On Health, Fitness & Jeet Kune Do

Historically, Martial Arts schools incorporated, to some degree, an herbal pharmacy directed at keeping the students healthy after hard training or combat.  Similarly, students are also given a basic knowledge of how to self treat contusions, and other minor soft tissue injuries.  In modern times we see training centers selling sports balms like Tiger Balm, Icy Hot, Bengay, Cryogel, etc.  Although these products do work, in my experience there is nothing quite as effective as the time tested herbal formulas in the Martial Arts medicine toolbox traditionally prepared by the teacher at the school.

Hit Medicine or Dit Da is a little known branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine developed for healing tissue trauma resulting from fighting.

Unbenknownst to most, Hit Medicine can decrease healing time of minor soft tissue injuries by at least 50% in most cases.  In my early training, I would follow a conditioning protocol of applying herbal liniments to striking and blocking surfaces before and after practice (and sometimes during practice), effectively preventing the majority of bruising and decreasing healing time to a day or two at most.

These protocols are probably most useful to combat sports players who routinely accumulate injuries from full contact sparring.  Although less severe, the average Martial Artist still gets the occasional bruise, strain, sprain, and muscle soreness in which case Hit Medicine comes in very handy.

So what exactly is involved?

The basic Hit Medicine kit should include herbal plaster patches, topical healing wines (Dit Da Jow), an oil based liniment, plastic wrap, waterproof tape, and maybe an oral herbal formula.

The specific formulations on the plaster patches, Dit Da Jows, and oils differ depending on whom you speak to.  In many cases Dit Da Jow is home made using a “family” recipe.  I personally prefer the Yunnan Baiyau plasters and Herbalgy oil along with a homemade Dit Da Jow.  If you don’t have access to homemade Dit Da Jow, Zheng Gu Shui or Yunnan Baiyau Tincture will do.  Simply apply and rub lightly.

For more severe injuries, a wet herbal plaster can be applied and sealed using tape and plastic wrap.  The wrap is usually kept in place for 12 - 24 hours, removed, cleaned and replaced.

These techniques will help with acute injuries, whereas Acupuncture and more advanced Tui-Na techniques should be used to resolve chronic injuries.

Keep in mind that this is a valuable adjunct to training but NOT a replacement for professional medical advice and treatment, so consult your healthcare provider before starting any program.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

If you haven’t already heard, one of the largest mixed martial arts trade shows will be taking place next weekend on August 2nd and 3rd at the Long Beach, CA convention center.

I’ll be there helping my fitness industry colleague Octavio Galindo promoting his new product the Concentric Core Board.

Check out our booth banners featuring yours truly and Victoria Vives. These giant sized vinyl booth banners were designed by 3V Prototype Productions on VERY short notice and I have to say that they did an absolutely awesome job!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

It has been a busy week, hence the lack of new posts in the last short while. So here is a quick update:

The Bruce Lee Foundation 35th anniversary is just around the corner! I will be attending a good portion, so I hope to see some of you there. In any case, I will definitely be writing a review of the experience.

I have a few surprises coming out in the next months.

In partnership with a local “non-classical” Pilates studio, I will be helping in the launch of an VERY innovative piece of fitness equipment and training video series. There is nothing like it available, and I expect it to make waves in the fitness training industry.

I have also been working with 3V Prototype Productions on plans for producing a series of Jeet Kune Do instructional videos that combine Original JKD methodology and some serious functional fitness conditioning techniques for all levels so stay tuned for more info.

Lastly, I have been scouring martial arts equipment manufacturers for the best, safest, most durable, training gear on the market and will be making reviews and recommendations shortly.

Remember to join my mailing list for special deals and discounts that I will arrange only for my subscribers.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Most trainers and gyms will tell you how the mid to late summer months can be pretty slow. For whatever reason it seems that the average American feels an urgent need to “get in shape” for certain seasons, then let themselves go for others.

Wouldn’t it be great if you were always fit, always, healthy, and always looked great?

Forget New Year’s resolutions, why not start now? It really is much easier than you might think to improve your health. For example, just choose an area you would like to see change, then pick one small thing that you can perform on a regular basis to achieve your goal.

Make sure that whatever step you take, that it is doable. If fat loss is a goal, then choose something small like exchanging half your starchy carbohydrates for veggies at dinner. If your goal is to increase your punching speed, then commit to throwing ten or twenty extra high speed punches per day. Just make sure that the feeling you get when choosing your new habit is “Yeah, I can do that,” instead of “Ugh.  I really don’t wan to do that.”

