Although we are smitten by many truly wonderful contemporary texts we represent on Plum, our first love was the older manuals: dusty copies found on the bottom shelves of poorly lit bookstores in Chinatown. These books telescoped us back to earlier times and teachers. Now, more than 50 years later, some of what was contemporary […]
Apr
8
2022
8
2022
Sep
5
2021
5
2021
Hands and Swords
As promised, we have finally added the two latest great books to our catalogue: Adam Hsu’s San Cai Sword, and Zhao Da Yuan’s Practical Qin Na (translated by Tom Bisio). A recent customer mentioned that it is not just the books themselves, but the types of books that Plum represents that excite him. We’re prejudiced, […]
Aug
24
2021
24
2021
Forthcoming, and Then Some
A brief pause in our cataloguing work to tell you about a few items coming up that would be here sooner if we didn’t keep pausing to tell you about them…well, you get the picture. Anyway, a little while back we added a gorgeous new Chinese book from Sifu Adam Hsu on Tan Tui, this […]
Dec
23
2020
23
2020
Dennis Rovere’s Chinese Military Combat Series
Happy to announce the addition of Dennis Rovere’s 2 Volume (3 Disk) DVD series, Secret Fighting Skills of the Chinese Military. Mr Rovere, an Independent Scholar who has both trained and taught widely in Combat Techniques, is also represented on Plum by his popular and authoritative book and DVD, Xing Yi Quan of the Chinese […]
Jul
21
2019
21
2019
New Chinese Books: Taijiquan and Chin Na Restraints
What a slew of great new books we have for yew you… In addition to those above, we have restocked the following previously out-of-stock titles:
Aug
30
2018
30
2018
Help Us Help You
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 […]
Feb
17
2017
17
2017
Jun
5
2016
5
2016
Practical Qin Na: Second volume arrives
We’ve just received the second volume in Zhao Da Yuan’s big series on Qin Na (Chin Na). This new text reveals dead-hand training, live-hand loops, counters, and even anti-weapon work. An entire curriculum on Qin Na; not just a few moves as so many others do it. This valuable multi-volume set is projected for at […]
Jan
19
2016
19
2016
Restock: A few favorites return
We are always adding new titles to our Chinese book section, but every once in a while we are happy to see some old friends cycle back through. Our most recent shipments have landed limited quantities of those below (and more to come!) Bajiquan Illustrated: A gem of a book with photos of GM […]
Jan
3
2016
3
2016
Practical Qin Na: An Expanded Version of Zhao’s Reputable Text
Here at Plum we hold a special place in our hearts for Chin Na (Qin Na) and its exceptional methods of practical usage that can be applied in any style. Although there are several worthy texts on the subject, the one we have always recommended above all others is Tim Cartmell’s translation of Practical Chin […]
Dec
27
2013
27
2013
Glance: Are there really Effortless Combat Throws?
Here’s a quick look-see and video review of Tim Cartmell’s book, “Effortless Combat Throws,” an excellent companion to his DVD of the same name. We hope people are enjoying these quick, informal reviews and getting a chance to look inside and become more familiar with these books. ECT is a fine example of a teaching […]
Feb
28
2012
28
2012
New Views: Joanna Zorya and Zhu BaoZhen Bagua
Here are a couple of site-local videos we just put up. These are previews of our different products. With all the styles we show this make take a while… Some of Joanna Zorya’s work and the bagua of Zhu BaoZhen. Hope you like them.
Sep
11
2011
11
2011
The Many Faces of Chin Na
Chin Na is not a style with a single face. Over centuries of necessity, it has actually developed many different profiles. Because there are only so many ways to bend joints wrong the differences in styles such as Japanese versus Chinese is actually less significant than the different ways in which Chin Na is used. Let’s look at these differences.
