Tai Chi

Internal Martial Arts and Calisthenics

May 30, 2017 By Ray Shonk 6 Comments

Ray Shonk Flag Lead Photo

A long time ago, before I became a trainer (and after a long hiatus in my own fitness and martial art training), I decided to get back on the scene. I began training a martial art called Taijiquan, also known as Tai Chi. To be perfectly honest, I chose this after watching late night Kung Fu movies. Inspiration comes from many places!

Without much research on it, I jumped in. The first few classes were exceptionally frustrating. I was super uncoordinated and it felt like I was doing “the robot.” I was unprepared for the fluidity of many of the moves, as well as for the full body unity that is required. However, after about a year, things eventually started smoothing out, and I finally got into the martial side of Taijiquan.

Ray Shonk Tai Chi

I started working on “pushing hands” or chi sau, and once again the frustration kicked in. As I had previously experienced, I felt clunky in many of my movements.

I decided to get into weight training in hopes of improving my performance. Like many folks from my generation, weight training seemed like the most viable way to get better physically equipped. And while it’s true that my weight training at this time incorporated a few push-ups and assisted pull-ups, the primary focus was still on external resistance.

Speed ahead years later and I got a bit stronger and leaner. I won my first gold medal for Taijiquan. I even left my corporate job to become a trainer. But something was still missing in my own development. I needed to try something different…

At this time, a good friend of mine introduced me to the Kavadlo Brothers by showing me a YouTube video. Like many, my first thought was, “How can you possibly get stronger using no weights?” But I kept an open mind and gave it a shot. I started my training with the basic, fundamental movements of bodyweight strength training: push-ups, squats, lunges, dips and, of course, pull-ups!

Ray Shonk Pull-Up

After several months of training in both calisthenics and Taijiquan, I noticed that I was not only getting faster, stronger and leaner, but all my movements flowed more freely. I had found what I was missing! The movements in all aspects of Taijiquan required control of multiple muscles at the same time and calisthenics promotes multiple muscle recruitment in each exercise. I mean, lets look at it. A bench press uses the pectorals, triceps and deltoids, but a push-up hits all those muscles, as well as just about everything else. A strong man may be able to control others, but a truly powerful man can control himself.

It’s been five years since I put the weights down for good. Now that I’ve established a solid foundation in the basics, I’ve incorporated more advanced bodyweight exercises like the pistol squat, muscle-up and human flag. I have since attended the SCC in New York with Danny Kavadlo, and the PCC in Boston with Al & Danny Kavadlo. I’m finding that I’m stronger, faster and more agile in my late 30’s than I ever was in my 20’s. A huge part of that has been training my body with my body, an art that extends as far back as man. My Tai Chi practice and all aspects of my life are better with calisthenics!

Ray Shonk Jungle Gym MuscleUp

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Ray Shonk, PCC, SCC is a personal trainer in Grand Rapids Michigan, a adjunct professor at GVSU and owner of Quest Fitness. He currently specializes in Calisthenics, Sports Performance and Martial Arts training. When he is not training he spends time brewing beer, and spending time with friends and family. Learn more at www.questfitnessgym.com.

How to Put the “Active” in Active Rest

December 23, 2014 By Adrienne Harvey 14 Comments

Adrienne Harvey Active Rest Slackline

“Active Rest” is a phrase that we hear and say a whole lot without really thinking about it too much. On one hand the concept is extremely simple, a light workout day to speed recovery from a recent, more strenuous effort. But, some of us tend to over-complicate the issue and end up with a dauntingly over-engineered workout on what should be an opportunity for fun, meaningful practice, and optimized recovery.

Why not just be a couch potato?

It can be extremely tempting to just completely take some time off. And sometimes that’s necessary in cases of injury or really overdoing it in a workout. I’ve long held the belief that it’s better to err on the side of caution. Push and challenge yourself of course, but part of the learning process with the progressions in Convict Conditioning and the PCC is the self-knowledge that comes along with it. While coordination and proprioception are obvious mental “gains”, the value of learning your limits, and watching them change/improve should not be underestimated.

