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Post workout meditation anyone?

what are some of the post training meditation or contemplative work you have been taught? was it Taoist, Buddhist, other? I will attempt to break down some traditional meditative disciples here. i hope you will share some techniques, methods, and experiences.

Taoist:
-Taoist yoga
-microcosmic orbit
-6 healing sounds
-wuji
-breath counting, visualization.
-other?

India-
-pranayama and breath of fire work
-hatha yoga
- sun or candle gazing
-kundalini yoga or sahaja yoga
-raja yoga
- TM or Transcendental yoga.
- other?

Buddhism-
-hinyana and theravada: vipassana
-mahayana: yantra yoga, mantrayana, yidam yoga, Chan or Zen.
-vajrayana and dzogchen: tantra, mahamudra, contemplative/guru yoga.

In my case I learned Taoist sitting and tan tien breathing, 6 healing sounds. my Chinese doctor taught TM as well.

In college i learned vajrayana methods from a Tibetan buddhist monk. He taught pranayama, contemplative yoga (sitting with eyes open), some gentle (non forceful)breath work using the channels similar kundalini, and dzogchen exercises to concentrate mind.

I feel that the Buddhist techniques are much stronger in post meditative effects. The Taoist methods might make me feel more ‘chi’ but the Buddhist methods seem to really clear the mind from a lot of thought.

As for Yoga..I dont do very much, I might go to Bikrim yoga on occasion or do some Hatha on my own.

Yoga postures for martial arts I do are:
Ardha Matsyendrasana- seated twist
Dhanurasana- Bow
Halasana- plow.
Matsyasana (fish)
Hanumanasana- split
Janu Sirsasana- head to knee
Parivrtta Parsvakonasana- revolved side angle
Parivrtta Trikonasana- revolved side
Parsvottonasana- pyramid
Supta Matsyendrasana- supine spine twist
Supta Padangusthasana- recline big toe pull
Upavistha Konasana- seated wide leg straddle
Urdhva Dhanurasana- wheel pose
Utthita Parsvakonasana – variations
Virabhadrasana I- warrior 1
Virabhadrasana III- scale (warrior 3)
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- updog
Uttanasana standing forward bend (also sitting)

alot of them I have come across in Boxing, Taiji, and bagua training.

muay thai with dave carter

dave carter was back at novamma visiting east coast. he taught a regular muay thai class.

usual insane warm up- running, high knees, butt kicks, twisters, spider push ups, hindu push ups, bear crawls, t push ups, shadow boxing, side running, carioca, mt. climbers, switch running in fight stance, forward fight step.

drills-
-cover wide rt, rt. arm pull in neck and knee to body, cross- hook combo.
-4 punches to glove and 2 rt. kick

-crazy monkey opp jab- return with jab- cross- body jab- cross rt. kick + 2 any kick
-cover the jab shoulder roll, low left kick to inside opponet lead step, cross hook , 3 any kicks.

8 hooks 8 knees for 2 minutes.

Wilson plus Amy equals Tao

This is my experience with two great people I’ve met on the path. Wilson Pitts and Chinese Dr. Amy Ballons (Tseng, Ching ying).

I met Amy when she came up from North Carolina to give acupuncture to her group of patients. I had been informed to go by Wilson, who was a long time patient of her. Wilson had a small publication called the ‘Tao Experience Foundation’ in which he wrote many articles on TCM, Diet, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Qigong as well as other informative articles. I had been told about Tai Chi from my Karate friend while in high school in Virginia Beach. He gave me a book on it and the Edgar Caycee New Age store at the beach had a class. During that time I used to do a lot of skateboard competitions and had many injuries from falls on the streets and half pipes. While in college at VCU, my sister suggested I go to the park where Wilson was teaching. From that time, Wilson taught me some Tai Chi basics, the first section of Yang short form, Ba dua jin, Huashan Animal frolics, a Huashan Qigong set, and the 5 elements Pakua and Hsingyi. In the Spring of 1991 I was with friends down by the James river climbing rocks and fell. I had a hairline fracture in the scaphoid bone in my wrist.

