Kung Fu Life

Shadowless Kick (Mo Ying Gyeuk) training

2011-02-02T14:47:00.004Z

The Shadowless Kick is one of Southern Chinese boxing's most famous techniques, yet there are so many different variations of it depicted.

Essentially, there is no such thing as a definable move, but it is the concept of the technique(s) which they share, that of an 'invisible' kick, or a kick so fast that the opponent does not see it.

In actuality, it is a little more mundane and easily absorbed and used as another weapon in your arsenal.

The basics are:
a) a fast kick - that's a given, don't try a Shadowless Kick technique with your base being a back leg turning kick, it's too obvious and slow to contact.
b) distraction - AHA, that's how its done!

Yes, the fact that you should use your hands to distract first means that the opponent's eye is drawn away from your actual intent.

One of my oldest friends', Pete Marshall, now an MMA instructor in Dublin, used to have a lovely front/axe push kick which he would use to devastating effect by double palm blocking to the face, then opening his palms to reveal one of his feet coming through to the face, much to the alarm of his opponent. Dropping his hands from the double palm meant 2 things, the opponent's eyes originally focused on the palms are drawn away when the kick comes straight through the opening left when he drops them to his sides, also helping to rebalance his body as he steps his foot through thus giving balance to the inertia of the kick. The initial double palm would draw the opponent's eyes upward and thus, hopefully, miss the lifting of the front foot.

This is the essence of the Shadowless Kick, to hide both the initial motion of the kick from stance and to distract away the attention when the kick lands.

Another, simpler version, is a quick backhand strike to open up the body to a fast front jab kick to the mid or leg/knee, myself preferring the soft bits under the ribs, perhaps hitting a floating rib for a good winding.

I have also used to good effect a front leg side kick, but this requires a little more setup and, of course, a fast side jab kick. Setup consists of back leg turning or side kick with your main kicking leg, preferably high and well signed to the opponent, so they expect to get out of the way, but on landing the leg to the floor, instantly launch a suspended split side kick on the same leg, pushing out with the supporting leg for maximum power, and feigning a punch to the face. I have surprised several experienced fighters this way, both in sparring and in anger, but requires possessing a quick front leg side kick and I have also seen several other heavy kickers use this technique to break an opponent in the ring.

Training for a fast side kick is always useful for all round use so it can only help.

One of the things I always do to increase speed in my side kicks is ankle weights and sideways leg lifts to warm up the muscles down the side of the leg and hips after stretching appropriately.

Follow this with slow side kick extensions balanced on your supporting leg (it's good exercise to not hold on to anything) and control the full extension then pull back in and down. Repeat several times. If you feel you have the strength after a few sessions of this, use the ankle weights to further strengthen the muscles.

The hardest exercise that will improve the strength of your side kick muscles is extended holding and rotating.
Extend your side kick leg fully at a horizontal position or higher, bending your torso the opposite way o balance, and hold for a count of five, a la Bruce Lee training in his room before the tournament on Han's Island. Pull in and repeat ~~ad inifinitum~~ several times or until your leg feels like it's falling off, then change leg.

When you've recovered from that, repeat the same extension exercise, but at full extension, rotate your leg one way five times, then the other way five times, then pull in, change leg.

Now, all of this is fairly pointless if your maximum stretch on a side kick can only reach your opponent's ankle so remember to work your box splits. I'll post about an effective way of reaching that seemingly impossible goal of cold drop box splits another time, till then, keep your knuckles hard and keep them holstered.

Ashtanga Yoga

2011-01-31T09:48:00.003Z

Who thinks Yoga is for girls, go stand in the corner!

Yoga has always been a discipline for everyone, indeed yogi mystics in India are very often men.
It also well known that Yoga promotes longevity, suppleness and strength, as well as balance.

Who also knows that Shaolin style is derived from Ashtanga Yoga?
I took a few classes after recovering from my back injury and from the first exercise to the last, I had done each one a million times before in Shaolin Style Kung Fu!

Ashtanga is also known as the warrior yoga form and it's possible, in fact, downright certain, that is the form that Bodhidharma passed to the monks of Shaolin.

The incredible thing about yoga is that it not only builds balance, utilising all the little muscles in your body, especially your spine, but it also promotes tendon strength.
What's that?

Tendon strength holds your skeleton together, keeps your joints glued to their sockets and provides your inherent strength beyond how much you can lift in kilos.

Keeping your tendons strong and flexible keeps your training at the optimum, injuries to a minimum, so anyone looking at a complete holistic training needs to add some yoga to their repertoire, though if you start flying or phasing through walls, you'd best slow it down!

Dragon Martial Arts makes the news

2011-01-31T09:35:00.005Z

One of my oldest friends and kung fu brother, Tom Braithwaite has become one of the first Westerners to judge a kung fu competition in FoShan in Canton, home of southern style kung fu.

Here is a link to the BBC interview of him on his website, Dragon Martial Arts: http://www.dmaa.co.uk/videos

He also has the accolade of being the only Westerner to have won gold in Hong Kong's internal martial arts competition and is fast becoming one of the most respected Kung Fu masters this side of China!

Look him up if you're in the Brighton area.

Back in shape, training for the Olympics...maybe!

2008-09-09T11:47:00.004+01:00

Well, after over 2 years of recovery from multiple back injuries (lumbar and upper back) I'm nearly 100%.

Now I'm looking to get back into martial arts and am contemplating which discipline to try next. I could pick up Shaolin and Wushu which was what I was training previously, but I want a change as my old bones need to gently fall back into it. There is an Aikido dojo over the road from my home, which would be a nice repertoire to add to my predominantly striking arsenal.

I'll also be looking at Jujitsu as well, as a mate of mine (aptly named Andy Jujitsu!) goes to a good class, and I'll be teaching him weapons as an aside.

But, funnily enough, I've been watching the Olympic Taekwondo and I was not impressed. I mean there was so little accuracy and zero attempt to block quite blatant kicks. I would be hard pressed to call Taekwondo a martial art, because there doesn't seem to be any defensive aspects. The fancy kicking is nice and could be useful...if your opponent either has no arms or completely forgot how to use them.

In a way, I'm quite attracted to Taekwondo, in as far as I would like to go see if blocking kicks and counter kicking as a tactic could get me into the British Olympic team! As I understand it, the rules even allow you to punch, though you have to be throwing one hell of a punch to get through the ballistic body armour they wear.

Oh and you can't punch in the face.....No, really...

Saying that, it is an amateur sport, so you don't really want to be losing a tooth every weekend, as that gets downright boring. Still, if I get my Shaolin Shadowless Kick back up to speed, maybe I can knock enough heads to win a medal?! More to the point, I want to party in the Olympic Village!!!

Or should I go for the speedwalking? :)

Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me

2008-06-27T10:25:00.002+01:00

If some tosser calls you a name, just call him one back.

Living in Manchester most my life, when I was younger, there weren't as many chinese around and I got a lot of stick, especially as my school was in a catchment area for Salford, an area known for rough living. Most of those knobheads that gave me crap when I was a kid are either in jail or in an industry where you don't get to live too long (gangster). I haven't always shrugged it off and I've been in enough fights where if I did not make a good effort, there's a good chance I would've had my skull kicked in.

As a result I have a record for assault for fighting 'cos someone called me a name, so trust me, I know what I'm talking about....just isn't worth it, sitting in a police cell with grubby, inky fingers then showing your head in a court full of people. It sucks, it's humiliating and it stays with you all your life.

But I learnt my lesson: since I've taken up martial arts, I walk tall, I walk wide, I walk softly and watch who's coming up. It's not often ANYONE gives me crap and the last time someone walked into me on purpose, I was wearing a suit, walking with my girlfriend and the guy was a drunk, average sized 20 year old and looked like he was spoiling for a fight.

After exchanging a few words (me: Are you alright mate? You didn't hurt yourself walking into me did ya? :) my girlfrend dragged me away, saying I shouldn't let opportunities to beat someone up be an excuse to beat someone up.

It's not big, it's not clever. I know I can have him, I know I can kick the crap out of him and his mates, etc. and at the time I really wanted to....but I would have felt crap about it later: it's unnecessary, it proves nothing.

It only satisfies the ego and serves no other purpose.

It proves the old adage, you become the same scum as they are who start it, taking the rise to satisfy the ego by making someone else feel bad.

People who need to do that are so obviously insecure about themselves, but martial arts gave me the push I needed to not need to prove myself to all and sundry. Wanting to start a fight all the time is just about stroking one's ego by hurting someone else. It's only a small step away from respect through fear, the way Triads, Mafia and other organised criminals and assorted bullies keep control of their turf or gain 'respect'. It's petty mindedness taken to the next level.

Unless I'm in danger of assault or worse, I won't raise my hand anymore.
Usually a hairy eyeball is enough to shut up most loud bullies nowadays, or an intense angry stare whilst I think of what soft body part to kick first generally unnerves them to the point of quietitude.

Dealing with Back Pain and Injury

2006-07-22T11:20:00.000+01:00

Well, being a computer programming type dude, I have to sit at a desk most of the day, which is probably not good for my back, as we all know these days.

I've tried all manner of positions to help me stay comfortable, and have used back supports etc, but although back supports offer some relief, I think they also take away from the natural support your spine gives you.

When you rest your back onto a back support, the muscles relax and cause less pain, but, really, sitting in an upright position with the legs taking most of the weight seems better and more like standing, which our bodies are actually designed for, and allows for the spine to sit naturally and, perhaps, self adjust itself.

The other thing I have noticed is the number of muscles and tendons which carefully balance the back and keep the spine straight. These muscles pull on both sides of the spine, so you need an equal distribution of tension on both sides for best effect.

Usually, with a misaligned back, one set of muscles are bunched up and the other overstretched, so you must stretch the compacted muscles and tendons, and strengthen the opposing set to help the spine achieve alignment.

And so, it is much like life, you need a proper balance in everything you do, not too hard, not too soft, stretch yourself where you feel limited, reign in that which has gone too far, and achieve proper balance.

OUCH! or why I haven't posted for ages...

2006-07-21T10:33:00.000+01:00

So last year (2005) I decided to go free running, or parkeur, with a bunch of peeps who meet weekly in manchester, North West Parkeur, I think, if I remember.

Now, I'm quite capable, fairly acrobatic, am quite used to scaling stupid things, balancing on thin objects and jumping over cars or whatnot. However, my brain usually thinks that I am more capable than my body, and that gap of inability widens as I get older...!

Feeling all bouncy and clever I attempted a stupid jump whilst warming up off a bunch of steps, about 10, over a pavement about 6 feet wide and onto a curb where the grass starts. Well, I made it after 3 or 4 attempts, but the last one, when I landed, my ailing trainers (or sneakers in the states) failed to grip and I plonked my arse onto the pavement fairly heavily.... enough to severly bruise my arsecheeks and impacted my spine a bit.

Being used to a lot of stupid pain, I rubbed my arse for a bit, massaged my spine and got on with it....

Well, the pain was ebbing off after an hour or so of antics and we had tripped off to a bar in Manchester, well, behind a bar, where a bunch of railings on raised platforms near a canal sit happily contemplating with beer drinkers.

Frolicking around with the other guys, I jumped through a railing but mistimed my landing and didn't push my feet down fast enough and pounded my, now severly distressed spine, onto the middle rail.

Well, that put paid to my training for many months, as I suffered in agony over the misaligned vertabrae that I had prescribed myself. Needless to say, at the time, i carried on for another hour jumping and climbing over urban sprawlways, before finally admitting defeat and limping home. My bad.

So, over the months of lack of activity, besides the depression that caused, my back muscles atrophied somewhat and meant that my normally flexible and greased spine was subject to injury through the most innocuous of activity, specifically bending my neck sideways to relieve a tight neck after waking up.

Krrrricktt!

Yep, another misaligned vertabrae, this time at the base of my neck, which has been causing untold pain now.

So, no training, at times, no fast walking, never mind running, and certainly no heavy lifting, and definitely no biking, so been very glum and depressed for some time.

Slowly, I've been self diagnosing my problems and though I can't fully fix the problem, I can alleviate the pain through massaging the muscles of my back, neck and shoulder, and stretching the tendons and muscles so they don't pull unduly on my vertabrae.

Lately, I've noticed that my lower back, where I caused the first injury, has been feeling a lot better, and more aligned, if not fully, but that causes me a lot less pain, so I'm gonna keep at it. More specifically, I need a decent course of physio and somebody who can manipulate my spine to at least a working order, so I can start strengthening my body again.