In our “gotta have it now” instant gratification culture, it’s sometimes difficult for those of us who are highly motivated to see the value in rest. More is always better, right? Not always! As I mentioned in a previous PCC Blog post about programming other modalities and interests with Convict Conditioning/PCC, Paul Wade’s routines like “Good Behavior” and “Veterano” (both outlined in the original Convict Conditioning book) provide plenty of rest and recovery time—as well as enough time to factor in a serious interest in sports, martial arts, etc.

How do you know that you’re not getting enough recovery time? Most people first notice when they’ve hit a plateau in their progress. While plateaus can result from many things (sometimes even psychological reasons!), it is easy enough to introduce more rest or active rest to your overall plan. Go getters and super motivated people who feel like they’ve stalled in their progress are especially encouraged to consider more rest. Similarly, I find that women who have fallen victim to the “must run/cycle/cardiostep to burn x calories or else” mindset can stall their strength and even weight loss efforts by not allowing time for recovery.

Active recovery is also really important as we get older. While I’m only just beginning to sneak up on 40, there’s definitely some changes I’ve had to make in my diet and rest schedule. I’m fond of saying that when we get older we don’t necessarily get weaker, we’re just no longer able to continue abusing our bodies. Both as we age and/or as our activity levels increase, it becomes even more important to pay attention to our self care and recovery. And at any age, paying attention to rest and recovery can certainly help prevent needless injuries.

Similarly, active recovery can also help us mentally recover from an all out effort or an intense week with workouts and with life.

So, after all this talk, what does an active recovery session look like? At its very simplest, an active rest day might include an extended stroll, especially if you’ve really had a tough week and workout. While I’m always up for a good walk, most of the time active recovery should involve a more than just wandering around the neighborhood.

Here are some of my favorite active recovery ideas, and I hope that you will add yours to the comments section below this blog post. After a long week, sometimes we all need help in the creative ideas department, so please be sure to share.

Mobility or flexibility practice. Compared to most women, I’m reasonably inflexible (physically, let’s not talk personality) and consider it to be a challenging area. While I have no aspirations to become a contortionist or a yogi, some specific mobility and flexibility work would help my progress with a few calisthenics moves, and potentially provide additional injury prevention. While flexibility is an easy example of one of my own weak points, working on an appropriate shortcoming of your own can be a great basis for an active recovery day.

A shorter/lighter version of a favorite workout, or a lighter version of a workout within your strength program. This is a great opportunity to fine tune your technique with some of the earlier progressions, since “lighter” in calisthenics doesn’t mean grabbing a lighter kettlebell or barbell. Many times some very important insights can come from a “regression-session” like this. If you’re an instructor you may also find some helpful hints for your clients or students you haven’t previously thought about.

Work on balance or a specific skill. One of my favorite recreational activities is slacklining. It points squarely at another one of my personal challenges, extreme balance! It’s a fun mental challenge and is oddly relaxing. It calls for focus and mental engagement, but without constantly tensing up the muscles (or you will fall down!) Even though I’m still very much a beginner, forcing myself to “go with the flow” during slacklining has actually helped me “accidentally” work through some muscle stiffness from tough workouts the day before!

Your tai chi or yoga practice (or an abbreviated version of it) might be another option as well. I have a favorite old qigong routine that I’ve practiced since 2000 that’s heavy on mindfulness and breathing, but light on the physical exertion. It’s been a big part of my warm up and active recovery for years, and I can definitely tell if I’ve slacked off of doing it! Similarly, less intense or short forms from tai chi as well as some of the more relaxing/meditative varieties of yoga would be good choices to consider.

Whether you are a type-a go-getter who hates the idea of taking a day off, someone who is stuck on a plateau, or simply someone who wants to maintain optimum health, adding gentle activity to your rest days can prove to be productive and fun.

