December 26th - Thinking in the Morning

Beautiful Sunrise, 23rd December

My Thoughts 🤔 我的想法

06:40
Christmas has come and gone, I gave and got some cool gifts. Now its time to get ready for the last few days of work.

I'd like to thank my Mom for the really cool protection necklace she gave me. It is a shield with a cross that reads:

"Be Strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go." 

-Joshua 1:9b

And then thanks to my Dad for giving me a cool watch (which is also an inside joke). It looks really nice, and after a few days wearing it, fits comfortably on my right wrist. Thanks to my sister and her husband for the journal, Kung Fu movie, camo shirt and really comfortable training pants. I hope they all liked the gifts I gave them.

I've also been in more contact with my friends around the states lately. One of them is planning on a trip in 2021 that he wants me to be apart of, another one is trying to train with me before I leave, and I think I might be getting a D&D group back together again. We will see. And as far as "social media" goes I have made a few posts to the Johnny's Daily Adventure Instagram. Nothing fancy, just me doing boring moves in the snow.

Since, I woke up so early I decided to prepare this blog post while watching the Shaw Brother's Film "Shadow Boxer". I'd rate it as fun to watch, it is your typical kung fu revenge theme but instead of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi gets its time in the spot light.

Study 📖 学习

Throughout the week I've been using DuChinese to study as well as some cool Christmas themed videos. Doing these things has given me a list of "new" vocabulary.

分享 to share
物极必反 "when things reach an extreme, they can only move in the opposite direction"
毛病 trouble, mishap
浴室 bathroom
争 to contend, to argue
上衣 upper outer garment, jacket
穿上 to put on (clothes)
态度 manner, attitude,
获得 to gain, to obtain, to win
翘 to raise
臀 buttocks
夸奖 to praise, to compliment
鹅肉 goose meat
小红莓 cranberry
火腿 ham
面包 bread
代表人物 representative figure
挨家挨户 from house to house
制作 to manufacture, to make
行为 action, behavior, conduct
监督 to supervise

虚步，Working on getting lower

Workout 🥋 训练/体育

I've been doing more research on how to do workouts properly and why we do certain workouts. This has helped me understand exercise a little better and helped me focus on how to build up strength and speed in my moves but... I still don't understand flexibility.

My main focus as of late has been building up my thigh（大腿）strength as I'd like a better Xu Bu/cat stance. Looking at different martial arts, it seems that Kung Fu/WuShu styles are the only ones who go super deep in to this stance. As an exercise, the pistol squat is what I've been (trying) to do to help me.

Another focus of mine is to try and get into the splits but, I've been slacking. From what I've read and watched; the best thing to do to get into the splits is:

1) Warm Up
2) Stretch all your legs and lower back muscles
3) Do the Splits with PNF stretching
4) Go back to Step 2

While it was summer I was doing this (look at the previous photos and you can see my progress). For some reason Winter is kicking my butt and making me lazy. So, I've been using that "No Gym" workout to help me warm up and then focus on getting my flexibility better and better. Also, getting better flexibility helps me do my stances better, which is a plus. (And my Pu Bu has worsened 😭)

Recent Routine:

Warm Up: No Gym Workout
Stretching: Kung Fu Stances and Stance Exercises, Split Attempts
Exercise: Muay Thai Shadow Boxing, Kung Fu Kick Routines
Stretching: Standard Stretches, Kung Fu Stances, Split Attempts

Hopefully little workouts have prepared me for Maling Kung Fu Academy.

 

Daily Tao ☯ 终结

Today's passage talks about how there are only 5 days left in the year and I've been thinking about that a lot recently. Its almost New Year. Which is crazy to me. I've been living in Wisconsin for 8~ Months, and out of those months 6-7 of those months have been working at this potato factory. Before that I spent my first few months of the year in China with my parents. This year flew by even though it isn't over yet.

In a year my "life plan" changed from military to Kung Fu.
In a year I have been in 3 countries.
In a year I've reconnected with friends.
In a year I got a job.
In a year I've learned new things.
In a year so much has changed.
In a year I've met so many people.

If I can do so much in a year then that means you can too but it also makes me think, what more can I do in one month? How can I continue to improve myself and use my time more wisely to benefit myself?

Just some food for thought.

-Johnny "白武龙"