Tips to Avoid Getting The Flu

Naturally everyone is concerned this year about catching the flu. Here's some interesting information you may not have read before that was forwarded to me by my best friends mom.

I happen to keep some mouth wash in my locker anyway, so I've been extra motivated to make sure and use it twice a day!

Know the Difference between Cold and Flu Symptoms

Symptom	Cold	Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu.
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Severe aches and pains are common with the flu.
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu.
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	60% of people who have the flu experience chills.
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu.
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.	Sneezing is not common with the flu.
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.	A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.	Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu.
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to20moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. " Hands-off-the-face " approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe, etc.)

3. * Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, * clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. * Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. * Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C . *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. * Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can . *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

FLKF Martial Arts in Tempe, Arizona - Warm Up Stretches

Breathing in and out, exhaling and inhaling, they get rid of the old to absorb the new. They swing like bears and stretch like birds - all this they do in order to have long life. They are Daoyin disciples, people who nourish their form seeking for longevity like Pengzu.
-Zhuang Zi

Every Falling Leaves Kung Fu class begins with a thorough warm up. Our traditional classes begin with a series of gentle stretching, bending and swinging exercises called daoyin (導引) in Chinese and are sometimes referred to as "Chinese Yoga".


The gentle, flowing movements are combined with the breath in order to loosen up the joints, sooth the central nervous system and prepare the body for training.

Daoyin means "to lead" or "to guide" (as in qi) and there are many different sets of exercises. Some of the most well known are baduanjin (eight peices of brocade) and wuqinxi (five animal play) and are more commonly called qigong in modern times.

The practice of daoyin for health is very old, with historical documents from China referring to it's practice as early as 500BC.

To get started today call 602-751-7003 or email us here for more information!

References:
1. http://chinese.dsturgeon.net/text.pl?node=2817&if=en
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoyin
3.http://www.daoistcenter.org/daoyin.html
4. http://www.daoyin.it/e_Daoyin.htm

I-Liq Chuan's Spike Energy - The Square within the Circle

Just training martial arts in Tempe is fine, but one of the cool parts about being involved with a martial art like I-Liq Chuan is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and to get a chance to travel a bit to meet my Sifu for workshops outside of Arizona.

I shot this clip at the recent workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.



Understanding how to create the spike energy in order to maintain the "fullness" is an important part of I-Liq Chuan's spinning hands training. In a sense it's the "square within the circle".

Martial Arts, Tai Chi Principles &The Body

One of the reasons I like to follow the Dragon Door crew is that, besides the fact that they know their stuff where sports performance is concerned, they also often provide some tantalizing food for thought about martial arts, especially the so called "internal martial arts".

In a recent issue of the "Power by Pavel" newsletter an article by Franz Snideman RKC TL, CK-FMS on the pistol squat got me thinking about the potential relevance to I-Liq Chuan, and what we call "the mechanism of body movement", or Liq Hok in Hakka.

Before I go any further, I should point out that, one thing I haven't been able to figure out is if Pavel's bag of neurological "tricks" is actually as relevant to the power of internal martial arts as they seem, or if it's the handiwork of Dragon Door editor-in-chief John Du Cane trying to make the connections in order to sell his books to a wider audience.

At any rate, the mechanism of body movement is a whole set of interrelated concepts that essentially explain to the student of I-Liq Chuan "how to move the body", or more correctly, how to recognize "the way the body works".

The thing that caught my eye in the pistol squat article was the elaboration by the author on the importance of maintaining the different parts of the foot in contact with the floor. For reader convenience I'll just "quote" the relevant portion of the article here;

Click here to read the original article in full

What makes this so interesting is that this very nearly duplicates (in essence) the I-Liq Chuan concept of "nine solid and one empty", which is one of our "six physical principles" that, in part, define the mechanism of body movement.

"Nine solid and one empty" refers to points on the bottom of the feet; all five toes, the "big and small balls" of the foot, the side of the foot and the heel, should all remain in contact with the ground. The big toe is then "wrapped" isometrically to the small toe, which has the effect of drawing the arch slightly higher off the ground. The nine are "solid" because they remain in contact with the earth, and are thus yang, while the center of the arch becomes yin, or "empty". Like many Chinese martial arts I-Liq Chuan is based on Zen and Tai Chi principles, so we talk a lot about solid and empty, yin and yang and relate those terms to the body.

