A very long while back, we published a 30 minute video on 10 points for controlling the body in Qigong. Over the years, this was one of our most popular DVDs — it is simple, accessible, and provides solid information for any martial artist wanting to understand basic Qigong structure. The information is ageless, but […]
Aug
30
2023
30
2023
Jan
10
2023
10
2023
Safe In Santa Cruz
Hi all, A lot of people have contacted us, after seeing Santa Cruz on the news this week. Thank you so much! Just want to let you know that we are all ok here. Our house, and Plum are both a few blocks from the coast, and about a mile from the mountains where most […]
Jan
9
2023
9
2023
BP Chan Students and Colleagues
We received this email from a longtime customer and friend of Plum who is collecting memories and stories of BP Chan, for a book that he is writing on the famous teacher. My name is Ron Lambert. I’m writing a book on the life of BP Chan… I’m in the process of interviewing students of […]
Dec
1
2022
1
2022
Winter Is Coming
We LOVE to hear from our Plum customers, correspondents, friends, and are constantly asking, nudging, and begging people to write and let us know their (martial) thoughts, or tell us what their practice is like these days, that kind of thing. Happily, we just got an email from someone we have known through Plum for […]
Jul
13
2022
13
2022
The Similarities Among the Various Styles of Taijiquan (revised to include images!)
This is an excerpt from Andrew Townsend’s The Art of Taijiquan: An Examination of Five Family Styles. You can find this and several other books from Andrew on the Principles and Practice of Taijiquan by clicking the book image. Plum represents 6 of his fine volumes on Taijiquan, Martial power and Applications, Pushing Hands and […]
May
13
2022
13
2022
The Role of Continuous Movement in Yang Style T’ai Chi Chuan
~Reprinted from T’ai Chi Magazine Millennial Issue, February 2000 At one time T’ai Chi was known as River Boxing (He Quan). The reason is obvious, even to the non-player. T’ai Chi’s smooth, continuous flowing motions move along like a gentle mountain stream turning and tumbling occasionally but never halting its fluid progress. And to make […]
May
7
2022
7
2022
Sifu Jack Yan Teaches Mandarin (Plus a Whole Lot More)
Sometimes, here at Plum, we circle back and take a second look at a book or DVD we rediscover in our own catalogue. Adding almost 4000 items over the years has, hopefully, matured our tastes and understandings, and we often find nuance and new meaning among the treasures. But today, it is not a stack […]
Mar
20
2022
20
2022
Why Practice the Tai Chi Sword?
If you are learning the art of TC sword, or even just want to appreciate the style, you have picked one of the great martial arts weapons. This double-bladed instrument — whether wooden practice or combat steel — is unlike any other in the Tai Chi arsenal. It encourages direct concentration aligned with movement — […]
Mar
5
2022
5
2022
Spinning Bagua
When we think of Kung Fu and its long history, we tend to think of its venerable age, lineage, and established methods. But everything in Kung Fu was new once — VERY NEW — and innovative. Responding to environment, population and, most influentially, technology, these impulses sparked revolutionary changes, as well as temporary (and sometimes, […]
Jan
28
2022
28
2022
All of a Sudden: A Brief Lesson on Speed
Initial Speed is an endless topic. It is a transformation of a moment. Initial Speed leaves your opponent still reacting to what is past. There are endless ways to acquire Initial Speed by eliminating the useless. Initial Speed is a marriage of the extremes. External keypoints may include posture, an alignment of the structure, the […]
Jan
1
2022
1
2022
QA: The Benefit of Reeling Silk in Bagua
A little while back, we published a short video tutorial on Reeling Silk exercise in Bagua Zhang. We just received a nice comment on it from Lyn, plus a couple of questions… Q: Very interesting little video. The informal style of it made it easy to watch–& a disappointment when it ended! I always tend […]
Jan
1
2022
1
2022
Sep
5
2021
5
2021
Two Great Wrestlers
It’s been 5 years since our beloved cat, Carthage, died. She was 19. It took a while for the time to be right, but we are happy to announce the new wrestling team of Uxmal (whitish) and Notte (blackish) to Plum. These sisters spend endless hours tussling, rolling, pinning down, chasing, attacking (brooms, mostly), defending […]
Jul
24
2021
24
2021
Paul Koh Interview Part 3: Present and Future Approaches to Kung Fu
This is the third in a four-part interview with Sifu Paul Koh, who has just released a series of beautifully designed books on traditional forms. Sifu Koh was gracious enough to grant Plum an interview, which turned out to exceed our expectations in terms of length and depth. Since the interview is lengthy, we decided […]
Jul
7
2021
7
2021
Paul Koh Interview Part 2: On Masters and More
This is Part 2 of a 4 part interview with Sifu Paul Koh, who has recently published a series of beautifully designed books on traditional forms. Although we know Sifu Koh to be a thoughtful teacher and good writer, we were delighted by the unexpected depth and breadth he applied when addressing our questions. Since […]
Jun
27
2021
27
2021
Interview with ‘Fu Jow Pai’ Sifu Paul Koh, Pt. 1
When we learned that Sifu Paul Koh was setting off on a new publishing venture, to bring out a series of beautifully designed books on traditional forms, we asked if we might interview him, to expose a few more of our Plum followers to his Tiger Claw system. Although we know Sifu Koh to be […]
May
8
2021
8
2021
A Brief Lesson on Reeling Silk Energy in Bagua Zhang
In this short response to a video sent to us by Steven, a Bagua student, Ted Mancuso briefly describes one of the most—if not THE MOST—important elements of Bagua Zhang: reeling silk energy, or Chan Ssu Jin. Reeling silk energy is in the DNA of all of the traditional Chinese martial arts, but is particularly […]
Apr
14
2021
14
2021
Tai Chi Training Secrets: How Do You Practice Martially, When You Are By Yourself?
A recent letter from one of our favorite correspondents, Gary Shapiro, put the question: “We spoke about how practicing taiji with the martial aspects in mind enhances it’s health effects. So— how does that work? Can one practice “martially” solo? (and how?).” In our newest video, Sifu Ted answers this and offers some training tips […]
Mar
7
2021
7
2021
From Basics to Mastery: Jibengongs and the Bear Palm Gong in Bagua
As we have mentioned (more than once, I’m thinking), I am working on a new book/dvd project on Bagua Gongs, those special exercises that teach by principle and really infuse your practice with the flavor of your style (in this case, Bagua Zhang). The project keeps growing, and looks like it is veering into one […]
Feb
28
2021
28
2021
Recommended Seminars
As a longtime teacher, I do not get much opportunity to actually be a student myself. So I was delighted to be invited to take a seat (well, take a stance) in Ken Cohen’s recent online zoom class on Yiquan. Cohen Shifu is all that one could hope to find in a teacher; everything from […]
