Yin Fu style Ba Kua Phoenix Ba Kua Form

New Kung Fu school in Footscray/ Victoria

There is going to be a new Kung fu school teaching self defense course in Footscray Melbourne soon. Base mostly on Snake Kung fu, but including a number of other martial arts.

The school will teach self defense course's at a beginner level and intermediate level, aimed at people who interested in functional self defense without having to learn a whole system or art to achieve a reasonable of self defense. I have choosen bits and parts from my over twenty years of Martial Art training, have are most readily usable and teachable. All techniques were chosen because of their suitability for application by the smaller person. My aim is to give people something they can use to defend themselves in the shortest possible time. And to achieve this through intelligent skill based fighting rather pure brute strength and conditioning training. The course will contain some elements of Qigong(Chinese yoga) improve students general health.

For those people who know something about Martial Arts the course will include: Chin Na (sizing, grappling, locking and breaking techniques). Some Western boxing mixed with 3 Harmony Kung fu. Some components from various styles Ba kua, Eskrima, Thai boxing, Chicken leg conditioning and Tai Chi.

Self defense course at Snake Kung Fu will be taught by Edwin Gardiner who is Accredited Instructor with the NASC(National Australian Sports commission), member of the AKWF(Australian Kung Fu and Wu Shu Federation). He also has Certificate 3 and 4 in Fitness, Gym Instruction and Personal Training. His gained his Instructors certificate in 1992 from Yu shih Tao kung fu in Canberra, at a time when full contact sparring was part grading. He continues to train with the top level Yin Fu style Ba kua and Cheng style Tai Chi practitioners in Australia. Edwin remains passionate about his training in Ba Kua Kung Fu. While he has devoted large amounts of time to the practise of Ba kua, he recognized that not all people want to learn, or have the time to learn complex, esoteric martial arts that take years of practise before becoming practically usable. This why he teaching decide to teach breviated condensed short course in martial arts.

Bone Broth Recipe

I developed this recipe with the intention of making a good tasting soup, and was also inspired by Bob Flaw book "Prince Wen Huis Cook:Chinese Dietary Therapy" felt it would probably help to supplement kidney Chi, and assist with the nutritionally with recovery of ligament damage from over training in my knee. I since discovered that similar recipes are are recommended by others, for example (www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php) I not completely sure how such good my recipe does, but it taste great and I feel good after drinking it.

Ingredients (For two with large appetites)

Beef Bones, usually from the spine, because they often contain cartilage and some meat. If the bones are not cut into smaller pieces get the butcher to cut into smaller pieces. This releases more of the Marrow into the stock. About 2 kg

1 Brown Onion with outer Skin on
1 Large Carrot(Better if from Garden with green leaves still on)

Half a regular brunch of eatable Vietnamese chrysanthemum, or about 300 grams
If you cannot get this use Celery instead, I prefer Chinese Celery, or wild celery.

Cinnamon Bark 5-8 grams
1 aniseed star pod
7 cloves
2 pieces of dried Danggui root( Chinese angelica)
5 pieces dried Licorice root
2 table spoons Soya Sauce(Recommenced Kikoman brand)
Ground pepper to taste
about 2 litres water, or enough to almost cover bones in pot.
2 lamb kidney's
3-4 teaspoons of raw sugar

Method

Put oil, chopped onion, beef bones, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper in stock pot and fry, stir until meat is partially brown. Add water until bones are almost covered. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to lowest setting. Better to pot to smallest burner. Cook with lid on for 3 hours ,or until meat starts to come away from bone. Add all remaining ingredients accept sugar. Continue cooking with lid no for 45-60 minutes. Be careful at this stage as any over cooking of vegetables and herbs will cause bitterness in taste that can be correct with small amounts of sugar at the end. Remove heat source from pot has broth cools skim fat and oil from surface.

Generally after straining and filtering broth into separate container. I serve with rice noodles, fresh Garlic Clives, some lemon juice, fresh Chillies and bean shoots.

Program for Gym people

If you do have access to a gym and you particular like gym training, then this is the program I wrote for myself when I did have access to a gym and had an interest in that sort of training. It is important to note that it took me some time to learn the proper posture to do some of these exercises safely, even with my background in Martial arts. If you have not been shown by a professional fitness practitioner, who understands the importance of neutral spine while dead lifting do not attempt to do dead lifts. I give offer this program with the assumption that the person using it has had professional supervision to practise these exercises safely.

Warm Up

Interval training in row machine
1 min @ 60% effort
1 min @ 75% effort
1 min @ 60% effort
1 min @ 80% effort
1 min @ 60% effort
1 min @ 80% effort
1 min @ 60% effort
1 min @ 85% effort

Finish, and rest while next exercise set up

I choose this exercise because it the strengthens of the legs and back, which are the two most important areas to strengthen in terms for Martial arts. It also trains timing and coordination between shoulder and hip complexes, also improvements in better coordination has a measurable affect of force production.

Dead lift
Bar only no weights at slow pace correcting posture 1/15
1/12 with half maxium weight

Seated Row(if available)
1/10 at more than half maximal weight
(Remember to keep knee ankle and hip in the same axis, or line. Also keep elbows close to sides of ribs)

Dead lift
1/10 at three quarter maximal weight.
Rest 1 min
1/8 Current maxial weight possible in 8-10 reps.
Rest 2-3 min

Seated Row
1/10 maxial weight for 10 reps
(Remember to keep knee ankle and hip in the same axis, or line)

Assisted chin Ups
maxial effort usually about 2/6-8
Rest 1 min between sets
(elbows must remain directly beneath wrist during exercise)
Also this works the biceps I like this exercise because it also targets the rhomboids, if you know of any other exercise that can target the rhomboids better than assited chin up then simply use that instead.

Chest Press (Machine)
2/10 weight maxial for 10 reps
Rest 1 min between sets
(I like having at my torso upright, and my elbows pointing down while while doing pushing exercise)
I know many gym people would prefer to do Bar bell bench press instead

Single Leg Squat
2/10 each leg
(make sure hips remain on horizontal axis)


Warm Down

Hip Flexsor stretch
1 min each side
External Hip rotators stretch
1 min each side
Hamstring Stretch(Try and choosen a version that stretches the belly of the muscle rather than the extremities)
1 min each side
Gracillis stretch
1 min each side
Thoracic spine stretch
1 min each side
Lower back stretch
1 min each side

Finish