Tales of a Masochistic Troubadour

A really intimidating Capoeira demo

I've done a number of street rodas and one or two shows, but to this date, I'm still not comfortable with performing in Capoeira demos...

... so it didn't help that yesterday night (like 2300 night), Axé Capoeira was invited to do a demo at the PEN Canada event held at the Hart House at the University of Toronto...

... and it didn't help that we were waiting so long that any semblance of concentration had dissipated by the time we were asked to perform...

... and it didn't help that as soon as we walked in I saw Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor-General of Canada...

... and it didn't help that when I left I noticed John Raulston Saul next to her.

Everyone else rocked. I could barely clap.

Training with Axe Capoeira Vancouver

One of the few luxuries I've been able to afford on this rather silly trip is the opportunity to visit and train at the Axé Capoeira academy in Vancouver.  After sitting in a plane for every evening since Monday, it's good to finally do something physically active and stretch out those stiff muscles.

The academy is situated on one of the major thoroughfares in Vancouver, so finding it was relatively easy.  I went to the B1-3 classes and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to keep up.  I've heard that the Vancouver guys are much better than the Toronto crowd so yes, I was worried that I would really suck in comparison.

I was hoping to be able to practice with Mestre Barrão but he's in Brazil.  Lelo was also not available since he was starting a new class.  Lori, a marrom-azul, was teaching instead and we did quite a bit of Maculelê.  Lori is so much nicer than Careca ;-).

I'm bringing back 3 berimbaus and 3 pandeiros for the other students.  Hopefully this will mean more students will become proficient with the instruments very shortly.

PS: Okay, so I need to focus on my cardio training a bit more.  Nearly puked all over the academy floor during Maculelê.  I suck.

Sifu's New Ving Tsun class

Sifu started a new VT class Tuesday (yesterday).  This is a very special class since this is his first new class since simo passed away.  I'm going to try to help out as much as possible but it's going to be tricky splitting my time between Capoeira, the senior VT class and this new junior class.

The new class size is huge!  I'm guessing about 30 people even though sifu only wanted about 12.  He's worried about being exhausted from teaching them (sticky hands with 30 people are a lot of work), but that's why the sihings are there: we'll give the jumior class a good workout on behalf of sifu.  However if history is any judge, I expect only 20 - 30% of them to make it to graduation.

This class has potential though.  Sifu taught them the opening moves for "siu lim tau" (little thought training set) yesterday and I was watching the way the students were holding their fists.  This is a dead giveaway for whether the student has any talent or not: anyone with any natural aptitude will make a fist correctly whether or not they've been taught before.  Of the class of 30, only two made their fists incorrectly, a darn good ratio.

There are three couples in the class: two that are going out with students in the senior class and one completely new couple.  I'm determined to teach the new students (the girlfriends) how to kick the asses of their senior boyfriends.  It's a bit disturbing watching them though: R can't keep his hands off S and E can't stop getting turned on by A's ass gyrations (during warm-up).  Perverts! (okay, I'm jealous)

There's also two caucasian guys in the class.  In the past, sifu has only accepted Chinese students out of convenience.  The VT terms and concepts are better explained in Cantonese but since most of the CBCs don't understand Cantonese anyways, sifu capitulated and has started excepting non-Chinese as well.  The only problem is that they're a bit too tall for sifu's basement and I'm concerned that one of them is going to crack his head open on sifu's ceiling.

I can't wait till the first cocky guy starts showing off.  I love beating the crap out of the cocky kids.  I am such an ass. ;-P

Got the wind knocked out of me

Did some free sparring with D Sihing yesterday in Ving Tsun class.  I'm having trouble figuring out how to use Capoeira in a real fight and how to combine it with Ving Tsun.  When I stand upright Ving Tsun works really well and so do the standard kicks: roundhouse (martelo), front snap (ponteira) and the side kick (chapa).  But the Capoeira escapes (esquiva) don't seem to work since it takes too long to drop down.  On the other hand if I take a ginga stance I leave myself vulnerable to low kicks whenever I open up to attack.  That and Ving Tsun doesn't work from a ginga position unless I rise up, which takes time (found that out a couple of rodas ago versus Careca).