One of my recent goals, for example, is to develop the ability to perform a full side split. I’m fairly flexible, but I have not been able to complete a side split since I was 10 years old and it’s a crowd pleaser that I have been wanting to develop for a few years now. In any case, my new habit will be to spend ten minutes every day performing strength and flexibility exercises for side splits.

So, once you get started with your new habit make sure to keep it up religiously for at least a month; by then the habit should be pretty well set and you can add another.

If you think about it, you can have 12 new healthy habits every year. At that rate, you will be at your best in no time!

As an added measure of accountability, let people know what you are doing. In fact, feel free to post your goal and new habit here or better yet, start your own blog and document your journey to better health.

Let me know how it goes!

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Health and fitness should be interesting and enjoyable.

It always amazes me how this aura of suffering and discipline combined with large doses of blood and sweat seems to have encased the fitness industry.

There are tons of new programs out there that are upbeat, innovative, and exciting, yet the default images that come to mind still seem to be grueling and bleak where only the strong survive.

I have to admire the self discipline that the people must develop who go to the gym everyday to pump iron and run on the treadmill.  I did it for a few years until I realized that I could utilize all the time spent, on my rat on a wheel routine, to learn something and develop usable skills, or at least have fun.  So, instead of spending hours per week strapped into a machine repeating two dimensional motions, I focused on sports, martial arts, and just trying new things.

Since I made the switch, I enjoy working out much more, my body is more defined, my strength is more functional, my martial arts skill level has increased significantly, and I know a lot more about how the body works.

Now, if you’re a competitive athlete or even just a weekend warrior who wants to improve his/her game, then a sport specific conditioning routine outside of game play would be appropriate.  Keep in mind that this still does not mean hitting the gym with the old “C’mon, c’mon . . . one more rep!” routine, it should be a varied and dynamic series of holistic movements that are specifically designed to increase, your speed, strength, agility, flexibility, etc.  What I mean by holistic is multi-planar, multi-joint, and utilizing a rate of movement and control that would be needed in real life.

In any case, if you’ve reached the stage where you want to improve your game, then you have probably already incorporated a level of regularly performed exercise that you enjoy.

For those of you who are still challenged by the “regular exercise” stage, I recommend getting out there and trying something new.  Go for a Yoga or Pilates class.  Try swimming, or a team sport.  Learn Boxing.  Go hiking or rock climbing. Go kayaking or learn to surf.  Join a bootcamp (they’re tough but fun!).  Landscape your yard.  The possibilities are endless.  In my case, I like honing my martial arts and self defense skills.  I also enjoy boxing, kickboxing, and submission wrestling among other less combative things like racquetball, hiking, ocean kayaking, body surfing, mountain biking, etc.

It’s true that classes tend to be more expensive than gym memberships, but here is a little known fact that I found out as a personal trainer:  most people sign two or three year contracts at large chain gym, then quit within the first three months.  Basically, the gym is making money over the course of three years despite the fact that their facilities were only used for a few months.  If your gym offers classes, that’s great!  It has been my experience, however, that class instructors at large gyms tend to be overworked, underpaid, and rather unenthusiastic about what they are teaching.

Most fitness studios that offer classes, on the other hand, charge monthly tuition without contracts, will often times give you a degree of personal attention that is largely absent of commercial gyms, and are generally passionate about their craft.

The take home message:  If you want a change from the traditional gym routine, go shop around for an interesting class and just do it.  If you’re on a budget, just get some friends together, go to the park, and use your imagination!

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

The long awaited San Gabriel Valley JKD demo / trailer is now up on YouTube!

Please check it out, rate it, and post some feedback.

I’ll be producing more videos in the coming months so stay tuned.

Enjoy!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

“I’m doing the low carb thing.”

The “low fat” era came and went (although I’m still not sure if there is any real understanding of the importance of fats among dieters) and we are now on the tail end of the “low carb” trend that was popularized by Dr. Robert Atkins and many others that were hot on his trail.

I still hear the occasional “I’m on a low carb diet”, and advertising still uses this angle to catch the unwary shopper.

All the fluff aside, carbohydrates are a very important part of good nutrition.  Most of the micronutrients in our diets, including vitamins, minerals, and other healthful compounds, come from carbohydrate sources.

What is the standard picture that comes to mind when you think of carbs?  Rice, bread, pasta, potatoes?  These are all common answers, because they are common foods in the average American diet.  Yet, it’s hard to imagine an abundance of micronutrients coming from these refined starchy carbohydrates.  In fact, it’s hard to see these nutrients coming from any starchy carbohydrates (with a few exceptions) regardless of whether they are whole or refined.

