I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

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I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Mon May 07, 2012 12:21 pm

I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

I am thinking something traditional rather than skipping. Also I have limited space during the week for training and don't really want to do crane hops on my own in the park for the amusement of drunk men.

Any ideas would be welcome.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby wpgtaiji » Mon May 07, 2012 12:24 pm

We do Post stepping, though I am not sure it fits with what you have in mind.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Wed May 09, 2012 9:18 am

wpgtaiji wrote:We do Post stepping, though I am not sure it fits with what you have in mind.


Is that the same as plum flower stepping like the dots on a dice's number 5 side? I have trained stepping on poles a bit but need to sink some in a garden someplace.

I am also thinking maybe a variant of Xing Yi Monkey form from the 12 animals I know with a short hop in it might do the trick as it takes a lot less room than the crane hops. My problem is I have been doing the Taiji form and a lot and horse stance but neglecting my southern style kung fu so I have become a bit slow covering ground and at hoping and changing direction.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby Dvivid » Wed May 09, 2012 10:29 am

Several of the Body Conditioning exercises done at the YMAA Retreat Center develop agility. ESPN just recently went there to film an episode of their show E60, focused on the agility and athleticism of kung fu students.

Tumbling, post-hopping and log running develop agility. "PARKOUR!" (scene from The office always comes to mind...)

This DVD has the 1st year of conditioning exercises:
http://ymaa.com/publishing/dvd/external ... ioning_dvd

or you can see them here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE5F01DFF5DBCBBA
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby wpgtaiji » Wed May 09, 2012 12:04 pm

John the Monkey mind wrote:Is that the same as plum flower stepping like the dots on a dice's number 5 side? I have trained stepping on poles a bit but need to sink some in a garden someplace.


No. Maybe it isnt what you are looking for. I guess I didnt understand what you wanted. The post is a method to gain "stillness" in movement. I know people talk about that a lot, but I have seen few people actually express it. Listen to Dvivid.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Wed May 09, 2012 1:26 pm

wpgtaiji wrote:
John the Monkey mind wrote:Is that the same as plum flower stepping like the dots on a dice's number 5 side? I have trained stepping on poles a bit but need to sink some in a garden someplace.


No. Maybe it isnt what you are looking for. I guess I didnt understand what you wanted. The post is a method to gain "stillness" in movement. I know people talk about that a lot, but I have seen few people actually express it. Listen to Dvivid.


I think I understand what you are talking about trained the movement in stillness almost exclusively for 9 month with lot of painful demonstrations given of explosive power, short stepping and a spontaneous hand whipping action. However I feel like something more external right now with the summer on its way. I fancy working on more conventional agility for a change. I will try and get a copy of the disk David was talking about however I am a bit short right now as I am saving for a YMAA summer camp in Poland.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby wpgtaiji » Wed May 09, 2012 4:07 pm

mate, I apologize for bringing it up. The post method is not something you do for 9 months. It is a lifelong practice. It eventually becomes a part of EVERYTHING you do, hence why I thought it would help with agility, but it is not, specifically, agile training.

Honestly, I have no idea why you would want to do such a thing. If it is to "get in", learn entering methods. If it is to not be in their way, learn proper walking methods. I guess i am getting old, and am starting to realize that saying "I want to work on strength training" or "i want to work on stillness in motion" is rather silly. If one isnt doing it, then you arent.

It is my bad. The post method is not just stillness in motion. I used that phrasing to link it to what you wanted to talk about.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Thu May 10, 2012 9:23 am

wpgtaiji wrote:mate, I apologize for bringing it up. The post method is not something you do for 9 months. It is a lifelong practice. It eventually becomes a part of EVERYTHING you do, hence why I thought it would help with agility, but it is not, specifically, agile training.

Honestly, I have no idea why you would want to do such a thing. If it is to "get in", learn entering methods. If it is to not be in their way, learn proper walking methods. I guess i am getting old, and am starting to realize that saying "I want to work on strength training" or "i want to work on stillness in motion" is rather silly. If one isnt doing it, then you arent.