I went to get acupuncture. Amy asked if I had been doing the diet in which I said yes. She began to take my pulse and she told me straight away I was malnourished. I was vegetarian at the time for 2 years starting in high school. “Your kidneys are weak, drink more water”. Another thing she noticed from my pulse was how weak I was. “Do you take long naps?” I said yes, because I thought nap are ok, but she said, You dont need to nap, your not a baby anymore, you should meditate.” She proceeded with acupuncture in my wrist but also placed them along the entire front of body and a second session on the back of my body. I must admit that it was an introduction to a state of relaxation I had never felt before even as someone interested in eastern culture, meditation and developing a “Buddhist heart, Taoist Mind”. Amy was a meditation master in Taiwan and suggested I learn TM (Transcendental Meditation) since it was practical for people these days. meditation would be a replacement for naps and rest the mind. She also said about being vegetarian “You’re not a monk, you need to eat meat”. She explained bluntly that we live in a society where energy is the most important thing we need. Monks do not live in normal society so their lifestyle allows them to be vegetarian.

I did decide eat a balance of meat and vegetables and increase of ‘warm’ foods and elimination of ‘cold’ and ‘fire’ foods from meals. My wrist pain improved from the years of skateboard falls and the rock climbing break. At that time, my energy still was not where I am today, but it really was getting progressively better. I also got to learn TM from Dr. Jonathan Shear who was a philosophy professor at VCU. From him I had to do the preliminary lectures, interview and application process, and do the ceremony to get my ‘personal mantra’ based on ayurvedic astrology. After the check up sessions, it greatly improved my meditation and concentration ability. On a side note: Jon was also a practitioner of Guang Ping Tai Chi in which he was a student of Kou Lien Ying while in San Francisco. He later was student of Weiqi He of Fu Zhong Wen’s Yang Tai Chi, and while we were in Shanghai, he met Dr. Li Li of a student of Ma Yu Liang of Wu style Tai Chi and became a Wu style practitioner. This change from Yang style to Wu style while our teacher Weiqi took us to Shanghai tended to put a dent in our relationship.

In subsequent visits by Amy she was always someone to impart wisdom. One time She put a needle in my forehead at the ‘yin tong’ point and my forehead went red immediately. “You think too much” she said. She was always right and her special talent was face reading. She asked my Chinese zodiac sign and I said I was born year of the Rat. “Oh you will be sad when there is something you don’t get, and you tend to think more than you can do.” There was never a time where anyone who was her patient wasn’t amazed by her skills, and everyone who knew her, flocked whenever she came to town.

One of my favorite sayings she told me once was based on some overtraining I was doing. As I got overly involved in Chinese martial arts, I was practicing Chang Chuan, Pakuachang, and Tai Chi while also being assistant coach to children and adult classes at the recreation center with Coach Weiqi and learning Goulin qigong from her husband Coach Xu. “Tai Chi is there for you, you don’t have to be there for Tai Chi,” Amy said. I often hear that in my head when I start to get overly interested in training like a mad man.

At one of the earlier sessions of acupuncture she told me that “you cannot force chi” in the aspect that you cannot make Qi grow inside. It was a lesson of relaxing and using the mind to sense your current state of ‘chi awareness’ and using what you got. Once I told her I was taking American ginseng. I was about 24 or 25 years old. She said, “Your not an old man, you don’t need that.” She always recommended ginger tea in the morning with breakfast and small cup of peppermint tea with licorice root in the evening. There was another occasion she did acupuncture and the needles were stuck or hard to take out without having to massage the points around the needle. She said that my body needed acupuncture so bad that it would not let go of the needles.

Now 20 years later, I cannot express how grateful I am to have met Wilson and Amy. Both have been extremely valuable to my life in many ways. I am not sure where I would be in life if it wasn’t for their compassion to help others. The TCM diet, ancient knowledge, systems of qigong, massage, martial arts, and meditation have a great deal of value for people as we move towards globalization. It’s so true that we really are responsible for what we put in our body.

matt

Boxing with coach Jeff Ruth

warm up with ‘I go, you go’ with jab-cross using gloves as focus mitts.
add hooks for jab-cross-hook

3min rounds x2 medicine ball hitting. one person hold medicine ball at chest/abs, other tries punch it out.

