Hair on the knuckles of my toes, a small jungle in my nose, a thinning of it on top and most awful of all…. love handles!!!

Some of my friends are a similar age and give the knowing nod – yep, they strike us all.. there’s no avoiding it… your 43 and they come with the territory.

At first I kind of nodded and agreed… but then I thought… nope, most people are wrong, I know this so why the hell am I agreeing with them…

maybe it’s because it’s easier, maybe it’s because of conforming, sticking with the herd.. but I never have done that, so why start now.

Fortunately I have colleagues in various martial arts and interests in health and fitness, as well as following certain figures who travel in a direction I like.

One diet kept popping up – Paleo – at first it’s restriction on any grains, pasta & potatoes along with a whole variety of other goodies that were a staple part of my diet seemed a little over board and i doubted I would get anywhere near keeping to it.

I bought a 30 day diet plan that I decided I would start in January, not wanting to be a miserable old bugger over Christmas…. however I thought I’d loosely get into it before… boy has it made a difference!!

A. it was much easier than I anticipated and B. I immediately felt much healthier on it. Yes I had some headaches as I almost totally cut out my beloved cups of builders tea with 2 sugars, which were also accompanied by biscuits &/or chocolate and replaced them with various Oolong, Green & herbal teas.

Not only do I feel more healthy, my bodies responding better to the training I do… my love handles are rapidly disappearing which wasn’t happening when I was just training, plus I feel more energised throughout my training sessions.

Around 8.30/9.00pm I start to lag, so I’ve go to research/experiment with how to feel energised until later, especially as I teach 2 nights a week until 9.00+ and often like to train later.

I had pizza 2 days in a row… painting at the school from 10am – 8.00pm with other instructors from the school made pizza the easiest option.. I also had a sugar rush after having some quality streets… I was amazed, I can’t really remember having a sugar rush before, it just shows how much sugar and crap was constantly flowing through my system… the pizza did make me feel really stodgy so I’m not keen on repeating it.

Again, I’m pleased that I now associate certain foods that were part of my regular diet with feeling bloated, lethargic and the dreaded love handles.

I’ll post regular updates on how it’s going, warts and all.

I hope you’re having a tremendous Christmas and I’ll catch up soon.

He was short, about 4 feet tall.

He also had weird shoes that curled at the toe.

And even more weird, he had pointy ears.

I asked him who he was and he said he was a messenger from Santa!
Apparently, Santa is getting older and slower, and he’s concerned about his weight and safety now.
He is worried about having heart problems and doesn’t want to drop dead one day while carrying presents to kids
due to his weight or getting mugged by a couple kids who never made the good kid list.

So he wanted my advice.

Can you believe that?

So here’s what I told this messenger to tell Santa:

1. Stop believing the rubbish on TV about “low fat” versions of food!

I told the messenger to tell Santa to get those elves to start bringing him more  wholesome food and less of anything in a packet,
potatoes, white carbs like bread, etc.

2. Quit eating the cookies and milk!

When going to down chimneys and seeing a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, ignore it! And instead, leave a note next to them saying
next year he’d prefer to be left fruit or maybe some meat and cheese, instead.

And instead of milk, leave water.

If he needs advice, he should check out this blog on Sifu Paul where I’ll be posting whats working & not working for me (first post will be Boxing Day)

3. Start exercising more

He doesn’t have to huff and puff and sweat and strain, he can do my Wing Chun Kung Fu program instead, that’s fine:

I said to tell Santa this is NOT based on boring exercise like pounding  the treadmill or grunting under a ton of weights.

It’s based on ancient methods that have proven effective over many hundreds of years and as well as losing the gut he’ll also be able
to fend off any unwanted toy snatchers.

And to kick his fat burning into top gear he should attend our Explosive Pad Training Workshop on Saturday Jan 14th 1.00pm – 2.15pm
It’s FREE to anyone that is a member of the school or on our trial membership and as Santa’s done so much for me over the years..
he can come for free as well.

