Our renewed look at Nigel Sutton’s “Wisdom of the Taiji Masters,” was inevitable. Like a good British murder mystery, there is more to the search and intuition than to the closet full of clues. Despite the wealth of time spent by professor Cheng’s and other Tai Chi students on the secrets and questions posed by […]
Displaying posts written by
Plum Staff
who has written 791 posts for KaiMen.
Jan
19
2020
19
2020
Jan
2
2020
2
2020
Dec
25
2019
25
2019
Useful
Today we offer just a single DVD, but one that is packed with interest and—even more useful—Usage. Although this DVD, Original Striking Taiji Sanshou, claims legitimate membership in the Tai Chi camp, it comes from Master Wan Lei Sheng’s lineage, and his specific approach adds techniques that fall outside of the Tai Chi curriculum. Instructor […]
Dec
7
2019
7
2019
Fundamentals of Pakua Chang, Volume 2
For several years, there has been a noticeable hole in Plumpub’s book catalogue, namely Park Bok Nam’s Fundamentals of Pakua Chang, Volume Two. Although we reprinted Volume One a while back, the manuscript for Volume 2 was in an inaccessible format. Nonetheless, we persisted, and are happy to announce, right before this year’s end, that […]
Nov
29
2019
29
2019
Iron Palm, Through the Back, To the Mind
We’ve been so busy that we’ve neglected the great stack of Chinese books we are slowly adding to our collection. Even though in modern format, many of these books detail early styles and histories of this ancient art. Today’s entries include a book and DVD combination on ShanXi Tong Bei (through-the-back) boxing, a truly long-arm […]
Nov
21
2019
21
2019
Plum Fruits on Facebook
Plum may cast a big shadow in the number of products we represent (almost 4000), the articles and tutorials we write (about 1500, and counting), the videos we produce and share here and on our youtube channel …But as many of you know, there are only really three people operating the lights: Ted Mancuso, Linda […]
Oct
28
2019
28
2019
An Interview with Hung Gar’s Sifu Donald Hamby
Here is a wonderful interview conducted by Sifu Pavel Macek, with our friend, Hung Gar Sifu Donald Hamby. Sifu Hamby talks about his roots and the LA Kung Fu scene back when he started in the 1970’s, and some of the qualities and applications of Hung Gar (with a short demo showing usage, at the […]
Oct
22
2019
22
2019
Life is Too Short For Bad Kung Fu
Yes, it’s true! A new book in English by Adam Hsu. If this were Hollywood, Sifu Adam Hsu’s new book, “Life Is Too Short For Bad Kung Fu,” would be the tell-all on everyone’s reading list; not because it is gossipy—he names no names—but because it fulfills its promise to reveal the good, the bad, […]
Oct
17
2019
17
2019
Drunken Boxing, Chicken Boxing, Duck Boxing, and so on
After our recent article on Drunken Boxing, a friend sent us a Q & A he had synchronistically seen on the subject, from Sifu Mike Sigman. We were not only in agreement with Sifu Sigman, but were also impressed by the way he had handled the question concerning reeling silk in Drunken Boxing, so we […]
Oct
15
2019
15
2019
Three Fighting Stars: Xin Yi, Chang and Gong Li Quan
All three of these new Chinese texts—on Xin Yi Liu He, the ancient Chang family style, and Five Ancestors boxing—demonstrate applications that give a good sense, in each case, showing them as pragmatic and functional. The Gong Li Quan is one of the styles that comes under […]
Oct
6
2019
6
2019
The Eye of Robert Smith
Here is a short and direct excerpt from one of the forefathers of western martial arts writings. Robert Smith was as much a story-teller as he was a reporter, bringing forth tales from the fringes of some styles, along with the hidden clashes between the masters of others. “Simply observing the art without participating […]
Oct
2
2019
2
2019
Andrea Falk’s Masterful Martial Arts Dictionary: UPDATED, Hardcovers have arrived!
10/2/19: The Hardcover editions have arrived and they are big and beautiful. Two good things: There is a price drop down to $80, AND we are extending the 10% discount for the hardcovers purchased through October 31. Discount code is DictHC Limited supply at the moment, but we will get more. Yeah! The Dictionaries have […]
Sep
22
2019
22
2019
A Transformative Art—Tom Bisio on Xing Yi
Teacher Tom Bisio’s newest book, Xing Yi Quan: Art of Inner Transformation, is a well-balanced read on the fundamental ideas and goals of Xing Yi (Shape of the Will Boxing). It is a basics manual written by someone who has intimately absorbed the basics in his own training—in other words, he did not just learn […]
Sep
16
2019
16
2019
The Passing of Brian Kennedy
It is with great sadness that we report the sudden death of Brian Kennedy, longtime practitioner and historian of the Chinese Martial Arts. Although we never met Brian or his wife and writing partner Elizabeth Guo, he was a good friend starting from our wayback days at Plum, when he still lived in Taiwan. May […]
Sep
5
2019
5
2019
Excerpt from Falk’s Chinese Martial Arts Dictionary
In our excitement over the arrival of Andrea Falk’s Chinese Martial Arts dictionary, we neglected to post this generous sample from the text. These pages show, among other things, the thorough approach Ms Falk has taken in putting together this important resource. Order through September 30 to get a 10% discount on either the compact […]
Aug
27
2019
27
2019
Rare Hao Style, Hong Style, and Bagua Leg Techniques—Available Now!
Delighted to announce the addition of five strong books into the Plum library. These gems from Hong Kong, all with boh Chinese and English text, are beautifully designed and laid out with large, easy to read photos, on subjects we just never see in English. KH020 Hao Style Tai Ji Quan Developed by Master Liu […]
Aug
17
2019
17
2019
Southern Exposure: Pak Mei and 10 Animals
YIKES! Update! Wait! We were wrong about one of the Pak Mai books—instead of sending us 2 Sam Choi books, the publisher sent us one Sam Choi and one Thomas Cheng book on Pak Mei! This is the revised post. So sorry! Some great news: we have been (finally) able to restock three extremely popular […]
Aug
9
2019
9
2019
More, and Then Some
Continuing our summer of great titles, here are three new classics, the last, Shaolin Luo Han, being dual language (Chinese and English) and accompanied by a dual language VCD. These “en face” (two languages, face-to-face ) titles are scattered all over our site, giving practitioners additional opportunities to pick up a few Chinese terms by […]
Jul
26
2019
26
2019
Tai Chi Books: Wu (Hao), Hong, Chin Na, Essays Plus 5 Ancestors (for good measure)
Look what’s new! and look what’s back in stock!
Jul
22
2019
22
2019
Spirit of Five Animals: Returned!
Great news: The Spirit of Five Animals, is now back in stock. Sifu Tak Wah Eng has licensed Plum to reprint this valuable text with a gorgeous new cover, and the copies have just landed. More to come!
