Wen Hsiu Quan

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....

This was a question my grandfather asked a much younger me one day when I excitedly showed off my newly learnt kicks. I think we all agree by now that we would be surprised if our opponents did in fact stand still. If you are already an accomplished fighter you most likely know the things I am about to tell and you are then welcome to skip this post. If you are someone who has trouble landing blows you may find this helpful- The secret to making your throw, punch, strike, armbar or wrist lock hit its mark lies in timing. Kihon (basics) and kata practice do not teach timing and may have you imagining an opponent just waiting for your attack to reach him. Timing is developed with sparring practice. That- most of us seem to know. What few seem to know, however, is that meditation is actually crucial. Thoughts and emotion actually slow down your responses. Guessing is also thought- and it does not help. When you have pushed all that aside what you have left is... Awareness! Now- Wh...

Okay. We watch martial arts movies and know some actors- there are even some sports stars in the martial arts world that a lot of us may know about, but which martial artists do you admire and follow?  Because I have nothing else to write about for now (You can buy my book on defense, though. It is done!), I decided to tell you about the people in the martial arts community that have my "like", "follow" and now- my share: Rika Usami: Yes- she is no Rhonda Rousey. It never fails to amaze me how she can transform from a beautiful, soft-spoken lady to a fearsome killing machine. It is no secret that I love kata. I also love Asian ladies. So- she was meant to be on my timeline...  Hitomi Tanaka RED ALERT! Ban this post! AV Star detected! Relax, everyone! When Hitomi-chan is not filming or shooting photosets that help us guys clean out the pipes every now and then she studies Goju-Ryu karate. I never asked her whether she does K1 as well...

I am really excited as I am getting to the last chapter of this book. Soon- this one will be printed and ready for circulation. Although I know that there are many people feeling okay without it I do not think the world should ever be without the knowledge of martial arts. In my opinion it is one of the highest achievements humanity has ever reached. No matter how stressful our lives are, what difficulties we shall face or what harm awaits us- we shall be able to meet the challenge if we have the martial arts to strengthen our bodies and spirit! In other news- My dear friend, Lindie Delassus' son Jean-Michael has won two gold medals in a recent karate tournament! Why two? One is for kata- and the other for kumite of course! :) He has started karate last year and looks like he is going to make his mark. Well- to Jean Michael I want to say what I say to you: Train well and have a good week!