Wen Hsiu Quan

Hello, everyone!  I know it has been a long time since I have written anything. I have started at a new job that has me a lot busier than I have expected myself to be and I had to work on a couple of Saturdays. Saturdays are of course the days on which I attend to my blogs. It felt good to have today free to attend to my book as well. It is still a work in progress and I will let you know on Facebook, Twitter and Patreon when it is out. All in all- I still train. Even though I now have to wake up earlier in the mornings to train I still take the time to train. That will never stop for as long as my body remains able to move. The chapter at which I am now is an analysis of the Five Animal Combined Set of Shaolin Kung Fu. This set is somewhat different from the taolu that we see in Wushu competitions nowadays. I feel it is a good idea to look at the forms that were designed for training rather than performance purposes. Many of you already know that I regularly practice my Karate kat...

It is not often when I see something from Jackie Bradbury on Martial Arts Forums, these days. Her latest blog post has struck a chord with me, though. The post titled "The State of Filipino Martial Arts Today" confirmed to me that martial arts all over the world face the same dillema. Or maybe not the arts themselves, but the people trying to keep others interested in them (and those who earn money from teaching them...) In her post Jackie invited the reader to comment and give his input. With Karate in this country- when it reaches this point- they don't ask the public what they want or what their views are. A Shihankai (Masters' Group) meets and then decides the fate of karate for all who study it. And a lot of changes were made this way- Shotokan had gone from full contact sparring to non-contact to semi contact to full contact with head gear to semi contact without headgear to full contact on the body with minimal contact to the face- wit...

This book is the last on Wenhsiuquan technique. There is now a book on grappling, defense and striking. This is also the last book in which I needed a partner to help me demonstrate techniques. The next book is on physical exercises that form a vital part of each training session. I think I can do that without a partner. My friends have taught me a valuable lesson with the writing of these 3 books. I was always aware of how many people had involved me in their schemes and hare-brained ideas, but now I realised that I also had people willing to help me realise some hair-brained ideas of my own. Each one of the 3 books contain a form ( taolu or kata ) at the end. I have added a video of the kata in the most recent book. At present this style has 7 forms for basic practice. When I am done modifying the 7 katas from karate we shall have 14 forms. Thank you all for following this blog. Next year the contents of the first book shall be posted on this very blog for ...

After a long wait it is finally here! The Wenhsiuquan Book on Defense focusses on responses to attacks. It shows how I have simplified blocking to make it suit a real-life situation and shows how I have formulated my responses to common attacks so that the reader can know how to formulate his/ her own. I am really glad to have received my friends' help to get this together. The A5 size version- my favourite- is R 350.00. A cheaper A4 version can be bought for R 150.00. I have not really thought about overseas customers, but I think they'll understand if there is shipping to be paid as well...  For now- I'll take a break before getting to the next one. I am three books away from having my style documented to at least an extent which is worth carrying over. :) Train well, everyone! 

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!

 I am actually busy nursing an injured leg back to health and now find myself at that stage where it is feeling a bit better and I am itching to get back to training. I will, however, stick to light Taijiquan practice for this next week and take up the heavy stuff the week after. Meanwhile- I am working on the second Wenhsiuquan book. This one is about defense. Instead of Chen Feng and Chris I got help from another couple. Vic- who you will not be seeing in any photos, because he operated the camera- and Shairley Yang- volunteered to help out with some of the photos. By some- I don't mean just a few, mind you... Shairley is well known here for her cheerful- and playful nature and we got a lot of it during the shoot. She actually made this a lot more fun than what I thought it would be. I hope you all train well. I'll be sure to let everyone know when this book is finally ready. Have a great week!

Here is the order form. Fill it out and email it to boshoffm3@gmail.com. You can phone me at 084 799 7030 to check on progress- or if you just want to make sure I am a real person. (hint- just SMS me if I don't answer and tell me you are phoning about the book.)   Delivery by courier ought to be about 7 days from receipt of your proof of payment. Thank you for your support. I really hope this book will help you in the same way that the knowledge shared therein has helped me.