Day 76: Back at it.

Hey all,

I got outside and got to my workout. I've been hanging my ping pong balls from my gazeebo which makes for alot of fun. The people who see we punching ping pong balls think I'm alittle strange, but the kids think it's a riot and often ask me if they can have a go.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 75: The Camp Endeth

Hey all,

Well, another English camp has come and gone. I had a good time, but very much at the expense of my KFB for a couple of days. I got my strength exercises in, with the exception of J-rope and I completely abandoned my diet--all in the name of a couple of days of fun and food I won't do again for another year.

My body was mad at me for sudenly switching gears, and it was pretty happy when I got right back on my diet this evening. The strange thing is, my mentality toward food, while much improved, is still not a place of health perfection. My mind still sees food as pleasure more than medicine. My cravings had pretty much died down over the last month until we got to the hotel buffet yesterday. My mind screamed, "You are not going to be able to eat this awesome looking food for another year. Get out there and enjoy yourself!"

So, I did. And, now I'm happy and feeling a little guilty at the same time, but the later is countered by how infrequently I do enjoy myself food wise these days. I just eat and get it over with so I can go do something else. I just make sure that something else is fun. Man, it's hard to not equate food with pleasure and comfort. It really is.

Anyway, stream of consciousness complete.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 72: English Camp Cometh

Hey all,

I'm off to three days two nights at the Yokohama Pan Pacific hotel to teach at my school's English camp. It was great last year and should be great this year. Patrick will be joining me for part of it to teach my kids some Englsih and some Yoga. It's goona be cool. As for my workouts, I'll fit what I can in where I can. Hotel rooms at the YPPH aren't very good for J-ropin', but they're fine for everything else.

More in a few days,
Sean

Day 71: Stay with Strength

Hey all,

Busy as heck. Mindful of my health. Not going to get all my workout in today, but will do my best. Family visiting. English camp to plan for. Busy, Busy, Busy.

More (or less?) Tomorrow,

Sean

Day 70: Quick workout--then out.

Hey all,

Halved my workout today because I had to meet friends early in Shinjuku. Got some great books including some new stories for my son. Dr. Suess anyone?

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 69: A Smaller Stomach = Better Posture?

Hey all,

I slouch. I've tried to overcome it, but it's an unconscious habit now which makes it all the more difficult to deal with. However, something interesting has happened with the weight loss I've been experiencing on the KFB.

Now, for some reason, when I eat and slouch at the same time I'm really uncomfortable. I feel like my stomach is trying to burst out of me. To feel better I have to sit up to enjoy my meal. Before, when I was overweight, this was not an issue. However, now for some reason--perhaps it has to do with having a much smaller gut--I have to sit up straight when I eat or I feel funky. Just another wacky observation on the KFB.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 68: This Heat

Hey all,

According to the news yesterday,five people died in the heat here in Japan yesterday. Here's the story:

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) – Intense heat and heat exhaustion claimed the lives of five people in Japan on Wednesday.

Residents across the island nation’s eastern and central regions are struggling to deal with intense summer temperatures topping the a blistering heat wave with temperatures topping 100 degrees.

According to reports three people working on a farm, including two elderly women, died in eastern Japan while the two others died at home.

An 89-year-old woman in central Tokyo is listed as being in critical condition after suffering with heat stroke early Thursday.

In total 168 people have been hospitalized in connection with the heat, bringing the total for July to 476, the highest in five years.

Record-high figures were observed in four locations in Gunma, Tochigi and Shimane prefectures.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said that in Tajimi City, central Japan, the temperature reached 102 degrees fahrenheit, the country’s highest this summer.

Experts say the severe heat could last until Saturday however the weekend forecast says rain is expected followed by a cold air system from the north.

So, stay hydrated out there--(and perhaps young?)

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 67: Workout? yeah right...

Hey all,

My son's summer break has begun and it, combined with the fact my wife is working now, and I have earlier work start times, leaves even less time to workout. Yesterday was full of incomplete, interrupted sets and some exercises weren't done at all. If we were at the start of the KFB it would not have been a problem, but with the longer sets, avoiding interruption, especially from a four year old boy who wants to spend time with his daddy, is impossible. Unfortunately, the KFB, with the exception of a few minutes with the ping-pong ball exercises, hasn't attracted my son like the PCP exercises did. So, I can't get him to join in with me like he used to. And, relaxing for the stretches--yeah right.

