This is an article about one of the great weapons, a weapon that has been employed in real combat but which is also considered an instrument of beauty and style. People react variously to a two-edged straight sword; some see its performance as art. This is rare. Traditionally, scholars wore a straight sword […]
Displaying posts written by
Ted Mancuso
who has written 362 posts for KaiMen.
Apr
11
2020
11
2020
Mar
30
2020
30
2020
Beng Jin: Kung Fu’s Hidden Skill
Here’s a new short video on Beng Jin (Beng Energy) that we created for our local sequestered students. If you are a Tai Chi student, you have most likely heard your teacher lecture on this special quality, and are undoubtedly practicing this right now! But Beng Jing exists in all styles of Kung Fu, and […]
Feb
19
2020
19
2020
A + B = PUNCH
I woke up thinking about a property in math: that between any two points on a number line*, there are infinitely many points between them. Now, I know I have used the scary word—“math”—but if you are still with me, let me go on and give you the second part of my morning thought: that […]
Feb
2
2020
2
2020
How To Change (A Tire)
Last night, driving home from teaching, my mind filled with ideas, I cut too sharply on a left turn, and bumped over a curb. The mishap arrived with an explosion of sound, followed by a consistent galug-galug-galug as I limped through the last two miles of my trip. My wife, Debbie, and I have […]
Dec
20
2019
20
2019
1984
I’ve been going through some boxes, unearthing photos, notebooks, old patches, and all manner of things from my 50+ years in the arts. Here’s a poster from one of Brendan Lai’s famous expos. It was a time. Among those present: Cliff Look, Shek Kin, John Leong, Marc Singer, Mok Poi-On, Lee Koon-Hung, Ping Chow, […]
Dec
11
2019
11
2019
Instructor’s Notebook: Tiger Hook Blades
INSTRUCTOR’S NOTEBOOK The life and death of our art depends on the Quality of shared knowledge we maintain. Proper teaching informs the student while educating the teacher. Confucius told us that “wherever a few are gathered, I have a teacher.” As we see, all faces of Kung Fu offer a deep well to draw from. […]
Nov
25
2019
25
2019
Spear Learning
Some of my articles come directly from what is taught at my school that day. One of my favorite spear training exercises is “Ghost Shakes Body” (also called “Lan Na Zha”), and when I saw some students practicing this the other day, it reminded me of the extensive usage catalogue each weapon carries with it. […]
Nov
13
2019
13
2019
Ferocity and Accuracy
Every Kung Fu style has its Yin and Yang attributes: open/close, light/heavy, soft and hard. But not all complementary pairs are oppositional. A good martial artist can also be both fierce and accurate—how is this accomplished? Accuracy brings to mind a controlled, almost intellectual state of mind—that is, a state of mind, not of heart. […]
Sep
28
2019
28
2019
Tai Chi: Loss and Gain
It’s true. The older you get, the more people want to force feed you a philosophy of loss. Everything appears to dwindle, leaving whatever you were gripping to stabilize yourself, a phantom in a shadow. Sometimes the effect of this “negative advancement” is itself positive and salubrious. But even in positive circumstances this proper […]
Sep
15
2019
15
2019
Why We Practice Drunken Boxing
I sit here in a state rare for me: a little drunk. I sip my single serving cautiously, slowly. Both my parents were drunks and their drinking left a bitter taste in my mouth for decades, turning me into a spectator, not a participant—a nurser of cokes, a stretcher of seven-ups—instead of an imbiber of […]
Aug
12
2019
12
2019
The Road to Tan Tui (Redux)
A long while back, we created and posted a free series of video tutorials on the famous 12 Road Tan Tui; the series is made up of 14 videos which include step-by-step instruction PLUS applications for each road. For years, this has been popular on our site, but when we recently reviewed it we were […]
Aug
1
2019
1
2019
The Mighty Pen
I want to engage you in an activity more often associated with prom nights, small losable keys, and annoying younger brothers—that’s right, keeping a diary. Whether it’s called a journal, a notebook, a workbook or the alluded to diary, it’s all the same. Any martial artist can benefit from this, but for advanced martial artists […]
Jul
17
2019
17
2019
Q&A: The Yoke Punch in Tan Tui: North and South
Q: I’d like to ask why is there a different alignment of the arms with the Yoke punch as demonstrated in the Tan Tui 12 Road and the 10 Road forms respectfully? In the 10 Road video Sifu gives specific details about the arm alignment (90° in one instance and 135°? In another instance… depending […]
Jul
6
2019
6
2019
The Evolution of Forms Practice
A form is a traditional set of significant actions where you can shine brilliantly in impeccable performance, or balk so that nothing moves. Forms are what you work to perfect, aware that form is not perfectible; aware that there are countless wrong turns possible; aware that the forms themselves improve you, even if you are […]
May
10
2019
10
2019
Anatomy of the True Teacher
My first taiji instructor, Lin Shih-Kuang, told me a story about a tragedy in his family. His father, involved in the government of Taiwan, suddenly fell from favor-in a hard way. Soon after this, Shih-Kuang had a birthday party. The usual friends and family were invited. Not one of them showed up—no adults, no children. […]
May
1
2019
1
2019
Jan
19
2019
19
2019
Speed and…uh…Timing
I tell my students over and over to “go fast, but don’t hurry.” In the martial world, too early can be as bad as too late. After all, how long do you want to wait for the plane to land? On the other hand, who wants it to arrive maddeningly early? Timing is a necessity. […]
Dec
23
2018
23
2018
Personal Practice
What is a practice? What can it do? Practice is not just a workout. It is a recognition of engagement at that moment. It records, immediately, every nuance expressed in your story, laying those tiles piece by piece. Often, workouts sidestep the mind and can barely be remembered by dinnertime. From practice we recall the […]
Dec
14
2018
14
2018
How Legends Grow
After 5000 years, an ocean of rumor and a mountain range of myth still proscribe the land of Kung Fu. And the stories that most attach themselves are often related to the origins of weapons. Not every weapon has a backstory and a legend. But the folk stories that accompany weapons—believable or not—range from the […]
Nov
27
2018
27
2018
The Sophistication of Simplicity
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to work with a group of beginning Tai Chi students. A few hours later, I met with another group of students in my advanced Tai Chi class. Now, relaxing at the dusty end of the day, I realize that what I had taught to these two classes was essentially […]
