Wushu: The Rhythmic Gymnastics of the Martial Arts World

I have studied a number of martial arts over the years, one of which was Wushu. I had taken it up and trained in it for a year and a half to learn certain performance skills for the stunt world. I was in the Richmond area last night and dropped by to see my old Wushu teacher, Bruce Fontaine. He recently opened up his West Coast Chinese Martial Arts classes at a full-time location there.

As I watched his kids training for an upcoming event, painful memories flooded back of my old Wushu days when stretching resembled a torture practice. I related this to the friend who watched along with me to which Bruce replied, "Lori never did have the hips for Wushu."

"No, but I could kick hard," I replied, jokingly sulky.

"In Wushu, kicking hard is something more in the abstract," Bruce quipped back.

This is absolute truth. Wushu is a performance art that is only loosely based on practical martial arts. When I jokingly ask Bruce what the practical application is of a tornado kick that lands in the splits, he consistently replies, "None whatsoever." It is as I call it, the rhythmic gymnastics of the martial arts world. That being said, it can be a awesomely impressive.

You've seen Wushu in many of your favourite martial arts films. You've likely heard of Jet Li, of course, probably the most famous of the Wushu martial arts stars. But there also are many young talents in China doing spectacular shows, featuring crazy feats of agility and flexibility. Check out the following vid that Bruce sent me to see just how crazy.

"Iceman" Book Review - An Inspiration for Fighters

Having grown up in Ottawa and trained in Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu, I have known the name "Iceman" for quite some time. I knew him as a kickboxing legend, but beyond that, little else. Recently, I read a biography on him, Iceman: Kickboxing Legend Jean-Yves Theriault and found the book and the story of his life to be quite inspiring.

Jean-Yves Theriault ruled the kickboxing world back in the 80s, having been a world champion for over a decade. And yet, I wouldn't say he's a household name that every average Joe knows. Theriault was not in the business for the showboating or the glamour, he just loved to fight and saw it as his destiny. He was and still is a kind, mild-mannered, and unassuming man, except in the ring where he becomes the "Iceman," blasting his opponents with devastating kicks and punches.

This biography tells the story of his development, his interpersonal life, his training methods, and the decisions he made over his long, successful career as a professional fighter. There are also a number of blow-by-blow accounts of his most exciting fights.

Filled with revelatory facts, detailed interviews with Theriault himself, those closest to him, and 5 other world champions, Iceman is a fascinating read and provides useful insights and inspiration to fans and especially to people involved in sport fighting. If every professional fighter went at their careers with the attitude taken by Theriault, the fight world would indeed receive a lot more respect.

Chocolate Thunder Successfully Defends His Boxing Title

Over the weekend, I went to see super middleweight boxer Louis "Chocolate Thunder" Sargeant fight in a boxing match to defend his title as Northwest champion. Louis frequents the gym where I do my MMA training. He has often provided me with suggestions and advice on my strategy and has even holds pads for me on occasion.

What's really interesting about Louis is that he is a martial artist, not just a boxer. He originally trained in and taught Taekwondo, achieving the rank of third degree black belt. After he moved from Alberta to BC, he took up boxing. He didn't bother with amateur fighting, going straight into the professional arena.

He is a consummate athlete, dedicated to his craft. And when you watch him fight, it shows. Here's a video clip of the second half of the first round of his recent fight:



After watching Louis fight, it was hard not to feel motivated about my own training. Louis is a classic example of hard work paying off. And he constantly tries to impart this knowledge as a Richmond BC personal trainer.

Foam Weapon Sparring at the Beach

Recently, I've been taking advantage of the gorgeous Vancouver summers by going to the beach and sparring with foam-covered weapons. I haven't done much bokken (Japanese sword) or escrima (Filipino stick) training, but when I was in high school and university I did competitive fencing for about 7 years, at one point achieving the rank of 26th in Canada in women's foil and being on University of Ottawa's women's sabre team, which took first place the year I was involved. Lucky for me, much of the skills from fencing translate over to bokken and escrima sparring.

Anyway, without going into a massive amount of technical detail, my sparring partner and I had tons of fun trading blows with these foam bokken and foam escrima I bought from Century. We were able to spar realistically without hurting each other too badly. We did get a few bruises, particularly across the hands and knuckles, but nothing crippling. They're a great way to practice distance and timing and they're waaaaaay more fun than tossing a frisbee or bumping a volleyball, as long as you don't mind the odd slack-jawed gawker. I can't wait for my foam bos to arrive. :)

How to Do Shrimping Drills and Why

Shrimping was originally introduced in Japan where it was known as "ebi aruki" or in English, shrimp walking. Judo and Jiu-jitsu schools use it to develop the lateral hip movement that is used to escape from many holds on the ground. The hands are also used in conjunction with the hips to simulate pushing an attacker away. The video below demonstrates this drill very well.



With all the core body that is used to move the hips, shrimping is also great for strengthening the abs. My coach often has me doing this drill for my MMA training. I personally like drills that develop both skills and strength simultaneously.

Is 500 Squats Too Many?

It isn't according to my MMA coach. Last night, Mark had me do an intensive leg workout including: 500 squats, 5 minutes of stepping up and down from the ring, 5 minutes of shrimp walking (aka- shrimping), 5 minutes of pummeling drills, 3 minutes of leg lunges, 3 minutes of calf raises, and 2 3-minute rounds of kicks on the heavy bags.

Last fall, when I first started doing MMA training, half this amount would have had a similar effect on my body. It seems my body is capable of handling quite a bit more than it used to. I won't lie to you though. My legs are pretty wobbly and sore today, but I do like knowing that I'm capable of this amount of conditioning.

In theory, this will help keep me from tiring in the octagon when I do finally enter it. My coach says late August early September, but you never know with these things. He's trying to get me a good match-up for my first fight.

How to Help Out Without Hindering

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