Ah, whatever, it's just a few days. And, besides, like Bruce Lee often said, we must be like water. Sometimes that water slows to a trickle, but it flows nonetheless. Soon, my son with start daycare and I have a little more time, and I'll get a bike ride out of the deal as I take him there.

I'm mindful about working out. I know I need to workout. This mentality has been a part of me since the PCP. But, like everything else in my life I have to fit it in the best I can. As long as I can look in the mirror and be happy--which I can--things are good.

And when all is said and done, time with my son is more important. I just need to keep it physical (soccer anyone?) when we hang out.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 66: Sudden Pain Anyone?

Hey all,

So, last night I'm doing my Wide Angle Forward Bend because of mmy Usual busy Tuesday workout switch, I get up to fifteen minutes and suddenly I feel this sharp pain in my left leg. I stop the stretch and relax, but I don't dare start again. What the heck was that, I wonder. Anyway, I woke up this morning and everything is fine. No aches. No pain. Just a little surprsie last night, I guess. Anyone have anything similar?

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 65: Spaghetti Sauce

Hey all,

When I was living at home and younger, I remember my mom would make spaghetti sauce and freeze it for future meals. Sometimes, when we would heat it up we would forget to stir it, and, even if it was in the microwave for thirty minutes, there would be some of the sauce that would not defrost. Can you imagine how unpleasant it is to find a block of ice-solid spaghetti sauce in your spaghettis sauce?

Well, this is where my flexibility is right now. It's like there is this block of ice inside of me that won't defrost. I've been doing alot of stretching, but I'm not much closer to doing any kid of stretch that would impress anyone (e.g. nose to the floor while sitting on my butt, etc.)

Am I upset abot this? No, not really. I realize after years of ignoring my flexibility training, I'm not going to turn into some super-stretchy Yogi in three months.


The key thing to remember is I'm getting alot of cool stretching techniques that, when done at the beginning of my workout, warm me up and make my workout go alot smoother. And, in the end, I will still be a bit more stretchier than I was when I started.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 64: Do you have the stomach for it?

Hey all,

I can't believe how small my stomach has gotten. I just can't put it away like I used to. I think I'm even eating less than I did around this time on the PCP. I'm full pretty much after eating one tomato. Also, even with this heat, I'm finding I need less water. Just some observations.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 63: Taking it slow.

I didn't get to sleep until after 4:00 A.M. last night. There was stuff on my mind even meditation could not wipe out. Nothing super serious, but troublesome. So, I took it easy today and cut my workout sets in half. I'm going to sleep well tonight.

One of the things I want to avoid on the KFB which I managed to avoid on the PCP was getting sick. It's tricky in the summer because the danger of an air conditioner induced cold is always a possibility if one is not careful. The best way to avoid a cold is not get over tired. I'll get back to full workout tomorrow.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 62: Hot

Hey all,

I went outside to do my workout today and there was only one word to describe the weather--hot. Fortunately, there is a mini gazeebo in my park that provides me with some shade as I do my J-ropes. There is also a tree under which I can do my stretches. Hmmm, I guess, even on a hot day, it's nice to have a park to workout in. Even if it i--hot!

I just hope some dog owner didn't let their dog take a whiz under the tree before I got there.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 61: Meditation

Hey all,

I'm finding my meditation to be an excellent way to clear my mind. Last night, I had a headache because I was worried about somethings I had to do today. So, after I took some headache medicine I wasn't ready to sleep, so I just sat down and meditated. My mind tends to wander during meditation unless I just focus on my breathing, so I just tried to focus on how wonderful it is to breathe. How wonderful it is to be alive. Meditation refreshes me yes, but i think one oif the better parts is it always reminds me of one thing. I need to slow down more and just be happy to be alive--okay that's two things. heh

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 60: Star Power Returns!

