Wen Hsiu Quan

I have not been writing anything for this blog for a while now... However- I have managed to put some time into this book and- eventually- managed to finish it! You can find it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/59796457 My latest book Those of you who have been following my blog know that I mainly train alone. Form practice is a large part of this training. This book focuses on Kung Fu forms and shows techniques from Shaolin and Wudang, the two main sources of Kung Fu, in order for you to put together your own set or taolu (which is Chinese for kata ). I have also taken a well-known set from Shaolin Kung Fu and give you an analysis of the set in order to help you better understand how these sets are put together and how each of the parts thereof work. The book is available to all Patreons who have joined my Patreon site. I will make more material available soon!  

  Hello, everyone. It seems I had a case of writer's block that has kept me from writing posts lately. When you practice martial arts every day, however, there are a lot of things about it to write about, but what you don't bother with, because you tend to reckon that it is too mundane or obvious to write about. Well... maybe for experienced martial artists... Then- I end up realising again that there is not only an entirely new generation to whom we can pass on much of this seemingly redundant knowledge, but also a record to set straight with a new generation of experts. This post is about two old enemies. Some say they were never supposed to meet, but meet they did. The one was set on knocking the wind out of you, the other was... well... now its role is disputed, but everyone was sure at the time that it was his job to stop the other from achieving its goal. These two are of course the Front Kick ( Maegeri in Karate) and the Lower Parry ( Gedan Barai to Karate people). Gedan...

This year started with me in a new situation.  No longer working for just myself and with less free time than before I have been spending less time on the book and this blog now sees me for the first time as well. Early morning workouts have become shorter and more hurried. I am however still taking whatever time I can to learn new things.  I enjoy Yoga as much as Qigong these days and have made it part of my workouts. https://web.facebook.com/marthinus.boshoff.3/videos/3258081497594422 I am glad to say that I am now more than halfway done with the book. I have also received an offer from a friend to help with Youtube videos. Let's see how this year goes...   

Now... with a lockdown having started in the third month of this year, carefully adapting to each new stage of our protracted state of emergency and having to get used to a new job that just about takes up all of my time these days- we woke up one morning and found that this entire year had passed. So- what have you done during all this time? Have you put off all commitments and plans for when things start looking better? If you have I would not judge you or blame you. Hell- I remember seeing on Facebook how quiet the "Law of Attraction" group had become when the shit had really hit the fan. Faith seemed to have been in short supply. The people that had really kept me going were those who had suddenly begun doing what I had been doing for the last 30-odd years- exercising in their own yards... Martial arts may contain mostly techniques for fighting opponents in the physical realm, but my biggest hope for any martial arts student is that he or she cultivates an indomitable war...

Hello, everyone!  I know it has been a long time since I have written anything. I have started at a new job that has me a lot busier than I have expected myself to be and I had to work on a couple of Saturdays. Saturdays are of course the days on which I attend to my blogs. It felt good to have today free to attend to my book as well. It is still a work in progress and I will let you know on Facebook, Twitter and Patreon when it is out. All in all- I still train. Even though I now have to wake up earlier in the mornings to train I still take the time to train. That will never stop for as long as my body remains able to move. The chapter at which I am now is an analysis of the Five Animal Combined Set of Shaolin Kung Fu. This set is somewhat different from the taolu that we see in Wushu competitions nowadays. I feel it is a good idea to look at the forms that were designed for training rather than performance purposes. Many of you already know that I regularly practice my Karate kat...

If you have not yet seen Sensei Iain Abernethy's videos then now would be a good time to start. The video below would not mean as much to you if you have not been studying Karate for at least 3 years. In some styles it may take even longer to see the katas that he discusses.  What many of us experience when practicing kata is that the movements do not make any sense. Here in Bassai Dai for instance we have two blocks that are not followed by any kind of visible attack. So- what are we to believe? That the opponent will just walk away if he sees that you have blocked the only two punches that he was willing to give to this fight? That is where Sensei Iain helps a lot. After watching the first of his videos I have made a point on finding out what he has to say about the obscure movements of every new kata that I have learnt. Sensei Iain does not do Kung Fu, though. I have thought that I have Kung Fu pretty much figured out. On Kung Fu pages and in Kung Fu groups online you may get el...

I admit that Ninjutsu fascinates the hell out of me. Thanks to Stephen Hayes and Ashida Kim I have been able to learn sword techniques, shuriken throwing and of course- some interesting unarmed fighting techniques.  The Mi Lu Kata- or Lost Track teaches techniques that rely on misdirection to get past an opponent's defense in a fight. I am not certain whether this kata has any ties with the Mizongyi (Lost Track) Boxing that is attributed to the legendary Huo Yunjia. I am not even certain whether this kata exists outside of Kim's school on Ninjutsu. I have however, had a lot of fun learning it and have started practicing it again. With the details about Ninjutsu having become even more uncertain in this day and age than how they were 40 years ago I doubt that anyone is able to say for certain exactly how Ninjas used to fight in the 17th Century. What I am certain of, however, is that these techniques do not seem like fighting techniques used by Japanese warriors at the time. I c...