4. Start walking more!

In other words…

Instead of hitching up the reindeer team to go to the store or run errands, I told the messenger to tell Santa to get his blubber butt
outside and walk through the snow, it’s great for his heart and  body.

5. Lay off 50% of the elves

Let’s face it.

All those elves are dead weight.

And by trimming his workforce down, he’ll also trim his considerable stomach down, too, because he’ll be forced to roll up
his sleeves and do more work.

Anyway, so that’s that.

This is the plan I have for Santa.

We’ll see if he listens in 2012.

Have a GREAT holiday.

I’ll see you soon!

Don’t forget…. If you’d like to launch your metabolism into a crazed fat burning state, then
make sure you drop me an email to confirm your place on my Explosive Pad Training Workshop

Considering how many classes and private lessons, seminars and workshops I’m
working on can put a serious damper on one’s productivity mojo.

So what can you do about this problem.

What I do is, I take long hot showers.

And I kind of just stand there… and think.

What do I think about?

YOU, actually.

Specifically, what ideas and exercises I can use within class and add to the syllabus to make training more rewarding.
Then what happens is that hot water pouring over my head stimulates the “creative” part
of the brain and — BAM! — out pops ideas.

Usually lots of ideas.

So MANY I have trouble writing them on
the steamy mirror!

I need to learn a better memory technique!

Anyway… something to ponder.

Of course, ideas are ten a penny, aren’t they?

Getting ideas on training is one thing.

Putting them into practise is another.

So if you want to start benefiting from turning those training ideas into hard skills,
try meeting up with other members of the school for 15 minutes or so before your class.

15 minutes here & there quickly adds up plus you can supplement that training with
a private lesson here and there, to hone and refine your skills.

You may have seen my latest clip on youtube
martial arts training tips – while washing up

This morning I was doing exactly the same except I was wearing a dressing gown instead.

I hadn’t noticed Leo my 15 month old son wander underneath my dressing gown while my leg was stretched out along the worktop.

I was immediately aware of him when he decided to practice for the church bell ringing group by grabbing what was in easy reach for him.

My words of caution – stretch often – however always make sure you’re appropriately clothed.

Sifu Sergio’s UK Seminar

Sifu Sergio is teaching on Saturday & Sunday. It will undoubtedly be a fantastic, awe-inspiring time and he’s promised not to wear his dressing gown.

If you haven’t already booked your place… give me a call on 01293 544 333 and book it… I guarantee you’ll have a very memorable time.

In fact… if you you’re not impressed.. feel you’d have been better off lying on your settee watching another re-run of friends… I’ll give you a full refund on the spot!

Over the weekend I had an interesting discussion with some friends.

We were talking about self defence, which then lead onto an area that had a mixed reaction from them..

Lindsey (my wife) & I run through procedures in case of certain situations.

Someone breaks into  our home, we’re approached by a couple of people that make us feel uneasy, road rage etc.
Their opinion was a mixture of agreement through to disbelief.
Especially when I mentioned things such as a “safe room” in the house, giving me space to hit and move & ramming another car.
One ladies first impression was that I’m paranoid.

However further into the discussion she fully appreciated where I was coming from.

I think I gave a pretty convincing argument that it wasn’t paranoia on my part but a lack of knowledge & appreciation on their part.

I’m filming a few quick tips later in the week, which I’ll send over in case you’re interested.

The clip below is a short explanation of how to  deal with being pulled around or grabbed.

Essential Self Defence No.3
Take care and be safe.

In case you missed them, here are Essential Self Defence No.1 and Essential Self Defence No.2

As a Confucius Institute Classroom and allied with the London Southbank University, they have arranged for us to visit lots of historic places, train and have Kung Fu lessons here in Beijing.  During some of this, we will be filmed by the Chinese Education TV for a documentary they’re making about our experiences of training Kung Fu in China with the focus being on the children & Lindsey.