Hey all,

It's been long overdue but I finally had a doese of what I call "Star Power" on the KFB. Anyone who read my PCP blog knows star power if when you go into your workout with a ton of energy and happiness and, as a result, everything goes right. Today was one of those days. I started the workout with some aches in my legs but the second I started jumping rope, something came over me. I just felt great. Everything was clear. I went through all my exercises without any trouble. There was muscel failure of course. I didn't make it through the last set of push-ups but everything else was great. Even my paper punches went fine.

A quick note on the paper punches. Sick of constantly resetting the paper, I have suspended it with a string like the ping pong ball, but at a lower height. I usually do this exercise in my home's windless tatami room for that extra kung-fu feeling. Yeah!

Also, I find what pushes Star Power to it's ultimate heights is the right music, so today I was rocking to this oldie by Bobby Brown. Check it out!



More tomorrow
Sean

Day 59: Anytime, Anyplace.

Hey all.

Just noticing lately how organically messed up my KFB has been, I stick my exercises in where ever I can. A strength exercise here, a stretch there. I find I'm even doing punches for fun at work and I'm trying to figure out how to use the ping-pong ball punching as a game in my English classes. Would you believe I did my push-ups at work one day? Thank God for air conditioning.

In the PCP, I was so tight with my workout time, but now I'm alot more flexible--pun intended. I do my leg swings when my son and I are waiting for his school bus. I do Kung-Fu sit ups wherever there be a swing set. I also find I don't care who sees me doing the exercises which has done a good turn for my confidence.

My mind is alot looser than it was when this whole thing started.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 58: Quick and painless.

Again, another early Tuesday with a workout swap. Did my ropes, but I gotta do my stretch tonight after my shower. What happens to the time?

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 57: 6-year old Ninjas, I'm ready for you!

Hey all,

Finally, I'm seeing some improvement in the height of my crescent kicks. Instead of being able to kick a three year old ninja in the head, I think now I might be able to kick a six year old ninja in the head. What? Ninjas are becoming younger everyday!


More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 56: Got out, Got it done.

Hey all,

Nothing major to report. I just got out and got things done so I could head out to my RPG club for the day. They always comment on how thin I look.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 55: It's the Cool Moments that Make it all Worthwhile.

Hey all,

When I was on the PCP and now the KFB, there are times I lose my focus--times when I ask myself, why am I doing this? It's nice at these times to have what I call a cool moment. One happened yesterday.

It was raining and my son and I headed out to the bus stop to wait for his bus to kindergarten. While we were there talking with some friends of ours who were also waiting for the bus, I saw that on this rainy day my son had put on his shoes instead of his rainboots. So, I asked my friends to watch my son while I raced back to our house to get his boots. When I got back, my friends were amazed at how fast I was. I also realized that before all my training the run between the bus stop and home would have had me breathing pretty heavily, but I wasn't breathing the least bit hard. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty cool.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 54: Tired Legs

Hey all,

I don't know about the rest of you, but I almost always start my workout with my J-ropes. My success in my J-rope sets goes along way to affecting my mood for the rest of the workout.

Yesterday, my legs were tired and achy, so my J-ropes were full of trips and failure. Consequently, the rest of my workout was just a drag. The feeling continues today, so I'm dreading going out in the rain today to do my exercises. But, I'll get out there as I always do.

My legs went through tired achy periods on the PCP too. When the PCP ended, in order to prevent aches in my legs, I worked out every second day which gave my legs more time to recover. This made for a better mood from workout to workout.

Hey tigers, is there any part of your body that gets particularly tired sometimes as you move through the workouts?

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 53: All this punching and kicking we do.

Hey all,

When I did my punches and kicks in the KFB, I enjoy it, and sometimes I really enjoy it. However, I also realise something about myself as i do them. I'd never want to use them on anyone. Oh sure, I know we all think about decking someone in our lives, some of us everyday, but it's not as much fun when they're on the ground bleeding,broken, or worse. We go from feeling powerful, to feeling terrible. The truth is fights are nothing like movies and video games. People get hurt. I wonder if that dude that girl punched out in the video we got from Patrick had to go to the hospital afterwards.

