kung Fu, to have a cultural experience." I announced and told them we had to leave now. I have never been to a Death Anniversary, which I kept referring in my head as "Death Day" like in Harry Potter.

Death Day began with a lion dance. I wished it could have been longer. They played live the large Chinese drum (think Mulan), and the lion paraded around and it was just plain cool.

Next we all lined up to burn incense at the shrine of Master San. My sister G has an unsteady hand so I was nervous for her to stick the incense sticks into the flame. The sticks wouldn't light so I quickly moved her along, and stuck mine into the fire. I don't know what happened in milliseconds next but yeowwww! I burned my fingers! Feeling like an idiot I tried to copy Sifu's way of thanking the Master, which felt hasty and shallow, because I just wanted to run my hand under water.

Then Sifu explained in ancient Chinese religion they believed even though someone has died they still live in the next world. It is our job on earth to make burnt offerings to the person (Master San), of his favorite worldly pleasures. So we would be burning stacks of cash, cigarettes, and alcohol all in Death Day Fun.

So we now had a much larger open (indoor) flame going pretty strong as kids lined up to toss Benjamins (fake) into the fire. My siblings watched in mild awe. This was not your typical Saturday activity.  'A' was mildly nervous as my 6 year old brother took a stack of cash and inched closer to flame. Totally dangerous activity :)

Death Day ended with everyone eating a bite of Master Chan Tai San's favorite Food, "Fried Chicken", and watching Kung Fu demonstrations dedicated to the Master. I wanted to do a form but chickened out, pun intended.

Watching the forms was my favorite part. Kung Fu is so vastly different in its style and performance. It was absolutely stunning. So because you made it to the end you get to see the video of my favorites :)

Boot Camp Class, Kung Fu, and 5 pounds.

I cannot remember if I have ever detailed Kung Fu Boot Camp. I will express what took place through the medium of storytelling and vivid language.

I decided to take the Boot Camp class. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's gruesome.

I jokingly told Sifu I wanted to lose 5 pounds that hour. He grinned and said, "Great, no problem, lets do it..." I weighed myself at this point and (Side note) -There was hint of "you have no idea what you just got yourself into" and I quickly said, "Oh no I'm just joking...kind of...I mean I would like to loose five pounds right now but I'm a little worried."

We started a jog around the building as our warm up. I don't run, but willed myself to run the length and thanked the Kung Fu ancestors that we were not running a mile :) We stopped at the designated point and started piggy back runs. I rock at those. (Thank You Kori Wakamatsu's Modern 241R class.)

Then things took at turn for the bad. Pacer runs. I could feel the heat from the asphalt in the soles of my black Nikes, into the stitching of my black socks. My black capris were soaking in the heat from the southern 6 o'clock sun and I began to regret wearing a 3 quarter length grey princess sleeve shirt.
I have never felt the urge to undress in public, but as I ran from line to line all I could think was tearing off my shirt and shoes, with no shame.

It was during those pacers that I developed the chills. Heat chills. Pretty sure I was having the onset of heat exhaustion. When we finally let up for a water break that noticed that I was past my usual red faced exercise complexion, and was settling into a nice face palate of puke purple.

Back outside. I was ready to surrender. Running, jumping, bigger jumping....run up the hill for push ups run down. (I told Sifu that I already did 14 push ups that day, so I didn't need anymore.) I had made a terrible mistake in coming. How was I going to make it through this class and onto my actual Kung Fu class after?

Surprisingly made a shameful finish at the end of 30 minutes later. Judging by my appearance I should have left after Boot Camp, but I stayed, in my gross mess of a state, and hoped we would not be doing fighting drills today. (Didn't want anyone to fight such a sweat soaked person.)

And drills began. Front stretch kicks, all the way through everything we needed to know for the upcoming test. There were so many drills. My Nike Air tennis shoes, felt like Nike Lead. I could barely lift my feet, let alone swing my arms. I was a hot mess.

And at the end of Kung Fu I weighed myself, I had lost 2.5 pounds.

Teaching Kung Fu in Michigan

I've been traveling, hence the quiet on the Kung Fu front.

 Here is a map with lines of my travels.

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the McEntire Pilates Summit in Michigan. By presentation I mean I taught Kung Fu and gave a short philosophical thought :)

Pretty sure I found my life's calling teaching Kung Fu.

Here is the philosophical thought.