According to our view of tai chi principles, all the extending muscles are yang, and project and expand away from the ming men. All the flexing muscles are yin and draw and condense toward the dan tien.

The article's implication that maintaining the "big ball" of the foot in contact with the floor activates the quads is mirrored in the theory of the mechanism in that we say that the "extending" muscles are yang (in this case quads) and that in the legs you should feel the yang "energy" pressing down to the big toe.

Remember that I mentioned that the big toe "wraps" isometrically to the little toe, which then curls under and wraps the "energy" back around to the empty point at the center of the foot and then back to the dan tien. You can see this reflected in the Dragon Door diagram which states that the "small ball" of the foot (which lies directly behind the little toe) in contact with the floor helps to activate the hamstrings and IT bands, which, according to I-Liq Chuan's theory of the mechanism, would be yin muscles, and again, draw to the dan tien.

Previously, I had mostly thought of the 9/1 concept in terms of balance and stability as it relates to maintaining relaxation. My Sifu (Master Sam F.S. Chin) has often explained that if you maintain the center of gravity force too far to the toe or heel, then the body becomes tense since you need to use more and more muscle tension to hold the body upright. The result is a severe reduction in the amount of force you can generate against an opponent, since power is actually generated out of relaxation.

The article got me thinking of the 9/1 as it applies to the tai chi balance in the entire body (i.e. balance of yin and yang) and how that might possibly relate to the extraordinary power that long time practitioners of martial arts can generate by coordinating the entire body as a whole.

At any rate, it's an interesting reminder about just how important a role the feet and their relationship with the ground play as our base in human movement and the generation of power.

If you'd like to learn more about I-Liq Chuan's approach to tai chi principles or the mechanism of body movement and our basic exercises, you can browse our instructional DVDs here.

Tempe, Az Martial Art of Awareness workshop clip - joint locks

Joint Locks (Chin Na) in I-Liq Chuan

Throughout the history of martial arts most have developed some form of joint locks (Chin Na 擒拿). Chinese joint locking techniques may have influenced Japanese martial arts like jiu-jitsu. According to wikipedia;

Chin na is also accredited in the development of jujutsu.[citation needed] Japanese and Chinese documents state that Chen Yuan-Yun (Chin Gempin or Chen Yuan-Pin; 1587-1674) was the first to introduce Chinese ju techniques (柔道 rou dao) into Japan during the early to middle 1600's. One such Japanese document is “Collections of Ancestor’s Conversations Volume 2".

“Honcho Bugei Shoden” (also referred to as “Kanjo Shoden”) written by Hinatsu Shigetaka in 1716 states the following:

Recently, Chin Gempin came to Japan and stayed at the Kokusa monastery, where he met three ronin: Fukuno Hichiroemon, Isogai Jirozaemon, and Miura Yojiemon. Chin Gempin told them that in China, there is an art of seizing a man. He said that he had seen it practiced and gave a brief example of the art. Chin Gempin also stated that he had not learned all of the principles of the art. Upon hearing this, the samurai further researched this art. Once achieving a degree of skill, the samurai founded the Kito-ryu school of Jujutsu.

The clip below demonstrates a few variations on some standing joint locks, which all evolve out of our spinning hands training.

Our method of training chin na is actually almost useless without an advanced level of spinning hands. (In our ranking system, chin na comes nearly last in terms of certification.) The reason being is that you don't have time to think about what technique you should use. Joint locks should flow naturally from your movement. In fact, our instructional DVD on the subject is sub-titled "A Flowing Process". When the opportunity is there to grab or lock you must be able to feel it, and that ability to recognize the feel is trained within the spinning hands. If you can't feel it, you'll never be able to use it in real time.

Martial Art of Awareness, Tempe, Az workshop clip - Completing the Loop

During the Spring workshop here in Arizona, my Sifu, Master Sam F.S. Chin spent time covering the concept of "completing the loop" in some detail. The following clip is probably the clearest example of the concept of the loop and the interrelated concept of "every circle having a cross" we have on video.