It is my bad. The post method is not just stillness in motion. I used that phrasing to link it to what you wanted to talk about.


I know post standing inner movement is not a one time thing. I just spent 9 mounts being instructed in it by a Yi Quan and Xing Yi instructor. It is very much part of everything I do now and is very slowly giving substance to my martial arts.

Agility training is more of a hobby and for fun although I could see it helping with more of a multiple attacker scenario when I may need to run or avoid others wile not letting them all converge at once.

I am using standing to work on explosive energy but have been feeling a bit grounded after lots of horse stance training and walking. I like a bit of conventional agility its good fun and has some uses, also that type of fitness feels good. :)
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby wpgtaiji » Thu May 10, 2012 3:15 pm

John the Monkey mind wrote:
I know post standing inner movement is not a one time thing. :)


See, this is an issue when we use words! I did not one time, use post STANDING! Standing is one thing, but I was referring to another method. Post STEPPING is a moving "qigong" or method to teach many things about real self defence. I knew we were not communicating, which is why i posted the retraction above.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Fri May 11, 2012 9:31 am

wpgtaiji wrote:
John the Monkey mind wrote:
I know post standing inner movement is not a one time thing. :)


See, this is an issue when we use words! I did not one time, use post STANDING! Standing is one thing, but I was referring to another method. Post STEPPING is a moving "qigong" or method to teach many things about real self defence. I knew we were not communicating, which is why i posted the retraction above.


Sounds interesting. Could you explain it or post a link?
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby Josh Young » Sat May 19, 2012 7:51 pm

Dancing.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Sun May 20, 2012 4:31 am

Josh Young wrote:Dancing.


Really not my thing.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby pete5770 » Mon May 21, 2012 9:01 pm

What kind of agility? Do you want to be an agile bicycle rider? An agile figure skater? An agile boxer? Being agile at something simply requires that you practice whatever it is that you want to be agile at. If you practice Tai Chi long enough you will attain a certain level of agility at the art.
If you want to become agile(able to do something with ease = agile = nimble) and or proficient then practice, practice, practice.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Tue May 22, 2012 3:10 am

pete5770 wrote:What kind of agility? Do you want to be an agile bicycle rider? An agile figure skater? An agile boxer? Being agile at something simply requires that you practice whatever it is that you want to be agile at. If you practice Tai Chi long enough you will attain a certain level of agility at the art.
If you want to become agile(able to do something with ease = agile = nimble) and or proficient then practice, practice, practice.


I am not 100% shore about that.

This type of agility is cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 10A#t=360s

As is this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdwRR4cPPws

That is all really just for fun although the Monkey movement in the first clip looks useful. I guess I just want to make the most of what is left of my youthful vigor (I am around 30) lol

But really I was just feeling static and slow from stance training.
I have increased my stretching and as my legs have got stronger the dead feeling to my stepping has gone.

I think I will just practice some more Xing Yi Monkey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG__cVx2Kek

And maybe even some crane hopping on the weekends.

Still any other suggestions would be fun.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby caesar » Tue May 22, 2012 6:41 am

But really I was just feeling static and slow from stance training


Is this a common thing to happen from stance training?
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby wpgtaiji » Tue May 22, 2012 2:21 pm

Mate, you try to help someone and they just keep on keeping on! LOL
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby pete5770 » Wed May 23, 2012 8:36 am

John the Monkey mind wrote:
pete5770 wrote:What kind of agility? Do you want to be an agile bicycle rider? An agile figure skater? An agile boxer? Being agile at something simply requires that you practice whatever it is that you want to be agile at. If you practice Tai Chi long enough you will attain a certain level of agility at the art.
If you want to become agile(able to do something with ease = agile = nimble) and or proficient then practice, practice, practice.


I am not 100% shore about that.