Lindsey, our son Leo (9 months old), Dara & Connor (7 years old) their mums (age with held) and me are here to film the children and Lindsey practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu and to experience training Wu Shu here at the main Wu Shu martial arts school in Beijing.  It has an exceptional record, having produced non other than the martial arts super star Jet Li.

I was hoping to post a little more often, however there just hasn’t been the time.  However, I’m determined to work it into the schedule.

We visited Beijing Zoo and the Yong He Gong Temple today.  I’m not much of a zoo person, however the surroundings were nice and strangely we felt as much of an attraction as the animals.. loads of people couldn’t resist taking photo’s with the children and my baby son.

The Kung Fu Schools youngest student is a hit in China

As soon as we arrived people were chatting to Leo, he understood about as much as I did, however a smile is universally known.  They’re very friendly and once you get used to strangers wanting to touch his hand or foot it’s fine. One lady at the Temple even whipped him out of Lindsey’s hands, Leo seemed Ok and a small group gathered around cooing and jostling to have a photo taken with him.

Vicky, our guide and angel of mercy explained that it’s very unusual for them to see Western babies and they like their big eyes and long eye lashes. I’m pretty relaxed about things and luckily Lindsey is too, so we just go with the flow.

The Yong He Gong Temple was beautiful… we visited the Olympic Village the day before, and the temple getting my full thumbs up… I can take or leave stadiums no matter how grand, however beautiful temples are a different kettle of fish (not for Connor though, as he loves his sport)

I’ll post more about the Temple and other places we’ve visited.. but for now, I’m off to bed as got another busy day tomorrow.  We’re going to the Shichahai Kung Fu School tomorrow, where Dara, Connor & Lindsey will have their first Wu Shu lesson.  We have an interview with the Master of the school before to see what we’ll be learning.

I’ll also add video clips and photo slide shows when it’s been edited (shortly I hope)

The truth is… there’s no “Golden Diet” that suits everyone perfectly… however there’s some good advice and there’s some bad advice  …. unfortunately quite a lot of the general advice is pretty poor.

You may experience it yourself… you eat more or less what has been suggested but don’t see or feel the results…

This Friday at the Kung Fu Schools HQ in Crawley, I have a Dr from China who will be explaining ancient Chinese methods
and ideas for healthy living, in particular how to lose weight.

These aren’t some flash in the pan “fad” diets or crazy ideas.. they’re proven, successful ways to live a long and healthy life…

There’s no charge… the only cost is your time…

Weight Loss Workshop
This Friday, Feb25th
6. 30 – 7.30
Free

I’ve already had a great response, if you’ve already reserved your place … great…

if not… drop me an email, call or drop in at the school.

I’m considering running a short course on how to exercise at home, what to look for in a diet that suits you and having the mindset to follow through to have what you want.

If you’d be interested please let me know.

At two the Kung Fu Schools, Crawley & Croydon we had the benefit of recieving information and experience from a man who was the longest serving operational soldier of the SAS… Ken Connor.

Ken was at the Kung Fu Schools as part of Total Care Security along with Chris Wheeler & Roy, one of the leading security companies in the UK.

The aim of the days workshop was to go through material that is taught to professional bodyguards protecting VIPs. My opinion is, that there is no one more important in the world to me than my family. So the skills that are employed to safeguard a celebrity, diplomat or businessman can also be used to help ensure the safety of my wife & children.

Protecting people is much more involved than learning how to block and strike… this is the area a lot of martial arts schools only focus on, which is undoubtedly a mistake. Within the Kung Fu Schools we pay close attention to many areas that also make up the comprehensive “Self Protection” pie.

The main focus of the workshop was to highlight how important being observant and vigilant are… be aware of yourself, your surroundings and what’s going on (I’ll post another day about how this is so important for life, Be Present). We also covered safety on holiday, walking, getting in and out of your car, escorting someone safely plus a variety of related subjects.