glove work-
jab cross hook cross
drill 100 punches
jab cross hook cross hook
drill 100 punches
jab cross hook cross hook cross
drill 100 punches
knock out 1-2 x20
knock out 1-2-3 x20
knock out cross x20

close with stretches

cardio workout- 3/3/10

- warm up running set
- yogic stretching set

-15 min. circuit 1 min each drill:
1. suicide drill- 123 touch floor
2. switch kicks/thai kicks
3. wide football stance-front,rt. left. sideways, back, set, blast sprint.
4. stance jacks- horse stance alternate touching floor left and right.
5. 2 lunges then sprints
6. hooks, double unders. hooks
7. power jacks- horse stance jumping jack
8. Level 2’s- 8 push ups, mt. climbers, jump ups.
9. frog jumps
10. thai knees.
11. standing mt. climbers
12. ski downs
13. scissor runs
14. burpies
15. push up jacks

cool down stretch series

12 round circuit training 3min. rounds 1 min. rest/water

circuit- alternate partner glove work, heavy bag, strength rounds.

warm up-
a. running, high knees, butt kicks, side ways, alternate feet, skip jumps, 5 hops, ect.
b. stretching set.

Round 1- glove work: one-n-one defense slip slip bob left right vs. jab cross hook hook.
Round 2- heavy bag- drilling jab cross non-stop rhythm. alternate speed, and power punching.
Round 3- strength- (leg, ab, arms) : globe jumps, sit ups, push ups, belt kicks, v-ups, mt. climbers, horse squats, leg ups.
round 4- glove work- slip, duck, jab, cross, 1-2, hook-cross-hook, cross-hook-cross, blast 4.
round 5-Heavy bag-7’s drill. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 punches.
Round 6- strength- ABS- sit ups, crunches, leg ups, v-ups, ect.
Round 7- glove work- duck rt. hook: counter w/hook cross hook, duck left hook- counter cross hook cross.
continue with round 4 glove work.
round 8-Heavy Bag- jab cross rt up knee, cross jab left up knee.
Round 9- Strength: jujitsu guard sit ups with punching, mirror box attacking openings, alternate.
round 10- glove work- jab cross, rt round kick, left round kick, push kick, 2 left or right round kicks.
Round 11- Heavy Bag- 4 punch up knees, neck grab knees, drilling knees, side knees.
Round 12- Ab circuit: standing knees to same elbow 20x, knees to opposite elbow 20x, rt, knee 20x, left knee 20x, alternate knees, repeat.
Close out:
Heavy bag: Tai chi hitting: jab= fan through back, cross= brush knee. hook= wave hands, upper cut= seven stars.
Warm down- Yang’s warm up: neck, shoulders, arm, elbows, wrist, twist spine, rotate waist, flex extend spine, rotate hips, rotate knees, ankles. Repulse monkey in horse stance, wave hands like clouds-shifting left and right in horse, embrace posture standing post/dan tien breathing.

Muay thai training 2-27-2010

running
fight stance hop back and fourth
add jab
add cross
run
v-ups
push ups
running
push kicks rt. and left
run
round kicks rt. and left
run
5 jumps run 5 jumps x10
running

drill 1- 3n3
two parry and rt. kick
detail: tap jab with rt hand, turn body and cover cross with left forearm and rt. kick.
the rt kick can be blocked by puncher or absorbed.

drill 2- 3n3
jab cross rt. kick, fake rt. rt. kick standing leg with low kick as he tries to block high.
defender: cover the first rt. kick

drill 3- 3-n-3
switch step high left kick, step back switch step and south paw cross hook cross, left kick.
attacker- 2nd switch step is a fake 2nd left kick but punch

drill 4 conditioning out- a goes b goes.
sprawl jab cross hook cross x20
sprawl rt kick 15x
sprawl switch step left kick 15x

Fighter vs Martial Artist

A martial artist goes through much more training than fighting. they usually start with some kind of test of character before being accepted as a student. In the old tradition a student might bow at the house of a master for several days to show sincerity to learn. In modern times a teacher might show a few things and see if the student goes deep into it before teaching more. In my case a teacher taught 24 form to see if they could “get it” before teaching the Long Form and didnt talk about themselves and lineage for 2 years teaching strict basics.

