Wen Hsiu Quan

I almost did not type this post today. I was thinking about leaving it for tomorrow. Last week a colleague of mine (in the legal fraternity) asked whether I'd be willing to teach basic self defense to a group of five people. So- in the course of last week and this week I was phoning the Municipality for a venue. Later on- before I decided to phone one of the private landlords of this city I got an excellent idea. Our local Botanical Gardens has vast lawns in the shade. Regardless of that, though- the humid summer heat we have over here had me sweaty in no time. So- in the two hours we have spent there we got to learn: -The basic defense posture; - Defense and counterattack against a direct attack; -Defense and counterattack against a circular attack; -Breaking free from a rear bear hug (their idea); -Throwing somebody driving towards you; -Throwing a person who is NOT driving towards you and who might actually be moving backwards. I a...

Long time ago I have joined a Shotokan school with a logo that looked like this... This week I have joined one with a logo that looks like this- :D Regardless of the above minor details I am glad that I have taken this step. Frankly- I did not like how sloppy I have become in the execution of my techniques. Having focussed on real fighting for so long has made my techniques ugly. If you don't believe that real fighting makes one's techniques ugly I recommend you watch some Shotokan kata videos and some Kyokushinkai kata videos.... Anyway- I wanted to get back to low stances, poise and to put the aesthetics back into my training. Why? Because I want to. Also- This is my way of getting out a bit more. Which better place to find other martial arts fanatics in my area? No- not the local MMA gym. Not for me. So... First evening and Sensei Louw tells me to relax more... Yep- I have really become rusty. So...    I am now paying extra attention to my kata...

It started with a brief conversation on Facebook with Sensei Jesse Enkamp. He seems like the guy who has the answers to those questions that you wanted to ask your Sensei, but never got the courage- or- who had the answers where your Sensei hadn't. In summary- Jesse's knowledge of karate seems to be surpassed only by his passion for it. So- my question to him was: "Why do I not see any katas with roundhouse kicks, reverse roundhouse kicks and back kicks, yet these kicks are all accepted as part of every style's kihon." His answer was: "Mikazuki Geri = Mawashi Geri. We have a kata that features a back kick. Reverse roundhouse kicks are useless for self defence. :D" Great answer, but as all answers do it had me having more questions. While the question of why somebody would invent a technique called "Dragon Whips its Tail" in kungfu if it was going to be regarded as useles...

One of my favourite things about martial arts is that it has gone beyond fighting to enrich one's life with more than just the ability to defend oneself.  Those of you who study a discipline that is better adapted for the way people fight in this day and age may not think that those who practice more archaic fighting systems (if you don't know what I mean you are welcome to ask me and I shall explain, but let me get on with my post...) are not doing something that is of any use, but as a person who has been engaging in such seemingly pointless uses of one's time I can assure you- we are reaping the benefits from that as much as we are benefiting from the know-how of this day and age. So it is with weapons. In Wenhsiuquan I include weapons practice, but with weapons that you do not see in use in our day to day life. Still- I practice with my staff, swords, tonfa, sai, nunchaku and even my shuriken dilligently, because of the positive effect they have on...

Hi,everyone. I have had a really nice vacation during the festive season and am getting set to start work next week. I am especially grateful for all the spare time I have had in which to train. :) In my mission to get Wenhsiuquan uploaded to the collective consciousness of the communities to which I belong I have begun by including to pages from the first book I have written. In time more pages will follow. This new year promises to be very exciting to me. I wish all of you out there a year in which you will reap good results from your continued training. THE WENHSIUQUAN BOOK OF PULLING AND PUSHING By Wenhsiu TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...............................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: The Basics....................................................................2 CHAPTER 2: A position of weakness................................................5 CHAPTER 3: Basic Techniques- The ...

When I was 16 I have found this passage in the Book of Five Rings.  And that amounts for as much as what I know about fighting multiple opponents and double weapons today. My Saturday morning workouts always include a single bokken for katana practice. Shairley has however recently given me a shorter bokken to match the black one I have. (I have a natural colour varnished one as well). So- Now having the katana and wakizashi I was eager to get see how I handle the weight of a long sword being held in only one hand. For those who don't know- This posture is Happo Biraki ("Open on eight sides"). This is a posture suited for being surrounded by multiple opponents. One thing that really feels "wrong" about this entire exercise is that the two weapons are not balanced like my sai  or tonfa .  Juji Dome- Cross Guard. The katana was further designed to be a "hand-held guilotine"- its cutting ability being optimal when both ha...

I was about to write my last post for this year when I logged in and found that the views for this blog has gone over 10 000. Yes, Vegeta. That is indeed over 9000... Thank you to everyone who have read and commented on my blog this year.  This year some people at lest got a glimpse of what Wenhsiuquan has to offer. Between the books and the blog I have managed to document a large amount of its principles. What lies ahead for next year remains to be seen. The prospect of having to move to a new town has recently reared its head. What I am going to want to do next, however, is demo videos! Let's see who I find to help with that next year.  One of the most interesting encounters I had while working on the books this year was Chris. He would have been the perfect partner for demo videos. As fate would have it, however, he and his wife Angela have returned to China.  :D Then there was Thabo- my first student. Aiya... If ...