At least monthly, we discover that Kung Fu books and videos that were previously abundant and available are now out of print. Unfortunately, we rarely hear about these things BEFORE they disappear. Back in the day, Unique Publications was one of the two main American publishers of martial arts books, along with Ohara (Kodansha and […]
Apr
30
2022
30
2022
Apr
8
2022
8
2022
Our First Love
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 […]
Dec
3
2021
3
2021
Kittens, Newbies, and an Old Favorite
Sort of hard to believe it is already December. In-between projects and cataloguing and writing articles, we have been keeping an eye on our two new wrestlers, Uxmal and Notte, a 6 month old (kitten) sister act who have taken up permanent residence in our home (and hearts). When they are not sleeping or eating, […]
Nov
10
2021
10
2021
Sifu Paul Koh’s Tiger Crane Matching Set
So happy to see another volume in Paul Koh’s expanding series on Southern Shaolin Tiger Claw. This one is special, in that it is instruction and background for a matching set, in this case the famous Tiger Crane Two Person Routine. As with Sifu Koh’s other books, the set is traditional in its approach, while […]
Sep
24
2021
24
2021
Paul Koh’s Butterfly Knives Flash!
Another great book just landed from Paul Koh: Southern Shaolin Tiger Claw Double (Butterfly) Knives. This beautifully presented text, with full-color, full-page photos, includes History and Origins, Fundamentals, Techniques, Maneuvers, a full routine developed for him by Master Tak Wah Eng, and a beautifully told story of a young man’s encounter with the knives. As […]
Apr
24
2020
24
2020
Kung Fu Training: You Always Hurt The One You Love
Over my years of teaching martial arts, I’ve had quite a good time explaining some of the more obscure switches of Kung Fu’s winding pathway: the splits, front and side; gyrating and rolling children, long past their bedtimes; and the fine art of setting things on small altar stacks, then crushing them. And that is […]
Mar
17
2020
17
2020
Southern Shaolin Fists and a Pole
Three energetic offerings from the Southern Shaolin Temple: a ‘light’ fist (Golden Arhat Light Fist), a ‘heavy’ fist (12 Pound Fist) and a Shoulder Pole shaped like a long thick cigar (sometimes a cigar is only a shoulder pole). By the way, these inexpensive VCDs ($7.95 each!) come with english subtitles. Click each […]
Oct
15
2019
15
2019
Three Fighting Stars: Xin Yi, Chang and Gong Li Quan
All three of these new Chinese texts—on Xin Yi Liu He, the ancient Chang family style, and Five Ancestors boxing—demonstrate applications that give a good sense, in each case, showing them as pragmatic and functional. The Gong Li Quan is one of the styles that comes under […]
Aug
17
2019
17
2019
Southern Exposure: Pak Mei and 10 Animals
YIKES! Update! Wait! We were wrong about one of the Pak Mai books—instead of sending us 2 Sam Choi books, the publisher sent us one Sam Choi and one Thomas Cheng book on Pak Mei! This is the revised post. So sorry! Some great news: we have been (finally) able to restock three extremely popular […]
May
30
2019
30
2019
The Faces and Fists of Wong Jack Man
Since posting the sad announcement at the beginning of this year, of Sifu Wong Jack Man’s death, we’ve had the opportunity to speak to and hear from several of his students, each with his own story. For instance we—along with, apparently, many other people—did not know that Wong Sifu practiced the additional styles of Xing […]
Feb
3
2019
3
2019
(Almost) Hot Off the Press
The Spring 2019 issue of Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine is dedicated to Shaolin, and will feature, among many other fine articles, a new piece on Long Fist Secrets Revealed by Plum’s director, Sifu Ted Mancuso. We received our advanced copies, but if you would like a copy for yourself they will be available soon […]
Jan
2
2019
2
2019
The Passing of Wong Jackman
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 […]
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 […]
Oct
21
2018
21
2018
Bak Sil Lum Sash Event
Today there are nine new Black sashes in the martial art of Bak Sil Lum (Northern Shaolin) style. At an event hosted by Sifu Scott Jensen a contingent of his senior students were awarded black sashes, a solid rank requiring years of training. Each candidate demonstrated skills, starting with a set from the empty-handed division […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
