by Matt Elam
The remaining rebels had watched my tactics and began to mimic them, successfully. Even Donald had come down from his archer’s location to grab a shield and join the fight. He had found a blaster lying on the ground.
“Ah, that’s your ass now, Mr. Manchu!” he said, releasing a controlled burst into several of the men on horseback.
In less than ten minutes, the enemy was either dead, or had retreated north. My hope was that our forces would cut them off before they could make it back over the borderline.
The Ming rebels began to celebrate. Jinx and I found each other.
“Are you okay?” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.
“All good. You?” asked Donald, as he put me in a neck tie hold. “Whooo! It was a pleasure going to battle with you, brother.”
“You too, brother,” I said. My thoughts flashed to Bai. “Hey, where’s Bai?”
Donald Jinx smiled. “Look behind you.”
As I turned, I saw Bai dragging a figure toward me by the hair. It was Mei Li.
Donald and I met her halfway.
“Look who I found trying to escape back to the north, like a coward,” said Bai.
Jinx began laughing. “Bai Ray, you are a grade A, bonafide badass, girl,” he said, sticking his fist out.
“You acquired those skill in the Rockettes, did you?” I said.
“There are things we need to discuss,” she said, evenly. “But right now, there’s something more important at hand.”
“What is it?”
Bai yanked hard on Mei Li’s hair and she whimpered. “Tell him what you told me.”
At first, the mistress said nothing. She just laid there looking defeated.
Bai took out her blade and placed it across Mei Li’s throat. “Or, I can just slit your throat and then tell him myself.
Who is this woman? I thought, staring at Bai.
Mistress Mei Li gave in. “I know where your mother is,” she gargled, the blade pressing heavily on her neck.
“What did you just say?” My mouth opened wide in shock. I shook my head. “No. That can’t be. I’ve looked for her. She’s gone.”
“No,” said Mei Li. “She’s alive.”
THE JOHNNY JO VOLUME I FITNESS REGIMEN
I’m hoping that by now, you’ve realized Johnny Jo is no average man of kung fu. He was an elite athlete as well. So how does a person with his abilities push his body to perform at such a high level? Answer. He trains the fundamentals, just like everyone else should be doing.
Do you remember the scene in the book where Cheung Sifu had Jo hold the horse stance or Sei Ping Ma for several minutes? In my estimation, the squat held in an isometric regime is one of the best ways to develop the legs in a broad spectrum or general preparatory sense. Once the technique has been made proficient, the legs begin to reap the benefits of free body strength, muscular endurance, and position-specific mobility.
In the section that follows, I will introduce you to two variations of the horse stance: The Shaolin Sei Ping Ma (four corner horse) and the Isometric Wall Squat. The first is the traditional stance used in both Northern and Southern gung fu systems. The second is a more modern exercise used to develop the lower kinetic chain. I offer these two variations for the sake of variety in your own personal training. The goal should be very clear, however. When you can hold the horse like Johnny Jo, you too will have legs like liquid steel!
Sincerely,
Matt K. Elam
Sei ping ma. I won’t spend a great deal of time talking about the setup for this stance. There are many adequate resources available on the Internet where you’ll be able to find the finer points of this stance. I typically begin with feet together. Next, I move my heels out as far as they will take me. Second, I move my toes outward. I’ll then repeat the first step - moving my heels out. The last step is to move the toes out again, but this time, only part way until they are straight as an arrow.
Another thing to consider is that with each pivot of either heel or toe, you are sinking lower in your stance or “ma” by bending at the knee. By the time your toes are facing forward, your knees should be pushed outward and you should be as low as possible in your stance.
Hold the static horse for two to three minutes.
Iso wall squat. Find a flat supporting wall that does not provide too much friction against your posterior torso. The reason being is because if the wall is too sticky, it will actually support some of the weight of your trunk, thus, alleviating the stress from your thighs. We don’t want this! We want the upper leg muscles as John Cougar Mellencamp so poetically states it to: “Hurt so good!” Wear a shirt or sweater with a slick surface to avoid this off-loading effect.
Stand against the wall. Next, keep one foot where it is and take a casual step forward with the other foot, as if you were strolling down the sidewalk in your neighborhood. Now, rotate your feet outward slightly. Find the wall with your low back and buttocks by hinging backward. Once contact is made, place your entire back against the surface,. Finally, bend at the knees and slide down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Place your hands either interlaced and suspended in front of you or dangling by your sides. I personally prefer the latter.
Perform the hold for two to three minutes.
Programming. Do one or the other on a training/recovery day. Not both. Isometric work can be quite exhausting to the nervous system. If done correctly, either of the two holds can improve your overall lower body strength, especially where the added stimulus of resistance is concerned. I recommend practicing the isometric hold three to five times per week. I tend to err on the side of caution here. There is a fine balance between improving one’s performance and injuring one’s self. Place a few degrees of separation between the two phenomenons. You cannot improve fitness if you’re hurt.
Quick story. I was on a two-week vacation and had no access to free weights or machines where I was staying. Ten of those fourteen mornings were spent training the Iso Wall Squat. When I returned home, I went to my local gym and decided to select the deadlift as my pulling exercise. To my surprise, the standard weights that I previously used just flew up without much effort. My legs and back were fresh and ultra-responsive. So I continued to add plates. The end result? I ended up smashing my old PR (personal record) in the deadlift by forty pounds. It was an eye-opener, to say the least.
A word of caution. While we all share a similar physiology, our anatomy varies drastically. What works for one person does not guarantee success for another. In the case of the Sei Ping Ma, toes aligned forward may work for many people. It may be comfortable. It may not be so pleasant for other people, however. You need to find the position that works best for your anthropometrics - body type. That is how you will best get into the zone. That is how longevity is forged.
Also, please remember that a good warm up should be undertaken prior to these holds. Don’t jump into either of these movements cold. Number one, you can pull a muscle or soft tissue structure more easily, and two, your performance will be hindered without the proper initiation of the central nervous and muscular systems.
Sample Training Week
Monday: Warm Up (light calisthenics) x5 minutes. Sei Ping Ma x2-3 minutes.
*Only perform one set!
Wednesday: Warm Up (light calisthenics) x5 minutes. Iso Wall Squat x2-3 minutes.
*Only perform one set!
Friday: Warm Up (light calisthenics) x5 minutes. Sei Ping Ma x2-3 minutes.
*Only perform one set!