Wen Hsiu Quan

Which of you has read this book? I'll be the first to admit that I am not rich yet. I have, however, been able to develop a really cool technique from it. A lot of teachers, mentors and just about anyone giving us advice can easily tell us what to do and how to do it. What few people ever realise, however, is that what you think and feel while doing something is really important. I mean- really important. Now- instead of going into a long psychological explanation of why the technique works (I am very fond of doing so, btw, but today I prefer to have you experience it rather than just reading) I am going to give you some homework: Take a technique or a kata that you feel needs some work- or maybe it's your kumite, then take that- and spend some quite alone time thinking about it. Now here comes the trick- Don't think about how you struggle doing it- think about how it is doing it right. Imagine yourself doing everything perfectly- like the epitome

Get a book on Taijiquan and it is likely that you will not understand a large part of what the author has written. One such book is on my shelf and contains lots of valuable information, but also a complicated mess of things that I do not experience in my day to day life. I have come to think that Taiji instructors do this on purpose... Ian Sinclair on the other hand has no need to appear knowledgeable by going into a deep forest of Chinese terms (which I have found not even some Chinese people don't understand) or by going off on some hippie trip about qi, meridians and whatever confuses the hell out of you. Make no mistake- Sifu Sinclair knows these terms. He has studied under the type of masters that would make most of us kungfu fanboys jealous. He just does not keep them shrouded in mystery. Ever since I have subscribed to his Youtube Channel I have learnt a lot about martial arts in general. Funny thing is- Judo has this maxim of "minimum effor

How many friends do you know that you can walk up to and say "I have developed my own style of martial art that I want to document. Will you help me?"? When I had first asked my friends for help they did not bat an eyelid. They did not share my love for martial arts, but understood how much this project means to me. Documenting and teaching Wenhsiuquan is the next step in my journey on this path. While my other friends Chen Feng and Chris have decided to leave this country for the safety and economic stability of their homeland- Shirley is still around. She already owns copies of the first two books and has shown it to quite a number of people. Oh! One more thing! I see my blog got more than 5 000 views! Thank you all for showing interest. Although I do not have any full time students yet I have received lots of positive feedback on the advice and information I have provided. It means a lot to me. In my next post I will tell you about two people who have provided m

Pushing Hands practice in Taijiquan has impressed me a lot when I had first come across it. Before that time I have learnt Judo and set out to master the art of "yielding" in real fight situations. This meant pulling my opponent by the arm as it straightened during his punch- or pushing at the moment he is pulling/ retreating. With karate I have learnt how body mechanics could be used to exert effort against resistance in the most efficient manner. Now- I did not feel the need to "yield" in order to be able to throw my opponent.  Two exercises I have devised build strength, develops proper stance and also helps to develop a good feel for the body mechanics involved in grappling. In the one exercise- the pulling drill- one partner is in front stance with his reverse punch- wrist grabbed with his partner's reverse punch-hand. Grabbing hold with the captured arm's hand the partner whose arm was straightened to begin with shifts back into bac