Kung Fu relates to any skill that takes time, patience, energy, dedication... It doesn't really have anything to do with martial arts.  The literal meaning of Kung Fu in Chinese means man's work or our work :)

I've only seen 3 Kung Fu movies (Beverly Hills Ninja, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Karate Kid 2010 all classics right ;), so I deemed it necessary to quote one of them.  From Karate Kid 2010 Mr. Han, "Kung Fu lives in everything we do. It lives in how we put on the jacket, how we take off the jacket. It lives in how we treat people! Everything is Kung Fu."

Since the people attending were Pilates instructors, and there were panels and discussions about service in our work and why we do what we do sort of things...I figured the quote was perfect. Especially when you switch out Kung Fu for, "our work lives in everything we do, it lives in how we treat people, everything is our work." For those in the movement and rehabilitative arts, it's not just a job, its the way we live our lives.

I finished off with something like... "We all all have our own Kung Fu, whether it be a Pilates instructor, dance teacher, or lawyer. Kung Fu masters never call themselves masters because martial arts requires a lifetime of study and training. We should always continue learning and training in our own personal Kung Fu.

Then we got to Fu :)

Back to Ballet

Yes that is me...was me...doing a press lift.

 Today I ventured back into a real ballet class. I won't even disclose how long it's been, (but let's just say the last time I took a serious class was with Shayla Bott ;) With all this knife fighting, fighting and Forms... I think ballet will really take my Kung Fu to the next level.

I anticipated on being a dancing train wreck. And felt even more so, when we had to fix my hip placement in the first 3 minutes of class.

But then, the ballet gods spoke to me.

My balance was so on.  I could balance for hours if I had to. "Why is my brain working so well in class?" (Which it was rarely to begin with...) And I have hunch. Kung Fu.

Kung Fu not only makes me super cool ;) and more awesome, but I'm pretty sure it made my ballet super efficient as well...Well I mean if I had kept up in taking class. So yup. Going back for more ballet tomorrow.

Going to make my Kung Fu AMAZING!

Kung Fu Knife Fighting

Well they are daggers actually.

There is a real, honest to goodness, competition in July that we are all preparing. This competition is special because it is a REAL competition. Meaning there are winners and losers. None of the participation, "lets give someone a High Silver" crap (sorry) to make them feel good.

In addition to competing our current form, I thought learning a weapon would be sweet. And of course there would be no other choice than the sword. S countered saying as awesome as the sword was, nothing could compete with a girl performing a dagger form.

I'm easily swayed when awesomeness is in my favor. And with a bestowed gift of daggers from R, I was all set.

At first I couldn't keep the giggles in because I felt like Peter Pan waving my little daggers around. (I seriously don't understand how he always bested Hook's rapier.)

 Several movies I've seen (Secondhand Lions, Count of Monte Cristo, Tales of Ba Sing Se) the characters hold their knives blade out, like a sword.

In Chinese Kung Fu, the blade is held in, and the hilt has iron loops. This makes slashing, stabbing, and punching all more effective. So after getting some of the form down with a little speed. I stopped and told S, that "I feel like a gang member from The Outsiders." And also like a knife fighter haha.

Thank goodness the daggers are completely blunt, because I slashed myself about five times and would have lost a few fingers.

Thursday at Delta

In a moment of, "I will never do this again," and the absolute ridiculousness of some of the past months adventures, I vowed I would not sleep until I'd found a new job and applied in entirety. I was surprised to find Delta Airlines was hiring flight attendants. And didn't even hesitate. I put in my basic information and took the psych evaluation.

I was thrilled to get a call from Delta HR and a phone interview. Though after it was over, I was kicking myself for answering their stupid questions, stupidly.

I was relieved to later get an email asking for a video interview, and went to work positioning the camera so whoever saw me, saw the tip of the Hawker Sea Fury Aircraft mural in the background. All Delta employees are fanatic airplane lovers so the mural was pure gold in the background.

My excitement really picked up when they scheduled a face-to-face interview. And I spent hours researching the process. (This experience would not end up like an abysmal retail interview I did 5 years ago, and all the Disney auditions I was cut from.) Actually Delta flight attendant interviews, as detailed online, sounded more like a Disney audition than anything. And I have quite a few of those under my belt ;) 

5am, red heels, Calvin Klein dress (inspiration from Sandra Bullock in the Proposal) and bright blue pearls, (Anna S. you would have loved it.) I looked way different from my usual harem and princess sleeve get up. I harnessed my Disney attitude. "I am a Disney princess, everyone loves me, I am perfect...and garnished it with a Disney smile.

