Displaying posts written by

Plum Staff

who has written 905 posts for KaiMen.

Nov
21
2023

The Eagle Flies

We have a stack of new material to present over the next few weeks, but wanted to get this one posted without waiting to catalogue others. Sifu Benson Lee, senior student of Grandmaster Leung Shum in Eagle Claw Boxing, has released a stunning new volume specifically targeting Tactics and Applications for Self-Defense. Intended to highlight […]

Sep
15
2023

Eight Silk Brocades Qigong from a Daoist Perspective

Incredibly excited to welcome Sally Chang to the Academy to teach this simple and important Qigong.   Sally Chang teaches the Eight Silk Brocades Qigong from a Daoist Perspective. One of the oldest and most influential Qigong forms still practiced today, this moving meditation will include the internal cultivation and health aspects of the form, […]

Sep
4
2023

Masters Write — (I’m Looking At You)!

You know how we tell you all the time to keep a martial notebook? How important that can be at every stage in your development? How happy you will be if you do? No? Well, it’s ok to repeat oneself when the suggestion is this important, but even better when we have something to back […]

Sep
4
2023

Another Classic Returns: Grandmaster James Mitose on Self Defense in Kenpo

Although Plum, almost exclusively, represents books and videos on traditional Chinese martial arts, there are times when we bow or nod to important works from among our cousins; in this case, it is GM James Mitose’s classic treatise on Self-Defense techniques and theory, What Is Self Defense, that strongly influenced the development of Kenpo (often […]

Sep
3
2023

Eight Silk Brocades Qigong from a Daoist Perspective (Santa Cruz)

Incredibly excited to welcome Sally Chang to the Academy to teach this simple and important Qigong.   Sally Chang teaches the Eight Silk Brocades Qigong from a Daoist Perspective. One of the oldest and most influential Qigong forms still practiced today, this moving meditation will include the internal cultivation and health aspects of the form, […]

Aug
30
2023

Qigong: 10 Points for Body Control

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
26
2023

The Dao of Shipping

Daoist writings (and I liberally paraphrase here) teach us that ‘Nature is not kind.’ This does not mean that Nature is unkind; more like Nature is not a Disney movie. At Plum, we recognize a variation of this wisdom: ‘The post office is not kind.’ In all honesty, the vast majority of what we send […]

Aug
21
2023

Yes, The Saber!

Another great weapons book, Black Tiger Claw Single Saber, from the prolific Paul Koh, this one on Tiger Claw’s Single saber. One of the many things we appreciate about Sifu Koh’s books is his emphasis on foundation as well as form and usage. A reader can easily learn and apply much from this text, even […]

Aug
10
2023

A Martial Renaissance (再生 — Zaisheng): Xingyiquan, Taijiquan

There is a Renaissance going on in martial arts, and it is not purely physical. We are talking about the quantity of high-quality martial writing in English, which includes translations of Chinese origin. This unexpected level of cogency delights us. We are seeing the maturity of an art, along with the rooting of well-planted seeds […]

Jul
20
2023

Phoenix Eye Fist

It is said, “All good things come to those who wait.” At Plum, this is not exactly our motto, but it is a part of our reputation for which we take particularl pride. It brings us great pleasure to seek out the treasures that have disappeared, as well as those that are just coming to […]

Jun
15
2023

Tiger Claw’s Long Pole

Yet another excellent book from prolific writer and instructor Paul Koh, this one on the Tiger Claw Long Staff. Each of Sifu Koh’s books offer a step in the evolution and development of the Tiger Claw style he learned from Sifu Tak Wah Eng. Both have contributed a great deal to the modernizing and creation […]

Jun
6
2023

Tom Bisio’s Old Eight Palms of Master Wang Shi Tong

What excitement! Books have arrived! Tom Bisio has just published a new book on Master Wang Shi Tong’s Old Eight Palms of Bagua Zhang. Sifu Bisio, the only American disciple of Master Wang, details the forms, principles, training methods and many applications he learned directly from the Master himself. Almost every style of Bagua Zhang […]

Jun
4
2023

Our Spring Cleaning Is Your Summer Enjoyment

Is it too late for Spring Cleaning? Hope not, since we expect this next batch of one-offs will take us deeply into Fall. As we’ve said in the past, we end up with a LOT of material that, for whatever reason, we don’t add to our site. The number one reason is that these items […]

May
21
2023

Grand Master Chen Zhenglei “Light of Taichi” Summer Camp – Las Vegas 2023

We wanted to announce Sifu Chen Zheng Lei’s 2023 Summer Camp In Las Vegas this year, taking place from June 30 – July 5. Please click the READ MORE link below to see all of the information. There is an EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT if you enroll on or before May 31.

Apr
26
2023

A Feng Zhiqiang Hun Yuan Fest

Although we represent several books in Chinese on Sifu Feng Zhiqiang’s Hun Yuan Chen Taijiquan, (there are a couple on this page) we are a bit scant on material concerning his style in English; most of it has gone out of print. But we were able to source a few long-out-of-reach items, so we thought […]

Apr
11
2023

The Return of Spring and Mantis

Here’s some good news: We have a couple of short stacks of Sifu Paul Eng’s classic books on Praying Mantis back in stock. These two volumes, Mantis Steals the Peach, and Single Thrust Blossom, have been gone since 2020, and we are hoping to bring back the rest of the series, but for now, these […]

Apr
3
2023

Qigong Spring

Is it just us, or is there a deficit of spring in this year’s Spring? Well, we’re hoping we can put a little more spring in its step (and yours, too). This Spring, purchase our most popular qigong book, Blossoms in the Spring: A Perfect Method of Qigong, and get the 1 hour instructional DVD […]

Mar
16
2023

Xin Yi Liu He and Chen Taijiquan: Two Great New Books

It is complete coincidence that our two newest books — James Counsilman’s, “Ten Animals Kung Fu: Xin Yi Liu He Quan,” and Andrea Falk’s, “Shadowboxing in Shanghai: A Memoir and a Guide to the Traditional Chen Taijiquan From Dragon Park” — have something in common: they both come from records of the authors’ experiences studying […]

Feb
13
2023

New Books!

We’re starting up the engines again, and digging into the ever-growing pile of new material coming to Plum. We’re excited about these first three:                 Sifu Paul Koh once again brings us a comprehensive book on Tiger Claw’s Eight Diagram Fighting Set. This new text, literally, takes it to […]

Jan
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 […]