Meanwhile, as I'm not in constant pain anymore, I'm gonna start taking up Tai chi again and possibly yoga to keep flexible and build up strength without impact (yeah, yeah, swimming, but I hate swimming....).

Anyway, that's pretty much why I haven't been posting, due to depression, and not having trained for over a year (and thats after over 20 years of usually daily activity).

Still, limits drive creativity as they say, so I've been putting a lot more energy in my non-physical interests, which usually centre around computers.

So, word of advice, a little fear is a good thing, and knowing what you can and can't do is even better!

There are only two certainties in life...

2005-10-28T08:43:00.000+01:00

As one ages, one's body changes and degrades. There is no certain way to stop the aging process, though I have read that there are laboratory studies and research into treatments which 'switch' off the aging genetics.

However, it is a long held belief and a fairly proven theory, that martial arts and associated physio dynamic exercises, such as yoga, can prolong one's life, or at least slow down the aging process.

Now, it's a fair assumption that exercise will keep the body fit and healthy, able to cope with the daily stresses of life, but in order to achieve a prolonged life, there is more to it than simply exercising on a regular basis.

I've talked before about eating the right kinds of foods to keep the body cleansed and I'll also add that there are certain foods and supplements which keeps the brain fully functioning and sharp into one's twilight years.
We all know that fish is 'brain food' and there is now plenty of proof that the high content Omega 3 oils , such as fish oils and flax oil, contains the essential DHA components which our brains require to work properly. The brain is largely made up of fats, and something like 30% of that fat is composed of Omega 3 oils.

Another well known (at least in the East, but increasingly more so in the West) brain food, is Ginkyo Biloba, usually the ground root or a tea made from its leaves. Ginkyo seems to help one's memory functions, as well as a general tonic to improve brain functionality and health. I have taken it in pill form before, when cramming for my finals at uni, and it kept me very sharp and alert for several days - a much better exam cramming help than Pro-Plus, which I despise! In the last few years I have been drinking a tea made from the leaves of the Ginkyo tree and the same effects were experienced. My mother also uses the fruit of the tree in certain Chinese traditional dishes, and they are a soft, nut like fruit, which goes well in soups or stews.

Lets move on; keeping one's body healthy is not just a process of exercise, as I have mentioned before, you also need to remove or reduce the types of foods which can harm your body, such as carcinogenic (burnt!) foods, so try to restrict the number of barbecues you attend! Drink lots of tea, whether it be traditional tea with milk, or green teas, both are super high in antioxidants, but are also diuretic, so you must remember to replace some fluids during the day after a heavy tea drinking session!

STRESS!
Life is shortened because we stress our physiology, causing faster breakdown, like a lightbulb filament in oxygen, it burns brighter, but dies quicker. Meditation techniques such as yoga can help to reduce the levels of stress in our lives, but we also know that exercise in general helps to reduce stress, by allowing us release, both of physical and mental exertion. We know that when we are stressed, our bodies naturally release different levels of hormones, acids and other substances in greater levels than normally present when we are not stressed, and it is feasible to assume that these greater levels of substances are detrimental to our physiologies. Hence, happy fulfilled people tend to live longer, in theory at least.

The Mediterranean diet of plenty of olives, fish, red wine and tomatoes is a blueprint for an excellent diet, and we are constantly seeing the benefits of this type of diet, coupled with the largely stress-free lifestyle of Mediterranean inhabitants, perhaps this makes a good template for life.

There is more to say about the foods and drink we consume, the exercise we do, the lives we lead that contribute to our physical and mental well-being, but I think the point is, we must look at it in a holistic way, and adapt and adjust our lives to the way we wish to be, in order to attain the results we wish to see, much like anything in life!

Martial Arts 'Tricks'

2005-09-26T15:23:00.000+01:00

Tricks and Kicks and stuff...

I was thinking about the phenomenal acrobatics one often sees in martial arts clips and the like, especially the predilection on the continent for 'Sport Karate' competitions and the like.

I don't deny that the practicioners are quite capable and highly acrobatic, but I have to question the usage of the moves in a real situation.

In my years of practice, some of my peers derided the flashy kicking, high kicks, jump kicks, etc (although some of these people were TaeKwonDo practicioners, and really, TKD is rife with acrobatic kicking). I, myself, am not adverse to throwing high split kicks, jump kicks and various spinning kicks, but I never intend to use such moves in any combat situation: they are merely a way of exercising your ability, or pushing your flexibility etc.

However, it is one thing to play in such a way when sparring, but I think it is quite another when you use 'flashy' techniques purely for the performance aspect.
I neither condone nor condemn doing so, each to their own I say, but I see little value in the sport karate forms using music to perform to and performing somersaulting flash kicks etc.

I have seen some excellent displays of acrobatic kicking but combined with real applicable techniques such as the Korean TKD teams performing breaking. Here I can distinguish the difference between mere performance, or dance, with actual combative ability.

Similarly, I've practiced 540s and butterfly twists, but I would never ever imagine using such techniques in a fighting situation, they are just fun exercises to push myself, like kicking higher, or punching faster. But to create a 'form' to display your ability, that is not martial arts - it is merely ego stroking of the type requiring other people to be impressed, or, as I often say, social masturbation.

If you wish to call yourself a martial artist, think about why you study and practice a martial style - is it for others to see or is it for yourself?

Pax

What does Kung Fu mean?

2005-09-19T11:36:00.000+01:00

I was browsing through my website stats and came across several search phrases which refered to my site.

In particular, there were several entries in search engines asking what does Kung Fu mean, sometimes, what does Kung Fu mean in Chinese.

The latter is easy to answer: it means Kung Fu (like asking what does breathing mean in English...)
"Kung Fu" literally translated into English, however, means hard work, and can be used in that context in any sentence, like griping about how much hard work you have to do for your taxes etc. and the phrase is not necessarily synonymous with martial arts, unless you raise a tensely gripped fist whilst staring intensly at it and rasping through a tooth-clenched grimace "Gung Fu!" (yes, for the final time, Gung, gong, kung and any other way you want to write it in English is the bloody same and the Chinese don't really care, because you don't write it like that at all in reality!).

Kung Fu of course is also taken to mean martial arts, Mou Seut in Cantonese, Wu Shu in mandarin, or literally, War/Fighting Skills/Craft/Art.

Why Kung Fu is hard work is obvious, its bloody hard work training, drilling, building and hard work always hurts else it would be easy.

Any martial art requires great effort, focus, perserverance and dedication, it's as simple as that.

So when some idiot says to you ala Keanu, "I know Kung Fu!", ask him how many years of his life he's put into it. Me? Only about 12, a bit of a slacker one might say.

Toodle-loo

Martial Arts Evolution 4

2005-07-14T10:22:00.000+01:00

Was reading in the local freebie newspaper in Manchester, UK, and for some reason, I guess out of human interest and a tenuous connection to the Olympics, on the back page, the feature photo was of two Mongolian wrestlers in Ulan Batur, who were battling for the coveted 'Elephant' trophy.

This 'Games' has its history in the military, dating at least as far back as Genghis Khan, and was a test of strength of the soldiers, factions, tribes etc. The games are based around wrestling/hand-to-hand, horseback and archery, all important battle skills of the roaming Mongolians.

This is the same as the original Olympics, where different Mediterranean countries or city states met on the battlefield of the arena with their best athletes, most likely made up of fighting men and perhaps aristocrats, one could presume. The events they competed in were, similarly, hunting or fighting skills, like javelin, archery, discus, running, wrestling, chariots etc.

So we know that at least for a couple of millenia, people have competed in events related to skills of warfare, but not on a battleground. So it wouldn't be foolish to presume that some, if not all, of the competitors had some degree of practice or training to be worthy of entering.

So Martial Arts, or fighting skills, have been around since the first humans learnt to engage in battle and practiced those skills, refined and polished them into a definable fighting system, theoretically unique perhaps to that village, town, city, country or just to a couple of individuals. Just because it has no attributed name, a fighting system is a martial art.

The Chinese words Wu Shu, means martial skills and they are commonly attributed to the esoteric forms we know from Shaolin. The refinement and peculiarity of those fighting forms have been distilled and tested and will no doubt always undergo evolutions and changes, but no matter what we hold as an image of a martial art, with what cultural attachments we apply to them, and how we view their use in society, a fighting system is created wholly for just one thing - Fighting.

Martial Arts Evolution Theory 3

2005-07-07T11:35:00.000+01:00

Thinking now about how cultures and humankind as a whole have evolved dependent of meeting needs, we can assume that food and shelter are the first needs we have to meet, according to Maslow's hierachy of needs.

So when humankind first climbed down the trees and stepped foot on the savannah, it was possibly for exploration for food sources. Hence, hunting skills, evident in all the great apes, ergo our common ancestors, will be prevalent in those social groups exploring the open ground. With the number of megafauna (great big creatures) around, there will have been a requirement to defend oneself and the group, so those hunting skills are also interchangeable as battle skills.

Social creatures tend to hunt in groups, so the weight of numbers must have been a deciding factor in the hunt and in battle, but let us not discount the fact that humankind and our ancestor hominids have been making and using tools for 100's if not 1000's of millenia, so wielding weaponry is familiar to any person, as a natural extension of being an evolved tool user.

In social groups in both humans and lesser animals, we see continual testing as a means of sorting the social order of a culture. Males and females alike will push and pull, physically and mentally, to establish their rank in the group, which also decides the rank of the other. These social struggles are not intended to harm or hurt, though they can, but also causes social bonding too, as a whole group, for a group without a hierarchy can lead to disfunction, and the inability to operate as a whole makes it weaker.

So, we see in our cousins the great apes, the means of social testing in the lead males, mock fighting when youngsters, becoming tests of strength and weakness when adult.

Of course some fights can lead to injuries, even death, but most are settled when the weaker backs down, and the positions are balanced.

So we must apply this to ourselves, for when we spar and wrestle, we are not out to hurt or harm the other, it is a means of testing, both physical and mental, both of the other and of oneself.

This is perhaps the most likely case of the birth of unarmed combat systems, as a means of testing without causing inappropriate harm.

We humans, though, enjoy power more than most other creatures led by mere instinct, for we can revel in power, greed, EGO. Our need for power, whether just or unjust, drives us to innovation, of thought, of strategy, of invention, so those driven by a need for power may have invented the forms of combat in an unarmed situation, where if all things being equal, of height, weight, strength and open-hands, it relies on ability and technique and mental agility.

Consider, if one proponent were facing another who was armed with a sword, and the opportunity for the unarmed to best the armed arose and they succeeded, the assumed power, respect, awe etc raises that proponent's stature in the group.

One road of thought implies that the individuals who go on to do great things, or become leaders, or top athletes, crave attention, affection, respect etc, largely as a means of layering the ego with what it needs to feed it (Read Marvin Harris, Our Kind, 1989), again as part of the whole fitting into society issue.

These are the Napoleons, the Genghis Khans, Alexanders of history. And I propose that these are the types of people who created a martial system, whether for good intentions or not, but it is the great, the brilliant, the steadfast, the thinkers, the do-ers of humankind who go forth in the world to add to it, not to take from it.

Think about the originators of any martial art, take even Bodhidharma, the most unlikely candidate of the powerhungry, who crossed from Persia to China on the silk route to SongShan to deliver translations of the Buddhist texts and so was born Chan (Zen) Buddhism. He also gave the monks age old meditation exercises, and so was born Shaolin WuShu. But everyone in the East knows his name, for he was revered as a great figure in history, even in his own day.

I'm sure he wasn't to know that MA would be so prolific in China because of him, but because of him, MA flourished there, even within the circle of Buddhist compassion and tolerance of all things.

But power is addictive, and individuals would have taken those simple forms and made them into powerful techniques, and so fighting systems become elaborate and deadly, no longer just a test of strength amongst peers, but a means of control, a means of respect.

Thus, from a simple exercise, someone craving power, control, respect, ability, revenge, ego abasement, all those ugly human traits, whether explicitly expressed or just as part of the mental makeup driving a particular individual, will have beaten and battered, and taken apart the techniques & skills and reformed them to better themselves, to meet their higher needs, subconscious or otherwise.

Perhaps that is where martial arts are born, from the memory of being a small creature battling for life in the reptilian brain, to the power hungry tendencies of our so-called human mind, all these different parts of self and ego may have driven us to use our hands and feet as natural weapons for defence and attack, whether in proving one's standing amidst one's peers and society, or using one's power and ability to issue control over others, martial arts are born of our psyche, of our ability to realise power.

