We are sad to announce the passing of Northern Shaolin Sifu Wong Jack Man. Known long before his famous fight with Bruce Lee, Wong Sifu had become a major proponent of Bak Sil Lum, Iron Body, and Golden Bell skills. With the death last year of Kwong Wing Lam, Gu Ru Zhang’s lineage has lost […]
Displaying posts written by
Plum Staff
who has written 759 posts for KaiMen.
Jan
2
2019
2
2019
Dec
30
2018
30
2018
Dec
28
2018
28
2018
Five of Five: New Books
We welcome five new texts, three of them in both Chinese and English. Among the lot we have a nicely done 5 Animals routine. We also have something very unusual: a duet set where spear battles…another spear. Do not try this at home. Happy New Year to all of you from all of us—Ted, Linda […]
Dec
19
2018
19
2018
Caylor Adkins
We recently learned of the passing of Caylor Adkins, who died in November at the age of 84. Mr Adkins was well-known for decades as a Karateka, but his work bridged both Japanese and the Chinese martial arts, most specifically in his insightful text on Iron Ball, Wooden Staff, Empty Hands. We mourn his passing, […]
Dec
18
2018
18
2018
The Dragon in Bagua Zhang
One of Plum’s longtime favorite and recommended books is Tom Bisio’s “Essentials of Bagua Zhang.” Below is an excerpt dealing with his view of the Dragon’s influence on one of China’s greatest masterworks in the world of martial arts. You get an actual ‘two-for-the-price-of-one’ in the passage below, in that Bisio himself quotes Francois Jullien […]
Dec
9
2018
9
2018
Back to Bajiquan
Just restocked a handful of Baji books, and they can be found HERE
Nov
30
2018
30
2018
Two Times Three, But Who’s Counting?
Our offering today centers around “two”—a triplet of Chinese texts each with a special relationship to the number. The first of these is a text recommended by Adam Hsu, on the rare “Wild Goose” saber, a cross between a saber and a straight sword. This unusual weapon balances perfectly the special features of both types […]
Oct
29
2018
29
2018
The Cinematic World of Hong Kong: The Heritage of Hung Gar
Sometimes a book comes along dealing with a topic in which you thought you had little interest. Then you open it and—wow!—it reciprocates to open up a world for you. Lingnan Hung Kuen: Kung Fu in Cinema and Community is one of those books. It looked like a nice gift item. But once we got […]
Oct
15
2018
15
2018
More on the “Hard” Wing Chun
Here is a DVD on the Wing Chun “Upper Arm” set which we believe correlates to “Searching for the the Bridge” in the Yip Man tradition. This is a “harder” form of Wing Chun, and related to Hung Gar. It is not the only Hard version, but one of the better known. This DVD offers […]
Oct
3
2018
3
2018
New Bak Sil Lum (Bei Shaolin) DVDs
Bak Sil Lum (or Bak Siu Lim) is the Cantonese pronunciation of Bei Shaolin, or Northern Shaolin style. It is recognized by experts as an extension of the real Shaolin Heritage. Its most famous exponent was Gu Ru Zhang, known as a master of Iron Palm (striking arts) and Golden Bell (body conditioning arts). In […]
Sep
23
2018
23
2018
Restocked! Shang Style Xing Yi Quan
Starting off a season of newly arrived books and DVDs—some we’ve had before, some never seen. The first of these are the three volumes on Shang Style Xing Yi Quan—we only got a handful in our last shipment—unfortunately, these classics are few in number—but for now you can click the image to get more information, […]
Aug
16
2018
16
2018
Four Books, Five Elements: Tong Bi With a Dash of Qigong
Announcing FOUR new books in our Traditional Chinese Section! The first three display an abundance of riches; all are on Wu Xing Tong Bi, or Five Elements Through the Arm Boxing, a style of ancient moves and modern popularity. Like Bajiquan, attention to this style is growing rapidly. Distinctive, fast, elegant and powerful, Tong Bi […]
Aug
4
2018
4
2018
8 + 8: Bagua plus Baji
Happy to announce the return of a couple of hard-to-get items: Sifu Su Yu Chang’s rare DVD performance and instruction of Liu Da Kai (Six Great Openings) Baji, detailing this important form, including applications with some atypical additions such as tie-ins to Chinese medicine, courtesy of Chang Sifu’s training as an acupuncturist. Sifu Sun Zhi […]
Aug
2
2018
2
2018
Foundation Building: Two New Bagua DVDs
Without a doubt the work of Bagua stylist Sun Zhi Jun has been one of our most requested and purchased teaching series. The forms and shapes are extensions of Chinese medical theory. Now, after Sun’s passing, his disciple, Li Chun Ling, has taken up the banner and is issuing two pruned and simplified forms, one […]
Jul
11
2018
11
2018
Celebrating Skill and Friendship
Last week, we wrote about Sifu Donald Hamby’s Gathering of the Masters kung fu exhibition, showcasing some of the best traditional kung fu teachers and performers. This week, we have some video footage that we shot while there. These three videos feature a smapling of the rare and unique forms we saw there—many of which […]
Jul
7
2018
7
2018
Principle-Driven Skill Development
A book like Principle-Driven Skill Development was inevitable. The western attraction to de-construction can be highly functional and, as demonstrated here, is particularly applicable to martial principles. In this book, teacher Russ Smith not only presents solid information but dissects years of experience to show the foundational principles of martial studies. He really thinks about […]
Jun
27
2018
27
2018
A Gathering Indeed
Friday, we drove south, over 350 miles to Monterey Park, in Los Angeles, in answer to Sifu Don Hamby’s invitation to attend his 3rd Annual Kung Fu Gathering of the Masters. Despite expectations based on decades of tournaments and events, we could not have anticipated what we encountered once the drumming started. Sifu Hamby, widely […]
Jun
21
2018
21
2018
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Jun
10
2018
10
2018
More Living Treasures from China
Adding nine new DVD from the estimable China’s Living Treasures series. These include some excellent instruction on the Wu/Hao branches of Tai Chi, which is very rare in the west. Also included are instructional DVDs showing smooth and graceful performances by Yang style master Ye Xiao Long. George Xu returns with an advanced form of […]
May
29
2018
29
2018
Jeet Kune Do & Wing Chun: Inexpensive Intro to Bruce Lee’s art
We’ve just added to our hurt books division one of the best explanations of Jeet Kune Do, its working and goals, that we’ve ever seen—Basics of Jeet Kune Do. This is one of the special series on Basics (we also have one by Sifu Paul Eng of Praying Mantis style) relying more on detailed explanations […]