Again, referring to ancient man’s diet, we see that grains were not a significant part.  Wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes did not come into existence in the human diet in any appreciable amount until industrial farming and agricultural domestication was established.  Ancient man’s carbohydrates came from a variety of wild grains, tubers, vegetables, nuts, berries, and fruits.

The modern American, will be hard pressed to find nutrient dense wild plant product sources, but we can at least make the healthiest choices of what we have available.

So what carbs should you be including?

Rich colorful fruits and vegetables along with small amounts of whole grains and legumes with the occasional tuber.  Plant sources should be fresh and local, thereby giving them  more time in the sun and opportunity to ripen naturally (as opposed to imported fruits and vegetables that are harvested early and never really mature).  One major caveat with whole grains is the high rate of subclinical gluten sensitivity that seems to be the cause of so many health issues.

The most effective way to determine if you have subclinical gluten sensitivity is to remove it from your diet for at least three months.  Any health changes will be obvious.

Gluten aside, some people seem to do well on a diet high in starchy carbohydrates, however they are the minority.  Most of us would benefit from keeping grains to a minimum and seeking our carbohydrates from colorful vegetables.  If possible foods should be eaten raw to benefit maximally from their life sustaining properties.

Nutrition really is a bit of an art that requires a careful awareness of self in order to truly master.  In the spirit of Jeet Kune Do, there is no set way.

Bruce Lee talked about “honestly expressing oneself” as a powerful path to achievement and realization.  The most important part of learning Jeet Kune Do is listening to your body in order to understand how to fully use it for “honest expression,” and the same holds true for health and nutrition.  The human body is always honestly expressing itself through vitality and/or disease on all levels, including the physical, mental, and spiritual.

Listen to your body.

In Health,
–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Jeet Kune Do Nutrition Plan Part I
Jeet Kune Do Nutrition Plan Part II

Here’s a great article that lists some compelling reasons to start getting physically active.

I would like to add that incorporating fitness via a self defense training program does wonders for self confidence and can be a very powerful tool for stress relief.

In any case, one of the best ways to get on an exercise program and stay on it, is to choose an activity that you enjoy . . . and better yet, take a friend.

Happy training!

The greatest challenge in developing a permanent exercise habit is finding motivation that lasts. It’s easy to get to the gym when you’re preparing for that big beach vacation or want to look great for your high school reunion. But what about the rest of the time?

For much of my life I followed a pretty consistent pattern:

• Get a bit fat.
• Start to hate the way I look.
• Hit the gym with a vengeance for a few weeks.
• Start to look noticeably better.
• Smugly enjoy my new found vanity.
• Lose motivation and stop working out for a few weeks.
• Repeat from beginning.

Vanity, it turns out, isn’t a great longterm motivator for most people. It wasn’t until I associated exercise with rewards beyond physical appearance that I was able to get myself to the gym 5-6 times a week without any lapses.

To help you bring consistency and enthusiasm to your exercise schedule, here are some powerful reasons to work out that have nothing to do with looking good.

Read the full article here: 10 Reasons to Work Out That Have Nothing to Do With a Sexy Bod

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Bruce Lee, according to to Jesse Glover ( Bruce Lee’s first student), was concerned with losing speed and power with increased flexibility.

This is a common issue among martial artists who wish to have greater range of motion but do not want to sacrifice their current physical attributes to achieve it. Improper stretching regimens can lead to joint destabilization, reduced muscular strength, and injuries to the tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Yet, it is common knowledge that stretching can help reduce injuries and increase performance. So, how can you increase functional flexibility without the potential dangers and adverse effects?

The key to functional flexibility (flexibility that is actually useful in real life) is incorporating a program of strength training with stretching in the form of dynamic, active, and isometric type of stretching exercises.

Unfortunately, the common understanding of “stretching” and “flexibility” is actually “passive flexibility” which also happens to be the least useful and most dangerous. A passive stretch, for example would be trying to force yourself into the splits as you hold yourself up with your hands, or having a partner force you past your normal range of motion as you try to work past the pain. These methods are a surefire way to injury for the untrained athlete.

More constructive stretching (to train high side kicks for example) would include something like this:

1. Warm up for 5 - 10 minutes with light cardio such as skipping rope.
2. Continue the warm up with two sets of 10 straight leg side swings that take you just before you reach your range limit.
2. Perform two sets of 10 deeps squats using a wide horse stance and slow pace ( at least 5 seconds per squat)
3. Perform two sets of side lunges concentrating on using your adductors (inner thigh muscles) to help bring you back to a standing position.
4. Finish up with two sets of 10 slow motion high side kicks.