So, by extension, a true martial artist should understand this, and exercise power only when it is needed, not as a means of stroking one's ego.

I wrote something similar to this several years back as a short thesis here: http://kungfulife.blogspot.com/2005/04/fighting-hero-appeal-of-martial-arts.html

Further Theory of Martial Arts evolution

2005-07-04T13:01:00.000+01:00

So let us take the premise that many martial arts are based on warfare, battle and hunting skills, all part of the hunter/gatherer tribal society of neolithic prehistoric eras.

There will always have been particular individuals who are extremely adept at their chosen skill, either in some way as a 'natural' talent, perhaps because of good reaction skills, quick movement, strength. strategic thought etc, or through practice of the skill in one way or another, be it direct or indirect (a butcher practices his knife wielding skills everyday for example, and this might be easily translated to battle technique).

Societies naturally attribute those who have such skills as an expert, and, by extension of intent and use, as champion or master. So the inquisitive human mind, such that we have, we search to improve self, for selfless or selfish reasons regardless, but those who do will strive to better their current range of skills.

To continue this premise, it might be easy to make a further assumption that a sword user practising daily with his peers or students might experience being disarmed, so then that practicioner will want to still defend themselves in some way, so unarmed combat becomes a requirement.

We see that a lot of old pugilistic arts revolve around wrestling (and boxing, but I consider the two together as one), so once disarmed, the defender might either make a retreat or, if that is unlikely, to face their opponent without weapons.

This thought might have passed through the minds of any passingly decent fighter, warrior or military commander, and might well have been an issue of concern, so its imaginable that they would have taken steps to focus on unarmed combat skills as a complement to their usual weaponry.

The other possibility is that even armed, you still have use of other limbs: your feet, your free/shield hand, your head, so its not inconceivable to use a simple punch or kick to complement your armed skills mid-combat.

Another path of evolution, perhaps less well-trodden, is the hunter's, either as a pack or solitary. The hunter may be hunting a strong, vicious animal like a large predator (a tiger? a leopard?), so needs to develop a combat style when confronting said beast. Perhaps such experiences led adept hunters to create a system of meeting the beast in a confrontation and so led to the creation of a fighting style.

A hunter is also usually a warrior, so the skills, we can surmise, must translate easily between the two disciplines.

And perhaps the deciding factor as to the style of individual martial arts systems is most likely the environment, with cultural, genetic, environmental and social influences going to shape how a martial art system is founded.

J

Martial Arts Evolution

2005-06-29T10:36:00.000+01:00

How do martial arts evolve?

Its interesting to think that a lot of Western martial arts, like fencing, Irish StickFighting (Bata - hence "I'm gonna Bata/Batter you" perhaps?), quarter staff etc, have evolved from the the same essential premise that all martial arts do - from battle and warfare, and to some extent hunting, and its interesting to see how they have evolved.

All major battles in European history show us that there are a range of different combatants and skills therefore, from the mounted heavy cavalry to the light footsoldier, each group requiring different skills and armament.

The dark age and middle age heavy weapons like Claymores and huge broadswords are more suited to the north europeans who are generally larger and taller than their eastern counterparts, so weaponry is tailored to this, hence the smaller swords of the east of the same period.

However, you see many similarities as warfare progresses, for example, horseback cavalry post middle ages were served with thinner, lighter swords, not entirely dissimilar to the tachi and katana of the same Japanese Edo period timeframe.

Weaponry is also very much dictated by technology, as the old bronze swords of Roman times show, compared with the advanced forged, folded steel of later ages, hence martial artists evolve their fighting styles to suit their weaponry.

Imagine a Roman foot soldier is faced with a gladiatori, his technique will be quickly dispatched against the specialised one-on-one technique of the gladiator, but the same gladiatori faced with a couple of bronze sword wielding foot soldiers might have had more trouble besides the stength in numbers, but the method employed by the foot soldiers is most effective in groups, not individuals. Might not be entirely true, as many gladiatori were ex soldiers, but I'm using it as an illustration of how martial arts styles differed with the weapons and general application.

Another interesting note, almost all cultures have some form of stick fighting, because one supposes you can usually find a stick where ever you are, be it indonesia (Kali escrima), european (Bata, Quarterstaff), etc, they might not all have names, but even a chimp can pick up a stick and use it for battle, so I think stick fighting is the most base weapons art you can deliver.

Anyway, the evolution of arts seems to be based on the function and application, and martial arts seem to be born from warfare, generally specific to the region because of peculiarities of the area's warfare, an epee or foil to poke into the vulnerable points on a suit of armour, huge swords to smash through heavy armour, long curved swords for horseback fighting, rice flails and bamboo spears as used by the peasants etc.

Is hand to hand combat also born of warfare?
No doubt, but perhaps more likely born of self defence, or a last resort alternative. If you had a stick in your hands facing multiple enemies, its more likely that you would want to retain that stick than drop it and take them on open handed. If you go to attack someone with a sword, you are much less likely to attempt it without a weapon of your own,its just common sense. But you'll want some form of combat if you are unarmed, hence the birth of open hand martial arts? Maybe

Anyway, heres an interesting site: http://www.maisters.demon.co.uk/index.htm

Wing Chun Video

2005-06-23T14:10:00.000+01:00

I'm getting interested in Wing Chun again, and my personal style is evolving into a close range combative style, but using a lot of the locks and chokes I've learnt through the years.

This video shows the quite brutal but practical nature of Wing Chun, and it looks as though the practicioners on the video have been watching a lot of UFC, as they showcase clinching and slipping from clinches, locking and choking.

Coming from a background of Shaolin Hung Gar Kuen (it is the style taught to the kids in my home village in Canton), I see a lot of similarities to Wing Chun, though of course Wing Chun is not developed from the same animal and meditation exercise roots of Shaolin, and is a much more purely combative style, but there are similar stances, close range punching, arm locking/breaking and choking elements.

One also might see similarities because when Hung Kuen was revolutionised by Wong Fei Hung and his student Lam Sai Wing, one imagines they incorporated other elements of the Southern styles from practicioners they came up against and traded blows, as any expert fighter would.

One sees this in Choy Li Fut and Chow Gar Kuen as they are both Southern styles, and the similarities with Hung Gar bears thinking about. Did practicioners and masters of different styles gather in the old days to talk shop like they do nowadays? Or was each style quite insular and stand offish, one wonders?

Anyway, check out the video, it's quite impressive.

More about Eating and Dieting

2005-06-23T11:36:00.000+01:00

Have been thinking more about a good diet, and wanted to espouse how important fruit is.

Check out The Fruit Pages to read about the nutritious benefits of fruits.

Fruits are the most awesome foods around, and every year I do a fruit detox month, as a supplement to my high fruit diet, and the benefits are immediate and awesome, like more energy, a better constitution, alertness and improved hydration.

Fruit sugars are natural and quickly absorbed into the body providing essential energy. Fruits are very quickly digested in the stomach, less than an hour for almost all fruits, and provide fibre, protein, water and lots of vitamins.

You can substitute fruits for your entire diet, as Fruitarians know, as they eat only fruit.
What? No protein?
Well fruits like bananas and tomatoes contain all of the 8 essential amino acids which our body cannot naturally create, and these amino acids are what form the building blocks of our bodies' cells. The process of eating meats requires a slow and long breakdown of meat proteins into the amino acids, before they are rebuilt into the amino acid chains used in building the body, so eating fruit removes that lengthy, energy consuming process as fruits are digested very quickly.

Mind you, you have to eat more fruit to create the same amount of protein, but because fruits are quickly digested, its natural to munch all day on fruits and never feel hungry or overfull.

Are fruits more expensive? Not if you stop buying meat!
But even I can't resist the odd Sunday roast!

Here is a useful book about eating raw fruits, nuts and vegetables and recipes to follow as well as diet ideas.

Mixing it up - Kung Fu style

2005-06-07T16:29:00.000+01:00

I think it's a given that most people who are into martial arts will not try just one style, and will look at a few before they find a style that suits them.

Here's the point, the style that most suits them: whether it is the fundamental basis that the style is formed from or the philosophy espoused by that style's teacher, one chooses a style for several reasons, but essentially, the decision comes from some sort of attraction.

Some people like the hard hitting style of Thai martial arts (not to say there are no soft forms, but fundamentally, Muay Thai is a very hard style) and feel it reflects parts of their personality, whether it be the aggression, power, spiritual etc blah blah, and equally, some people like softer, internal styles like Tai Chi and PaQua, for the opposite reasons.

Whatever the reason of your choice, your chosen martial art is a reflection of facets of yourself. Mixing styles is not a new phenomenom due to the shrinking global village. For centuries warriors and fighting monks alike have swapped styles and techniques and evolved their own fighting methods, so its hard to say whether any one style is less or more true to the 'original' founding forms.
The fact is its down to individuals, namely the teachers and masters and their disciples and students.

An old Chinese phrase, loosely translated, goes like this:
'One Style, One Master, Different Methods of Play"
or, essentially, that even though three masters might have been taught by the same grandmaster, each might have a different emphasis on their forms, techniques and methods, not to mention, different teaching techniques, different students and different attitudes.

There is no such thing as true to the original form, for each master evolves their style as they see fit, much as Wong Fei Hung and Lam Sai Wing revolutionised Hung Gar from just another Southern Shaolin style, to one of the most prominent styles in South China.

Why do styles evolve?
Usually evolution occurs due to improvement: the good parts are emphasized and expanded, and the redundant parts are filed B for Bin.
Styles evolve and become prominent largely through the teacher or an excellent student, and their own influences in life and martial arts colours their version of their style too.

Despite this 'watering down' or 'loss of originality', one must remember that a teacher or master who has used and proven their style has tested their theories and practice, and one can never dismiss the changes made, for they were probably made for a reason.

Back to the point of mixing styles though, I personally think it makes one a more rounded martial artist, because when you have the experience of differing styles, and you have the intuition to examine yourself and your technique thoroughly, you can apply the parts of each style you've experienced and adapt it to your own particular physicality, mentality and spiritual attitudes etc blah blah.

A martial artist is a martial artist no matter the style.

J

Dragon Sign Martial Arts

2005-06-07T15:19:00.000+01:00

Just a quick plug for my bud Tom's website and club, Dragon Sign Martial Arts.

Tom is a old friend from Uni, where we met and became friends in Hung Gar Kuen class, and he since moved on to Hong Kong and studied Kung Fu out there for several years, and became a prominent and respected martial artist in Hong Kong, before bringing back his Master's style to the UK.

A philosophy graduate and excellent martial artist, his views and opinions are always worth listening to! If you are interested in discussions in Martial Arts, please visit the Dragon Sign website and join the Forum.

Toodle pip!

Eat to survive but diet to train

2005-06-01T11:54:00.000+01:00

In this day and age where image seems to be everything, it's easy to lose track of why we do things. Why do you pick Coke over Pepsi? Is it qualitative or personal or an image induced reason?

Personally, I avoid fizzy carbonated drinks for qualitative and personal reasons.
I dislike the amounts of sugars and additives in fizzy soft drinks - qualitative- , but also I avoid processed sugary foods as a rule anyway for personal health reasons, but not due to any illness - I just want to continue and preserve my health, and one way of doing so is to watch and decide carefully on what I eat.

We all know what is good or bad for you, but we don't necessarily stick to it. I've been known to have the odd tipple and a smoke, but I view what I eat with a much more discerning eye, for we are quite literally what we eat.

Eating processed foods, like reconstituted proteins or sugary snacks or fried crisps/chips/fries heavy in trans-fats we all know is detrimental to our health in the long run and everyone who's seen Supersize Me knows that it doesn't take that long for the body to react to the substances we intake.

The detrimental fats and processed foods have been proven to debilitate the brain's natural functioning, kids have increased attention deficits and their capacity for learning is impaired, energy levels are low and in adults in particular, it causes lethargy, lack of libido and general poor health, with associated psychological effects too.

You are what you eat!
Everyone knows that fresh fruits and vegetables, good proteins and good, natural carbohydrate sources are what you should eat in a balanced diet to best promote good health, but not everybody sticks to it.

If you're a martial artist, and want to peak your training regime and push yourself, then the first thing you need to factor in is not the amount of time you train in a week, but how are you supplementing your body's needs to maximise your training.

