Wen Hsiu Quan

Okay- scroll down the photos so we can get to my text...   Stop! Here we are... Okay- if anyone on Martial Arts Forums can read this it means that this post did not get removed (Thank you, Admins!) I really appreciate my posts getting read very much and I will not waste your time for doing so- so let's cut to the chase... Next year I'll be 40. Apart from gaining weight I also noticed a slight decline in my eyesight- so- what did I do? I started training my eyes. Did you know you can train your eyes? Well- I will tell you about that soon. But first- Bravestarr... If you are not my age- or you are about my age, but did not watch as much TV as I did watch this intro to get yourself up to date: https://youtu.be/UaMo4k7iG7s Yes- Bravestarr was a space- sheriff in a futuristic sci-fi series that was mostly set on the planet New Texas far away in space. Like his contemporary, He-Man he had a line of toys from Mattel and a series and probably some other mercha...

I know that Zen Buddhism or Taoism is not part of martial arts training for most of us. Over here in South Africa I think a lot of Christian parents would pull their kids right out of a dojo if anything remotely Buddhist-like rears its head there... It seems, however, that lots of decent, upright, churchgoing folk can appreciate a good sports metaphor when we talk about life. Heihachi's son and grandson won't forgive him any time soon... Then there is his own conscience... I suppose the reason for this is that sports have a way of revealing a lot about a person's character. We notice the daring, the cautious, the cowardly and the courageous. We see when someone has gained momentum and is riding high on a wave of positive energy and when some have already accepted defeat and are now only going through the motions. Fighting in itself, either is a sport or in the case of a real fight has a lot in common with sports in the sense that a fight has a winning and a losing si...

I love a good martial arts movie. I have often watched a good fight scene and then imagined myself fighting like the protagonist in the story. Later on, though, I have found that I could fight even better using less agility and definitely a lot less acrobatics. Since I am speaking to a community of martial artists I am sure I am not alone. Kungfu is a great example. Its jumps, somersaults, swinging hand movements and spectacular kicks are world famous. Yet- when you hear stories of actual encounters with Kung Fu exponents you are likely to hear something like the story I have once heard of the old lady who had her assailant fall on his ass with a simple front kick. I also don't think that we have to search very far to hear an account of an attacker being sent stumbling back and falling down with a simple push. While my first Karate teacher's students learned elaborate block/trap/throw or block/trap/counterattack sequences against attacks with ...

I don't know about you, but I like stability. I like a set routine and I like having friends stay with me for as long as they can. We have possessions to which we hold on and relatives that we cherish. Still- we live in a changing world. When the changes in this world involve friends moving away, relatives dying or treasured possessions being lost we feel unhappy. Our natural mindset is to resist this kind of adverse change and we find that the longer it takes us to accept it the longer it takes for us to move on.   Kata, Taolu, Randori  or any form of set practice in martial arts feels comfortable when it has become familiar to you. We know, however, that a good kata performer is not necessarily a good fighter. The reason for this, of course, is because fights are dynamic. Your opponent's timing is not always in sync with yours (although Aikidoka strive to have you synchronise your timing with that of your opponent) and positions, attacks and de...

While my legs are still tired from this morning's training I want to talk about a part of the martial arts spectrum that I like a lot, yet not see being publicized in the West as much as MMA and other martial arts based sports. Every now and then I get to speak with non-martial artist members of the public and get their idea of what they expect of martial arts and why they do or do not want to take up martial arts. What I have heard quite often now is "I want to learn Krav Maga!" and every now and then "our competitions are full-contact". I also happen to hear "I used to do this or that style..." I guess that in spite of martial arts being around for this long people still regard it as a way of fighting and nothing more. Before these movies came out I have received what one could call an extensive martial arts education in the physical, psychological and philosophical aspects of the martial arts of Japan, Korea and China. ht...