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About Adrienne Harvey, Senior PCC Instructor, RKC-II, CK-FMS, Primal Move Nat’l Instructor: Originally RKC Certified in 2010, and RKC Level 2 certified in 2011, kettlebell and bodyweight training have been crucial in Adrienne’s personal quest for fitness. A core member of the PCC team, Adrienne loves sharing her knowledge with small groups and individuals. She also loves to develop recipes and workout programs to further support performance, body composition, and of course—FUN. Go to http://www.giryagirl.com for more information about Adrienne!

Yoga, Calisthenics and the Journey of a Lifetime

January 23, 2014 By John Du Cane, CEO and founder, Dragon Door 30 Comments

**John, the Yogi who came in from the cold.**

As a teenager in the sixties UK, I was highly athletic. I played wing in Rugby, had a mean long jump and high jump and could sprint like the wind. Two of my track buddies at high school went on to great fame: the iconic musician Nick Drake and Mark Phillips, who went on to marry Princess Anne.

I also loved weight lifting and was drawn to pumping iron. Unfortunately the strength coach/trainer at my school was pretty darn clueless and I would lift away without much direction at all—either from him or any literature on the subject.

What I also discovered, in 1966, was the just-published Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar—which changed my life. I used this seminal and highly inspirational book to teach myself Yoga. Scary, perhaps, but finding a teacher in those days was challenging to say the least. By age nineteen, I could pull off a headstand while in a full lotus, had an eye-popping ability to rotate my abs, as a ridged column, through 360 degrees, with the method known as Uddiyana Bandha, plus a whole lot of other impressive looking stuff.

I enjoyed looking cool, feeling cool and being proud of what I could do physically. If that doesn’t motivate you to practice physical culture, I don’t know what to say…

At the age of twenty-five I finally traveled to India to study Yoga and meditation. Ironically, there in India, I switched my allegiance to Qigong and Tai Chi as my principal discipline for physical cultivation. The Hatha Yoga I had studied had had a transformative impact on me, but it did involve almost solely holding static postures. Qigong and Tai Chi opened up a different world that was motion-based and much more satisfying for me personally.

However, those crucial dozen years where I dove deep into Yoga gave me immense flexibility benefits that have extended to my current age of 64. For instance, without having rigorously practiced the headstand since my mid-twenties, I can still move effortlessly into a full headstand. Same for the full lotus and many other cool poses.

Naturally forty years of martial arts, kettlebells and other bodyweight exercise have helped me stay in nice shape into my sixties. However, I do believe that my years as Yogi John gave me a crucial foundation that I am eternally grateful to have laid for myself.

So, when Al Kavadlo presented his latest masterpiece, Stretching Your Boundaries to me, I was thrilled and immediately impressed by the spectacular way Al tied together Yogic stretching and flexibility methods with calisthenics. Along with Paul Wade, Al has been leading the inspirational charge in a new appreciation for the healing and athletic benefits of bodyweight exercise.

What I also love about Al’s work—and never more true than for Stretching Your Boundaries—is the aesthetic and the philosophy of physical culture he brings to the table. “Calisthenics” means “beautiful strength.” Strong, flexible, healthy, graceful body—with a mind and spirit to match. Al perfectly embodies that “beautiful strength-beautiful spirit” ideal, in my opinion. He brings a Zen lightness and equanimity to his practice. But he also brings the kind of sharp-mindedness and rigor to his physical cultivation that is another hallmark of Zen. We had Zen and the Art of Archery. Now we have the Zen Art of Stretching Your Boundaries.

I love, also, Al’s emphasis on the importance of joint health, circulation and breath work. The older you get, the more you need to move and breathe well. And nothing needs more movement for health and well being than the joints.

Just as Iyengar inspired me and millions of others to take up Yoga, Al is inspiring a new generation to improve their mobility, strength and health by integrating yoga and calisthenics in dramatic new style.

Let’s remember: we have the one body only to work with, a precious treasure that can be abused and trashed—or burnished, refined and transformed into an ongoing piece of living artwork. In Stretching Your Boundaries, Al hands you a priceless set of methods to refine your physical being. I urge you to take full advantage.

Yours in Strength,

John Du Cane