Weight Loss and More with Kung Fu

When I went for my first Kung Fu class I had a fairly vague notion that
as out of shape as I was, almost any exercise was going to have some
effect on my fitness and that this would be something I would enjoy
doing and find easy to commit to. This said, while I expected to be a
better man even within the first four months, I am honestly surprised
(and pleased) by some of the results of my first four months as a white
belt.

Of course one of the first things people ask about is weight loss. For
one, I'm obviously overweight, so it's fairly obvious that this should
be something I would be looking for in improved fitness. Beyond that, I
figure the majority of people want to lose some amount of weight, even
if it's just another couple pounds to get to that ideal or a couple
hundred to be healthy.

Starting at a very steady 240 lbs, I certainly had plenty of fat to
shed, but in truth my first four months haven't yielded astounding
results. I have managed to reduce the number on the scale to 235 lbs. A
grand total of 5 lbs. This isn't at all surprising to me, nor
disheartening for simple reasons. For one, I honestly did not set out to
lose weight fast. Not at first. Beyond that I recognize that the near
constant soreness these past four months are indicative of strain that
begets muscle growth. Noting that muscle weighs more than fat and that
muscle growth surely means weight gains, I can fairly readily assume
that more than those 5 lbs have been lost in fat while being gained in
muscle. How much I couldn't say, but that's fine by me.

Balance and endurance are very cool. I now have some. I'm still not up
to hopping from one post to another on a fence or jogging several miles,
but to be able to stand on one foot with a knee up for a reasonable
length of time and make it through a reasonably vigorous hour going
through all my white belt material in class is a nice start. Both are
far more than what I started with.

Back aches, either just from the regular stress of the day or if I tried
to simply sit upright on the ground for better than thirty seconds, are
a thing of the past. I'm certainly not saying I can go out and chop a
cord of wood without suffering for it, but getting through an average
week doesn't include a few days of aching back. I attribute this to the
increased core strength that is critical to any level of success in
martial arts.

I have always placed less emphasis on flexibility, maybe because I
simply have never been flexible. I certainly expected to gain some
flexibility from Kung Fu, given that I expected it was important at some
point in the training and that I simply lacked it probably more than any
other of the things I've mentioned already. What I hadn't expected was
how much this would change, some of which I attribute to recognizing the
importance of reaching a certain level in it even this early in my
training and the realization just how much better more stretching is.

The most impressive example of my improved flexibility is almost
certainly in the difference in my seated straight leg hamstring stretch.
(Pictured at http://www.exrx.net/StretchImages/Hamstrings/Seated.jpg)
This stretch is done every class in our warm up five times. When I
started I was barely reaching past my knees. Last night (for the first
time) I managed to grasp my toes on the fourth and fifth repetition of
this stretch. I was, and continue to be today, elated.

Needless to say, I am very encouraged by my progress thus far and
looking forward to the next four months as a yellow belt, expecting that
I will pass my belt test tomorrow evening. I expect a good bit more in
way of results, particularly in weight loss and increased stamina, over
the next four months given that I will now be attending an hour and
forty-five minutes of class rather than one hour and will be continuing
to improve my diet along with adding cycling to my weekly activity.