 
I arrived to find a sea of black and blue Hilary Clinton pantsuits, and young foreign looking men with perfectly styled hair ;) I thought to myself…
-Use my Laban movement analysis skills to find people to connect with. 
-Narcissists always do well at interviews (so be narcissistic)
-Use your core to stand up straight
-Look for opportunities to be clever
-Smile like tour guide Barbie


Part 1: They offered us complimentary peanuts, pretzels, cookies, and coke products. How ironic :) A group of experienced flight attendants (FA), HR reps and other important people encircled and watched us while we went around shaking hands and meeting the 50 other hopefuls. I connected immediately with Jessica the Polynesian, Chui the Chinese student, Giovanni the admin assistant, and Chad the Starbucks barista. 

I really don't care for epic mingling, which this was. There was loud music blaring, and everyone had to shout at each other to get heard. I hugged a random lady, and met a biker chick in a bright red business jacket.

Then Head FA sat us all down and cued Pharrel's Happy, and the HR reps, and FA's started a choreographed number. I thought about jumping up and dancing along. Thinking whether or not dancing would get me a job or branded as a "crazy". I decided on enthusiastically clapping.
The head FA told us they had 120,000 applicants since January and they were looking for 150 people at that time. And we were lucky to be there. Apparently they have a near 1% hiring rate, (easier to get into Harvard).

Rotation #1 Fireside chat and reach test. A dull looking flight attendant sat us in a circle and asked each of us our hobby. "Kung Fu, and I could protect the plane with my bare hands in an emergency." I said, nervous laughs came forth. Cooking, Knitting, reading, rock climbing, some people went on and on with their hobbies. Then people started asking questions about FA life. We were pulled out one on one to go to our reach test.

I left my shoes outside the door as instructed, and stepped inside. This old lady in bright yellow, who I couldn't remember her name from the introductions, only that she was a “hugger” was beaming.
"Toes against the wall reach, here and then over here.  Oh no you can't go on your toes, I'll just hold you up." My face was smashed sideways against the wall and my fingertips barely touched the designated points. "Ah look you can do it when I hold you up back here, I'll let you pass, stand here so I can get your photo." She said smiling.

She grabbed my hands and wished me good luck, she went in for "one of her apparently famous hugs”, and kissed me on the cheek. Lord, I'm American so I have a no kissing strangers’ policy, and a strict no entering my kinesphere policy without permission. But when the hug broke I was so confused and startled and stressed out I went in for second hug.
"What on earth am I doing" was the only thing going through my head.

Rotation #2 Face to face I interviews. FA’s started pairing off with hopefuls and I sat terrified unclaimed watching unconnected FA's pick us at what I thought was random.
"Adrienne! I'm your FA Robin, this is Scott from HR.” And she steered me into a small meeting room.

We sat down in the room and even though I remembered my MCom 320 teacher telling us not to fidget in interviews, I couldn't sit still. Hands on the table, hands off, hands back on. Robin told me to relax because she and Scott were on MY team, that they were basically my advocates in this part. I literally slumped back into the chair, gosh the last five minutes I’d felt like Atlas holding up the globe.

I answered all their behavioral questions pretty awesomely. Told them I was an expert in my field, dance and said they were all amazing in the happy dance. The F2F interview actually could not have gone any better.

Rotation #3 Terry another FA, explained we would have to state our name, where we were from, languages, and current occupation. He pointed to a poster listing the questions. My basic Laban training, over priced Pilates training, and exhaustive BioCored training had taught me to pick up movement cues.

Everyone was presenting wrong. 4 questions, just 4 questions. You don't need to turn around and reference every single question. Chad the Barista turned around in between each question. Chui, the Chinese girl, basically told her life story with extravagant gestures. Biker chick lady was the only one to clearly and without referencing answer each question. I was going to be like Biker chick.
 
“Name, State, English, Occupation”, I cupped my hand to the side of my mouth, “and Terry's dance moves were the best in the Happy Dance, I said really fast and I recreated his solo from the dance. A HR rep in the back, called back "I bet he paid you to say that!" Laughing. Golden. Clever me :)

It was over. They brought all three groups together. They said they would be calling names of those they wanted to "see" or we all knew really meant get a job offer. They called a Chinese girl, a black girl, a Latino Guy, Chad, who was only 1 of 3 white males, and one white girl, who was NOT me. Had I been a victim of affirmative action? Lol. And told the rest of us to wait 7-10 days.

