The Crane Hermit's Training

I received a request to do a Crane Hermit Training workout, but we unfortunately do not get to see any scenes of Crane Hermit training Tien and Chiaotzu. However, looking at how those two and Tao Pai Pai fight and by comparing it to Master Roshi's training method, I believe it possible to come up with a training schedule that would represent the Crane Hermit effectively.

However, just like The Turtle Hermit's Training, this is going to be pretty brutal. Definitely take this one step at a time, scale down what you have to, and stop when needed. 

Stupid Turtle School can't even fly.

The Crane Hermit's Training

Morning

1. Light Jog- 1/2 Mile
2. Skipping- 1/2 Mile
3. Crane Walking- 1 and 1/2 Miles
4. Climbing Steps- 1000 Steps
5. Balance Walking- 100 Meters
6. Hill Sprint Repeats- 5 x 100 Meters 
7. Walking Lunges- 1/2 Mile
8. Land Clearing by Hand- 1 Hour
9. Eat and Rest

Afternoon (4-6 Hours Later)

1. 10 High Jumps, as high as possible
2. Play a Sport- 1 Hour (see notes)
3. Rest 10 Minutes
4. 10 Box Jumps, as high as possible
5. Body Conditioning- 1 Hour (see notes)
6. Rest 10 Minutes
7. 10 Long Jumps, as far as possible

Notes:

• To perform the exercise "Crane Walking," you will be holding buckets or jars filled with water or sand in each hand out at shoulder height at your sides and walking by raising one knee as high as possible, extending your leg out in front of you, keeping it as high as you can and then taking a long step with it. It is a very controlled movement and you should not toss your leg forward, but lift and extend with muscular tension. Your movements will emulate a crane walking with its wings spread out.
• During Crane Walking, climbing the steps, Balance Walking, and Walking Lunges you will be holding either buckets of water or gripping jars in each hand. You can alternate between them if you like and you can even do an inside grip on the jars to work the fingers in the other direction. The goal is to hold the jars/buckets out at shoulder height on either side of your body, but if you have to lower them, that's fine. Start out extremely light and add weight as you are able to hold the up position for at least 80% of the time you have to hold the weights. If you have to, you can start with no weight and just hold your arms out at your side like you are holding up the weights.
• The hill sprints should be done on as steep a hill as you can find. You can walk back down to recover. 
• Land clearing by hand can be several things. The general idea is to pick a portion of land that has trees, rocks, stumps, weeds, and debris and clear it away to just being grass with nothing but your bare hands. You may have to roll, lift and carry, throw  or drag any number of these things to get them out of the area. You may have to dig in the dirt with your hands or strip the bark off a tree. This will toughen you up and you will build strength all throughout your body. I recommend wearing long sleeves because you might tear the skin on your arms lifting rocks and logs. Make sure you do all your lifting with proper form and keep your core braced at all times. 
• The 10 high jumps are as if you are testing your vertical leap. 
• Don't get a running start on any of the jumps. 
• On all of the jumping, you will do the jump and then recover for 30 seconds to 1 minute before repeating. The idea is to put your absolute all into each jump. If you can't fly like the Crane school, at least you can jump really high and far. 
• The sports you can play are various: volleyball (Tien's favorite), soccer, basketball, baseball, rugby, football, golf, tennis, wrestling, boxing, hockey, hackey-sack, frisbee golf, kickball, dodgeball, kendo, and even racing someone on foot, swimming, or climbing. The idea is to be super competitive in a variety of athletic events to build drive and general athleticism. Try to change up the sport you do and use the very technical sports like golf or bowling as easier days. 
• Body Conditioning is also very open. You can hit a striking post or wooden dummy. You can perform Three Star Training with a partner. You can do a spear hand into sand or beans. You can walk or run barefoot. You can hit or kick a sandbag or practice iron palm. You and your partner can hit each other lightly in the torso (building very slowly over time). There are numerous different ways to practice body conditioning, but the key here is to progress slowly in whichever you are doing. You should also try to be well rounded in the types of body conditioning you pursue. 

That's all for today! Until next time, good luck and train hard!