I'm 100% sure that in order to become agile or accomplished or just plain good at something that you MUST practice. You can watch all the videos in the world but without actually getting out there and doing whatever it is you want to do, you will not improve. Oh, you may gain a small bit of insight on HOW to do something from videos but without practice, on your part, nothing will happen.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby Greg Jah » Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:32 am

John the Monkey mind wrote:I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

I am thinking something traditional rather than skipping. Also I have limited space during the week for training and don't really want to do crane hops on my own in the park for the amusement of drunk men.

Any ideas would be welcome.


Hi John,

I hope things are well with you. You mentioned being interested in traditional exercises to build agility. To me, the word agility means a combination of flexibility, explosive strength, and endurance. For flexibility, I have found yoga to be particularly helpful. For explosive strength and endurance, in my humble opinion it's hard to beat interval training. Just in case you don't know (and I apologize if you do), the idea of interval training is that you work an exercise for a brief period of time (i.e. 1 - 2 minutes) at a moderate intensity level, and then kick things up to a highly intense level for another brief period of time (i.e., 1 minute). You do this over a longer period of time (i.e. 20 minutes). You can apply this concept to almost any exercise.

I like using this concept when I run. I will jog two blocks, sprint one block, then drop and do 25 pushups and start the pattern over. I also like applying this to working out on a punching bag. In this case on a 3 minute round I'll punch (or kick) for two minutes at "normal" speed & power and then do one minute of non-stop punches or kicks.

Master Ross Enamait is a strength/ conditioning coach who works with combat athletes and has a great blog with lots of ideas for low-cost & low-tech ways of improving your overall conditioning. You can check the blog out here: http://rosstraining.com/blog/

I wish you the best in your training. Please let us know what you find helpful in building agility.

Best,

Greg
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby John the Monkey mind » Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:29 pm

Greg Jah wrote:To me, the word agility means a combination of flexibility, explosive strength, and endurance. For flexibility, I have found yoga to be particularly helpful. For explosive strength and endurance, in my humble opinion it's hard to beat interval training.


I did not know it by that name but I know the method.

Master Ross Enamait is a strength/ conditioning coach who works with combat athletes and has a great blog with lots of ideas for low-cost & low-tech ways of improving your overall conditioning. You can check the blog out here: http://rosstraining.com/blog/


Interesting guy.

I have not done much for agility training recently but it is a bit cold in Poland during the winter for outdoor training. Lots of snow and the low temperature burns the lungs. :)

I have been trying to rebuild my endurance after a few doses of winter flue.
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Re: I am looking to increase my agility. Any ideas?

Postby Greg Jah » Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:11 am

Hi John,

Ah, the "indoor training" model. I became well acquainted with this when I became a father :D .

Here is an indoor workout I like (it assumes you have a pull up bar and a heavy bag...if you don't, don't worry. You can substitute holding a "plank" for 1 minute for the "knees-to-elbow", and doing a Tabata workout instead of the bag work).

Part 1: 10 Burpee/ Knee-to-elbow supersets
1 set = 10 Burpees/ 10 knees to elbow
Burpee tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAeyJGLnrxQ
Knee-to-elbow tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqOgtFcqWbE )

Do 10 sets of these. Try to keep the rest in between sets to an absolute minimum.

Part II: Bag work
3 3 minute rounds on the heavy bag, with one minute rest between rounds.

If you don't have a bag, do the following Tabata workout:
1 cycle = 20 seconds pushups/ 10 seconds transition/ 20 seconds crunches or sit ups/ 10 seconds transition.
1 set = Four of these cycles (so 4 minutes) with no rest outside the 10 second transition. Rest one minute and do two more sets for a total of three sets.

Part III: Stretch.

Part IV: Practice specific techniques, & visualize application
I like to walk up one side of the room and then move backwards, practicing and visualizing the application of different techniques. I'll focus on one technique at a time. My mind and body are both usually in a good space at this point.

Part IV: Form work
I will then practice a form.

For me, this is a pretty well-rounded workout. I hope you find it helpful and wish you the best in your training.

Greg
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