Wen Hsiu Quan

One of the main reasons why we can't rely on just basic drills and form practice is that we need to develop quick reflexes. I invented this method back in my Shotokan days to help me develop my blocks.  What you see in the photo are two favourite rubber balls. I use only one of them at a time. It already helps a lot if you bounce the ball against a smooth wall and catch it. What I have done to help me with my blocks however is to intercept the ball on its way back with in inward slapping block combined with a grab to catch it. Outward blocks can't be done in this exercise with much success, but I also intercept the ball with an outward circling movement at times before I catch it. The better you get at this the harder you can throw the ball to get more speed.  I also catch the ball with my eyes closed at times, but the success rate in that is far less than 100%. The effect this exercise has on your actual sparring is almost immediately visible- plus: you ...

If you can't hear me so well in the video- I was telling you about my new shurikens and how shuriken-jutsu (or in my case " shuriken-do" ) ties in with my Wenhsiuquan training. I don't actually practice much with shurikens. Biggest reason for it is most likely that shuriken throwing does not make me tired, sweaty and out of breath and also does not make my muscles ache (I mean ache in that way that tells you that you are on your way to getting more buff). What shuriken throwing does, however, is calm your mind. The actual technique requires focus that leaves no room for thought, worry or doubt. There is only room for technique. In other words- to me it's a form of meditation. Ninjas had to be able to deploy these projectiles on the run, during a fight or in any other situation that left little time for taking aim and calming yourself. In actual fighting a thrown shuriken is often deployed as a distraction to allow the shinobi...

I was going to write an entire post on the yoi stance in karate when I saw this video here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningGloryMartialArts?fref=nf I think many of us remember scenarios where the self defence moves we learnt got shot to pieces in a real situation. In my case I did not even have to leave the dojo! Our sensei used to make us practice blocking a swinging stick blow to the legs using gedan barai! I got bruises on my back for my trouble!  Believe me- when I got around to developing my own self defence moves that gedan barai response was the first to go!   Sure- we can argue that the responses taught do not always take into account how an actual opponent- who is not from your dojo- is going to move. But then again- if you think that you will become invincible by training and rehearsing as many responses as you can in a lifetime- let me be the first to tell you that you are likely to get your arse kicked all the way to the afterli...

After a long wait it is finally here! The Wenhsiuquan Book on Defense focusses on responses to attacks. It shows how I have simplified blocking to make it suit a real-life situation and shows how I have formulated my responses to common attacks so that the reader can know how to formulate his/ her own. I am really glad to have received my friends' help to get this together. The A5 size version- my favourite- is R 350.00. A cheaper A4 version can be bought for R 150.00. I have not really thought about overseas customers, but I think they'll understand if there is shipping to be paid as well...  For now- I'll take a break before getting to the next one. I am three books away from having my style documented to at least an extent which is worth carrying over. :) Train well, everyone! 

I am happy to say that my second book will soon be printed- in my hands. :D Hope you guys enjoy it. Meanwhile- I still enjoy training. I was very glad to get a nice response to my last post that I decided to share my work on this kata as well. The karate form is from Shotokan. Lots of us know it. It starts with a series of blocks, goes into that rotating escape from a wrist hold and at the end there are those two punches for someone grabbing your from behind, right? Now... The kungfu version was tricky. Initially I thought that I'll find everything I need in Wingchunquan, but I have never found a rotating escape in any Wing Chun forms. So- I borrowed "Snake Shoots Across Valley" for the spear hand. Kept the escape and for those two attacks to the rear I added two doses of "Tiger Bites it's Back". Now- Taijiquan seems to interchange nicely with karate for some reason... I inserted "Snake Creeps Down" with a rotation after s...

I am not going to pretend to be the first one to do this. In fact- if you have seen more than one style of karate you'll find that different versions of a certain kata often exist in different styles (and some styles have kata that others won't). I decided, however, to adapt one of my favourite Shotokan katas so that it can be practiced in two of my other favourite martial arts- Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiquan. With each video I'll tell you a bit of how I experience each art:   1. Bassai Dai in Karate Mode: I was told that "Bassai Dai" is Japanese for "Storming the Fortress". It was my favourite kata in my Shukokai days and I like the Shotokan version as well. When I began learning karate I had to learn the basic blocks and punches. Each punch and block had its own Japanese name and also each stance. Stances and blocks/ attacks got combined later on, but the lessons for white belts were broken up into these bits which made the technique eas...

These days I am certain that whenever an initiate- especially someone who has not even read anything about martial arts- asks what martial arts can do for you the answer depends on who gets to answer that question.  If you know me by now and you have been reading this blog for a while I am sure you will know that my answer will differ significantly from the one you'll get from an MMA coach or BJJ instructor. I shall not say that my answer is the right one, but it shall be different. Here is why: As shocking as it may sound to some- martial arts were not developed with enlightenment in mind. And no- The Chinese are wrong- Not every martial art under the sun came from Shaolin. :D A lot of martial arts did, but not all.  What the Chinese forget to mention is that even Chinese people fought before the Shaolin Temple was founded. In Japan history also shows that there was a time when the emphasis and main objective of martial arts training was combat....