Master Schenk on Training Outdoors

There are many ways to focus on training: where, when, how long, etc. What I would like to talk about is where. Most classes are held in the same place - indoors. There is nothing natural about that! The lighting, air-conditioning, heat, all make indoor training far from the best. At our school we train outside most of the year, April through November. But even at our school, for so many months during the winter, we are stuck training inside. When we are forced to train indoors, the heat is turned low, the air-conditioning is off, and the doors are open to let the crisp air in.

As for me, I try to train outside as often as possible. I train in the woods at my house even in the winter.

A couple years ago, when I was away in Florida, a student of mine, Logan, was kind enough to clear a place in my woods. He cleaned out the leaves, sticks and debris from an area I had showed him. This way we could train outside.

Why train outside? There are many benefits. The Qi is much stronger outside than at my school or in my basement, I've noticed. Also, training outside offers different surfaces; grass, pavement, or just plain dirt. All of these have a very different feeling than inside on a flat surface. I like the woods because it is all dirt and the terrain is uneven. I can go up and down hill, in and out of trees, or even on the trees. Training on uneven ground, up and down hills, exercises and conditions the muscles of the entire leg in concert. A completely different manner than when only training on a flat surface. I believe balance, coordination, strength stamina, and overall peace of mind are greatly improved by training outdoors.

If you want to train outside, I would stress caution. Check the ground for holes, rocks and roots. Take your time and build up to the more uneven ground and the up and down hill training. If you would like to use a tree to train on, start slow and then increase the number of reps you do. I like to do a lot of forearm, palm, body-side and full body hits against the tree. I also do some leg and foot training against the tree, but I never strip the bark off of the tree.

The size of the tree is also important. The tree should be small enough to have some movement when hit.I believe the energy you absorb when in the woods is well worth the effort it takes to prepare the area. The lack of distractions like phones, other people's music, people watching and wondering what you are doing, makes the woods an ideal place to train. It is quiet, peaceful and cooler than out in the sun.

Life begets life. The woods are full of the life force. When it comes to training, from Qigong to Mantis, outside is the place for me. Try it and you just might like it.