Now, hold on, I'm not trying to rain on the KFB, quite the opposite. I think it has really brought something to the forefront of my mind I haven't thought about in a while--the truth about fighting.

I think one of the reasons I like to play fighting games so much is it's all the fun of fighting with almost none of the consequences.



You get to do cool moves like my favorite one above and pit your skills against someone else. Sure, my opponent or I may feel bad from time to time when we lose, but we both walk away. We both had fun. We both learned something to make us better next time, and, most importantly, we both are okay. No one's bleeding. No one's hurt. No one is permenantly damaged.

Every time I sit down to play Super Street Fighter IV, I get to feel what it's like to kick ass and to have my ass kicked. And, thanks to mirror neurons, my brain can't tell the difference between a real and a video game fight, so that makes the experience even more real. I thrill in it. I soak it in and love it. But at the same time I am so happy that when it's all over, I don't have to wonder if I hit a person too hard and ended up killing them, and they don't have to think the same thing about me when I lose. My opponent is my friend for giving me a challenge, never ever my enemy.

Just food for thought. Maybe fighting games should be added to the list of exercises on the KFB? Hadoken!

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 52:One of the most Disturbing Things I've ever Seen.

Hey all,

The above picture is for the current ad campaign for Winston cigrattes in Japan. It made me sick the first time I saw it. I don't know who I was angrier at--The guy for posing for this picture or the message the ad sends. Coould he really have a body like that and smoke? Probably not, but the insinuation is infuriating.

Anyway, just had to post this. With all the work I've done on the PCP and now the KFB, it disturbs me to think someone who looks like this would smoke or even think about it.

Grrrr.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 51: Another Busy Tuesday

At least there was no rain today. I did my stretch the previous night, and my ropes in the morning. I'm saving the mindful consumption this week for the weekend. Gotta go. Students await.

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 50: Ropin'

Hey all,

Today's J-rope session was the best ever. I did all sets without a single trip. I couldn't believe it. Of course, I didn't realize it until the sets were done. Man, am I on a high today. I've never done that before.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 49: Weak Points

Hey all,

Today, Patrick sent us an e-mail about the weak points on the body in a fight. Without spoiling anything, I'd like you to see what it looks like when someone hits them all at once.



More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 48: I met a guy today...

Hey all,

Something interesting today after my workout. I met a guy today who speaks three languages and travels the world as a salesman. He was pretty cool and, as always, when I meet guys like this I felt a little envious as it makes me question the choices I've made in my own life. I mean this guys sees the world. He's wealthy enough to move himself and his family from place to place as he needs to do. However, as our discussion carried on, I realized he spends almost no time with his kids--something I'm free to do in my far less globetrotting life. I get to spend a ton of time with my son. More than my own father was able to spend with me because of his work. When this guy and I parted company, I realized maybe there's no need for me to be envious after all.

Oh, and I finished all the essays I had to write. I sent them off today.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Dy 47: Patrick's Studio

Hey all,

I went to Patrick's studio yesterday for a workout. As always, it was amazing. There's just something about working out with other people that is energizing. I envy those people who join programs like the PCP with a spouse or buddy. They must have a really good time some days.

And, as always, Patrick and I took the opportunity to play some Street Fighter. The last time we played, I won the most matches, but this time it was Patrick who was shining. He beat me pretty solid. It's nice to have a friend who gives you a good challenge. It was during this game session, Patrick explained something very interesting to me: mirror neurons. You see, when you are in an actual fight or just playing hard in a game of Street Fighter, your brain can't tell the difference. Your body may be sitting down with a game control, but your brain thinks your in a real fight. So, your heart, your sweat glands, everything your brain would normally activate in a fight is turned on. My family sometimes wonders why I'm so sweaty and charged after I play thirty minutes of Street Fighter. Now, I can tell them.

One more thing, Patrick and I did our KFB workout after playing Street Fighter. I was so pumped after we played it was great to have a workout to put all that energy. Kung Fu Body--Yeah!

If you want some idea of what it's like when Partrick and I go a few rounds, check out the comics below. Heh.




More tomorrow,

Sean