As you age, your bodies natural response to toxins and unhealthy substances slows, so its best to get into a habit of eating good foods whilst your body can clean out the years of abuse you've given it before.

So start eating as part of your training, as any athlete will tell you.
Stick to fruits or natural, unprocessed snacks like oatmeal or muesli bars with fruits and nuts, and shy away from processed, high street chocolate (organic chocolate is better). If you can afford to, buy organic foods when you are not buying fruits and veg, like organic yogurt, ice cream etc.
READ the calorie count on the packets, though this is tedious, and I have my own method - look at the fat count per 100g/ml - anything over 15g per 100g is a no no.
Also look at the sugar present, anything more than 15g is also way too much for me.

Instead of a portion of chips/fries, go get a baked potato - less fat, easy to digest carbohydrate. Instead of pizza or a kebab, get a chinese or thai take out. Instead of soft fizzy drinks, try 100% pressed fruit juice like Tropicana (not from concentrate).

Get unprocessed meats like steaks or chops, not hot dogs or reconstituted chicken breast. Better yet, go for fish and seafood, although the marine stocks are depleting due to overfishing, so instead look to freshwater or farmed fish stock, especially trout, salmon etc. Shellfish is hugely good for you as they contain certain enzymes which break down fats amongst other things.

Remember, despite the foods you eat, its when you eat and how much you eat.
We all know breakfast is important for everyday, so make sure you have a little breakfast, be it just cereal or a fruit, and the occasional fried breakfast is not amiss.
But, next point, in moderation. A fried breakfast is nice to eat, but having one everyday will load your body full of cholesterol and fat.
When you eat, you know when your stomach is full, so just learn to stop when you get there. The world will not end if you do not eat your whole plate.
Request smaller portions so you are less tempted to eat more.
Eat carbs and drink plenty of water at least an hour before you train and after training make sure you have the time to eat some good proteins and rehydrate in the two hour window after. If you train in the evening, make sure you have a couple of hours wind down time before you sleep.

Just ensure you meet your requirements of roughly 2000 to 2200 calories for men and 1800 to 2000 calories for women, give or take a few hundred depending on your body size.
Remember that a lot of your body is water based, so keep drinking water and juice to top up your body's levels.

Lastly, just look after yourself in general - if you dont look after your body, your body can't be relied to look after you. Take the time to think about what you do to your body, the environment you put it in and the lifestyle you lead. Are your living quarters clean and hygienic? Is your commute to work a friendly and environmentally clean period of time? Do you surround yourself with conveniences, luxuries or necessities? Are your habits beneficial or detrimental to you or others?

Don't live life for someone else, live life for yourself, but with the least detrimental impact on others. It starts with yourself, so take time to care for yourself, and you'll learn to care for others, and keep that in mind, for a true martial artist is diligent unto others as to themselves.

Ciao, J

Control your breathing - Kung Fu Style!

2005-05-13T09:28:00.000+01:00

Breathing: its one of the most fundamental parts of the biological processes that sustains the functions of a living person, so its essential to know how to use a largely automatic function and make it into a dynamic part of your martial arts practice.

All athletes will agree, breathing is a major part of any exercise or sports, and a lot of it relies on having a good pair of lungs for aerobic activity, which is more or less a by product of a sustained, long term exercise program, and there are many ways to increase your lung capacity and the efficiency of your lungs.

For example, there are many types of sports inhaler/exhaler equipment which forces you to exercise the muscles required for breathing, largely the diaphragm, but also the abdominals and the intercostals to a lesser extent. Not smoking and living and working in a clean environment is also key, as there are more and more free floating pollutants in the general atmosphere.

In Kung Fu and many other eastern martial arts, we also emphasize control of the way we breathe. That is, breath control and the method of breathing is not the same as the automatic function of getting diffused oxygen in our lungs.

In normal automatic breathing, the air enters through one of two orifices, the mouth or the nose, and the lungs expand accordingly, with an increase in the chest cavity capacity as the rib cage expands.

In many internal Kung Fu styles and soft energy forms of most styles, we see an emphasis on breathing with the expansion of the diaphragm and the entire abdominal region, rather than the lungs. This is so that the Chi in the breath we take in can be directed and drawn into the Dan Tien, one of the meridians in the lower trunk of your body, about halfway between your navel and crotch.

Further more, the breath comes in through the nose and, depending on the martial arts system or a specific form, the spent air exits through the mouth or nose, and usually with the tip of the tongue pressed up against the front part of the roof of your mouth.

Breathing like this is soft and relaxed, and mimics a baby's automatic breathing, unconsciously building their own Chi. The softness helps you keep a relaxed mindstate, a relaxed body and the general flow of Chi across the body is smoother, thus promoting a better integration of the whole person when practicing.

It is simple to do, just breathe normally, unforced and relaxed, don't draw a deep breath into your lungs, but, instead, expanding your diaphragm as you breathe in and gently relax it as your breathe out. Practice doing it every day, and soon it will become an automatic function.

The use of the same breath control for hard styles is also most complimentary, as the diaphragm is used continuously keeping it strong for when heavy aerobic breathing is required. The Chi is said to be drawn into the abdominal area, circulates and gently massages the internal organs, promoting internal health.

Also, expanding the diaphragm and abdominals contracts those muscles gently, both during inhalation and exhalation, so they are more resistant to surprise strikes, as your diaphragm and abdominals automatically tenses upon such an attack.

And lastly, the Chi drawn into the Dan Tien meridian helps to form a Chi shield to cushion any blows to the abdominal cavity, one of the few places not protected by hard bones.

Well, maybe its all claptrap, maybe its all just a 2000 year joke.

But, hey, I gave it a go and my stomach has thanked me many a time after receiving unexpected kicks!

Like most things in life, never criticise it until you have tried it, and if you aren't willing to try it, take a deep breath and keep your thoughts to yourself!

Tchüss!

Weapons Training

2005-04-28T16:27:00.000+01:00

Students ask me quite often "When can I learn Weapons?"

Well, the truth is, anytime you like, it's not difficult to buy martial arts weapons. In the UK, you don't need any license or certification to buy them online or over the counter.

Even the infamous Nunchuck is allowed to be bought, as long as you dont brandish them openly.

Learning use of weapons and learning a weapons form is a totally different concept, albeit complimentary: Learn your weapons form that your style dictates and you'll no doubt be able to brandish your chosen arsenal with some menace and glee, and more confidence than if you were picking them up for the first time.

However, learning to fight with weapons is so much more, with a different learning technique, as you are literally sparring your opponent, and the aim is the same as open hand sparring. There are little nuances and tips to sparring with any weapon and that only comes from practice and experience, reading the opponent's movements, understanding how to block and parry and counter with your chosen weapon, be it knife, stick or whip.

If you want to learn a weapon, my advice is to have a look at a few in a martial arts store and see what you are most comfortable with, and try to pick a weapon that is taught by your style, or a style that you want to learn. Use that weapon, play with it, know it, understand the balance, striking points, blocking techniques etc.

Your chosen martial art style will serve to improve your skills and handling, but in my mind, you MUST learn to spar with a weapon, else its no more than a dangerous toy.
Sparring is the difference between theory and practice and practice makes perfect!

I'm looking around for deals on martial arts equipment, so keep an eye on this space!

J

Tai Chi and Cross Training

2005-04-16T19:00:00.000+01:00

Novices and laymen always ask the same question - what's the best martial art?

Well, the simple answer is there isn't one, but a better answer would be the style that is most effective for you.

People do tend to think that the style they adhere to is the best, and I'm positive most of us have defended our own style at least once in our lives. But I've found that dedication to one style is both admirable but also a limitation.

The benefits of cross training in styles is obvious: greater spread of knowledge and making your body and mind adapt to different training styles and fighting styles, thus promoting flexibility of thought and action.

Some styles cross quite complementarily, like karate and southern Shaolin styles, as they have similar stances and strikes, whereas training in Kung Fu like Wing Chun and cross training Capoeira has an obvious difference in thought and motion. One's breadth of knowledge is increased, which is all a part of self improvement.

Like Bruce Lee espoused, take the best parts of one style and add it together with the best parts of other styles, although to be frank, JKD has an obvious base in Wing Chun, boxing and grappling, which is not to say that this combination is not effective, for it certainly is, but I would add a further dimension to this: Tai Chi.

Bruce learnt Tai Chi as a kid, as well as Wing Chun, and I think Tai Chi actually had much more of an emphasis on his overall fighting style than is commonly perceived.

Despite what most people might think, Tai Chi forms a superb base for any martial art, with fluid, seemingly simple movements, which are easy to learn but very difficult to master.

The flow of movement teaches the body how to maintain dynamism and shifting of momentum to absorb, deflect or push through, requiring and promoting a good sense of balance.

The speed, or lack of, at which practice seems to take place is deceptive; if you need to you can make that movement fast! Combining the defensive movements of Tai Chi with your regular striking sparring is a seriously good move!

Plus Tai Chi is used the world over for its health benefits which are timeless and proven.

Want to learn more? This Offer has the full Yang Style Tai Chi form and explains its benefits and use of the form.
More on cross training later.

Keep it Kung Fu

Mind Over Matter? QiGong Scepticism

2005-04-14T10:53:00.000+01:00

Was talking last night to my fellow practicioners Kam, Keiron and Pash, and the hot topic was QiGong, or Chi Gung or Kung, or simply translated as Breath/Energy Work/Exercise (delete as applicable), and Kam related events of the recent seminar he and Keiron had attended about pressure points.

They were both fairly impressed with the pressure point locks and strikes and saw some potential in their use in a situation, but both were rather more sceptical to differing degrees regarding the magical Energy blocks and remote strikes.

One demonstration of the Energy, or Chi, Shield required a member of the audience to strike the Teacher at a specified spot, in this case the shoulder so that in the case of actual contact, at least he wouldn't be knocked out.

As the first strike was thrown, the Teacher whipped his hand in front of his shoulder as though to meet and catch the oncoming punch, but as the punch is about to land, the block is followed by a loud yell, and no doubt some mystical channeling of powers.

Lo and behold, the punch is stopped before it makes contact anywhere, leaving a confused would-be-attacker. This was repeated another two more times for the benefit of unbelieving heathens.

Now, that might be some great demonstration of hard Chi, had it not been for the fact that the said volunteer was one of the Teacher's students. Pinch of salt material I'd say, much as my friends had felt as they watched it.

The next trick, er, ahem, demonstration, his remote striking, which had another of his students volunteer to stand a few feet away from him, then again followed by a remote punch and I presume a yell. Well, the student went down like a sack of spuds and it took several minutes to revive him, as though he had been KO'd.

Well, Kam concluded that the KO'd volunteer was either the best actor in the world, or had really been felled for several minutes by what seemed an invisible force.

Or, for another explanation, have you seen Derron Brown, the Mind Magic Man, who has some amazing hypnotising, body-language-reading, penetrating stare of evil genius?
Well I remember watching him perform the 6 foot punch (as opposed to the 1-inch one) and knock a volunteer, a random UK Kung Fu champion. Stood close to the volunteer, Derron set up the performance by 'testing' first that the subject could 'feel' something when Derron moved his hand towards him as though to strike.

Next he stepped back several feet and told the volunteer to prepare for the demonstration.
Derron then made a slow, short punching movement, and the volunteer immediately collasped on the floor, like someone had winded him badly. Derron rushed up to the felled subject and murmured calming words and the volunteer was instantly better and back on his feet.

Derron then repeated the Mind Magic with the volunteer facing away from him with no way of seeing him in a reflection or shadow, and when he made the punching move again behind the volunteer's back, the guy fell just the same as before.

Could it be that some people have simply learnt how to speed hypnotise people without actually realising they are doing it? Some ppl say it is the voice and the tones that hypnotise you, and then when under, even if not fully under and semi-conscious, they are still susceptible to hypnotic suggestion.

Personally, being of Chinese origin, I am not very sceptical on the subject of Qi and have had many experiences of energy flow in my own practice and exercise. However, all demonstrations of this type must be taken with a pinch of physical reality, and rather than trusting only your eyes, try to use all your senses, read the person performing, pick up on their body language, to determine whether they are genuine, or simply acting.

Meet a real Chi Kung master, and you will see that they are not an impenetrable wall of hard energy, ready to tackle the world with their invisible wings of steel and flying invisible hammer punches (the real world ain't Hong Kong cinema!).

Rather, they possess a quiet, calming presence, which never interrupts your own being or energy, but envelops you in a gentle atmosphere of compassion. You know that there is great power and strength there, but there is no animosity, no threat and no yelling.

