My Gym
Taijiquan
Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) means many things to many people and as such it is very difficult to attract fighters to the art. If fighters do arrive more often than not it is because injury or age has prevented them from continuing with the original art that they practiced or they are looking for a less demanding martial art that offers the promise of effortless victory.
When I started my classes I had the mistaken belief that everybody would see the art as I did but then I was unaware at that time of the extent of the growth in popularity of Tai Chi for health and the complete lack of awareness of Taijiquan , the martial art.
Due to the rigorous nature of my training the Tai Chi for health people never stayed log enough to gain any benefit and the small hardcore keen individuals that remained did not merit the hiring of a large hall.
Taijiquan is best taught in small groups, the oral tradition and individual instruction being paramount for proper learning of the art. With this is mind I decided to return to thetraditional way of teaching where the teacher would teach at his home.
For a busy man such as myself this has many benefits, such as time saved in travelling to and from classes, the flexibility of changing training days, flexibility in length of training sessions, not having to pay room hire and not having to transport the necessary equipment everywhere.
Setting Up a Gym
It is good to practice outside and so I acquired a house with a courtyard that was suitable for use as a training area. However it is also important to be able to train inside when the whether is inclement and to have a place to store the equipment. I found that a double garage was a suitable size for up to 8 people to train in for most things.
Mats
I needed to have mats and decided that jigsaw mats were the most suitable as they could be build into any size or shape and had the advantage of not having gaps to catch toes in.
I use two types of mat
- Jigsaw mats that I use for general floor covering to protect against falls on the concrete floor
- Padded mats that I use for throwing practice and for freestyle wrestling. I got these from Ceetex. Panelite All Purpose Mat with velcro on 2 sides (Long and Short side). The mat covering is made from tough, washable, tear resistant, flame retardant polyester reinforced PVC with an anti-slip base for improved grip on highly polished surfaces
I have had these mats for years and they have proved durable and hard wearing.
Mirror
All martial artists need to know what they actually look like whatever they are doing. Having taught for many years it is obvious that most people have a serious disconnect between what they are doing and what they think they are doing.
A mirror shows what you really look like and enables you to correct your posture in real time. Videos are ok for dramatic effect and seeing yourself from behind but it is still not possible to make postural adjustments with instantaneous feedback.
There are now many options to acquire Gym Mirrors depending upon your requirements. I selected a 6ft x 4ft Wall Mounted Mirror that was pre-drilled but required two people to install.
Punchbag
A heavy professional punchbag is an essential part of any gym. Only by hitting the bag will poor technique and wrist positioning be exposed. I have taught many people who have only trained with air strikes who would have damaged their wrists and hands if they had hit anything with full power due to misalignment of the fist and wrist and not creating a fist properly in the first place. It seems that most people, martial arts teachers included (Boxing, Muay Thai coaches excluded), assume that everybody must know how to form a fist and punch and so do not bother to show their students how to do it. This is particularly prevalent in those classes where students learn the moves but never put them into practice .
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I used a heavy hook attached to a roof beam to suspend my bag, although it is possible just to use rope if you have open beams. My Bag chain has a swivel mechanism to prevent the chain from twisting and allows the bag to rotate freely. Ropes will eventually wear out due to constant abrasion.
If you do not have a roof beam that can support a bag then a 6 foot bag can be put into the corner of the room. It is also advisable to use punching mitts to protect the hands until sufficient accuracy is achieved so that the knuckles are not scraped by poor striking contact with the bag.
September 27, 2009 at 2:33 pm | Training | No comment
Martial Movie Madness
Over the decades I have watched a lot of Martial Arts Movies of all genres and have finally decided to tell you about some of them. Some movies are great, others extremely poor, some so bad that they are just brilliant.
Hopefully I will be able to source the dvds so that you may, experience some of the best and worst Martial Arts Movies ever made.
Here is a sample of Some of my favourite movies
September 17, 2009 at 10:58 pm | Movies | No comment