Alternate this routine with high speed/power sidekicks at a heavy bag after a warm up.

This is one of many functional strength and flexibility routines that can help you reach your desired range of motion while maintaining, or even increasing functional strength.

Happy training!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

PROTEIN

This is the single most common term in the diet, fitness, health industries. Often times, however, protein is casually mentioned without little or no elaboration regarding the quality. Much like fats, as I discussed in part one of this series, it is largely misunderstood.

To recap on part I of the series, note that there is not a JKD nutrition plan per se, but rather in the spirit of simplicity, directness, and efficiency we can improve our health and performance through principles that avoid the “classical mess” that is modern nutrition.

Protein is a category of macromolecules composed of amino acids that is essential to human life. The human body can manufacture many of the necessary amino acids but the rest must be obtained from food for optimal health.

In this article I will focus on the four protein sources that receive the most attention:

1. meat

2. milk

3. eggs

4. soy

MEAT: Meat is good. Looking back at our evolutionary ancestry and our human biology, it is clear that our bodies work best on an omnivorous diet . . . plant and animal products. Having said this, I won’t bother going into the biological difficulties and health challenges of a vegetarian diet as this would require a volume by itself.

As a protein source, meat is excellent as it contains a complete amino acid profile, but this is really only a part of the whole when considering foods. In short, the quality of a meat is directly related to the way the animal was raised and the way in which the meat is prepared.

For example, when choosing beef make sure that it is organic, free range and grass fed. If this type of beef is unavailable in your area look for for meat that is, at least hormone and anti-biotic free. The same goes with chicken, make sure it is free range organic; this means it is allowed to run free and supplement its diet with insects and other natural “wild” foods.

As for the preparation of your meats, eat them WITH the fat and minimize frying and overcooking. The fats in naturally raised animals are essential to better digestion and nutrient absorption. Furthuremore, cooking at high temperatures not only reduces nutritional value but also creates toxic byproducts like PhIP and heterocyclic amines which are strongly associated with cancer. I personally eat most of my animal proteins raw or nearly raw (another highly controversial practice).

MILK: It does the body good right? Well, that depends. Milk has been a hallmark of the average modern American diet and it can be a powerful boon to good nutrition but there are a few important considerations.

Milk should only be consumed raw, whole, and unmodified with the exception of culturing. Pasteurization and homogenization turns a life giving super food into a dead allergen ridden waste product. Raw milk, on the other hand, provides a complete protein, and quality fats loaded with highly bioavailable vitamins and minerals that are destroyed or rendered less absorbable when heated (calcium from pasteurized milk is not easily used by the body). The natural bacteria and enzymes found in raw milk also protect it from putrefying pathogens and make it more digestible so people with milk allergies (casein allergies) or lactose intolerance can often drink raw milk. Cultured raw milk such as yogurt, kefir, and cheese have added benefits with increased digestibility and beneficial bacteria.

To find a source of raw milk near you, go to http://www.realmilk.com/where1.html

EGGS: Another excellent source of complete protein, quality fats, and bioavailable micronutrients. There is a misconception that eggs should be eaten sparingly due to their effect on blood cholesterol. This is a myth.

Whole eggs have not been shown to have a negative affect on blood cholesterol or triglycerides.

Much like milk and meat, however, make sure you get your eggs fresh and from organic free range hens. Eggs are best when eaten raw, as this preserves the delicate micronutrients and essential fatty acids within the yolk. The salmonella scare that the FDA has created around raw eggs is, in my opinion, completely overblown. Most eggs, if kept fresh and obtained from reputable sources will not be contaminated. Furthermore, the stomach acids of a healthy person neutralize any Salmonella and infections are generally short lived anyway not lasting more than a few hours unless you have a compromised immune system.

SOY: Where did we go so wrong? If you have not heard by now, know that soy is NOT the health food that so many experts have supported. As far as soy protein isolate is concerned, it is an industrial waste product from the vegetable oil industry. It is a highly processed incomplete plant protein that heralds a whole host of potential health risks. In short, soy inhibits mineral absorption, decreases stomach acid production (necessary for good digestion and immune function), has phytoestrogens which interfere with normal hormone regulation, and undergoes industrial processing that produces harmful byproducts.

The only healthy soy based foods will be found in fermented products such as natto, miso, tempeh, etc.

Again this is only a rough guide to nutrition and proteins, but it will point the way to better health and performance.

In the final installment of this three part series I will cover dietary carbohydrates.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com