Well, we won’t be able to use our “Summer of Stars” cliche much longer, so we have a mixed bag of new titles today. There is still a short but powerful stack of books yet to catalogue, so keep a close watch for those. Today’s batch mostly centers around Tai Chi, with a nod to […]
Displaying posts written by
Plum Staff
who has written 879 posts for KaiMen.
Sep
15
2022
15
2022
Aug
28
2022
28
2022
Jimmy Lee’s Poison Hand, and some Clean Staff Techniques from China
Continuing our Summer of Stars, we have two new offerings today. If your jaw drops on this first one you are not alone: Plum’s was on the floor when this book came to us: Jimmy Lee’s classic on Iron and Poison Hand Training, “Modern Kung-Fu Karate.” We have been in business for almost 30 years, […]
Aug
24
2022
24
2022
Yiquan Seminar with Sifu Ken Cohen
We want to make sure that you all know about an upcoming 7 week online seminar on Yiquan, taught by the inestimable Sifu Ken Cohen. These classes, which can be viewed live through Zoom and/or downloaded after each session, will approach Yiquan as foundational to Qigong practice. Please read the catalogue description below, and click […]
Aug
14
2022
14
2022
Ten Essential Techniques of the Tiger
Continuing our Summer of the Stars lineup of new material, we are happy to announce the arrival of a major book in the Fu Jow Pai system, Sifu Paul Koh’s Ten Essential Techniques of the Tiger. Sifu Koh, along with his teacher Sifu Tak Wah Eng, has set himself the difficult task of preserving the […]
Aug
5
2022
5
2022
Jul
13
2022
13
2022
Taijiquan, Martial Power and Andrew Townsend’s Fine Books
Some business problems are ones you want to have: too much good stuff coming in at one time; too many customers ordering; too much media attention. The six new books we have just added from Andrew Townsend present a different (good) problem: although he is essentially teaching and writing about Taijiquan, these volumes cross categories, […]
Jul
1
2022
1
2022
The Excitement That is Meihuaquan
You’ve probably noticed that we have a hard time containing our enthusiasm when we add special items to our catalogue. As many know, we hand-pick each title that we represent, so by the time we offer it to you we already have a good assessment. But face it: some books and DVDs are even MORE […]
Jun
19
2022
19
2022
5th Annual Gathering of the Masters: Clips
The 5th Annual Gathering of the Masters was a success, with over 150 people attending, and some terrific demonstrations. Sifu Hamby once again managed to highlight friendship across the styles, instead of competition. If you would like to see a nice clip of the performances, click the image to the left.
Jun
11
2022
11
2022
Jun
5
2022
5
2022
Formation of a Wushu Student: Andrea Falk’s New Book
Plum represents a LOT of books, among them some real treasures. Typically, when we talk about the best ones, they usually share certain qualities having to do with technical information: a teacher generous enough to reveal principles, methods, even “secrets.” Andrea Falk’s newest book, Beijing Bittersweet, certainly includes gems of instruction from her own teachers, […]
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 […]
May
1
2022
1
2022
Spring Cleaning’s Treasures
OK, so here’s the deal: we already represent Sifu Zhang Guangyu’s excellent series on Yiquan in VCD format, plus we carry an entirely different series of his in DVD format. However, our Spring Cleaning has revealed one set matching the DVD representation of the VCD series (but not the other DVD series). Got that? Well, […]
Apr
30
2022
30
2022
Going, Going, Gone
At least monthly, we discover that Kung Fu books and videos that were previously abundant and available are now out of print. Unfortunately, we rarely hear about these things BEFORE they disappear. Back in the day, Unique Publications was one of the two main American publishers of martial arts books, along with Ohara (Kodansha and […]
Apr
8
2022
8
2022
Our First Love
Although we are smitten by many truly wonderful contemporary texts we represent on Plum, our first love was the older manuals: dusty copies found on the bottom shelves of poorly lit bookstores in Chinatown. These books telescoped us back to earlier times and teachers. Now, more than 50 years later, some of what was contemporary […]
Feb
19
2022
19
2022
Hawk Splits Sky: Good News and Great Reviews
Good news! Hawk Splits Sky: Jibengong Practice, Bagua Zhang Mastery is back in stock after selling out the first printing, and available to order. Good reviews! In the shameless praise department, we are delighted to read what people have to say about our new book/DVD package. Here’s a new sampling: It’s a masterpiece. I’m not […]
Feb
6
2022
6
2022
No One Is Perfect: Books That Go Bump In the Shipping
Honestly, considering the amount of shipping we do, both sending and receiving, it is remarkable how few bumped corners we have to report. But things DO go wrong, every once in a while. Take, for instance, a recent order from Taiwan. A few lovelies received minor bruises, hardly anything to rise up over but still, […]
Feb
2
2022
2
2022
A Lucky Red Envelope From Plum
Happy Year of the Water Tiger! You are probably all setting off firecrackers and slurping up your Longevity Noodles, so we won’t keep you. Just wanted to invite you all to stop by, visit Plum and place an order anytime from Thursday, Feb 3 through Monday, Feb 7, and we’ll send you a Lucky Red […]
Jan
10
2022
10
2022
Gao Style Baguazhang
We have been receiving some exceptional Bagua material lately, so if you think we’ve been a little tilted toward the Bagua circle, you would be correct. Bagua Rubbing Bagua linked Palms Compiled, at least of this writing, is the last for a while, but it is a mighty nice offering on which to pause. Lionbooks, […]
Jan
1
2022
1
2022
Dec
25
2021
25
2021
A Different Boxing Day
At Plum, we know that Boxing Day does not celebrate OUR kind of boxing. But it is so perfectly named for martial artists, we thought we would take advantage with a Boxing Day Sale. As a matter of fact, why keep it to only one day? Let;s celebrate with a Boxing Week! 10% off […]
