out of curiosity, what level of training do you do at home?

personally i use dumbbells for strength, a rowing machine for general fitness and a free standing punch bag for practicing punching and kicking techniques.

i also do the usual press-ups etc.

what other areas is it possible to work on at home and how do you go about training out of the gym/dojo

I do a lot of what Bagua practitioners would call "Iron Shirt" - basically giving yourself a good whack in places that need toughening up. Getting into a horse stance and smacking the back of your thighs is a good start.

Apart from that I think you're doing everything you can!

You certainly do more than I do at the moment, writing almost constantly has given me a beer gut. Any help on ridding myself of this as a side topic?

haha, the beer gut can only be removed by lots of cardio stuff like running and getting nice and sweaty and also dieting, but you seem to be eating some sensible stuff at the moment as you were saying last time we spoke

training at home:

I have a wall bag, that I will punch in order to build up my triceps maybe 6-7 hours a week,

I train an hour of forms every day

And that is all I do… until I pass my 2nd tech then I’ll be getting a wooden dummy to slap around

LiuShuiDao wrote:
I do a lot of what Bagua practitioners would call "Iron Shirt"

oops misread that one at first

The mental image.. that would prepare you for any hit wouldnt it.

I go running and also practice Taekwondo forms by myself.

I start slowly working through the movements and then build up the speed and power.

I should do more though, but its hard to fit everything in.

Theres a certain solice and tranquility with practiticing your forms/technique in private isn't there Pete?

My partner has a stream around the back of her house that constantly flows very fast but is only around a foot deep. Perfect for Tai Chi and private practice.

EDIT: spelling corrections*<br><br>Post edited by: LiuShuiDao, at: 2007/10/08 20:13

Yeah nothing beats form practice...

Do i detect some sarcasm there Pete?

I sent you a private message by the way, drop me a line when you get it.

Regards,

Oli

I jumprope to get a cardio workout or run on my treadmill. I also make sure that when i do get to the dojo i warm up with the heavy bag first, then stretch, teach class and then lots of continuous sparring. one word will say it all...CARDIO!

Besides the usual practicing of patterns, I try to do whatever simple exercises I can in the lounge room watching tv of an evening like stretching, sit ups, push ups, or heel raises while waiting for the kettle to boil. Before I had kids I would keep the 'Total Gym' set up in the lounge room. Also putting more effort into finding time to play with the kids. I had a thought. To keep up with the kids as they grew up and i grew older, I would try to do everything they do. That way as their fitness and srength improved, so would mine. So put the beer down and get out on the back lawn and do some cartwheels annd somersaults. It was easy as a kid, try it now.