Both my parents came from families with healthy and robust physiques. But, for various reasons, my father became sickly on and off from his mid-20s onwards, while my mother became convinced in her mind, as she reached mid-40s, that her health too was fast deteriorating.
Thus, all of us kids were raised in an overly protective environment, where the most challenging sports urged by our parents were pingpong, summer swimming lessons, and chess. Indeed, they constantly reminded us not to get dead-tired by constant running here and there, not to get wet in the rain, not to let sweat dry on our backs, etc. etc., or else we'll get sick.
"Get sick... hahaha... like them!" I would irreverently say in my mind.
It came to a point where we siblings rebelled against this psychosomatic, hypochondriacal fear of even moderate physical exertion, by really pushing ourselves to excel in more and more sports and outdoor activities.
Now my elder brother and sister were really athletic -- they were the family's strongest swimmers -- so they had no problem. I, however, was more into books and later became near-sighted, while our youngest brother was asthmatic. So I tended to be content with board and card games. I started high school with a reputation as "that walking match-stick with eyeglasses and weird jokes."
It was at this point that Charles Atlas saved my life from utter perdition. Yes, the former Angelino Siciliano who came to New York and became "the world's most developed man." My elder brother -- let's call him Rafael -- ordered Mr. Atlas' complete body-building manual that required no weights, no special equipment, no gym facilities, just what he termed "dynamic tension" exercises combined with a strict nutritional regimen.
For maybe 2, 3 years, Rafael and I really worked out every weekend during schooldays, and everyday in summer, to complete all the exercises in that Atlas manual. Except the nutrition thing, which we didn't follow because we didn't like to subsist on milk and juices for one whole week.
Anyway, thanks to Mr. Atlas, I acquired a bit of meat on my bones and more air in my lungs -- not enough to join the Mr. Universe contest, but enough for me to gain confidence in high school to enter the more gruelling programs: cadet officer training corps, basketball, advanced swimming, and cross-country competitions. I became a tough, lean machine who could do a 10K run and 100 pushups for cadet penalties in the morning, and swim 20 laps and basketball practice in the afternoon.
All that time, my parents would always remind me to cut down on my tremendous physical exertions, because "our lineage isn't built for that kind of work" and "one day I might just fall ill and break into pieces." Subtext: my parents wanted me to concentrate on books, music, art and crafts.
Those of you who have followed my past blogs will remember that I became a student radical who, like tens of thousands others, was sent to military prison by the fascist regime. I was too green for maximum-security, and too young for medium-security. So after the usual rounds of intensive tactical interrogation, they sent me to a minimum-security camp which, for all its restrictions, was a quasi-heaven for the exercise aficionado.
We were roused every morning at 4, required to do the Army Dozen, then optionally allowed (which we gamely accepted) to jog the equivalent of 10K just inside the peripheral barbed-wire fences. Later on, we merged the PLA Dozen (the Chinese Red Army's standard morning drills) to the Army Dozen.
We had outdoor basketball and volleyball, everyday. We rigged up a set of parallel and uneven bars, where we strutted our stuff wearing only prison shorts, in full view of the women's camp adjacent to ours, especially during certain morning hours when we could socialize with the female prisoners.
Some of us did yoga. I tried for a while, but soon realized it was too boring for my tastes. I preferred a nice afternoon siesta in lieu of group yoga sessions.
We all became indecently trim, muscled and suntanned, and were in a hurry to liberate ourselves from prison by all means. Grudgingly, my parents saw a 90-pound weakling metamorphose into a tiger on the prowl.
By the time I was released from prison (I was 17), I was a tensile, tightly-coiled steel spring -- ready to pounce on what we saw as the "enemies of the people." Instead, I went into the arts and journalism scene. (This is a long story, good for another blog.)
But a tightly-coiled spring needed physical release. I was still weighing my options whether to go back to the university or join the rebels in the hills. And here's where I rediscovered seaside swimming, beach jogging, and Tai-chi.
Having retained my prison regimen of waking up for exercises at 4 a.m. by force of habit, I encouraged my parents and aunts to join me at least on weekends for early morning seaside walks. We joined up with a big group of elder men and women doing their Tai-chi routines. My parents weren't interested; they just wanted a relaxed stroll and the fresh smell of the sea.
At first I also disregarded Tai-chi as "those flighty slow-motion dance moves of retirees and pensioners." Later, however, encouraged by friends and books, I gradually appreciated its subtle power and tensile grace. I didn't ape the traditional routines, however, but adopted them into the exercise routines I learned from Mr. Atlas and in prison.
In the succeeding years, I would also fall in love with biking and cross-country hikes on rugged uplands. But that's for another story. For now, the bottom line is that, through the years, I have accumulated a mish-mash of morning exercise routines that allowed me to defy and overcome my parents' psychosomatic fears, and later, my own mental demons, about illness, pain, and medication.
There are lazy days when I forget or intentionally skip doing the exercises. Then there are days when they serve as mere appetizers for long hours of heavy physical work or outdoor hikes. All in all, I think the exercise regimen served me well in my first half of life. Now's the time, I think, to further improve the routines and pump up the volume as I enter the second half.
And so, my friends, although I've long lost the original Charles Atlas exercise manuals, I'm still trying to decide which Tai-chi CD to get -- whether the David Carradine version, which is more focused on strength, or the Jet Li version that's more keen on agility.
What do I need the CD for? To give my mother for her forthcoming birthday, of course!
moonriver posted on Apr 29, 2007
| views: 362
Comments
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NotTheOfficeWhore said on Apr 29, 2007....
