Hong Kong (3/9): Wushu and Wii-laxation

There are actually no pictures from this entry.  I haven't been carrying my camera around as much as before and even when I do it's usually in my bag and I forget to bring it out.Anyway, as I mentioned before I went back (again) to wushu on Friday evening.  After the previous week's observation of Pat's class I was feeling like I should get back in to gear with some training so I, as well as Stephen, joined in on the teen wushu class at Li Fai's school.  Li Fai was actually there too, participating in the class which was being lead by Liu Yan.  Stephen and Pat did much more working out than I did (I guess one of the benefits to being thin(ner) is that no matter how out of shape you are, you'll never be as out of shape as someone who has an additional 40 pounds of fat on their body.  But I guess I managed to hang in okay.  A few times my ankle or knee would give me a little bit of a reminder that I'm not 20 years old anymore so I'd sit out, but I would try to make use of that time by stretching or doing wall sits.I got to do a bit of nanquan too.  It was a bit embarassing when Li Fai was using me as an example when talking to this nanquan girl.  Yeah, I have like 10 years of nanquan practicing under my belt (give or take), but when it's your first day back at wushu after more than a couple months, the only thing I felt like I could be an example for was a "Let's see who can throw up the fastest while practicing wushu" contest. It usually happens like this.  At first my muscles have atrophied and I don't have the core strength anymore ... so all my waist power and stance work is shot to heck.  After a couple months there is more snap in my footwork and I can generate more power in my movements, connecting things together, but right now I'm just happy if I can hold a horse stance for more than 15 seconds.  Even wu bu quan is a major challenge right now, so for the time being I'm really going to be focusing on building up more core strength and leg strength,as well as flexibility.  That's what will help my wushu the quickest at this point in the game.I was able to push out a lot of sit ups (5 sets of 20) and back lifts (4sets of 20) at the end of class.  That wasn't too bad considering my complete lack of core strength right now, but afterwards it hurt so bad that I couldn't even cough without having an abdominal cramp.After we hobbled out of wushu all we could think about was food. So we grabbed a taxi to Fat Angelo's off the escalators and partook of lots of dense carbs.  It was just what I needed.  I was severely out of it after that class.  I wasn't sore yet (that would be a couple more days yet) but I was certainly "out of it".  Sort of the feeling you get when your arm is asleep when you wake up because you slept on it.  Then you try to move it around and you look like Ed Sullivan introducing the Beatles.Hmm .. I wonder how many people reading this will actually know who Ed Sullivan is ...Anyway, after we ate I went over to Pat and Stephen's (and Boon's at the moment) to check out their Wii game console.  It was pretty fun.  We played some Tennis, bowling and boxing.  It helped me get my mind off my body's lack of energy and also kept me moving, which probably helped a bit with the soreness.After a few hours of hanging out with them I decided it was time to go home, so I grabbed a cab down the hill to Kennedy Town (or "Gi nei dei shing" for you Hong Kongers) and called it a (very painful) night.Of course, now that I've started again, I really have to work to make sure I stay consistent.  I don't have to train once a day like I was doing in China, but at least a few times a week to maintain would be a good idea.  If not wushu, then at least go to the gym to do a bit of strength and stretching work.  But yeah ... I guess we'll see what happens.  Right now I just want to enjoy the process of doing wushu with friends again.  After that we'll see what develops ...