I checked my email about 30 times after the interview. My pilot dad wanted to go get yogurt after the ordeal. "No I can't have yogurt, or sweets until I find out if I'm a FA or not, because if they don't take me I have to go back on the Disney circuit again, and I can't get fat, I cannot do what I'm doing anymore."

It's been 3 days. And just found out I’ll be be doing the Disney Audition circuit again.

Yellow Sash Styling

Tried to take a pre-test selfie. Didn't turn out. You get the Panda instead.

I am now a yellow sash.

But First. Let's go back to Tuesday when my kicks were so high the Sifu said I shouldn't give up dance. They were so high the sifu abandoned the practice pad and said he trusted me not to kick him in the nose and closed the distance between his face and my foot.

So I was pretty pleased with myself. My kicks were going to be so high for the test.

And Friday came around and put on my Kung Fu uniform, which I never wear. See the pants are supposed to be considerably baggy to allow optimal movement. Well I went down a size because I thought they would be cuter a little more form fitting.

Donning the white sash...I haven't worn it since they gave it to me in December. And it was so cute to wear! (Why haven't I been wearing it?) I tied a half bow and let the tails hang long. I wasn't really used to the feeling of extra layers cinching in my transverse abs. (I kept having phantom seat belt syndrome the whole ride to the school.)

Blue scarf. Red Shoes. And I even did my hair like Harry Styles with a total bling hairband.

Bringing Fashion to Kung Fu.

Ok, well I had to loose the scarf and the red flats for the test. But I did roll up the sleeves cheerleader style. Fashion Forward Always.

It was also like 80 degrees that day. My already to snug Fu pants were clinging to my legs. And we had to do front stretch kicks first. And that is how I lost 25% of range of motion in the first exercise.

Then we paired up for form applications. I paired with RB, who I have never fought before. And in the first exercise nearly broke his wrist. Well I made it through form apps with with only minor bruises, and then the form.

I remembered it. Thank goodness but somehow started in the center and finished off into the far left corner...(pretty sure we supposed to end where we start.)

The visting master said my only issue were my stances being way too big. But hey this is Kung Fu, I'm working in my full Kinesphere here.

I got my yellow sash. I looked amazing while doing it. That is all that matters.

Back to Kung Fu

I took a two week hiatus from Kung Fu.

I dragged myself back in last night. My heart wanted to be at Kung Fu, but not really my brain.

So we started with line basics, stances. Oh, and guess what? We test again next week. They said if I "pass," (pshhh, why would they not pass me?) I would be advancing to yellow sash. How cute! I love yellow :)

I asked S, "So if I rank up every six months, I'll be a black sash in what, like... three years."

I try to keep my outfits interesting at Kung Fu. Harem and high tops :)

Apparently not so. He gave me five to six years out if I really dedicate myself. Apparently it gets harder every rank advancement. I'm hoping/planning on getting that black sash. It's going to be the first line on my resume underneath my name..."Master of Kung Fu," (Awesome conversation starter in job interviews :)

We partnered up for form applications and I decided to pair up with SG, who has always been very friendly and awesome at Kung Fu. We are actually the only white sashes in the school, but he already trains in Tae Kwon Do, and is prepping for officers school.

 When the Sifu came over to check up on our progress, SG jokingly said "I'm scared of her. I blink, and her fist is at my face." Then someone called out, "Yeah Chloe, don't beat up our marines we need those guys for front lines." They were all hyping it up though. I wasn't really even trying to beat anyone up tonight.

Mile Run

I had this friend at University. She didn't do much...one class, mostly spent time lounging. One day she decided to go running and came back rather unfazed. She nonchalantly said, "Yeah I just ran three miles." Seriously, you do nothing for 3 months and then all the sudden run 3 miles?

Another friend from Atlanta, (1, 000 ft above sea level), after arriving in Utah (4, 500ft above sea level) told me, "Whew I just ran 5 miles." This person never struck me as athletic, and no way she could have adjusted to the elevation that quickly.

So one day I decided to try and see if I could run any amount of miles like them. And being fairly in shape I figured, piece of cake. Well I got about a block and a half before I was heaving and gasping for air.

I think both of them were lying about their mileage.