A true Chi Kung Master does not need to advertise his strength, he would already have disarmed you with compassion, not aggression. And in the event of that failing, any Chi Kung Master worth his pinch of salt would have a few tricks up his invisible sleeves!

May the Force be with you....

Qi Gong for healing and prevention

2005-04-12T18:40:00.000+01:00

So some of you may or may not know that one of my uncles is a Qi Gong (Chi Kung) Master, teaching and healing in and about Manchester and Bolton.

He is one of the old school masters, makes medications, aligns bones and using Chi to perform massage, as well as all the usual Chinese Traditional Medicine practices of acupressure and acupuncture.

I was talking to him about general all round well being and he recommended straight away a mixture of hard and soft Chi exercises, to build the body up from the inside, and invigorating the growth and strength and flow of Chi internally.

I will start teaching more of the hard exercises, which originate from the Shaolin Lo Han meditations. For softer, general, all round well being though, I recommend learning and performing soft Chi Kung exercises, of which there are plenty on the web, but rather than hunt around for the one that suits you the best, try this book which gathers all the most useful exercises for everyday good health and separates them into useful categories.

Meanwhile, if you are interested in more QiGong articles and books, I will be investigating more in the next few weeks, which will no doubt trickle down into my classes!

Later, J

Some cool eBooks

2005-04-12T18:11:00.000+01:00

Been looking around for more martial arts and kung fu ebooks and I stumbled upon this bargain set of ebooks in one collective set with a price of just $6 (about £3.50!).

They are all ancient writings from the Orient, and are well known masterpieces of Oriental culture or martial practice.
Just read the list and you'll know:
1) Sun Tzu's Art of War - A must read for anyone! It is extremely useful in all walks of life, its written in plain language and its stood the test of time.
2)The Way of the Samurai, or Hagakure By - Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Hagakure ("In the Shadow of Leaves"') all about being a Samurai, the true spirit of Bushido - the Way of the Warrior.
3) The infamous The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi, one of the greatest Samurai warriors in Japan's history. If you want to learn about Japan, the Samurai and about the origins of his two sword technique, don't miss this!
4)The Tao Te Ching written by Lao-Tse in 500BCE. The Te Ching is an almanac of the hours, minutes, days and years of our lives.

As part of this offer, you also get a few chapters from the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine, the entire Travels of Marco Polo and The Book of Tea, which are all traditionally great reads about the cultures of the Orient.

Masters of the Orient - all the above for less than £4? It would be a shame to miss it!

Kung Fu Hustle

2005-04-12T17:13:00.000+01:00

Kung Fu Hustle, is a definite buy!
Seen it, it's hilarious (well, I thought so!), and the DVD for $14.99, which is about £7 plus £2 p&p, it's a bargain!

Keep it Kung Fu,

J

Kung Fu Movies

2005-04-12T17:00:00.000+01:00

I was looking around for some new kung fu movies to watch, and I found the new Stephen Chow (of Shaolin Soccer fame) movie Kung Fu Hustle.

Not many people outside of the Asian movie market areas know about Stephen Chow's history, that he practiced martial arts with dedication as a kid in Hong Kong, and grew up, like many of us, watching the chop socky films that were flooding out of the East after Bruce set the scene.

Stephen Chow was first known for his children's presenting on comedy kids television programs. His popular blend of surrealism, irrelevance and nonsensical slapstick was an easy skill to translate to film, and his early passion for martial arts and kung fu in general led him to adding more and more martial arts content in his films.

One of his earliest films, The Saint of Gamblers, has him portraying a Big 6 boy (a country hick) who has tremendous QiGong powers and can make poker cards appear and change at will (some might call this cheating!). He is one of my favourite Chinese actors, as I grew up watching video tapes of his movies sent to me from my relatives in Hong Kong.

Anyway, his brand of comedy is most humourous and his martial arts ain't half bad, if a little comical, though Shaolin Soccer let him display some more bold moves than he ever has before (I think he must have had a few years of training just for the film!)

If you liked Shaolin soccer, I would definitely get Kung Fu Hustle, and check out his earlier films too at www.Sensasian.com

J

Speed Fighting?

2005-04-12T13:31:00.000+01:00

I've read lots about speed punching and speed fighting, and seen some demonstrations, and was quite impressed. There are many similarities in speed fighting to many techniques in Kung Fu, and speed fighting methods remind me in particular of Shaolin Leopard fist and Wing Chun in general.

Watching a Wing Chun practicioner spar is a most entertaining display, as Wing Chun is most useful in close range combat, and especially so when the practicioner is slight of build, and consequently, usually have quicker movements than a taller, larger build (though not always), so its fun when you see a shorter practicioner pummeling a larger person.

With speed fighting techniques, like those seen in Wing Chun or speed punching methods, one breaks the opponents defence and then lets loose a flurry of blows to take out the opponent. In one demonstration I've seen, the instructor made about 20 punches on a padded up volunteer in the space of about 3 seconds, with the force and intensity in each punch to knock the wind out of your ribs.

It was impressive, and is a simple philosophy to use - determine the weak spot, open up that weak spot and severely exploit it, which sounds like a technical translation of a Sun Tzu Art of War quip!

Nevertheless, all martial arts are about effectiveness for the practicioner, and I have to say that speed punching and speed fighting techniques can be quite effective in the right hands. Find out more about Speed Fighting methods in this online book.

Old School Kung Fu Movie Posters

2005-04-11T16:39:00.000+01:00

Was trundling around the net and found these ultra groovy old school film posters, with loads of obscure martial arts flicks.

This one in particular, Lady Kung Fu, was one of the first HK films to have an actually proficient female kung fu lead, rather than the typical damsel-in-distress, and was played by Angela Mao, who plays Bruce's sister in his classic Enter the Dragon.

They have a bunch of other obscure Kung Fu film posters and are well worth checking out.

J

Practice? For what?

2005-04-11T16:16:00.000+01:00

Why do you practice martial arts? The generalised answer is Self-Improvement

I have seen Hung Kuen practised in the traditional way, and have trained with my cousin who learnt it in my home village, and I know it is completely different. In defence of Eastern teachers in the West, I would say that they might lean towards teaching a form of martial art which could be used to compete in British/Euro comps. Consequently, it loses some of its genuine, Oriental flavour.

Of course you could argue one shouldn't teach a lot of stuff to ppl who don't deserve to learn it. Should there be a retention of knowledge amongst master and student, or should a master teach everything he knows? I think a Master should teach with the aim of making the student surpass himself...

One shouldn't measure one's ability against others, because there is always someone better. I've met some of those ppl!!! I know I'm a fair hand at sparring amongst my immediate peers
and training partners, and I can turn on some skill in a form, but, as I've said before, ten years of training, and I would not pit myself against someone who had trained an equal length of time in China, learning traditional Southern Style Shaolin Fists. The depth of learning compared with what is available here is a different concept, as far as I can tell.
I still go by my original definition though, martial arts are a form of defence and offence, and in the classes, I focus on these two concepts, and pass on what little I know to those who know even less!

TOM: Ok ok, this is just me here and you might say that perhaps I'm just a spaz that didn't pick up what Master Ang was trying to teach me all those years, but I don't think thats it. Even now after 3 and a half years here, I understand a lot more than I can actually do, so I know that I can't even do the basics well now. This is what frustrates me because master ang could have got me over this basic beginning stage a lot earlier if he had wanted.

ME: Hmmmm, perhaps you don't realise that a punch is a punch is a punch?
Yet one martial art will teach you to punch differently than another, I cite Karate and Wing Chun for example, if you look at the discrepancies of their basic punches... However, I also agree and disagree... Is it better to know that you do not know, or better to not know you do not know? If you know something beforehand, you can and will create preconceptions. Perhaps it can be wiser to learn things you know nothing about, than to learn something you think you already know? Do you know what I am talking about? Perhaps it doesn't apply, but again, I find your judgement of master Ang a bit harsh, afterall, training and self-improvement begins with self, and you can't fob off your lacking on others. Not trying to dis you, what I
mean is, if, as you say, you cannot perform basics even now, perhaps you have reached a plateau which you cannot surpass with your current teacher? (you're crap :D ) It has been said by others before that Master Ang is not a great teacher, although I do not entirely disagree. there's no question he is a master of his style, but had I some of his ability, I know I could teach it well, which comes from being a teacher for several years, and having an innate sense of seeing things which are wrong, and showing others how to make it right. I am not critical enough, and sometimes I feel I should be because, when instructing the class, I am wearing a hat which says I am an expert (although, I do not believe I am in any way), so my criticism of
someone's effort is often taken seriously and worked on. I know I am not crititative enough and I would put it that Master Ang is even less so. There is a line where critique turns into pedantery, and pettiness, but in a class I expect the teaching body to point out mistakes and so allow the student to rectify it, correct me if I'm wrong (geddit!!!!).

I've sparred and trained with ppl who I have thought as very good, and who don't necessarily do HungKuen, guys like Danny and Kam who are TKD and Ben and Kieron who are now more boxing/ground fighters, as well as guys like Andy Ten, who is just super dedicated and quite nails. I have a pattern in my mind and muscle memory of what is effective and what is not in a confrontation, and I have used my arsenal of *weapons* in order to overcome opposition in sparring and often to good advantage. I have a great lacking in ground techniques, having only had several lessons in Budo. My point is, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you are effective at it. I love watching the Capoeira guys when they perform, and I probably could learn a lot their moves and crazy kicks (modest!!) but I cannot see if such techniques would be applicable in a confrontation and I would resort to a simple lock or kick to the groin, given the provocation. So I return to my question, what is a Martial Art?

J

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What is a Martial Artist 3

2005-04-11T15:57:00.000+01:00

Some people think that Chinese monks do nothing all day but practice martial arts! Well not entirely true, what do you think monks ate? Most Buddhist Monks grew their own crops and begged for alms. Obviously, much like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, some Monasteries grew in power and influence, thus had daily offerings and much wealth *donated* to them, usually by rich families who wanted protection and favour (monks are humans and, as such, subject to human want and need, thus some were corrupt etc). Why do you think monasteries have got golden statues and all that? Don't come from the sky ya know.

> they realised that to fully develop a martial art you have
to "get
> it" mentally [as has been pointed out in previous comments]. So the
> spiritual element of extending your spiritual/mental self worked in
> synergy with the physical hardship they were prepared to endure.

Agreed, although I don't totally adhere to the spirituality stuff, I
definitely think mental prowess are a great part of being a complete
martial artist...

> I did HK 4 times a week and I KNEW I was
> good (for my level). Then I didn't train for a year (though I
> probably did more exercise and ate better) and I have never been
able
> to return to that higher level (though, I am a far better kungfu'er
> now that I ever was, I have been training 4 times a week).

Have you taken nothing in? It is not the amount of training that truly matters, but how you train!!! Anyway, as a person improves, and thru time and effort, you slowly become to realise that, even though you may have thought you were good at one point, it is only now that
you are truly learning. With such understanding, you have to realise that you are always lacking. Again, this is something I have accepted now, something to do with "...to truly understand, is to know that you know nothing....", that is, of course, in order to be all you can
be, you must first shed the shackles of your preconceptions. I suppose that is what Tom has done, having to *unlearn* *all* that he has learnt in order to grow. Yet I digress, for
without his earlier learning, his path would not have had started as it did. Tom, would you have gone to HongKong and undertaken learning Dragon Style if you had not first been put on the path of Shaolin in HungKuen?
And I would put it to you that *all* the stuff you learnt in your first years are but a thimble full of what Master Ang (my master) can actually could teach you. You forget that many Eastern mansters had to change their methods of teaching from traditional to Western in order to compete in the West, or rather, in order to appeal to Gwailo, with Western lifestyles and sensibilities.

> There are plenty of examples of medium ability/late starting atheletes being first class >pedigree (eg Darren Southgate freely admits to being only 'average', but he plays Premiership >footy cos he always tried hard (harder than his peers), and Pete Sampras only picked up a >tennis racket at the age of 11!). So there's hope for all of us!

