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450 Monkey Climbs

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34701740I suppose I can always blame my male ego for the 450 Monkey Climbs exercise but really it was just dumb.

This was how it happened.

Several years ago I was training with a small group of students in our instructor’s garage. It was a regular Friday event.

We did our self defence drills and then we had to do a few Monkey Climbs exercises to finish off the session.

Now Monkey Climbs is an exercise where, from a standing position you crouch down until your thighs are level with the floor and then you raise your body up, end up on your toes while extending your arms straight above your head.

About 50 of these is a good workout.

So, we all started Monkey Climbs and the male ego kicked in. We all looked at each other and then it was on.  A  challenge to see who could do the most repetitions.

Well, we got to 50, a couple of guys dropped out. 100 another dropped out. 200 and another student collapsed. Not me. I was determined to beat everybody. You see, I wanted to be a ‘winner’.

Anyway, 300 Monkey Climbs, more drop outs. I hung in there.

350 Monkey Climbs and then there were  two of us left.

I pushed myself harder. Like a demented monkey I kept going until the last student dropped out at 400.

I kept going,  up and down, up and down until I reached 450.

The result.

I ‘won.’

My male ego was satisfied.

But there is always price to pay for being the ‘winner’.

I managed to somehow shuffle out of the garage even though my thighs were on fire and felt like dead logs.

We went to our  usual Vietnamese restaurant after training.  I sat down but when it was time to leave I couldn’t get up for a while.

I was sore for a few days, But, hey, I ‘won’ the contest.

Now I couldn’t do more than 50 with my knees, but really why would I want to.

I not as dumb as I used to be and now realise if you push yourself to the extreme you pay a price.

Too much Yang is not healthy.

Oh yeah, thought you’d be pleased to now I’ve overcome my monkey addiction. Whenever I see a monkey I no longer feel like jumping in the enclosure and challenging him to 450 Monkey Climbs!

The therapy worked.

The moral of this story?

Don’t make a monkey out of yourself by damaging your body because of overdoing it.

Remember, always  balance your  Yin and Yang energy when training.

Invest In Loss

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‘Invest in loss?’

When I first read this Chinese quote years ago it didn’t make any sense.

How can you invest in loss?

But several years later in my Tai Chi training I finally understood what this quote really meant.

And when I made that realisation I looked at every opportunity to ‘invest in loss.’

The losses are essentially my mistakes and the investment is in learning and applying the correct technique.

Here are some examples how I invested in loss.

Push Hands
–  thrown head over heels – sink the chi

Form
– too rigid in my movements – relax, let go but maintain the correct structure of the posture

Self Defence
– sparring and getting hit on the nose – maintain seven stars posture

There is a lot of wisdom in Chinese quotes and it is only through practice, awareness and examination can one really understand a quote such as ‘invest in loss.’

Tai Chi Facilitator

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Lately, I’ve been thinking about the work I do with Sue in our AQ/KQ seminars and the way I describe myself.

In the past I’ve described myself as an instructor in Tai Chi but eventually I stop doing that  because now  it infers all I do is give instructions.

I now use the term ‘Teacher’ because that suggests a deeper sense of helping people to learn.

It’s not about giving instructions, its about finding different ways, depending on the learning styles, for participants to learn a Tai Chi concept or skill.

For example the three basic learning styles are:

  • Visual – learn by watching
  • Auditory – learn by listening
  • Kinaesthetic – learn by doing

But I discovered another term to use when I was recently talking to Sue about facilitation.

The word facilitation’ is not easily understood by most people but it can be described  as ‘to make easier, to help bring about.’

When asked what do I do I sometimes use the words ‘teach Tai Chi’ because for most people it is easier to understand.

But, what I really am is a ‘Tai Chi Facilitator’ because I ‘make it easier and help bring about’. And that leads to change in awareness, feeling and understanding of a Tai Chi concept or skill I’ve explained to a participant in our AQ/KQ workshops.

And once you are aware, feel, and understand then you  have captured the essence of that concept or skill.

I suppose in some ways  I am a facilitator of change.