Sunday, March 29, 2009

Turning Vegetarian, Turning Healthy

I have been thinking about turning into a vegetarian to experience the range of health benefits that it will probably provide.

A large part of being fit depends on one's diet. Therefore, I can not provide you with fitness education without talking about diet. I don't want to get into details and fine lines here, but by vegetarian, I will basically be cutting out meats.

So I will be eating foods including:
  • vegetables
  • fruits
  • nuts and grains
  • seafood
  • dairy
  • eggs
Ok, so here's the plan. I will be gradually easing into this using the following tentative schedule.

1st Month
Week 1: March 29 - April 4
At least 2 days out of the week vegetarian foods

Week 2: April 5 - April 11
At least 3 days out of the week vegetarian foods

Week 3: April 12 - April 18
At least 4 days out of the week vegetarian foods

Week 4: April 19 - April 25
At least 5 days out of the week vegetarian foods

Week 5 and further
All days vegetarian foods
2nd Month
Tentative plan if I make it this far: Cut out junk foods (e.g. chips, cookies, candies, sugary beverages, etc.)
3rd Month
Tentative plan if I make it this far: Tighten up vegetarian diet in terms of food preparation (e.g. restrict fried foods, cut down on condiment usage and heavy sauces, etc.)
So who's with me? How far will I be able to make it? Will I relapse and crash diet out? Stay tuned to find out! I will be posting my progress and findings here to share with you all as I embark on this journey.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

2009 Shaolin Temple Day - San Francisco

Yesterday, I went to check out the China Songshan Shaolin Temple Day Celebration in San Francisco, CA. As you know, martial arts is one of best ways to achieve your fitness goals! (bias) The Abbot of Shaolin, the Venerable Shi Yongxin, was in town for the week long of festivities around California.

External Shaolin kung fu is usually very fast and explosive as you'll see. I got some footage of the demonstrations in Union Square and put together the following video of the Shaolin Kung Fu performances. It was drizzling so the ground was a bit wet. I think that's why they didn't do any acrobatics. Oh well... enjoy! The tong zi gong freaks me out everytime!



Demonstrations include:
  • Nine Section Whip
  • Broadsword (Shaolin Dao)
  • Di Tang Sword (Ditang Jian)
  • Lohan Staff (Luohan Gun)
  • Tong Zi Gong
  • Hard Qi Gong (Staff breaking)
  • Lohan Fist
  • Xiao Lohan Fist
  • Soft Fist (Rou Fist)
  • Two Finger Chan (Two finger handstand)
  • Hard Qi Gong (Spears to throat and breaking stone slabs on back)
Here are some photos I took after the performances of the vendors and exhibits at Union Square:


A congregation of the security detail that was working the event. The guy with the beige jacket looks like Agent Smith!


A couple monks standing around. The guy in the black I assume is one of the local guys from Shaolin Temple USA?


California State Senator Leland Yee being interviewed about the festivities of the day.


A photo exhibit of Shaolin history and culture was setup.


More of the photo exhibit.


Maybe he's thinking about how he used to kick ass back in the day?


More of the photo exhibit.


Some of the Shaolin kung fu weapons on display for the curious.


The announcer lady for the event who was doing some translation.


Some monks talking about the lack of hotties at the event? :)


Food vendor at the event serving up none other than American Chinese food.


Tea sampling from Vital Tea-Leaf.


An exhibit showing some of the typical robes worn by the clergymen of Shaolin.


More of the Shaolin Temple robes.


A bunch of ladies trying to sell trinkets. Looks to me like the same stuff you find on every block in Chinatown!


Some people watching a Shaolin performance DVD.


Some of the kung fu weapons that are used for the demonstrations.


Some of the mallets and trinkets used by the monks for prayer I think.


A couple kids in deep technical discussion about the fundamentals of the drop stance.