Wen Hsiu Quan

In a lot of martial arts contests seasoned contestants accept the ability to inflict physical harm as a given and do not focus on this to attain victory. It is because they know that to gain that advantage, to create that opening and to ultimately gain control over the fight it is necessary to inflict some real psychological trauma. Fortunately a lot of fighters in this day and age are not "without a death spot" as the Tao Te Ching puts it. This means they can be unsettled and beaten. A strong spirit, however, which is not unsettled by any material setback, physical pain or even disease keeps a fighter standing. As long as this warrior's spirit is alive the fighter shall keep on fighting to the very end. We have certainly faced many obstacles on our way and shall meet many more in the days to come. Whether our will to keep going will bring success I cannot honestly say, but I have no doubt that giving up is a certain defeat.

Meditation and mental training forms part of any good martial art's syllabus. With meditation also comes related exercises like Qigong. It is important to note that visualisation exercises and qigong are meant for the dojo alone and can be fatal to the practicioner if he takes this into the street. This is because the outside environment requires us to be aware thereof and pre-occupation with one's own internal workings is sure to leave you open to surprises. Awareness of self causes resistance within us and delays our responses. Only when awareness of self has been eliminated can the fighter truly utilise his training.

A long time dream of mine to visit China became reality after this last Christmas of 2013. On New Year's Eve I was treated to a visit to this historical Temple- Nan Shaolin! I was disappointed not finding any monks there, but still enjoyed being able to get the feel of real monkey poles and the wing chun dummy.  I really hope that kung fu will stay alive and well in China- as well as the rest of the world.

The Founder at his happiest- training! Introduction: This blog was probably supposed to start with a post about the history of what is my very own fighting style. Fact is, though- I actually thought about doing it now. I have only realised now that the process of learning, training and modifying which felt up to this point to have been so recent and so fast actually happened over more than a decade now... It is also because I realised that I have not yet really had the chance to teach this art to anyone yet. Right now I am actually worried that this art- this system of techniques, tactics and beliefs will follow me to the grave. On the one hand I can leave as much as I can on this blog, but what I'd really appreciate is the opportunity to see the art itself blossom and grow within someone right here with me. One of the main reasons why Wen Hsiu Quan got developed is simply that it suited me- as a person. In karate students are known to have their " tokuiwa...

I have enjoyed Black Belt TV's Move of the Day inserts since the channel came to South Africa. The inserts show some martial arts movie legends demonstrating the most basic of moves. This is actually a nice way of interacting with the viewers to get them interested in martial arts. The back fist demonstration, however, was not on. I recognised the type of back fist as the one I used to perform when doing the Shotokan kata, Tekki Shodan. Let's just say that I have found no use for that technique in actual combat and when I began developing my own style- that technique was gone before even the first unwanted techniques got thrown out. If I could re-write that kata- I would have put a descending hammer fist there! In the video I demonstrate and discuss the proper technique when performing the back fist strike. I have left out some of my favorite methods to perform the strike and used only the most common and basic examples. If you want to know more about the versatility of...

Depending on which style you practice or which technique you prefer- this kick could either be your weakest or your strongest kick. This video is especially a must-see for any karateka who wants to test himself in the MMA arena. Feel free to comment or to email me at boshoffm3@gmail.com.

I'll admit that I don't practice with this weapon much. Recently I decided to make the chain longer for extra reach. For those who do not know this weapon it is a chain with an iron weight at each end. The weights are flung at the opponent to stun him/her while the chain itself is used to ensnare or as a garrot. This particular weapon is associated with Ninjutsu, but Chinese martial arts have similar weapons using blades or weights at the end of ropes or chains. As you can see from the video I have some trouble controlling this weapon. If anyone has a better video to post- you can email it to me at boshoffm3@gmail.com.