Wen Hsiu Quan

Some attacks succeed while others don't. When two fighters of equal strength and technical prowess face each other the decisive factor in determining whose attack shall be effective, and whose will be a waste of energy, is tactics. The fighter with the tactical advantage will control the outcome of the confrontation. Examples of tactical advantageous positions are as follow (to name but a few): 1. Being behind the opponent 2. Having the exit behind you 3. Being "inside" the opponent's defenses 4. Being "outside" the line of attack. 5. Being out of sight. More advantageous positions can be discovered if one studies the battlefield. Positions of advantage are documented in works like Sun Tzu's Art of War, Musashi's Book of Five Rings and Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do. That basically concludes my blog. If anybody needs more detail or advice I can be contacted at boshoffm3@gmail.com  

Without observation and awareness of one's surroundings tactics will be of no use. Still- this simple aspect of tactics does not come natural to modern human beings and has to be developed through training. Although one can do many exercises to sharpen any of the five senses the key factor in the success of any of these training methods would be the mind. A pre-occupied mind is not aware. The mind gets pre-occupied with thought. In a state of security and calm thoughts that arise are often of random issues which do not cause us any distress. In a crisis, however, our fears often take hold of us and affect our capacity to make decisions and act on them. It's not necessary to tell any martial artist of the importance of sparring, but unfortunately few ever appreciate the value of meditation. Besides cultivating chi, meditation gives us the basic template for a mind capable of solving any problem, of overcoming any adversary and a state of fearlessness and mastery over pain.

The meaning of tactics depends on the martial artist. To a soldier it would mean ways to accomplish a mission, to  an assassin it would mean the way to eliminate his target, for me it would mean staying alive. As soon as you have decided on your objective you can consider the ways and means to achieve that objective. It is not a good idea to devise tactics in the middle of a battle. Tactics should already be devised and integrated into the martial artist's mind when the need for them arise. Awareness is a key element in the implementation of tactics and deciding on changes in adopted strategies. Since the Tao Te Ching says that the greatest journey begins with a single step and the greatest buildings start with a single brick- I'll start at the very beginning of implementation of tactics- perceiving the environment, we'll move on then to ways of avoiding confrontations and lastly on the three ways to forestall the enemy as documented by renowned Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi

Having studied Japanese Martial Arts and not being a big fan of the Gay Porn that gets shown on television each time an MMA match is on I want to start this chapter by saying that I regard grappling as a means to subdue a relatively harmless opponent. Being mainly a survival- orientated style- Wen Hisu Quan does not allow its exponents to become involved is a lengthy love scene of hugging and holding. If an opponent cannot be subdued by a simple throw or joint lock and he persists in fighting you, you should go to maim and kill! The above is also in accordance with Dr Jigoro Kano's principle of "Minimum Effort Maximum Effect" which the Chinese know as "using four tahils  against a thousand katis" and which somehow got mistranslated to the Western World as "Screw Technique and Just Do A Lot Of Weight Training To Win With Brute Force". Don't ask me why, but it's just the way it is. If you are really interested in learning the different kin

The legs, usually very strong compared to the arms, make excellent long range weapons. Every martial art recoginses this fact and had developed kicking techniques that we recognise in all of them. Although many kicking techniques- and variations of those kicks exist I have only picked the most basic kicks for this discussion. The kicks seen in the video are also the kicks that each beginner should be practicing without fail. When these kicks are mastered, other kicks will come much easier. The video starts off with three basic front foot kicks. I regard these as the jabs of kicking although, being kicks, correct technique will make them much more dangerous. The following should be noted in the execution of these techniques: 1. Stance, Stance, Stance:   The very same stances (in this case horse and crane stance) apply throughout the execution of the technique, with the heels of the feet are firmly on the ground and tension is maintained in the legs, knees pushing away from each oth

Most of our intent is channelled into the material world via our hands. Practicioners of any method of massaging or Qigong will also tell you that energy, positive or negative, are easiest detected with and channeled through the hands. It is therefore no surprise that humans, when they wish to attack each other, would inevitably use their hands to do so. It is unfortunate that with the development and modernising of martial arts a lot of emphasis has been placed on the fist. One of the reasons for this is that most martial artist deem the fist the safest weapon to use in a contest. The result of this view is that a wide array of striking, thrusting and grabbing techniques get lost. Personally I do not think it's any use if you practice a martial art only to find out that you are not equipped to dispose of adversaries above your weight class, or adversaries that are stronger than you. A simple punch may cause a lot of harm to an opponent of the same build as you, but will it