Well last night I had to run a mile for Kung Fu training. No big, pshhh only a mile. I haven't tried to run a mile in like 5 years but I've got this. After 1/4 of a mile I broke into my power walk...the walk of Kung Fu Shame. I told the Sifu, "I don't really do endurance training. Well I know a mile isn't endurance training but yeah. I don't run."

And honestly, I am either so far out of shape...

I feel like Gimli when I run long distances.


 

or those people were flat out lying. BTW I rock the 50 yard dash. Definitely a natural sprinter lol.

Sweater

I get really attached to articles of clothing. 

Two years ago I was checking the racks of Plato's Closet in Utah, and I found the sweater that I'd been searching for my whole life. My favorite sleeves. Grey. Size right. Whoever left this sweater behind obviously did not see it's great value or need to be loved and worn.

I wore that sweater everyday until it died.

I tried to sew the gaping holes back together with bright blue thread only to have the holes reopen within minutes of moving around.

Sadly the sweater sat unloved and crumbled at the bottom of a drawer.  I sometimes tried to put it on and roll the sleeves to hide the blown out elbows but it it did not work. I couldn't even wear such a mangled article of clothing to bed...

I even found a replacement sweater at goodwill. (I'm always trying to find backup sweaters.) Grey. Even nicer then the first. But it was not the same.

Today I ironed on patches, putting love back into the sweater and am wearing it for the first time in a long time.

Special Needs Hip Hop, Some More Hip Hop and I do Kung Fu

Monday.
This place I work, asks me to stay late and cover T every week, who I haven't seen since the week before the Emmy's. And before then it was every other week. In an effort to be extremely flexible, and a model employee... I eagerly say yes! Every time, while I sigh on the inside.

This class is...special. And by special, I mean it is a special needs hip hop class. Which every week I am not prepared for, and I have to make it up on the spot. 

If you remember my down syndrome diva story, you'll know that the group has two divas, in which one of them told me she needed to work on her solo. So of course the other had to as well. I'd put in enough time already that day, so much I wanted to flee the building...But there was no redirecting them.

"Ok." I mustered up my last bit of cheeriness. "Well do it really fast."

About 4:29 into the first solo, I began to question that the endless twirling and hair flipping might be all improvised.  Finally it ended with a dramatic split and the next diva handed me her CD.

I have no idea, Van Halen? Jimmi Hendricks? Whoever those guys are that play rock and roll? And at 4:59 I knew that she was making it up as she went along. There were signs. Repeated air guitar moments, when she came and and tried to sit on my lap, movement that really did not go with the song... I thought about fading out the music...But what would the repercussion be if  I did that? I finally asked during some snap, touch your toe, steps.

"Are you making this up as you go along?"

"You know it Baby!" And we clocked out just past 5 min and 30 sec.

Dear Lord. I just wasted 10 minutes I'll never get back.

Tuesday
So after Monday and watching some TED Talks. I decided I wanted to quit all my jobs. I didn't. But seriously, I was wilting on the inside from lack of inspiration and purpose. So I decided to go take my first dance class since... well I won't even tell you. I took hip hop. It was awesome. And I'm pretty sure the only reason I could keep up was because of Kung Fu :)

Tuesday Later
Back to Kung Fu. Wildly swinging fists. High kicks...though I didn't even care about fighting today. So I paired with gentlest, mild-aged lady who comes to Fu to escape her terrible job. Though the Sifu made sure I didn't go to fast and hit her by accident in the face.

Now that I think about it, maybe all of us are at Kung Fu, deep down trying to escape something... dun dun duuunnnnn! Haha. Seriously. The only thing that I look forward to is Kung Fu. Don't know how I made it in life for so long with out it.

Here is a picture from tonight of me sort of refusing to do Horse Stance correctly... that's like the only thing I don't like about Kung Fu lol. 

Horse Stance

Argentinian Tango, Gymnastics, and Kung Fu

ARGENTINIAN TANGO:
This is literally the 7th different introductory paragraph I've written for this post. And I'll just come out and say it. I probably was a bit too eager and enthusiastic in trying to connect with M and T, the Russian couple, from Russia. But now I am committed, in an unofficial barter contract, in which on the receiving end they are teaching me the Argentinian Tango.



 (Video is legit Argentine Tango, at least this is how the Russians do it.)