Of course, these are exceptions, Pete Sampras went on to become the No1 seed for many years, but what about everyone who isn't Pete Sampras or Bruce Lee? Look at Jackie Chan... he says he is not an exceptional martial artist, something which he has expressed many times, explaining that some of his peers were better at fighting or acrobatics than he was, but he has something else, his sense of comic timing, how he brings out the character etc. yet he is the epitome of average, he is of average height, looks, martial ability (for someone who studied nonstop since a very young age in traditional training etc).... this is what I mean, although he feels he is average in terms of martial ability, and perhaps his peers and martial artists of his generation are better than him, HE IS STILL AN EXCEPTIONAL MARTIAL ARTIST!!!!
I feel that this is because of his upbringing, training, culture and lifestyle, which is entirely different than mine... and thus I feel I could not attain such *averageness*...

Isn't it depressing that someone like Jackie Chan thinks he is not exceptional???

JLo

Martial Artist definition by Pash

2005-04-11T15:43:00.000+01:00

My fellow Hung Kuen practicioner Pash, who has also practiced JuJitsu, has this to say of Martial Artists:

PASH:
One thing I can say is that being the best certainly is one way of looking at it but how can everyone be the best? Surely it is about being YOUR best. There will always be someone bigger, faster stronger or more dedicated than yourself, so why bother. Conquering your own fear and surpassing you own limits should be your goal. I shall explain...

I wish that I had the time ( or rather money ) to train as much as some might in Asia, I'm not sure that had I been born out there I would be any more competent than I am now. You may laugh at this (I am sadly lacking) but I believe starting at an early age means nothing. When was a lad my parents worked me hard, apart from working down't pit, sleeping in a cardboard box, etc I joined a swimming club very early on and
followed on to the racing team. I also did gymnastics and later on Ju Jitsu. I was competent in all but none of these clubs really offered me anything. One after another I lost interest in each of these clubs and finally gave them up after pleading with my parents. I have since been a Mountain biker, joined an athletics club, become a Venture scout gaining my Queens Scout and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award, become a qualified lifeguard, and dabbled in several martial arts.

What I never realized until recently is that I always loved doing something that involves exercise, its always been there and no matter what the circumstances I have always found something to fill that void.

For me Kung Fu is a form of exercise, for both the body and mind. I am never more happy or at ease with my surroundings than when I'm training regularly. It isn't about being able to protect oneself (most of u would kick the 7 shades out of me) it's the difference between the achieving, learning, winning Pash rather that the couch potato, dissatisfied with work, lethargic version. What I mean is there's nothing quite like that spring in you step, the acuity of mind and freshness of spirit that any martial art ( or any sport that requires training) brings.

As for (HandStand)Dan's philosophy...

"DAN: I **REFUSE** to believe in natural ability. Doing so negates my whole reason to train."

..well I disagree, I HAVE a natural ability to sit around on my arse, I
have no reason to use my ability only the reasoning that I would be
bored shitless if I did.

....A fair point Pash - J

What is a Martial Artist 2

2005-04-11T15:37:00.000+01:00

My friend Tom, a Tai Chi teacher and Dragon Sign Boxer, said of being a Martial Artist:

ME: Tom, I find it difficult to imagine training without sparring.

TOM: Ah - that comes from your teacher. For a start I never learned ONE proper form or correct technique from him, what it implied, meant, or how it fit together with the style. Not even how to give a single punch properly. It was all about fitness and flexibility and high kicks. Everything else was the boring bit that we learned the night before our next grading to make sure wepassed. From this background, how can anyone attach much importance to the forms? It was all about the sparring.

Anyway that was me, and I don't want to imply that you've not progressed past the stage I was at way back then, and I know you practiced Tiger Crane as well so it may not be the same with you. But it has taken me a long time and a lot of unimpressed "this westerner is a total fuckwit" looks from my sifu to change my way of thinking.

Pushing hands is the most important way of sparring up until you get very very very good at it so you can spar freely. And I've not seen any students out here at that level. When you are at that level you don't *need* to spar, because you know your own ability already.

ME: I must ask you a question, which I myself have formulated an answer to over the years, but took me some time and struggle: What is a Martial Art?

TOM: I do not disagree with your definition of a martial art. It is not a
spiritual concept per se at all. It is indeed learning how to inflict some
serious damage on someone in a particularly classy way. Some of the principles
are built around chinese philosophy, and it can be turned into a spiritual quest
- i.e. the ultimate aim of tai chi is to be in accord with the tao and with
nature (...apparently. Personally I think it was originally another way to kick
7 shades of shite out of someone just like all the rest).

I think the difference between our perspectives is the difference between
'martial art' and 'chinese kung fu'. I will let you ponder this as its late
here and my brain is shutting down and I can't spell out the difference right
now. It is rather hard to explain. Its rather like asking a top musician to
describe the feeling that he puts into his music that makes him better than the
others. It's an understanding that comes from practising, not simply from being
told. ok ok this is a vague answer I know! More on this to follow.......

ME: Ok, then...

Anyway, discuss....,J

The Fighting Hero - The Appeal of the Martial Arts

2005-04-11T14:45:00.000+01:00

The Fighting Hero
The Appeal of the Martial Arts
Jason Lo
1995

The Fighting Hero - The Appeal of the Martial Arts

Throughout the evolution of life, the use of superior physical power has allowed continued survival in all the habitats of this world. Humans, and our various hominid ancestors, although not the most physically imposing animals, are notorious in their capacity for effective violence and ingenious means of battle.
The need for warfare arose through the intense competition for food, both hunted and cultivated, between band and village tribes, and escalated to strategic warfare, once large civilizations appeared. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in Mesopotamia in 1800 BC, describes the use of spears, bow and arrows, axes and swords, and by that time, all the weapons of war had been invented, bar the eminently more lethal discovery of gunpowder, in 800 BC by Chinese alchemists, and the explosive weapons which this discovery led to.
The distinctions which exist between an exponent of war and a martial artist are not readily definable, as both can be the other: a martial artist can be involved in war, and consequently, that particular practitioner can be regarded as an exponent of war.
Warfare is a combative event or struggle against a chosen opponent, using groups of combatants, or individuals, as a result of conflict, involving the use of force. The martial arts differ because they are not events that one takes a part in, but a form, or forms, of physical exercise, which would enable the exponent to neutralize an attack, to protect, should combat occur, the basic principle of martial arts. For a trained martial artist to become involved in an act of war, would be a contradiction of a fundamental philosophical rule the martial arts embody, namely, the avoidance of physical conflict. There exists, though, a paradox in this way of thought, in situations dependent on ethics where the individual should make a careful decision based on the foreseen outcome of any action taken. The Mahãyãna, the Buddhist Canonical texts, teach on the subject of ethics, that should a dilemma arise, involving morals, or karma, then the path of least evil should be taken, a process known as the use of ‘skilful means.’ One example provided in the Mahãyãna describes how a Brahmin convert to Buddhism, travelling with a caravan of traders, encounters a friend, who is a scout for a 500 strong gang of bandits, who seek to attack such parties. The bandit warns the friend so he can save himself, but the Buddhist promptly kills him (T. 156 vol 3 161b-162a). He reasons that if he revealed the bandit to the traders, they would kill him, and they would carry the karmic responsibility for his death. If he didn’t warn them, the scout would return with the bandits, and the traders would surely be doomed. The Buddhist, therefore, takes the path which is the lesser of three evils, and accepts the responsibility for his action. This act can be described as protection, the fundamental philosophy behind the martial arts.
Another well documented example is offered in the book, ‘The Way of the Warrior,’ based on the research for the BBC series of the same name,
(1)“The Emperor T’ai Tsung (Li Shih-Min) of the T’ang dynasty endowed the
(Shaolin) temple with the right to train a force of fighting monk-soldiers. He
asked for help from the temple when he was in danger, and thirteen monks
went to his assistance. The incident was recorded on a tablet that can still be seen
at the temple today.”
This is an extreme example, as the subjects were devout Buddhist monks, and believe that acts of violence must have a greater purpose that would be benevolent to counterweigh the karmic imbalance that would be produced.
(2)“The grateful Emperor attempted to persuade the thirteen to accept official
posts at court, but they replied that their fighting arts were to protect the Temple
and to keep the monks healthy: ‘Since the world is now peaceful we will return
to our monastery, but if society needs us we will go into battle again.’”
The skills of protection, of neutralisation, can so easily be used to initiate attack. Mankind’s tendency towards violence cannot be explained exclusively as innate or biological. Irwin S. Bernstein, and associates, from the Yerkes Primate Research Center,
says,
(3)“With the elaboration of the cerebral cortex in the primate, hormonal
influences on behaviour are not lost, but may be superceded.”
If this is the case in primates, then, in the highly advanced mind of the human, it is even more so. Anthropologist, Dr. Marvin Harris, on the subject of testosterone controlling the violence in man,
(4)“I am not saying that testosterone has no influence on aggressive behaviour.
There is a positive feedback between the two, but it is weak and there are many
factors that can override, distort or suppress that relationship.”
In view of these researched opinions, the credibility of the theory, that acts of violence are caused by environment and previous experience, or a person’s upbringing, holds more weight.
The necessity of developing a non-violent attitude to compliment the potentially violent physical actions of the martial arts is important. There is a degree of understanding which the individual will come to realise on their own, during practised, controlled ‘mock-fighting ,’ when blows received generate pain, and, therefore, respect for such powerful actions. However, the discipline and ethics must be enforced. In a piece entitled ‘Shao Lin Chuan Fa’ (Shaolin Boxing), specific guidelines are provided, attributed to Chueh Yüan, a Ming dynasty monk, which follow closely the traditional Confucian ethics,
(5)“1. A student must practice without interruption.
2. Boxing must be only used for legitimate self defence.
3. Courtesy and prudence must be shown all teachers and elders.
4. A student must be forever kind, honest and friendly to all his colleagues.
5. In travelling, a boxer should refrain from showing his art to the common
people to the extent of refusing challenges.
6. A boxer must never be bellicose.
7. Wine and meat must never be tasted.
8. Sexual desire cannot be permitted.
9. Boxing should not be taught rashly to non-Buddhists., lest it produce harm. It
can only be transmitted to one who is gentle and merciful.
10. A boxer must eschew aggressiveness, greed and boasting.”
So, due to the misuse of their skills and an ignorance of the ethics, there exists a possibility of a practitioner using their physical abilities to initiate an act of conflict, or, in the extreme, to take another’s life. Roger Andersen, a sociologist’s definition of power, (6)“is the production of intended effects,” and is applicable to the skills of the martial artist, and, therefore, these skills can be designated as a form of power.
Everyone in the world, at the onset of adolescence, has the physical ability to take another’s life. This terrifying, but true, fact creates a basic equality amongst humans, and the upset of this equality, be it greater physical size, or comparatively advanced weaponry, can create distrust, unease or fear within others. The martial practices, the expertise of disabling another using the mechanics of the body, are an example of a factor which can disturb this ‘equality,’ and can, therefore, create discomfort in those who recognize it, but indifference in those who don’t. This may not be entirely true of today’s societies, but is certainly true of societies in their previous feudal incarnations.
This ‘power’ is not to be mistaken for a form of prestige, but the manner in which it can be used conforms to a certain ideal: that of the hero, which in turn, affords respect and higher status.
Thorsten Veblen notes about prestige,
(7)“With the exception of the instinct for self-preservation, the propensity for
emulation (of the leisure class) is probably the strongest and most alert and
persistent of the economic motives.”
This theory applies to ‘material’ prestige, and can only exist in societies aware of a leisure class. In those few tribes that still separate themselves from the technologically advanced society we stubbornly call ‘The World,’ for example the !Kung tribes of the Kalahari, whose people belittle themselves to state an overall equality, there exists no higher social class.
However, even in such isolated cultures, there exists the symbol of the hero figure, however rudimentary. Joseph Campbell, in his examination of the Hero in ancient myths and fairy tales, provides a definition of the hero as,
(8)“The hero is the man of self-achieved submission,”
and then continues by posing the question of submission to what? The initial answer is submission to the cosmogonic round, the universal cycle of life and death.
The hero, then, is someone aware of the eternal process of birth, death
and rebirth of physical matter, parallel to the never ending spirit, and understands and complies to the restrictions of the body, but is able to use the limitless powers of the divine state. Campbell declares that the myths of the world are a means of explaining, or making valid, the cycle of life and death. Such is the mythical hero’s influence, he is able to traverse the material world to the divine, the spiritual, and become a bridge for those unable, as yet, to cross the boundary on their own. Campbell,
(9)“The hero, therefore, is the man or woman who has been able to battle past
his personal and historical limitations to the generally valid, normally
human forms.”
“The hero has died as a modern man; but as eternal man - perfected, unspecific,
universal man - he is reborn. His second solemn task and deed, therefore, is to
return to us, transfigured, and teach the lesson he has learned of life renewed.”
How, then, does the mythical hero relate to real man? The modern hero is often typified by the screen stars’ portrayal, locked within their own universe, never transcending to awareness of the macro cosmos. This is the ‘anti-hero,’ who does not possess the character traits, or proceed upon the journey, of the hero, but unwittingly, provides us with clues to begin the journey ourselves. There are two ways that this is achieved. The first, the spiral towards death and dismemberment of the spirit, wallowing in the tragedy of the cycle’s end, through the catharsis, purging of the emotions, thereby passing to the observer the realization of the end of the cyclic universe. The second, often more familiar, is of continuation, fulfilled immortality, reaching past the conclusion of the circle of life, alias, ‘happy ever after.’ Through observing these depictions of life, we relate them to our own lives.
(10)“Too well we know what bitterness of failure, loss, disillusionment, and
ironic unfulfillment galls the blood of even the envied of the world!” says
Campbell, and so it is that we see how inconsequential our own problems may seem, compared with such tragedy, and we can begin to perceive the futility of striving for physical immortality, of suffering, and, learn to accept the culmination of the cycle.
(11)“The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the
soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal
tragedy of man,”
states Campbell. ‘Happy ever after,’ alludes to the existence of eternity, but is not, as is often perceived , immortality of the material. It is not the
opposite to the message a tragedy projects, but is the compliment to it. In Campbell’s words,
(12)“Tragedy is the shattering of forms (of reality); comedy, the wild and
careless, inexhaustible joy of life invincible.”
Together, they embody the effects of the monomyth, the path of the hero and it’s conclusion.
The question, then, is does the fighting hero possess the characteristics of the mythical hero? This rather depends upon which society the fighting hero originates.
It is speculated, due to insubstantial evidence, that the forms of exercise we today call the Martial Arts, were originally developed in Asia* and and became immersed in the local religions and philosophies, to the extent of practical forms arising from the ethics, rules and guidelines of the relevant philosophies.
Many of the martial arts, both of a long lost era and of today, attribute their origins to the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in today’s Ho Nan Province, China, where it is said, during the sixth century AD, Bodhidharma, the twenty eighth patriarch of Buddhism, visited, and introduced Ch’an, or Zen, Buddhism, which involved long periods of passive meditation. He also introduced a series of breathing techniques and physical exercises, for the monks to withstand the rigours of their spartan but enduring religious life.
There is little known about the enigmatic monk Bodhidharma, and his history is open to speculation. His indirect relationship to the Buddha, whom Joseph Campbell provides in his analysis as an example of the mythical hero, stimulates the idea that Dharma himself could be considered a hero figure, and, subsequently, his descendant monks, too.
That Bodhidharma existed rests on an eye-witness account, by Yang Hsuan-chih, a citizen of Lo-yang (Ho Nan), who describes the monk climbing to the great Yung Ning Temple with Lo-yang’s Prefect,
(13)“....at the time also there was the Sramana of the Western lands,
Bodhidharma, who was basically a Hon of Po-sseur (Persia). Before the marvels of the temple he said he was 150 years old, that he had traversed in all directions many and different kingdoms and there was not the equal of this temple for beauty.”