Wow, moonriver, you've got me quite intrigued. I thought I'd pre-pay the bet that you are SOOOO gonna lose and stop by this morning. Little did I know what a...looking for the right word here..."interesting" isn't it..."harrowing?"...no...don't know what word fits really. But, whew...what a life you've had.I don't even know where to begin other than to say that you are amazing for having such an outlook on life. You seem to see the positive, even after experiences many of us would fold under. I hope you take great pride in that for it shows quite a strength of character.Glad I met you, my friend. :) Sunny -
botoni said on Apr 29, 2007....
Moonman! You so have my admiration! You ve done good and wonderful things for yourself and your sharing with us is an inspiration. I need to get my butt outta this chair and go join the tai chi gang I witnessed yesterday as they gracefully did their routines in the park I was storlling through. Your mama ought to swat you with silvers trout if you give her that cd with anything near a smirk! -
moonriver said on Apr 29, 2007....
sunny -- "interesting experiences" should be apt enough. so do we have a deal? i betcha gonna lose this one, LOL!
botoni -- ah, but i'd hold her hands to guide her moves while egging her on to view the cd (she's wheel-chair-bound now). that way, she won't notice my smirk.
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silverwhisper said on Apr 29, 2007....
interesting--given what you've already said in the past about your family's heritage, i would have guessed you to be strictly a scholar, rather than warrior poet. :>
ed -
moonriver said on Apr 29, 2007....
sw -- we are a strange mix indeed, not easily categorized. my parents loved the outdoors, yes... so long as they could get indoors quickly when it rained. LOL. in my case, i loved the outdoors too... so long as i could bring my books with me. the poetry is a recent madness on my part. mild and infrequent attacks, nothing to worry about. :-)
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RELICOLONY said on Apr 29, 2007....
moon: hi. Interesting stuff.
Tai-chi is quite useful - it is recommended as a gentler form of martial arts.
And, the fact that it is known to eliminate the onset of shingles after age 50 doesn't hurt either, especially if you've had chickenpox!
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kelly said on Apr 29, 2007....
What a story.... Where did you grow up? I realize this post is about exercise, but who put you in prison? I'm sorry if you've already answered this in other posts.Tai chi looks deceptively low key, but if you do it right you end up drenched in sweat and wiped out! -
gingersoul said on Apr 29, 2007....
Moon......no doubt you should give your mom the Jet Li version...if its all about agility, this is what she needs now at her so "young" age......:-)
She is already strong in her soul.....
And anyway......whatever you will give her, she will be just happy to have you there in front of her.. and again she will remember perfectly who is this asian monkey jumping around her singing Happy B-Day...lol....
Can't wait to read about the big party......no bet included *wink* but i bet she is going to love any moment of it.....{{hugs}}
So......poetry is just a mild and infrequent madness for you?..... :-(
*ginger is pouting, drinking her cranberry-pomegranate green tea....oh, yes.... she is pouting...*
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moonriver said on Apr 29, 2007....
relicolony, kelly -- i fully agree with you re tai-chi. it tones body and mind in a holistic way that's probably equalled only by dancing and swimming. and wall-to-wall sex. same thing, you end up drenched in sweat and wiped out too. and no shingles -- nice fringe benefits.
ginger -- now that i think about your suggestion, yes, i do believe you've given me the right choice. jet li it is. obviously, she can no longer do the routines, although she did try them a few times in earlier years whenever i inveigled her and my father to join our seaside-strolling sprees.
we'll just watch the cd with her while we exercise her arms. and i'll tell her you said hi, and that the cd was your suggestion. if she doesn't like it, it will be your fault. LOL.
oh, you mean the big party, as in the really big party? yes, everyone's making sure it will be memorable for her. it will be another event like this:tonight, clan laughter fills the room
and twins embrace a beaming matriarch
aunts and uncles share old tales
sisters, brothers recall old patriarch
guitars and violins race each other
daughters play with carps in pond
while parents befriend each other anew
empty cups overflow with wine
but fail to quench the thirst within.
let it all seep in. we look okay.
i'm still trying to study the pattern of poetry attacks, which may be mild and infrequent, but often a big cause of sleepless nights. worse than epilepsy, i tell you. or maybe it's a form of epilepsy... i think it's caused by a certain muse that creeps up behind me when i least expect it, steals into my reveries, and meoowwrrss during my most unguarded moments.
see? i just had another attack. i realize now, that muse has perfected some really troublesome stealth techniques that i need to research further.
and stop that pouting right now. it will ruin the taste of your tea.
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moonriver said on Apr 29, 2007....
kelly -- i nearly forgot... i can only provide some general background about the who, where, and when of my prison experience. in a third world country torn by civil war and coups, in the 70s. details will be announced later...lol.
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MsStar39 said on Apr 29, 2007....
moonriver, this is my first time reading your blog and I find it very inspiring. I have subscribed to your blog. I need to get off this couch and exercise. -
moonriver said on Apr 30, 2007....
msstar -- i'm glad i inspired you (and maybe a few others) to rock and roll, get that body movin' and steamin' by all means possible. thanks for dropping by...:-)
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diabolicdame said on May 29, 2008....
Wow! You have no idea how useless and lazy this makes me feel in comparison! lol! -
moonriver said on May 30, 2008....
ddame -- You don't have to feel that way, lady. Do tai-chi, or yoga, or jog, or simply walk... have phone sex with your BF....lol... just do it!
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