The idea is that you must pass the "energy" or vector of force past each of the cardinal points on the circle before your loop can be complete. Why is this important? Well in the words of my senior brother Alex (Chief Instructor of Russia), "it's like when a fish swallows the hook completely". It's the application of force not just at the point of contact with the opponent, but it's as if you're pulling from their feet directly.




For reference, here is a clear picture of the diagram that my Sifu is referring to in the video.

My Third San Da Fight , and First Loss...

So after months of training, hard work and anticipation here in Tempe, I'm now dealing with the disappointment of my first loss.


I'm doing my best remain mindful of the various mental states associated with the post fight period, and use that observation and awareness as a continuing part of the training process. After all, even after my win last year at the Kuo Shu in Baltimore, I felt the same sense of disappointment for not performing up to the standards I set for myself. As someone pointed out to me this weekend, apparently I'm a "closet perfectionist".

My biggest regret is not "going the distance". On my standing eight count in the second round, I was just trying to dig so deep to find the will to go on after getting rocked, and it just took me so long. Too long.





But watching the time in the video, I only had about 30 seconds left to go in the second round and I could have recovered enough to fight the third, especially, according to my point of view, considering that my opponent appeared to be gassing, while I still had plenty of gas in the tank. (Thanks to all the extremely brutal intervals I performed leading up to the fight, and also being able to remain mentally calm).

I feel there were a lot of factors that contributed to my loss, including the serious back injury I sustained in training just a few weeks prior to fight day (I was unable to walk for four days, and missed a whole week of training). The break in my training so close to the fight really affected my mental state in terms of confidence level. Additionally there was the difficulties of trying to train while being a father of three and working labor during the heat of an Arizona summer.

But overall, it really just comes down to my own lack of understanding (at this time) of how to apply my chosen martial art. Afterward my Sifu, Master Sam F.S. Chin told me "I keep telling you guys, the point of sticky hand is not to stick to your opponent, it's to get them to stick to you!" My opponent came out very aggressive, and my defensive mindset combined with being a bit too conservative in order to sustain my energy levels led to me to just taking too many big shots.

That being said, looking at the video, I feel I was still the more skilled fighter and it's a damn good fight to watch so, I hope you enjoy it!

Time for "Thank You's"

As always, the first thanks goes out to my Sifu, Master Sam F.S. Chin, for sharing his family art with me and taking me on as a disciple and lineage holder of the art. It's an honor and privilege I hold dear and I can only hope that in the years to come my skill level will reach a fraction of his so that I can uphold the art with honor and integrity.

To my wife, Natasha for supporting me in my efforts to become the best martial artists and self I can be. I couldn't have gotten as far as I have without her willingness to allow me to spend our personal finances on training and travel, and time away from the family, leaving her alone with three young kids.

To Laoshi Mark Jones of Hong Fa Yi Wing Chun in Tempe, Arizona, for allowing me to run a program in his outstanding facility.

Eric, my sparring partner for the last three years. As a result of his continued dedication to advancing in his own art, we've both come forward together.



A special "Thank you" goes out to my new student Stacy, who spent her own time, money and effort to accompany me to Texas to capture the weekend in pictures and video and to serve as support for the competitors. Her efforts made the weekend much smoother for everyone.

To Master Jimmy Wong and his students of USA Chin Woo for the monumental efforts of organizing an event of the magnitude of the "Legends of Kung Fu" tournament. It's a true honor to participate in a competition with such history and significance to the Chinese martial arts community as a Chin Woo (Jing Wu) event. His efforts bring honor to the founder of Chin Woo, Huo, Yuan Jia, and his ideal of martial art and competition as method of personal development. Martial arts are an activity that require participation and cooperation (without an opponent there is no fight, so no need for martial arts, and without partners there is no opportunity to train) and without the efforts of Master Jimmy Wong, there would have been no opportunity for so many excellent martial artists to compete.

 

Similarly, to the the judges and tournament officials for spending their own time and effort to travel from around the country and world to help with the event. Despite my own disagreements on certain issues regarding judging, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Lastly, to anyone and everyone who I may have missed, but never the less, supported me along the way.

You can view about 50 photos from the entire weekend here.