When the three of us work together, it's almost as if I am speaking Chinese, and they are speaking Russian, (even though we are both speaking English). And when you are standing as close as you do in the Argentinian Tango, that's quite a lot of decibels of Russian flying into your ear. And you have to stand really really close-

(SIDE STORY- This boy I went on dates with in HS tried to teach me ballroom at 6am this one time for an audition at my University, and I didn't know you had to stand so close in the waltz. The whole time I was thinking, "Are you sure your wife is okay with you dancing like this, with me?")

You guys know I always go in for the side hug, (save for those two people ;) Well in the Argentinian tango it's a boob hug embrace all the way. All the same I nodded, yes'ing, most eagerly, promising to practice all my steps. And so it will continue next week.

GYMNASTICS:
For the second Saturday in a row I found my self at the Gymnastics academy, kind of bummed out at the hours of wandering time I had before Kung Fu. I already spent enough time wandering the mall this week in between inconvenient teaching hours. So I decided to resume my Gymnastics training from September.

And after being spotted on some terrible back handsprings, I finally did some good ones. I really should just stay committed to my gymnastics training. It would make me better at Kung Fu, Dance and who isn't impressed by that one person who can do back handspring and back tucks? I'd be a shew in at any audition ;)

KUNG FU
I go public in Kung Fu March 22. And I will make a promise to my blog readers that by March 23, no matter how good or bad the performance is, I will post a video on my blog. (And if it's good, on Facebook lol.)

I spent Saturday fighting A, the Sifu's wife.  She's my height and youngerish, (like late 20's/ early 30's). I wouldn't say that our fighting is effective, no it's not at all. R finally came over to show us how it's done, and in faster than a second I was staring at ceiling. It happened so fast I hit my occipital lobe area lol. You don't want to meet R in a fight. I was standing there and he took me down before I knew what was happening.

My Favorite Martial Arts Story

The was a Karate Master named Mas Oyama, who hailed in the martial arts world known as "God's Hand". He sliced bottle-necks, broke rocks, killed bulls in a single blow, defeated hundrerds of martial arts masters around the world. He was one super human fighter.

He traveled to Hong Kong to meet a legendary Tai Chi master. When he arrived the Master was frail and looked as if he belonged in a nursing home. Oyama thought the Master would never except his challenge to fight, but the Master offered to spar with him. Oyama believed he could defeat the old man easily and quickly.

He was was unprepared for the task at hand.

 The Master was able to neutralize all the Karate attacks Oyama could deliver, using smooth circular, arc-like movement and techniques. On the other hand, when the Master counter-attacked, it was with a force that could not have come from a man his age. It was all Oyama could do to evade him, using linear, sometimes awkward movements. Seeing NO sign of fatigue in the old man, and having exhausted all his techniques, Oyama gave up, admitting that he could not beat the Tai Chi Master.

Oyama stayed with the Tai Chi Master to train and revise his personal Karate style.

There was an old saying in 19th century Chinese martial arts circle, "Tai Chi is the hardest kung fu to master, but once it's understood, it is the master of all kung fu's..." 

http://indomaster.nl/taichi-karate.html
Source that I partially plagiarized from lol

Down Sydrome Divas Defy Disabilities.

This is not Kung Fu related  but I thought everyone might enjoy a laugh.

Names have been changed though :)

What is unique and amazing about the school's program is they take these special needs adults, train them, and then take them all over the world to perform. I work with the top students once a week on a ballet piece. Within those top performers there are two Down Syndrome Divas. Karolyn is one, and so is Dani. This is a story about how we lifted Dani ;)

"We are going to do a lift." I said. "I know you have done it before, so we are going try lifting people to see who lifts best."

"Does everyone get a turn to be lifted?" Dani asked in her soft vowel way of speaking.

"Um, well....we'll see. Maybe we can all have a turn. I...just... I really need you as a "lift'er", because I can count on you to be strong." I blundered. I always have to be careful how I speak, turning every "no" into a compliment.

"But I've never been lifted." Dani protested.

I could only shrug and directed my efforts to others in the group. After several attempts, I made up my mind. We were lifting a girl named Kate. To deflect the curious and eager stares of the others, I casually told them, "I was going to think about." And let them know next week.

Dani was insistent. "You said that WE ALL can have a turn." She wasn't going to let me out of it. Clearly there were others in the group we would not attempt lifting. They weren't complaining. Why did Dani have to be such a diva?

Lainey, the most renowned and strongest of the group, turned to me and blatantly said. "We have to lift her. If we don't, she won't stop. Let's just get it over with."