The possibility of Bodhidharma being 150 years old is remote, and the more plausible explanation is that he was talking in riddles, a practice much favoured by scholars of all ages. French orientalist, Paul Pelliot, declares that the phrase, ‘basically a Hon of Po-sseur,’ means an ‘Indian with blue-green eyes,’ from Persia, because of his light skin colour. In the north-west of India, there are fair-skinned, blue eyed
Indians, often of the higher caste members of society, whose exotic looks were distinct from the darker skinned castes. This is supported by the high position of state Dharma held and provides a convincing sign that he possessed martial skills. In India, one of the oldest, original combat arts is still practised as it was thousands of years ago, Kalaripayit. Reid and Croucher indicate that the art could be several millennia old,
(14)“From prehistoric times India has had an entire class whose function was to wage war. The ‘Kshãtriyas,’ traditionally the military and the ruling class, supported their king in his quarrels with neighbours. As members of a warrior class they had the time to practise, and they were exactly the kind of men who would be ingenious in their thinking about fighting. A warrior class would also keep a fighting tradition alive for as long as it lasted.”

It is likely that the founder of Buddhism, Prince Gautauma Sakyamuni Siddhartha, also knew the martial skills, due to his royal status. An ancient parable of India, ‘Prince Five Weapons and the Sticky Hair ogre,’ thought to be the earliest version of the Tar-Baby story, in which the Prince’s five weapons become stuck in the ogre’s hair, and so has to use his sixth weapon, his weapon of Knowledge to defeat the ogre. Although incredible, and highly symbolic, the story is said to be of a previous incarnation of the Future Buddha. This is far from concrete evidence that Prince Sakyamuni was a skilled fighter, but, in the story’s beginning, the Prince Five Weapons is returning to his father’s city, after completing his military studies under a world-renowned teacher, from whom he received his five weapons, and thus gives further proof that the nobility would have extensive knowledge of combat skills. Whether these skills werre at all passed on to the followers of Buddhism is uncertain and perhaps unlikely, but reinforces the possibility that a high caste member of society, such as Bodhidharma, could have possessed such skills.
The skills of combat are not a necessary part of the mythical hero’s repertoire,
although many of them are capable fighters in order to overcome the dangers that they encounter. Other similarities can be drawn between the fighting monk and the mythical hero. They share an ‘enlightened’ consciousness of the universe, an understanding of the cosmogonic cycle. They act without ego or thought of ‘self,’ and they do so for the greater good of the ‘universe.’ However, though both possess these essential hero characteristics, they may not necessarily follow the same path or journey, but comparisons can be drawn.
Joseph Campbell summarises the adventure of the mythical hero as thus,
(15)“The mythological hero, setting forth from his commonday hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the opponent and descend to death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give him magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The triumph may be represented as the hero’s sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father-atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again - if the powers have remained unfriendly to him - his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of the consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return, resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).”
The Shaolin monk does not follow such a path fraught with dangers and offering material reward, although one aspect does relate to the monk’s life, that of apotheosis. The Buddhist lives life following the Buddha’s footsteps to ascend the levels of awareness and enlightenment, perhaps, eventually, to attain Buddhahood, but does not actively seek to do so, as this would be materialism. The Shaolin monk, then, is not a man who purposely gains the skills of the fighter in the hope of a pressing need for his services, thereby gaining him good karma, and escalating his status amongst his fellow monks, in the hope of achieving Buddhahood. That would be a contradiction of the hero’s characteristics, to act in the interest of self.
The self-less hero: the very ground of such a one is worshipped by the grateful world he saves. To accept such worship would be vanity, and the true hero would not, as in the example before involving the thirteen monks, and furthermore increasing the respect for the hero. Respect, prestige, status, power: this is where the appeal of the martial arts lies.
As mentioned before, the martial arts are a form of power, and power that can be used to prevent harm to others. To do so, perhaps to avert a mugging, or death, would be termed heroic, according to the dictionary definition. Does this imply that the rescuer is a hero? He is certainly to be admired for his courage and bravery, but that does not constitute the entirety of heroism, although that is based on the definition of the mythical hero. Nonetheless, this ‘hero’ has committed a presumably self-less deed, and this invokes the essence of the hero. He is accorded with respect from his community, and his standing, therein, rises: he has increased status.
It is the motive behind the heroic deed which can distinguish the hero and the ‘hero-aspirant,’ but the difference is vague. Earlier, it has been explained that the martial arts are a form of protection using the physics of the body, which are learnt to prevent acts of violence, that in moments leading to physical conflict, the practitioner is able to neutralize an attack with least harm to any party. If this is the incentive of the practitioner, then, in the process of wishing to be confronted with a situation, whereby, in the event of a victorious intervention, would cause the rescuer to be showered with praise and respect, the practitioner is committing the act for reasons of self, to boost ego; the practitioner, then, is no more than a ‘hero-aspirant.’ Marvin Harris provides a possible explanation for the ‘need for prestige.’
(16)“Personality differences decree that some humans crave affection more than
others (a truism that applies to all our needs and drives). It seems likely,
therefore, that headmen and mumis (leaders among equals) are individuals
who have an especially strong desire for approval (presumably as a result of a
mix of childhood experience and heredity). In addition to possessing
outstanding organizational, oratorical, and rhetorical skills, egalitarian leaders
come to the fore as individuals who have a large appetite for praise, a reward
that others happily supply in return for basketfuls of delicacies and a safer,
healthier, and more exciting existence.”
Harris makes the distinction that with the evolution of ranks in structured societies, (17)“retention of wealth and concentration of power mingle with continued expectations of approval and support.” If his theory of a nature-nurture need for prestige is correct, then that would contend with the former theory of the hero-aspirant, and thus redeem the practitioner from the status of hero-aspirant, if, indeed,
the craving for respect is not a conscious one.
The definition of the hero has to be refined to suit the modern example. The craving for hero-prestige, the need to be able to protect, to have the potential to ‘do,’ which may or may not be intentional, is perhaps an initial incentive to learn the martial arts. This is not the only reason, for logic suggests that some people study to promote fitness, some to learn control of the body, others, as a means of venting aggression, and others still, to learn discipline of thought, to adjust the mental attitude. These do not relate to the theory behind the hero, and are perhaps peripheral to the hero-appeal of the fighting arts.
The appeal of the martial arts owes a lot to the image of the hero often projected from media such as the film industry, not only of the martial hero, but of the gun-toting heroes of recent popularity. Unable to live as the heroes of the screen, they bow to their instinct to emulate. To don the appearance, to possess the characteristics of the hero, ergo, is to be the hero, ergo, is to have attained the status of the hero.
Referring to Thorstein Veblen’s answer to the craving of prestige, that the need for emulation is strong in societies with a leisure class, an amendment should be added, in that even in societies without a leisure class, there will exist a hero-class, which is similarly emulated, and with as much dedication.
At this point, it must be made clear that, although hero-emulation/hero appeal is an incentive to learn the martial arts, this incentive is replaced with a need to further self, both physically and mentally. The constant practice of moves and techniques develops the mind and body, until the need to emulate is lost, or atrophies. The practitioner becomes confident in his/her abilities, becomes confident in the use
of the body, which incites confidence in the mind. Thus, the need to identify with a hero figure is replaced by the need, or the achieving, of self-identification. Here, the mythical hero can again step in, for the process of self-identification is fundamental to the discovery, the realization of the cosmogonic round. Campbell recognises the need for psychoanalysis to further the study of the myths,
(18)“The bold and truly epoch making writings of the psychoanalysts are
indispensable to the student of mythology; for whatever may be thought of the
detailed and sometimes contradictory interpretations of specific cases and
problems, Freud, Jung, and their followers have demonstrated irrefutably that
the logic, the heroes and the deeds of the myth survive into modern times. In
the absence of an effective general mythology, each of us has his private,
unrecognised, rudimentary, yet secretly potent pantheon of dream.”

The Martial Artist, then, can be regarded as a Fighting Hero, or, at least, the potential to be. By learning the qualities, or skills necessary for the practitioner to successfully negotiate an adventure, or solve a problem, then that practitioner has the capacity to become a hero, however slight the added status, no matter how small an achievement. This is the appeal of the Fighting Hero, the ability to do good in the face of conflict, the potential to help another. The Fighting Hero-aspirant is the potential hero, for the path that the hero aspirant takes in the martial arts, leads to the ‘rank’ of the potential hero, the hero-in-waiting.

Quotations

(1) Howard Reid & Michael Croucher
The Way of the Warrior, p61

(2) ibid, p62

(3)Marvin Harris, quoting Irwin S. Berstein
Our Kind, p265

(4) ibid, p265

(5) Stewart McFarlane
Fighting Boddhisattvas and Inner Warriors, Buddhism and the Martial Arts, p7

(6) Roger Andersen
The Power and the Word

(7) Marvin Harris
Our Kind, p367
quoting Thorstein Veblen
Theory of the Leisure Class

(8) Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p16

(9) ibid, p19

(10) ibid, p27

(11) ibid, p28

(12) ibid, p28

(13) Howard Reid & Michael Croucher
The Way of the Warrior, p26

(14) ibid, p37

(15) Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p245

(16) Marvin Harris
Our Kind, p366

(17) ibid, p366

(18) Joseph Campbell
The Hero with aThousand Faces, p4

Bibliography

Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
1988 Paladin
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith London W6 8JB

Roger Andersen
The Power and the Word
Paldin 1988
address as above

Marvin Harris
Our Kind
1990, Harper Perennial
address as above

Howard Reid & Michael Croucher
The Way of the Warrior
1983, Century Hutchinson Limited
Brookmount House
62-65 Chandos Place
London
WC2N 4NW

Stewart McFarlane
Fighting Bodhisattvas and Inner Warriors. Buddhism and the Martial Traditions of China and Japan
unpublished paper from Lancaster University, Dept of Religious Studies

Stewart McFarlane
Body and Mind in the Martial Arts
Unpublished paper as above

What is a Martial Artist?