A Martial art teacher will that is of true lineage will teach ‘Wu De’ or martial virtue. In the older Chinese tradition a master would “make you a man before martial artist” with teaching things like humility, respect, sincerity, will power, courage, endurance, ect.
some martial arts schools adopted mottos for students, Fu Zhong Wen’s Yongnian Association uses “Diligence, Perseverance, Respect, Sincerity” as quality’s a practitioner must have to develop a high level of Taiji kung fu.*

Many fighters in today’s society are not brought up with this type of mind set. They go right into fighting techniques. This is typical of MMA, BJJ, Kickboxing and Boxing schools. Some old boxing schools and traditional minded schools might have a bit more discipline approach to teaching the fighter, but the goal is fighting for sport and competition sake to help promote the school, style, and teacher usually for monetary gains. fighting takes a much shorter time to learn. A martial artist of a discipline like Taijiquan, the road is longer to mastery and might take up to 20 years to be as good as someone who focuses on fighting only.

Other aspects that are developed by martial artists that might not be developed by the common fighter are internal training, flexibility, qigong, traditional methods of conditioning, Eastern philosophy, principles and theory, history, medical knowledge and healing (TCM), weapons training like sword, saber, spear.

Someone who practices Taijiquan should be one who has motivation to use the art for its original purpose of attaining fighting ability. The forms are combat moves that require combat intent of mind. The mind of the taijiquan practitioner doenst need to be motivated to compete and fight other but to develop courage help those who are weaker that might need to be defended or defense of the self when called to action.

*Zhin- Diligence- Hard work and effort is prerequisite for skilled development. Daily practice on a regular basic will ultimately be rewarded by beneficial results.

Hen- Perseverance- It is important that a long and enduring sense of purpose be cultivated. A sense of purpose combined with regular daily practice will serve to achieve that purpose.

Li- Respect- Respect for your master, teacher, and fellow man is paramount. Deal with others in taking consideration their backgrounds and in the light of their expectations. Mutual respect serves to enhance a sense of community and solidarity in a society where individuals treat each other with respect.

Zhen- Sincerity- Sincerity in attitude or motivation is a prerequisite for learning Taijiquan. In order to achieve, a genuine resolve to pursue your goal must exist. Deal with others sincerely if you want them to reciprocate. Maintain sincerity in the fore of your dealing with others and you will achieve a smooth flow in relationships.

matt

Cardio Power and Resistance- insanity

standard warm-up 3x no stop
-rest/water
-stretching set

3x 2min. rest between/water
-power jumps
-belt kicks
-hit the floor
-V push ups

1 min. tricept dips
one leg tricepts dips
tricept ball push ups- 1 min.

3 x 2min.-rest between rounds
-hurdle jumps
-globe jumps
-moving push ups
-floor sprints

finish- 1 min.
8 hops 8 push ups

end with stretch set

Plyometric and cardio circuit- Insanity

ok next time i am watching the next training DVD first before starting to exercise.

warm-up- 3:30 rounds. 3x going faster each round
-jog in place
-jump jack
-heismans
-123 heismans
-butt kicks
- high knees
-mummy kicks

water/rest between sets. 30 sec. rest

stretching-
breathing drill inhale exhale arms up 4x
-front bend legs semi-wide
-lunge warrior
-twisted warrior 1 and 2
-scale kicks hands on floor, leg straight
-drop stance
*repeat other side of body.
-pyramid/horse
-center, left, right, standing legs wide hamstring stretch
-back rolls
-quad stretch standing
-repeat breathing

water/rest

circuit Interval- 3x 3:30 sec
-suicide drill – 3 step touch floor lunge
-power squats- down to horse stance back up to standing
-standing mountain climbers
-ski down- hop left and right

water rest fr 30 sec after each set

switch feet 1 min.
foot ball wide sprints- turn left , turn right, move left, move right, move forward move back- 1 min.
switch feet 1 min.
foot ball wide sprints- turn left , turn right, move left, move right, move forward move back- 1 min.

rest 30 sec.

Last circuit interval- 3:30 x 3
-basket ball drill- pick up ball and jump shot
-Level 1: stand- 4 push ups, 10 mt. climber push up, stand. repeat.
-ski abs- push up position: left,middle, right jump drill.
-front and back: from push up position: jump in/out close and far to body.
FINAL 2 min.
-punches, cross jacks, uppercuts, palm strikes.
water rest 30 sec.

stretching-
breathing drill inhale exhale arms up 4x
-front bend legs semi-wide
-lunge warrior
-twisted warrior 1 and 2
-scale kicks hands on floor, leg straight
-drop stance
*repeat other side of body.
-pyramid/horse
-center, left, right, standing legs wide hamstring stretch
-back rolls
-quad stretch standing
-repeat breathing