Wen Hsiu Quan

I don't know who else likes Dragonball Z, but I am glad to see that we did not only get a new series, but also an all-new movie. This movie is set in the Z-era and actually seems to retcon GT out of the canon.  Having learnt to transform into a Super Saiyan God he took it further and went on to Super Saiyan God 2- making GT's Super Saiyan 4 form unnecessary... That is not what I want to tell you about, though. Goku's newest teacher is actually what I want to tell yu about. Now- we know that Goku first learnt martial arts from Grandpa Gohan. In later years he would end up studying under Master Roshi- The Turtle Hermit (where he learnt the kamehameha in seconds) and after that was King Kai! It seemed that Roshi's approach to training Goku was by strengthening his body by making him perform everyday tasks and training while wearing weighted clothes. In the beginning he was made to wear a heavy turtle shell on his back. Goku has been wearing wei...

Today I had a really nice workout- again. One of the good things of training alone is that I have so far been able to adapt my workouts to factors like space, time and what I had available. I do- however- have a strong preference to a wide open space where I can let loose with all my kicks. It has been a while since I have seen the inside of a dojo. I have never stopped training, though. Your instructor can teach you, guide you and even coach you, but he cannot train on your behalf. And- even if he (or she) did- it would not help you even one bit. A large part of the learning you do in martial arts comes from your own work in any event.  Besides training- any style of martial art has things that you leave in the dojo (like sparring), but also things you take home with you- like strength, fitness, knowledge, inner calm and so forth. I have strength, fitness, courage, a sharp mind, satisfaction and of course my techniques that stay with...

Hi, everyone! I am especially glad to log in and see my blog has gone beyond the 7000 views mark. So far the prospects of Wenhsiuquan's survival beyond my own lifespan seem a bit better now that people are interested in learning. Seeing how far these people still have to go, however, brings my expectations down towards minor improvements. So- we'll take this on one improvement at a time, I guess... I have finally started with the fourth book. This book is on how I train and gives the actual exercises that make up my personal work-out and which are of course done in each class. Today's post is about an attitude that has started a couple of decades ago, probably when Bruce Lee said: "Boards don't hit back" (Enter the Dragon). My first karate teacher told me once that he does not teach breaking simply because it has no use in combat. He deemed it far more useful to be able to hit a moving target than a stationary board. The shocking part in all t...

Hi, everyone. It's Sunday evening over here as I type this. Tomorrow I won't be working as we have been graced with a public holiday and I am graced with a job that allows me to have a day like that off. This morning I have practiced Taiji. I visited Shairley (or Shirley- I never asked her why she spells her English name so funny...) and had a great lunch. Now I am in the mood to relax and to get philosophical. So- get the kettle boiling for tea and join this discussion. Long before my time- before I was busy studying the principles of one style of karate and trying to integrate them into my being a man called Li Xiaolong (we know his English name very well) went beyond the teachings of the styles of his time to create a concept/ style/ form (he was intentionally very vague on what it should be called) by which he could attain the most natural expression of combat. That meant the most natural response to an attack- the most efficient attack in a given s...

My second day of teaching lies ahead. While I wait here at this park I thought it a good idea to show you what it looks like. This reminds me a lot of a park I saw in Jiangkou, China. Our governments and local authorities have given us these areas to use, but often we see them falling into disuse. This particular park used to have an obstacle course. I just came back here after a year of not seeing this place and found it all gone. Nevertheless- it has ground for us to stand on. What else do we need? :) Time to sign off now. Class is going to start. Today's progress will depend on how quickly they can learn to walk properly. ;) Train well and have fun!

It has finally happened. My first student has gone through his first lesson with me today. I am so sorry about not having taken photos, but hang on- I will soon post pics of how we practice. This young man is also currently studying Haedong Kumdo, Krav Maga and Tang Soo Do. He decided to take up Chinese Martial Arts as well just to make sure that 6 out of his 7 days of the week are covered. Now- anyone else in the Nelspruit area who wants to see how my classes are can join us at the Trim Park (That means the Nelspruit Private Nature Reserve near Sonpark Centre.) on Saturdays from 14h00-16h00.   Today's class was about the horse stance and all the other stances that can flow forth out of it. We started at 14h00 with a warm-up that included qigong and stretching. Then we moved on to two kinds of basic punches- as many as it took to get at least 10 good ones of each. Then we went on to the kicks. I don't know who can remember the on-the-bike-off-the-bike exercise tha...