2005-04-11T14:37:00.000+01:00

You see, I am basing it on the fact that many kids in Canton are taught some form of Kung Fu when they are young, and those who find they have a propensity for it continue to train in later life. As such, the *average* is still a minority, albeit larger than the minority of ppl who sustain training in the western world. However, I would bet that that average level of those ppl in the East does not compare with the average here in the west. I cite a more tangible example, for some reason table tennis in China is one of the predominant sports, most kids playing it into adulthood. Now, it is a well known fact that the Chinese table tennis players are the best in the world, yet they do not generally compete in the outside world, as they find there is little competition! A few years back, the world Champion table tennis player was a Chinese immigrant to France, who quite easily sauntered to the no 1 seed, yet, back home in China, he
was barely in the top 100 players!!! Because of the intense training and lifestyle which revolves around practicing, the Chinese players are superior to other nations in table tennis. This same committment and attitude is steeped in Chinese martial arts, and I would find, if
I had been raised in China, I might be a much more competent martial artist.

Anyway, forget that, refer to my question, What is a Martial Art? My short thesis follows in the next post.

Toodles

J

More Philosophy of Martial Arts Training

2005-04-11T14:17:00.000+01:00

I think there is such a thing as natural ability, but not in the way that Dan is proposing it. Natural ability, in my view, is the drive to do something, not your *quantifiable* ability to do it. An anthropologist book I read by Dr. Marvin King, proposed that the greatest tennis player in the world who ever, ever lived may be someone in an undiscovered Amazon tribe, who will never ever have the opportunity to tap this ability. But he goes on to say that this person will have a fundamental ability to use tools or instruments for hitting with great precision and accuracy, as well as a natural athleticism and the mental drive to wish to do these things - thus, nature and nurture, although he may have a natural drive for it, he is not nurtured in that area.

When I compare myself with Kieron, I find him an excellent fighter, with very natural understanding of fighting techniques, and his training is really pushing him. I know he would beat me hands down if we were to groundfight, but thus knowing that, I have to prevent the
fight being taken to the ground. I feel in my awareness of movement, I am able to compensate for my lesser knowledge in floor techniques. Whenever I spar, I always gauge the opponent first, and I make a comparison of his perceived speed, actual assumed speed, possible
power and awareness, and I fight accordingly. Rather like a sponge I change my level of ability with the opponent which in one way is a bad thing, because i never truly push myself, I require others to push me.

I find it difficult to imagine training without sparring. I must ask you a question, which I myself have formulated an answer to over the years, but took me some time and struggle:
What is a Martial Art?

My answer:
It is a means of battle, whether offence or defence, there is no distinction. To me, it is not a spiritual concept per se - that is a cultural phenomenon - but is only of spiritual value if you choose to let your martial art envelope you in such way, as to allow your life to be dictated by your martial art, and enhance your spiritual growth. Rather, I find that martial arts improve the confidence and character of a person, and indirectly enhances one's spiritual growth.

But back to the point, a martial art is a form of fighting, I cannot interpret a martial art as a pure religious/spiritual act, as I feel one must dissassociate the myth with reality. Shaolin Monks etc are first and foremost Bhuddist monks, not fighters. In fact most of the monks in the Shaolin monastery do not learn martial arts. Therefore, there is no indication that if you become a Shaolin monk you become a fighter, and thus, for me, no requirement that should you wish to become a good fighter, you should become entirely immersed in religion/spirituality.

I train because I feel good when I train, I feel alive when I spar, when I perform movement...yet, I feel this same rush when I dance in a club, what does this mean? Should I therefore make a lifestyle choice and either become a dancer or a fighter? No, I made the choice to spread my efforts and energy across all my devotions, and not to restrict myself to doing only one thing, in doing so, I am removing my limitations, by opening up more paths to follow. Who is to say that I cannot do many things exceptionally? I don't think it is a limitation to say I will only train once a week, because the other 6 days are for other purposes, because that once a week I will train hard and put my all into it. I don't think you'll find many ppl saying I do not have a passion for martial arts, and more likely someone will say I helped them along the path (I hope!)

J

More Kung Fu Training Philosophy

2005-04-11T14:05:00.000+01:00

My friend HandstandDan, a fellow Hung Kuen practicioner and also Capoerista says:

" Now I disagree. I've not yet been to any of these places, but I think the "average martial artist" in China, Japan or Korea, spends 9-5 all week working, and then does 2 nights a week karate or wushu or taiquiquan or TKD.
Much the same as us. Not everyone has the time to train all day.

Granted, there are many more "good" martial artists in those counties, due to the fact they have a much more established schooling system, and many more who choose martial arts as a full time job. But quality of instruction is not an issue (many of the good masters are in the USA, or Malaysia, Taiwan and Europe now)

Also, from my point of view, passion and agression doesn't come into it for me.
The reason I started kungfu was a combination of that I was bullied at school as a kid, and that I wanted to do sick moves. However, now, it's just something I do. A habit / addiction."

Furthermore, as a reply to Keiron's anecdote:

"> Now, here is Kieron's philosophy:
> He told me an anecdote, something like this, about a guy, forty odd
> years old, training hard with his instructor. His instructor tells
> him to do another 3 minutes on the bags and follow it with 20 minutes
> cardio. The guy's been training for two hours, he says, " If I train
> any longer, I'll have a heart attack!"
> The instructor says, "Then have a heart attack! Why live if you
> cannot be the best you can?!!!"
> So, Kieron is living life to be the best he can....as an athlete, but
> I would not say he is pushing himself mentally as he should, working
> in an area which he has no real ambition for and finishing a course
> which he has no real drive for either.

Sounds like the old bruce lee story:

Dan Innosanto (I think) was running with Bruce, one day.
After about six miles, DI says "Man, we have to stop, other wise I think I'll have a heart attack and die".
BL says "then die!"

DI gets so mad he chases BL the next six miles.

The moral of the story is:
"Later while showering Bruce explained. If you put limits on yourself and what you can do, physical or anything, you might as well be dead. It will spread over into your work, your morality, your entire being. There are no limits, only plateaux. But you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you."

By saying "If I train as hard as I can, I can never be as good as the average martial artist in China or Japan or Korea." you limit yourself.

My own personal viewpoint:

I **REFUSE** to believe in natural ability. Doing so negates my whole reason
to train." - HandStandDan

A valid point, why attempt if you already know you cannot achieve?
As with anything worth doing in life, you do it to the best of your ability.
Ability also needs time, proper attitude and the correct situation in order to maximise the benefit of proper training.

Peas, J

Martial Arts Training Philosophy

2005-04-11T13:30:00.000+01:00

I was talking to my friend Kieron one night, a dedicated martial artist whose main areas of expertise is boxing, judo and grappling, after telling him my newest insight in my training: If I train as hard as I can, I can never be as good as the average martial artist in China or Japan or Korea.

I may have lost something in the way of dedication for my training, yet, I
do still have the drive for self-improvement, and spread my dedicative effort across all my goals in life rather than centre all my aggression and passion in one single thing.

Now, here is Kieron's philosophy:
He told me an anecdote, something like this, about a guy, forty odd years old, training hard with his instructor. His instructor tells him to do another 3 minutes on the bags and follow it with 20 minutes cardio. The guy's been training for two hours, he says, " If I train any longer, I'll have a heart attack!"
The instructor says, "Then have a heart attack! Why live if you cannot be the best you can?!!!"
So, Kieron is living life to be the best he can, and hoping one day to become a professional prizefighter.

One of my other friends, Tom, a TaiChi Teacher, replied saying:

"You'll not be as good as the average martial artists out here (the East), because they have learned in a different, more systematic way that teaches them what they need to learn at the right stages of their martial development. They have different goals - whereas us westerners like to instantly be able to get the next belt or win the next medal or kick faster than our opponent, the goal here is to understand the feeling of the technique, what it is that it is teaching you at this stage, and to get it just right (easier said than done). The rest falls into place the more you understand, however, as with so many things, the more you understand the further away the goal feels.

A good teacher will not let the student progress to the next stage unless he has understood the one he is at. Therefore you can get some students who have been learning for years but never progress past a certain point - i.e. they just don't ever 'get it'. They can learn more forms, movements, etc, but they will be meaningless. This is one reason why wushu is not seen as a real martial art - its all about the movements and nothing else.

This is also why there's not much point in learning lots of new forms in a style unless you can do the basics properly. Its like trying to sing lots of songs before you have learned how to hold a note. You may learn the tune and the rythmn, but at the end of the day the songs will just sound shite.

At our level (at all levels?), Kung Fu can be broken down in simple terms to two things - the ability to release the maximum amount of power at any desired point, and the sensitivity to know exactly when and where that point is. This sounds easy but is in actual fact very hard to fathom and takes a painfully long time to get the hang of.

The movements that you learn along the way all help to teach your mind and body how to acheive this and how to, well, move, and they get smaller and smaller until you are left with the ability to do it without having to strike the funky poses as well. Thats why you sometimes see very old men practising kung fu by simply standing still. They are practicing the feeling of these movements, without you being able to see him doing them. Or if you see the faded black and white pictures of the old tai chi masters from years back - it doesn't look like they are in particularly good or powerful stances, or are as hard as nails, they simply know these two core things and can apply them as they choose.

So, to practise sparring a lot before you know this 'feeling' and how to correcly release your power doesn't help you much. Not in the grand scheme of 'learning real chinese kung fu', anyway. It might help your reactions and you will be better at fighting than your average bloke, but you will reach a level that you won't be able to pass. Learning real kung fu (if that is your aim) the long hard boring way takes longer to get to that same level, but then you will be able to surpass it. Otherwise, what is the difference between kung fu and kickboxing? Merely sexier stances and a few more nifty twists thrown in?

I'm nowhere near being able to do all this, but to get on the right road I had to unlearn everything I had learned before I came to HK and start again. And having said all this I doubt I could beat any of you in a bout of sparring as I've done none since I was last back in Manchester! But I will know when I can use the things I've learned here from practising the forms. Get the feeling going during your forms, and you know what you are doing right and wrong, if you could use it against someone or not, if you are generating power in the right way, etc. I know that its a different ball game when there's someone else opposite you, but if you have the right
understanding of what you are doing (or trying to do), then you can know your own level of ability when you practice alone."

Hmmmm, food for thought, no?
Does one follow a life of learning the nuances of a martial art so your technical and precise knowledge of a particular art form is as great as you can be, or do you train to fight, to confront and hold your own?

When one is teaching, one cannot be too biased towards one extreme or another, because the reality of today's life is that many people who start and continue martial arts, do so for completely different reasons from one to another, and their reasons for continuing might be completely different than why they started.

I try to take each person individually, and teach them the technique I wish to show, but then offer them the chance to learn the precision of the technique, then apply it in a looser method, as a way to foster the theory into instinctive practice.

If you are interested in teaching martial arts, or are a teacher already and looking to improve your lessons, check out the book The Secrets of Teaching Martial Arts More Effectively in the products page of Kerwin Benson Books.

Toodle-pip, J

Kung Fu is for Life, not just Tuesdays

2005-04-11T13:24:00.000+01:00

Hi all, and welcome to the weary net traveller.

This here is a new blog about Kung Fu, of all things, and other types of martial arts and connected stuff.

I am a qualified instructor in Shaolin Hung Gar Kuen Kung Fu, based in Manchester, UK, and I have taught and still teach in the local Universities. I am affiliated to Master Ang's School of Shaolin Hung Kuen Kung Fu and have been teaching for nearly 10 years.

Amongst other things, I have been a teacher in a college, and a professional IT trainer, so I have some experience of teaching and imparting information and knowledge.

This Blog is intended for me to ramble on about Martial Arts in general and about Hung Kuen in particular, and I have a vast amount of information garnished in my years of practice.

Well, this is just the hello, so read on and have fun.

J