Thank you for the '2nd in the series' article James. Nice read. Just goes to show the massive differences between teachers and how important it is to get a decent one.

It's interesting to hear other peoples opinions. When i did Lau Gar we used to do the usual sit ups, pushups, squat-thrusts etc. Then we used to do stance training but no conditioning. (I hung a wooden post wrapped with rope in my garden to condition my arms). In the beginning we used to have to hold ma bo for 10-20mins at a time but over the years this ended up being 5mins or less. I think alot of prospective students were put off by this type of training because it's too much like hard work (gung fu, anyone?). When I started Chow's mantis we did the usual warm ups and then would do stances, drills and conditioning (sam sing, gau choi etc). A lot of styles do NOT stress the importance of conditioning and I think a lot of it has to do with people not wanting to get hurt or a few knocks and bruises. If this is the case why take up a martial art?. In Chow Gar a big part of the training is nei-gung to build up the body and strengthen the arms,ribs, back, legs etc. The guys I train with have very hard arms and hands and we use dit dar jow all the time. The guys I train with have also trained in Hung Gar, wing chun and Escrima and I have noticed that each of these systems is taught with combat applications as the main goal. I am very lucky I found a good instructor and school.