Wen Hsiu Quan

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We have a female bullterrier, Patrys, at home. We got her as a puppy and grew up to be quite a strong and healthy dog. The day Hiccup, a tiny Staffordshire pup showed up we did not know what kind of reaction to expect from her. She showed us, however, that she had a very caring attitude about her and took to gently playing with the little one. As Hiccup grew bigger and bolder the games the dogs played became rougher up to the point I began to worry. Both dogs, however, showed that they are strong enough to handle each other. The next pup to be raised and trained by her was Bruno. His tackles can put an ITM Cup player to shame. :D Observing these dogs gave me my philosophy on sparring. If one uses discretion, sensitivity and patience one shall have no need for body armour, mitts, shinguards and-my least favourite- a mouthguard. As one gets stronger blows can become harder and attacks more forceful. Two styles which seem to share this phikosophy, or that unwittingly demontrate it, a...

The Japanese call them kata , the Chinese taolu and the Koreans poomse. Bruce Lee did not seem to like form practice and many modern martial artists eliminate forms from their training regime. I,along with traditional martial artists, not only view these forms as an excellent way to preserve the heritage of our art, but also as an excellent training method to develop one's technique. Given the right form strength and agility can also be developed. What is your opinion?

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.