Comment: Of the over 700 articles and opinion pieces on the martial arts I’ve published, this one on Muslim Kung Fu has probably gotten the most reactions. Letters and question from all over the world have flooded in. There is a lot of interest there in Jiao Men, Islamic martial arts. Here is the first […]
Displaying posts written by
Ted Mancuso
who has written 300 posts for KaiMen.
Aug
4
2017
4
2017
Jul
21
2017
21
2017
Who Are You?
A foundational idea of western culture, a platform for all our perfections and trials, is the Psychological Self (PS). It is constructed of qualities supposedly as solid as building blocks. It is the motivating force behind much of our fiction and all of our worries. Many of us have been conditioned to see the PS […]
Jun
28
2017
28
2017
The Cane, Practical Self Defense
Our Shaolin Cane DVD has engendered more questions and reactions than almost any other DVD we developed. This article focuses on those questions, partially in the hope that this weapon—which some people actually rely on for self defense—grows in popularity and improves in technique. Let’s first recognize the diversity of the instrument. It’s more than […]
Jun
18
2017
18
2017
Structure and You
Martial arts comes from a long period in human history when the closest correlate to scientific thinking was pattern identification. This was a time made wondrous with the rules of magic, codes and ciphers, ritual and ceremony. For example, I think this act of pattern recognition is much more significant when talking about the animalistic […]
May
31
2017
31
2017
Mina at the Kung Fu Tournament
The noise in the Kung Fu tournament hall never lets up. The waves of brass and drumming rolled along the ceiling fabric only to crash against an opposing wave of raucous sound from the opposite direction. To me, it vibrated like someone in leather and beard revving a Harley directly between my ears, but I […]
May
25
2017
25
2017
Plum Attends Its First Tournament
Well, we had a great weekend at the first tournament/demonstration we’ve attended in years (and our FIRST as PLUM representatives). Friday started with a nice spread in the patio of the gorgeous and refurbished California Theater in downtown San Jose. The place was a-buzz with so many well-known teachers, such as Lily Lau, David Chin, […]
May
16
2017
16
2017
Appreciation: Double Swords, Flying Blades
There is at least one weapon in Kung Fu practice that is generally taught only to women. In fact, I have never—that I recall—taught this to a male practitioner. Leaving aside the irony of a male teaching a “female only” weapon (I’ll discuss how THAT works at the end of this article), I think it […]
Apr
8
2017
8
2017
Who is Your Audience? Martial Consciousness
Martial arts can be a mirror. Like Alice, I stick my hands out and they sink into the loking glass. The nature of martial arts encourages looking inward, staring outward and trying, somehow, to get audience and self-perception to agree. It’s important to know just who and what you are looking for. It’s important to […]
Feb
24
2017
24
2017
Jan
10
2017
10
2017
Stillness & Movement: Part Three
Dynamic Balance There’s a very old martial arts saying that we should “find stillness in movement, and movement in stillness.” It’s not just an old saw. For instance, say someone punches at you. You move out of the way extremely rapidly, but not so hurried that you resemble a bad example of the startle response; […]
Jan
9
2017
9
2017
Stillness & Movement: Part Two
Thinking About Movement Learning movement—and therefore footwork—is a progression through four modes of stepping. First, when the beginner has just walked in off the street and you ask him to punch, he will shoot arm first, before stepping. Envision tense shoulders, chest out and arm fully extended as he steps/falls awkwardly. Here’s the first, or […]
Jan
8
2017
8
2017
Stillness & Movement: Part One
We’re having the storm of the century here in Santa Cruz. I see the trees in my yard bending to breaking, under a malicious, pushing wind that is nothing but movement one second, then still as a vanished squirrel the next. I think of stillness and movement, my mind chasing them both down into the […]
Nov
29
2016
29
2016
You Are Hired: Bodyguard Kung Fu
Put yourself in the thick of it. What would you do? Your world is split into two—principals and enemies in a constant power struggle. Many hidden factions promote ninja-type fighting skills. You must protect your principal at all costs, yet not every situation requires deadly force so you have to be an expert at making […]
Nov
3
2016
3
2016
Understanding Basics, The Chinese Way
Everything starts with basics. And when you are young or just beginning a long term study of expertise, or your taste runs to the piano or the basketball hoop, there is always a sentinel line of basics to be crossed before you get to the “good stuff.” But the surprise—sometimes disappointingly painful or tedious—is that […]
Oct
12
2016
12
2016
Aug
26
2016
26
2016
Aug
5
2016
5
2016
Managing Forms
You’ve been practicing awhile. You are no longer a novice. Your belt or sash no longer wears stiffly as though it were just a larger version of a bow tie. You now have “rank” whether or not it is formally recognized in your style. You have accumulated some formal training, too. You may have collected […]
Jun
16
2016
16
2016
Fifty
Today I celebrate fifty years in the martial arts. It has been long enough now to seem natural that it became my fate or, at least, a “way of life,” as everyone calls it. People ask me what could possibly be the attraction. I have to tell the truth and admit that I always believed […]
May
31
2016
31
2016
Instructor’s Notebook #29: Metaphorically Speaking
Teachers have tools, great teachers make tools. But that’s not all. Students also make tools, in their minds. And the persistent teacher will go inside those active minds too, creating new ideas and ways to view things. All, of course, to the student’s benefit. Everyone who teaches the martial arts can fall victim to micro-management […]
May
16
2016
16
2016
Snap of a Sleeve: Training for Martial Speed
When he was covering sports and at the top of his form, Hemingway wrote about things like the squeak of the boxer’s shoes as they rotated on the canvas. Just a poignant little detail like something Roger Angell might use in a baseball piece. The martial arts is loaded with such details. Some are so […]