Wen Hsiu Quan

Many traditional kung fu students know about this or that medicinal ointment or treatment for those injuries commonly associated with training. I am currently nursing a cracked rib. Rib fractures don't really have any quick remedies and unlike limbs, ribs can't be put in a cast. These plasters I got from my friend, Chen Feng (She and her husband Chris helped me with my book, remember?). It's been 2 days since I have put them on and I am now able to laugh without pain and to cough with minimal pain. I breathe and move normally now. I am going to keep this up for the week to come and report back. Remedies like these that use menthol and camphor stimulate the body's circulatory system which in turn helps to relieve pain and facilitates recovery. It works especially well on sprains and bruises. Anyone interested in this product or other Chinese health products (or massage therapy) can contact Feng Chen on Facebook. She is based in my hometown, Nelsp...

Did anyone read my post about how I once left my Shotokan dojo and went on to study other stuff? Well... to sum up anyway before I continue this post I got fed up with the entire school here at the time after a grading in which I got failed while I watched others with much less skill get their black belts. Now- here's the story of my return to Shotokan and my departure from it for good: It was early in 2014 when my sensei from back then came back to Nelspruit after a long absence. A long enough absence for me to learn Jeet Kune Do and a whole lot of cool stuff and to develop my own style which I have come to treasure. Now Sensei Roelf was quick to ask me to take up karate again. And I agreed and soon found myself showing up for the first couple of classes in which I was to reacquaint myself with kihon and kata  that I have un learnt over the years. Not kumite , though. Nobody touches my way of fighting! If you want to teach me a better way to fight- then fa...

Have fun training!

Most martial artists know that an opponent using a long weapon like a staff, baseball bat or sword is at a disadvantage as soon as you have managed to get past the weapon itself and close to him. Most of us are more comfortable with using our hands to manage the weapon and stepping past it to get to the opponent. Most adversaries would most likely expect you to do that as well... Now the major advantages of using a kick like the crescent kick I am showing in the sketch are the following: 1. It uses a limb more powerful than the arm; 2. It leaves both hands free to attack; 3. It opens up a path for you before you bring your body in range; 4. It gives you the element of surprise on your side. To me- a weapon that is held poised and pointed toward me is a bigger threat that one that is being swung. A swinging weapon can be timed and often clears the way for you to move in by itself. A poised weapon, however, is a trap! The crescent kick is a good way to c...

I like having my legs as available as weapons as much as my upper limbs are. In another post I will show some defences against weapons that rely on quick feet or light legs. This warm-up exercise is a great way to get the legs ready to deliver some powerful explosive kicks,  Start in a horse stance and step into a cross-stance. The leg with which you have stepped forward is now the supporting leg. Now from whichever side of your supporting leg the other leg's foot is resting, swing it over in a wide arc through an imaginary target at head height. The supporting leg is firm and the swinging leg is relaxed. The kicking foot should now come to rest at the other side of the supporting foot- to shoot of in another high, wide arc to the other side. Repeat about 10 times each side and switch legs. Real kicking would require you to tighten the kicking leg's muscles at the moment of impact. This exercise has none of that as it is meant to loosen the limbs before tr...

I really pity those of you who train with an instructor who does not teach anything about Qi! The one big difference between Wenhsiuquan and Jeet Kune Do is that Qigong is expressly part of Wenhsiuquan's training regimen.  Last week I have learnt a really cool training method from Wu Style Taijiquan. I must admit that the writer of the book actually gave a lot of complex information that I have still not digested, but one really cool technique did find its way from the pages into my morning work-out's warm-up. It goes like this: Standing in an upright posture ( yoi for the karate people), feet flat on the ground, shoulders relaxed, and so forth (Taijiquan people know the drill...) you begin to stretch your neck upwards so that all the vertebrae have a space between one another. This is not done by straining, but rather in a relaxed posture and while breathing slowly.  Just by doing that I have already felt a surge of Qi course through my veins. Not qu...