"Ok, but I'm going to spot her." I resolved, thinking of the injury liability I may be forcing on these special needs women. Dani, though known for her immense and amazing flexibility, was not known for being particularly petite.

I placed my hands on her hip bones. The bones were they taught the men to hold in partnering, took the male ballet second, remembering to lift with the legs and not the back. And together me and 6 special needs women hoisted Dani off the ground.

Her eyes lit up, and in a moment was gently placed back on the ground.

"Yes! Finally! I did it." Her face gleaned with unbridled happiness one only feels defying gravity.

"Well, I made my decision. We are going to lift Kate, and wow look, it's time to go." I said before anyone else got any ideas.

I grabbed my things, and passed the owner in the office.

"Great day today. We worked on a lift." I said grinning.

"Did Dani ask to be lifted?" the owner smiled.

Casually, I replied. "Yeaahhhh, we tried it, but we are going with Kate."

This week in Kung Fu.

Proving there is no attractive way to photo an arm ;)

Kung Fu was good this week. Lots of Fighting.

As you can see by lack of arm muscle tone and slight bruising. I have not developed the monk's legendary qi-gong. Qi-gong is energy that can be released to any part of the body making it stronger and more powerful.

This energy release can make any part of the body harder. For example the scull of a Shaolin monk can be up to 4x's stronger than that of a regular person. This is after hours a day of banging their heads against something hard for years ;)

This hardening of certain parts of the body is known as "Ironing". So you can have an Iron Scull, Iron Neck, Iron Forearms, and hey guess what guys? You can even have Iron Crotch. Video below for your amusement. (Disclaimer. I do not participate in any Qi-gong training :)




I fought "R" for most of the time Thursday. Was way more intense and exciting than usual. Though, I was slightly concerned about one of us loosing some teeth, snapping an Achilles, or neck strain, or a snapped olecranon process. Definitely was clipped in the jaw once. It was fine, just surprising. I slightly hit "R" in the face like 5 times. I sometimes don't have control of my wildly swinging fists. But I know if ever had to really fight "R", I would probably lose.

Saturday Class was much more basic. Line drills, form work, minimal partner drills. I did almost run "S" off the floor. I wasn't trying to plow him down, I was just trying to do it right and not hit like a girl. Pun intended.

Disneyland and Kung Fu

I normally go to Disneyland on MLK day.

Thank goodness I've found something that is almost as good as going to Disneyland.
Key word ALMOST.

And hopefully when I am a legitimate Kung Fu Master I can join the Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland. Just like these girls.

Ballet and Kung Fu Dance Partner

Had to drag myself to Kung Fu. Literally had to will my legs to carry me in.  Like those days when the last thing you want to do is strip down and do ballet... But then those classes are the best ever. Same thing in Kung Fu.

We always start with stretches. I've taken quite a few dance classes that start with stretching. And honestly, I've always felt stretching in the beginning of a class a nuisance. Does nothing for me unless I'm warmed up.

Then across the floor for line drills usually starting with front stretch kicks (aka battements). I always try to kick as high as I can, even though my legs protest cause they've been conditioned to only kick so high after plié, tenu, degagé, rond de jambe...etc etc etc. My left quad started protesting through uncontrolled spasms past 110˙, so I was forced to kick lower.

I like to watch people do their line drills, and figure out who would make the best dance partner. Cause I miss partnering (not pas de duex...no pointe blah) but modern partnering. "R's" kicks were really high, he'd probably make a good dance partner.

Then punches twice down the line. I went first. Remembering how I always tried to go first in dance. Except the one difference is I knew the terminology in dance and could recall movement through verbal instructions. In Kung Fu...I'm like, "Um I can't speak mandarin." But yes I'm still gonna go first.

I worked with "R" on form applications. It was great because "R" is pretty good...really good. So I can actually kind of attempt to do damage and he'll block it. He actually told me to go in for the strike rather then bush softly or mark it. Though I am going to need to work on my iron forearms because I am still sporting bruises on my arms a week later.

"R" would make a good dance partner. hehe

There is an off Broadway Show that is all Kung Fu and Dance and Partnering. I want to see it.

This one is good I promise ;)

I learned how to put gifs on a blog. These are about Kung Fu :)

 In Kung Fu we get to use weapons.

 You get to fight people... (just like this actually)

This is how I probably look in Sanda.

I may have told some people this...

This is how I feel during Kung Fu, cause it's tough.

Yes I just made one of these :)