However Ken stressed that one of the most important things (if not the most important) is to know when to RUN! He made it very clear as you will hear if you watch the video clip below) that one of the main reasons he lived for so long while in very hostile situations as part of the SAS is that he knew when to run and also importantly… where to run to. The secret is out, and when you leg it as fast as you can, it’s OK, the SAS said to do so…

This comes back to observation, awareness and an education of what your looking for and how to react.

I’ll post more on this, if you have any particular areas of interest, please add it within the comments. (they don’t show immediately because I keep getting spammed something crazy, so have to manually agree them)

]]> http://sifupaul.co.uk/index.php/sas-secret/feed/ 0 http://sifupaul.co.uk/index.php/anchient-chinese-secrets/ http://sifupaul.co.uk/index.php/anchient-chinese-secrets/#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:13:52 +0000 Sifu Paul http://sifupaul.co.uk/?p=64 ]]> Over the last 25 years I’ve tried a ton of different fitness programs, diets (to gain weight in my teens and twenties, 30ish plus to lose it) and one area that I have constantly relied on more than any other is the health, martial and spiritual teachings and practices from Asia, in particular, China.

Not to say there isn’t a lot of superb information via other sources, I consider myself very fortunate that during my time training and studying that people who are incredibly knowledgeable and skillful have shared so much with me….. however you have to look carefully for GOOD sources of reliable, effective and practical information..

There is so much rubbish out there, and just because it’s the “recommended” guidance does not make it correct (unfortunately) I mean, how can a leading chocolate spread advertise on national TV that it’s one of your five a day… what utter BS….. in another post I’ll explain the complete LIES that most food labeling tell and that when you think something is only 5% fat, it’s probably nearer 33% if not more.

However, I’m off on one of my tangents again, sorry…. the purpose of this email is to let you know that as part of the Confucius Institute, in fact, we’re an official Confucius Institute Classroom and recognised as such by the Chinese Government…. that they/we are going to conduct monthly workshops here at the Kung Fu Schools Crawley, each one will concentrate on a particular theme/problem/condition and you’ll be shown how to help alleviate and in some cases cure conditions such as migraines, headaches, back aches, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis…. and to kick it off we’re starting with a theme that’s close to a lot of peoples hearts at the moment….. WEIGHT LOSS…..

It’s taking place here at the Kung Fu School Crawley on Friday February 25th from 6.30pm – 7.30pm and is totally FREE

You may have tried the cabbage soup diet, eat all you like and watch the fat burn off diet, run for miles, walked at a pace you can comfortably talk at and nothing has worked for more than a blink of an eye.

Come along and hear what they have to say, see a different perspective… after all, the Chinese are famous throughout the world for their amazing health in to old age and certainly not renowned for being one of the most overweight and obese countries in the world.

Please email, call or see us in the school to reserve your place.

Chinese tips for long lasting weight loss

I was really pleased and a little surprised (the % of replies is usually very low for surveys) to see how many people had taken the time to complete the survey.

The feedback was very useful, Alan, Lindsey & I have spent hours pouring over the information and would like to give a little feedback.

The main areas that came out were how much enjoyment people got from being a part of the school. That the team are incredibly friendly, yet professional and their passion for Kung Fu and teaching is clear to see. The school and facilities are exceptional far outdoing anything that may have been expected.

The areas we are developing are: giving feedback, goal setting and complimentary/support learning….
Please email me to arrange coming in, having a talk about how your training is going and what you’d like to achieve for 2011. My number one priority is to sit down with every member of the school and see how they are and how I can help.

I have already filmed a 4 series “essential self defence guide” and have a very comprehensive schedule of filming planned to aid your training and progression. Please drop me an email if there’s a particular area/subject/technique that you’d like some guidance with.

You’ll be seeing quite a bit more action from The Kung Fu Schools, so keep your eyes peeled and please if you subscribe to our email check that it doesn’t end up in the dreaded junk folder…

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Sifu Paul
www.KungFuSchools.org

PS If you’d like to be in any of the video clips just let me know