We got an email from a kind customer, who wanted to alert us to the fact that a link he was clicking did not bring up the intended information. After a few minutes’ investigation, I would say he was putting it mildly: we had provided clips—many clips!—for each of the DVDs in China’s Living Treasures […]
Aug
30
2018
30
2018
Aug
28
2018
28
2018
Listening to the Wind: On Internal Practice
About a week ago I asked my Tai Chi class if they ever get bored doing the form. They unanimously answered “No,” their explanation being that the form always provides new material to concentrate on, things to master. This suggests that the act of repetition can be either boring or freeing, and leads me to […]
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 […]
Jul
20
2018
20
2018
Tai Chi’s Long Bow
Addressing its reputed character, we get the impression that every earnest instructor tries a different approach to proclaim Tai Chi as a martial art. Considering those instructors who do try and make the point feasible, the spectrum of possible arguments is endless. For instance, one common example has the instructor picking a bystander on whom […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
Jun
10
2018
10
2018
Jun
10
2018
10
2018
Jun
10
2018
10
2018
Jun
10
2018
10
2018
Yang Tai Chi with Ye Xiao Long
Volumes 22 and 23 (Parts 1 and 2)
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 […]
May
26
2018
26
2018
May
22
2018
22
2018
Sunday, After the Tournament
Packing up over a hundred books and DVDs, we departed the Convention Center Sunday, about noon. The two-day spread of the TC Media Kung Fu tournament had allowed us to schmooze with a lot of teachers, students and fans. We felt like we’d been talking continually for two days, but then again, conversations spin off […]
May
16
2018
16
2018
Family Resemblance
I’ve been asked to judge at the annual Tiger Claw tournament this coming weekend. One of the things unique at this event is that it will feature, in its traditional column, not one, but TWO, Shaolin divisions. This is particularly significant because, for the first time, these two competitions will offer double examples of true […]
May
7
2018
7
2018
The Gift of a Teacher
Yesterday we attended the memorial for Wing Lam, my teacher for a number of years. Over a hundred students and family gathered in the chapel to pay last respects. Many people crowded the middle aisle, most of them dressed in black or white, as per the formal instructions for a Daoist ceremony. The middle aisle […]
Apr
15
2018
15
2018
Mar
27
2018
27
2018
Tutorial: Tai Chi Tips, Stepping
If you’ve spent more than 5 minutes at Plum, you know how highly we prize basics as the foundation of good movement. ‘Stepping’ in Tai Chi, is one of those fundamentals that you might learn on the first day of class, and which you might be refining well into your advanced practice. We prepared a […]
Mar
14
2018
14
2018
Mar
9
2018
9
2018
The Yi Bone’s Connected to the Qi Bone
Q: I started reading a book which examines the 5 major Tai Chi styles and uses quotes from the classics to show what they all have in common, and what is unique to each style. Anyway, lots of repetition of “yi leads the chi” and “chi leads the body”. I kind of always thought that, […]