Generally blocking and parrying techiniques are used to prevent the opponent's attack from striking you. These techiques rely usuall rely on the hand's outer edge, the palm, the forearm, the shin or the foot. Regardless of the type of block or parry used the following guidelines apply to all blocking techniques. 1.     The stance has to be rooted firmly.          If you want to remain on the balls of your feet for quick retreats and sidesteps, then face it-           you don't really need to block then. It's no use tapping your opponent's forearm after he had          missed. Practicioners of Taijiquan and tradional Karate will tell you that a rooted stance can          even cause your block to knock an opponent off balance. The blocks using the foot and shin          demonstrated in the video draw on the balance and rooting developed through regular Crane          Stance training. I've dealt with the crane stance in the post on Force Training Exercises

Now let's assume that you have been practicing Kung Fu for a couple of years. How would one know? Amongst the signs of a trained martial artist are the keen reflexes and agility- and also the physical strength. There are actually more subtle signs as well. I'll give four of my favorite demonstrations: 1.  Breaking Techniques: Who doesn't love breaking boards, coconuts, roof tiles, floor tiles and bricks? If strong attacking force has been developed breaking objects should be easy and should be done with very little pain- if any. If it hurts- or if the object doesn't break- go back and practice more. Be patient. 2.  The immovable stance:  A master does not get pulled or pushed, but he can throw his opponents around like rag dolls. 3.  One Inch Punch:  Still one of my favourite demonstrations. A martial artist with a strong enough "snap" in his punch does not need a lot of space to punch. 4.  Wind Strike: Usually a palm strike or punch is used. If execut

"Hard" styles of martial arts like Karate and Muay Thai are known to condition the body's weapons by striking wooden poles, punching bags and the "makiwara"(a striking post with a thick rope, straw mat or cushion stuffed with sand attached to it). These methods are effective in conditioning the palms, fists and feet. These exercises harden the bones of the impact area. The muscles of the torso can also be toughened by repeated punching and striking. I just want to state that patience is necessary and that the object is to see how hard you can be hit without injury. Simply injuring yourself from the start serves no purpose. The object is rather to use your mind to strengthen your body. A simple experiment will illustrate the principle that applies here: When you are able to channel your qi, summon your qi to flow through your entire body. Feel your stomach's muscles become hard like steel. Now- maintaining this feeling of power- punch yourself in the st

If you have practiced karate in a registered dojo you will most probably have spent hours on repetitive basic technique (Japanese: kihon ) practice. The techniques performed during these sessions often appear different from how they would look in a real fight. This is especially true of the traditional schools. Chinese Kung Fu is no different. An excellent example is the taolu (forms- or as they are called in Japanese : kata). The techniques performed herein are too slow, long, obvious and/ or unguarded to be used in a real fight. Bruce Lee himself did not deem it a good idea to waste one's time on them.* So what purpose do they serve? Truth is- preparation for combat is merely one of the functions of taolu practice. One of the main purposes, though, is force training. In Wen Hsiu Quan there is a differentiation between combat forms and force training forms. One of the keys to understanding the reason for this differentiation lies in the exercises outlined below: 1. Horse St

To begin my discussion on force I'll state that the Chinese principle holds that qi - or energy- is converted into force during the execution of martial arts techniques. Characteristics of good force include the ability to hit hard, the ability to withstand blows, stamina and physical strength. I'll deal with all the exercises in my force training programme in due course. For now I'll start with my Qigong exercises and gathering Qi. The first video shows the first two exercises. While performing the exercises the mind is calm and following the breathing. Inhale raising the hands and exhale lowering the hands. As shown- I repeat it ten times. The second exercise is very helpful in teaching you to feel your own Qi. Inhaling, feel your hands rise by themselves- very much like Helium balloons. When exhaling feel the pulling force between the palms and the earth. Feel gravity pulling the whole body down. Posture is very important. The basic principle is that the upper b

If you have stumbled across this blog I would hope that you are interested in Chinese Martial Arts as much as I am. The Chinese Martial Arts have always been, and still are evolving and adapting. New styles develop without us knowing. You may not realise this, but all the martial arts styles on earth rely on the same universal principles, but are different from each other due to the approach taken. Wen Hsiu Quan (Wen Hsiu Fist) is actually my approach to the Chinese Martial Arts- or, if you would, my style of Kung Fu. It was developed after a study of Shotokan and Shukokai Karate followed by research into the Chinese roots of Karate. This study took an interesting turn to the Shaolin style Chinese Boxing and Taijiquan. The actual techniques that I will demonstrate over time herein were derived from Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan (Tai Chi), Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm) and Hsing I Quan (Form of Mind Boxing). Kicking techniques are mainly Shukokai Karate, Wing Chun Quan and Shaol