100 Days Foundation

[hammer_2020]

Day #7 - Zero Intensity: Emergency Maintenance

Iron Body Qigong

Front x 70 reps

Back x 70 reps

RESET Drills in between to release excess tension.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse, 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Remarks: First day of chinese new year. Was busy entertaining guests and family and wound up having what I thought would be two solid hours in which to train...only to be told as I was heading out the door to the park for some taiji and prasara that dinner would be served at any minute. Wound up waiting for two hours to no end and, just as I started doing some zero-intensity work indoors, I was called to dinner, so I rushed through my iron palm work and went downstairs late, running a gauntlet of disapproving stares.

Man, I hate the holidays.

[lorenzodamarith]

Originally Posted by hammer_2020

Man, I hate the holidays.

hello,

hammer_2020, agreed. holidays suck. at least you attempted to work out!

happy lunar new year.

thanks

[hammer_2020]

Day #8 - Zero Intensity: Martial Arts Drills, Intu-Flow®

Iron Body Qigong

Front x 70 reps

Back x 70 reps

RESET Drills in between to release excess tension.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse, 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Systema Callisthenics

Slow pushup on fists - 30 breaths down, 30 breaths up

Slow squat - 30 breaths down, 30 breaths up


Wing Chun

Siu Nim Tau x 1


Intu-Flow®

Advanced-to-Master routine x 1


Remarks: Managed to get a full zero day in despite festivities - I rule!

[hammer_2020]

Day #9 - Low Intensity: Iron Body, Iron Palm, Wing Chun Forms, Taijiquan, Prasara Yoga

Iron Body qigong: Front and back, 70 repetitions each, with RESET drills in between to release excess density.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse - 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Wing Chun: Siu Nim Tau x 1



Chen-style Taijiquan: 1st Form x 3

Prasara

Flock of Pigeons x 1
Forest x 1
Diving Dolphin x 1
Tumbleweed x 1


Remarks: Back at work today, so I had more time to train (ironically). I'm expecting a fitness test sometime this week, though - no idea when, so I'm taking it slow with zero and low-intensity days until I get more details or the week runs out, whichever comes first. I'm actually starting to get some internal pain doing the anterior segment of Iron Body - it seems my striking power is starting to outstrip my shock absorption.

Further testing indicates significant improvement in absorption, so it seems training is progressing apace, one way or another. First set of taijiquan was rather twitchy and restless, but the flow kicked in from the second on.

On the Prasara front, Forest is still improving, slowly but steadily. The Firelog pose is still my biggest challenge.

[hammer_2020]

Day #10 - Low Intensity: Iron Body, Iron Palm, Wing Chun Forms, Taijiquan

Iron Body qigong: Front and back, 70 repetitions each, with RESET drills in between to release excess density.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse - 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Wing Chun: Siu Nim Tau x 1



Chen-style Taijiquan: 1st Form x 3


Remarks: Had a medical review to go to this morning, so I woke up heaps early to train. By the time I was done staggering around blearily trying to wake up, I was short on time, so I had to leave Prasara out of today's training.

[hammer_2020]

Day #11 - Low Intensity: Iron Body, Iron Palm, Wing Chun Forms, Taijiquan, Prasara Yoga


Iron Body qigong: Front and back, 70 repetitions each, with RESET drills in between to release excess density.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse - 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Wing Chun: Siu Nim Tau x 3



Chen-style Taijiquan: 1st Form x 3

Prasara

Flock of Pigeons x 3
Forest x 3
Diving Dolphin x 3
Tumbleweed x 3

Remarks: Finally had enough time today to take my time over training and do everything I wanted to do.

First off, Forest flow performance seems to depend a lot on visual input to balance mechanisms, as it varies immensely depending on where I do it. I normally train in the yoga studio at work, which is small, cosy and a little dark, with a slightly sloping floor, and I struggle the most to perform Forest or any one-legged work there. By contrast, I have the easiest time of it in the aerobics studio, which is brightly lit even without the lights on as it has a full-length ocean view, and a fairly level floor. Doing Forest in the yoga studio fatigues my feet and glutes fairly quickly, so I find it is worth my while to do only one to avoid degraded performance.

Left my iron palm training bag at home this morning in the rush to get to work, so I left iron palm training till the end of the day. Wound up smacking my hand against a hard corner doing arms swings in the dark. Didn't hurt as much as I expected it to, though there is now some mild localised swelling. Further proof of development came earlier today when I demonstrated a relaxed heavy hand strike to a colleague at work - a light tap set his internal organs jangling, I am pleased to say.

Also did some shock absorption testing to see how my iron body training was coming along with said colleague, who boxes recreationally. Got him to rove around me, throwing punches at full force into my body. Results were quite acceptable - pain was mild and limited to the external layer of skin and muscle, failing at all times to penetrate to the internal organs. Also got him to test absorption at the thigh level by throwing roundhouse kicks into my thigh. It seems the iron body effect has yet to migrate to my legs, as the only defence that time around was natural resilience and no trained resilience.

[hammer_2020]

Day #12 - Zero Intensity: Martial Arts Drills, Intu-Flow®

Iron Body Qigong

Front x 70 reps

Back x 70 reps

RESET Drills in between to release excess tension.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse, 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.


Systema Callisthenics

Slow pushup on fists - 30 breaths down, 30 breaths up

Slow squat - 30 breaths down, 30 breaths up


Wing Chun

Siu Nim Tau x 1


Intu-Flow®

Advanced-to-Master routine x 1


Remarks:

[lorenzodamarith]

Originally Posted by hammer_2020

Forest flow performance seems to depend a lot on visual input to balance mechanisms

hello,

hammer_2020, it is funny you mention this. have recently discovered that personal sense of balance is almost nonexistent. a couple times, relaxed and eyes drooped. fell over immediately. have also noticed the "tipsiness" if not looking at a level horizontal line.

not sure why.

thanks

[hammer_2020]

Visual input is the first and most important source of feedback for balance, which is why closing our eyes and balancing is often nothing short of terrifying. The others are our inner ears and joint proprioceptors, the latter being vastly untrained in the majority of human beings. I certainly neglected mine till rather late in life, preferring to lift heavy iron over all else. I must say Olympic lifting did help to some point, particularly heavy overhead lifts, but still, I have a lot of catching up to do, particularly since I have damaged proprioceptors in my ankles from all the injuries I've taken to them, and probably pathological adaptations in the proprioceptors all the way up the chain as compensation for the bum ankles.

[hammer_2020]

Day #13 - Low Intensity: Iron Body, Iron Palm, Taijiquan


Iron Body qigong: Front and back, 70 repetitions each, with RESET drills in between to release excess density.


Iron Palm

Through-Arm swinging, forwards, back, transverse - 30 swings each direction, each arm.

Bag-striking, 6 hand forms, 40 strikes each form, each hand.



Chen-style Taijiquan

1st Form x 4

Basic exercises


Remarks: Went to see my taijiquan teacher for the first session of the chinese new year today. Lots of technique correction and basic exercises.