I am a 35 year old resident of upstate New York, and I have been practicing wing chun under a man named Russell Cichon since 1995, although to be honest a lot of this time has been on and off. I was really fired up and good for the first year and a half. Then my workload at college got super heavy. After that I fell into a funk where I wasn't advancing and couldn't get myself to just keep going. Driving to class felt like I was driving to work. For a long time I didn't attend class at all. Two years I decided the time was finally right to commit to it like I was in the old days...and then they changed my hours at work to 12:30-8:30 instead of 8-4. With class being 6-7, it has become a difficulty to go. I have enough vacation time to go maybe once a month, but I ask Sifu to load me up with as much advice as he can so I will have a LOT of homework to sustain me until I come back the next month. The one thing that really stinks about it is I can't get in as much chi sao practice as I would like. This is basically our form of sparring, so it's not something I can practice at home. Still, I get as much input as I can from him about what could make my forms better, and I do what I can.
Lately I have supplemented my martial arts training with home workout routines. Some of these have no doubt been mentioned here: P90X, Insanity, Rev Abs, 10 Minute Trainer, and others. These have helped me get into better shape than I have EVER been in. I'd say Insanity has been the biggest benefit to my training...especially since there was a time in class where I was still raring to go and everyone else was winded. Aside from getting back to my own training, I'm looking to spread the word about Insanity to other schools in my area, reaching out to styles like tae kwon do and karate that could benefit GREATLY from a program like this. The idea hit me at that class where everyone else was exhausted while I wanted to keep going: if this is benefiting me and I practice a style that isn't heavy on forms, tests, or tournament participation, then imagine how much of a boost it would be for someone who studied a style where those WERE part of their school. While I believe in these programs 100%, I admit they might not be for everyone. My only goal is to spread the word so people can make a better educated decision on what might be best for them.
My goal is to someday combine these passions so I can open a wing chun school that features the martial art itself AND a fitness class. At any rate, that is my story. I look forward to getting to know people here.
Steve G.
Lately I have supplemented my martial arts training with home workout routines. Some of these have no doubt been mentioned here: P90X, Insanity, Rev Abs, 10 Minute Trainer, and others. These have helped me get into better shape than I have EVER been in. I'd say Insanity has been the biggest benefit to my training...especially since there was a time in class where I was still raring to go and everyone else was winded. Aside from getting back to my own training, I'm looking to spread the word about Insanity to other schools in my area, reaching out to styles like tae kwon do and karate that could benefit GREATLY from a program like this. The idea hit me at that class where everyone else was exhausted while I wanted to keep going: if this is benefiting me and I practice a style that isn't heavy on forms, tests, or tournament participation, then imagine how much of a boost it would be for someone who studied a style where those WERE part of their school. While I believe in these programs 100%, I admit they might not be for everyone. My only goal is to spread the word so people can make a better educated decision on what might be best for them.
My goal is to someday combine these passions so I can open a wing chun school that features the martial art itself AND a fitness class. At any rate, that is my story. I look forward to getting to know people here.
Steve G.