More fun things to figure out...

D Sihing managed to land a really good kick to my abdomen yesterday and just barely knocked the wind out of me.  It doesn't hurt as much as it was really really annoying to temporarily lose voluntary control of my body.  I was really surprised to feel my abs tense up in time to absorb the blow.  Man, am I thankful for all my ab workouts.

D Sihing should also stop worrying about hurting me.  I don't care about getting hit; it's part of the sport.

Got the wind knocked out of me

Did some free sparring with D Sihing yesterday in Ving Tsun class.  I'm having trouble figuring out how to use Capoeira in a real fight and how to combine it with Ving Tsun.  When I stand upright Ving Tsun works really well and so do the standard kicks: roundhouse (martelo), front snap (ponteira) and the side kick (chapa).  But the Capoeira escapes (esquiva) don't seem to work since it takes too long to drop down.  On the other hand if I take a ginga stance I leave myself vulnerable to low kicks whenever I open up to attack.  That and Ving Tsun doesn't work from a ginga position unless I rise up, which takes time (found that out a couple of rodas ago versus Careca).

More fun things to figure out...

D Sihing managed to land a really good kick to my abdomen yesterday and just barely knocked the wind out of me.  It doesn't hurt as much as it was really really annoying to temporarily lose voluntary control of my body.  I was really surprised to feel my abs tense up in time to absorb the blow.  Man, am I thankful for all my ab workouts.

D Sihing should also stop worrying about hurting me.  I don't care about getting hit; it's part of the sport.

Event Alert: Axé Capoeira Street Roda (05/07/15 & 05/07/16)

The Axé Capoeira group will be holding two street rodas this weekend.  The first street roda is confirmed for Friday at 1930 at Queen and Soho.  The second street roda will be on Saturday but time and location are to be confirmed (probably about 1800).  See you there!

Salve Capoeira!

PS: Paraiba has started his class in Toronto.  Paraiba's information is available on the Axé Capoeira site or come grab a flyer at one of the rodas.

Achieving human fision

This past weekend I uncounciously tried to overexert myself, seeking to achieve the blissful restful sleep that comes with being physically exhausted.  Unfortunately, I seemed to have tuned my body to the point where I am able to sustain a ridiculous amount of activity.

 

Let's look at Alan's weekend:

 

Saturday AM: Woke up, did 100 push-ups, 120 sit-ups and 240 punches on the sandbag.  Then ate big breakfast and shopped for karting supplies (Canadian Tire).

Saturday Early Afternoon: Drove from Richmond Hill to Mississauga for Capoeira class.  Slightly more than an hour and a half of Capoeira in the heat.

Saturday Late Afternoon: Lunch and hanging out at Careca's.

Saturday Early Evening: Shopped for bike lights, went home, hand washed and dried the White Rocket, mounted bike lights.

Saturday Late Evening: Went for a 2 hour bike ride in the dark.  Biked from home to #36's, then over to the restaurant for dinner with folks.  Only stopped for maybe 15 minutes.  Got honked at 4 times (people really don't know the rules of the road for bikes).

Saturday Near Midnight: Dinner

Sunday Morning: Got up, packed White Rocket for karting, headed over to #36's, ate brunch, drove up to track.

Sunday Afternoon: Got the Red Beast ready running for the first time this season.  Only problem was a leaky radiator pipe (fixed with Teflon tape) and a busted starter switch (need to buy from Radio Shack).  Did a gradual engine break-in over three 15 lap session: 15 laps at 7000 rpm; 15 laps at 12000; then 15 laps at full speed.  Had the engine running very rich but it was still able to pull 13500 rpms.  Then I did a endurance training session of a continuous 40+ laps at race speed , staying within half a second for about 80% of the laps.  Water is not enough for re-hydrating in such heat when physically active.

Sunday Early Evening: Packed trailer, went home for dinner, started laundry.

Sunday Late Evening: Dinner, finished laundry, spent 20 minutes with basic Ving Tsun practice.

 

I am going to be ridiculously difficult to keep up with this snowboarding season.

Event Alert: Axé Capoeira Street Roda (05/06/24 & 05/06/25)

The Axé Capoeira group will be having a street roda at the corner of Queen and Soho tonight and tomorrow evening.  Tonight will be at 1930, tomorrow will be at 1800.  See you there!

Salve Capoeira!

UPDATE: We will actually be playing at the corner of Dundas and Yonge on Saturday instead, right next to the Caravana.

Current damage report

My current injury report:

1. Bruise on my left rib and just slightly right of my solar plexus from sticky hands with P sihing.
2. Bruise under my right armpit from the Meia Lua de Compasso Tortu gave me in class on Saturday.
3. Swollen right knee and bruised left foot from falling while doing a handset...  up, hold and whoops!
4. All my leg muscles are, for some reason, really tight.

Ahhh... not too bad.

Ving Tsun Technique: Common flaws of the Fok Sau

This article started off as a discussion on how to self-train your Ving Tsun Fok Sau based on a sticky hand session I had with B sihing at the Research Class on 05/06/12.  B sihing has been practicing Fok Sau by himself and instead of improving his technique, he did the opposite and actually introduced more flaws!  Considering that B sihing is one of sifu's best students, I realized that my insight on this technique may not be intuitive.  Therefore I want to share my knowledge with all of my fellow Ving Tsun practioners.

As I was writing this article, I realised that it was impossible to discuss the self-training techniques without first describing the common flaws of the Fok Sau.  Therefore this has now become a two post document: the first on the flaws of the Fok Sau; and the second on proper self-training technique for the Fok Sau.

    

Of all the "hands" in Ving Tsun, the Fok Sau is probably the most unnatural - and quite frankly, the most stupid looking - of them all.  Because of it's akwardness, it is also very easy to do incorrectly and to this date I am still constantly trying to refine my Fok Sau.

Four of the most common errors of the Fok Sau are:

1. Elbow is not held close enough to the centre line or there is not enough "weight" on the elbow (not enough mai chang and chum chang).
2. Incorrect application and/or overuse of force in order to close up the centre line.
3. Incorrect application of "weight" and/or force at the hand to maintain contact with the opponent.
4. Incorrect shape of the hand and the corresponding Jut Sau defense.

The first of the errors is typically a result of insufficient practice by the practitioner (if it happens consistently) or a lack of concentration (if it happens only when the practitioner on first contact of the hands or when s/he is tired).  For myself, I find that maintaining the elbow requires quite a bit of deliberation: it is not a natural position and therefore I have to focus to maintain it and practice to maintain the focus.  This error is pretty easy to exploit: because of the weakness of the elbow it is very easy for the attacker to attack from under the bridge (e.g. with a palm strike), push the elbow of the Fok Sau right off the centre line and open up a pathway for the attack to come right through the centre line.

BTW, for some practitioners - especially for practitioners with big pectorial muscles - their Fok Sau may not need to lie right against the centre line.  As long as the correct force is there to maintain the Fok Sau and their Jut Sau is fast enough, they can compensate for the inability to hold the Fok Sau against the centre line.

The second error usually occurs when the practitioner tries to correct for the first error.  Realizing that his/her centre line is exposed due to the weakness of his/her Fok Sau, the practioner attempts to tighten the Fok Sau against the centre line by applying force to push the Fok Sau into the centre line.  Tightening the centre line is the right thing to do in the case of the first error, but where the practitioner makes a mistake is that they apply the force at the Tau Tong (first half of the forearm) instead of at the elbow.  By applying the force there, the practioner not only doesn't entirely close off the first error (it does make a difference, but only a small one), s/he has actually introduced a force that is very easy to trap with a Lap Sau.  The tightening force should be applied at the elbow ONLY; the rest of the Fok Sau will line up just due to basic anatomy.

.... to be continued ....