Displaying posts filed under

Xing Yi/Xin Yi

Mar
16
2023

Xin Yi Liu He and Chen Taijiquan: Two Great New Books

It is complete coincidence that our two newest books — James Counsilman’s, “Ten Animals Kung Fu: Xin Yi Liu He Quan,” and Andrea Falk’s, “Shadowboxing in Shanghai: A Memoir and a Guide to the Traditional Chen Taijiquan From Dragon Park” — have something in common: they both come from records of the authors’ experiences studying […]

Jun
5
2022

Formation of a Wushu Student: Andrea Falk’s New Book

Plum represents a LOT of books, among them some real treasures. Typically, when we talk about the best ones, they usually share certain qualities having to do with technical information: a teacher generous enough to reveal principles, methods, even “secrets.” Andrea Falk’s newest book, Beijing Bittersweet, certainly includes gems of instruction from her own teachers, […]

Dec
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
9
2020

Bagua Zhang and Xin Yi Quan

Got in a short stack of great books—limited copies on each, at the moment, but thought we would let you know about them. One of them, the book on Dai Style XinYiQuan, incorporates those QR Codes instead of including a packaged DVD, so that with a simple scan from your phone’s camera, you can watch […]

May
25
2020

Taijiquan Books & DVD, Spiced with a Touch of Xingyiquan

At Plum, we are always seeking the best of the best and rejecting those that really don’t have all that much to offer. Sadly, there are more than a few from that batch. But today’s offerings are already classics in their field—solid, innovative, in some cases path-defining. Click each image for much more information about […]

May
9
2020

Xingyi Sheltering

Practicing in isolation due to Shelter in Place orders has me reflecting on the time-honored tales of incarcerated Kung Fu masters. There is a story of when Xingyi Grandmaster Guo Yunshen (1829–1898 郭雲深) was imprisoned for accidentally killing an opponent in a duel. By some accounts, he was shackled in handcuffs and leg irons, limiting […]

Apr
2
2020

From Principle to Practice

Hello out there. We hope this finds you all safe and healthy.                 Today’s offerings range from theory to practice: two DVD lectures from the George Xu group on 10 Animal and 12 Animal Xing Yi, presented by Qian Zhao Hong and Jiang Bao Kang, respectively; two instructional […]

Oct
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 […]

Sep
22
2019

A Transformative Art—Tom Bisio on Xing Yi

Teacher Tom Bisio’s newest book, Xing Yi Quan: Art of Inner Transformation, is a well-balanced read on the fundamental ideas and goals of Xing Yi (Shape of the Will Boxing). It is a basics manual written by someone who has intimately absorbed the basics in his own training—in other words, he did not just learn […]

Jun
16
2019

System, Not Style

We are pleased to offer this presentation—long overdue by us—of Di Guoyong on Xingyiquan, Sifu Di’s systematic explanation of that deeply loved and appreciated style, Xing Yi Quan. Contained in these three volumes is a full roster of forms along with comprehensive descriptions, from  basics all the way to weapons forms and partner practice. We […]

Jun
5
2019

Many Great Titles

Plum has seen an upsurge in English language texts for Chinese Martial Arts. Great! However, this has taken some energy from the site’s mirror-side of Chinese texts. Not that we don’t have a pile of those, too, to catalogue, but they take a little more time due to translation, acquisition, etc. Still, we will try […]

May
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 […]

Dec
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 […]

Sep
23
2018

Restocked! Shang Style Xing Yi Quan

Starting off a season of newly arrived books and DVDs—some we’ve had before, some never seen. The first of these are the three volumes on Shang Style Xing Yi Quan—we only got a handful in our last shipment—unfortunately, these classics are few in number—but for now you can click the image to get more information, […]

Aug
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
23
2018

C.S.Tang Tells the Story of XingYiQuan

Plum has worked with CS Tang for a long while. And after meeting and spending time with him a few years ago, our admiration deepened when we found that his breadth of information was made that much better by the thoughtful depth he brought to his subjects. His recent and new-to-Plum book, “The Mysterious Power […]

Nov
6
2017

A Little Bit of Hakka Boxing, A Few More Restocks

Hakka Unicorn Boxing DVD by Tyler R. Rea Hakka Boxing style Kei Lun Kune (Unicorn Boxing) is a famous form not only in Chinese Kung Fu, but also in boxing styles from other countries, such as Malaysia. This DVD offers a rare presentation of this form, aided by some innovative breakdowns and demonstrations. Every action […]

Aug
4
2017

Muslim Kung Fu: The Fist of the Bodyguards

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 […]

Jan
16
2017

Three Texts: New, Old, Reborn

Our storms are done here (we hope). It seems like during the time we holed up and watched the wind change the landscape, we also acquired a host of new products and long unavailable reprints. We have just added three of these books, each in a different phase of the publishing process. NEW: First is […]

May
8
2016

Li Tianji’s Xing Yi Legacy; Andrea Falk’s Dictionary

Plum is adding another text by Andrea Falk, a translation of significance to Xing Yi practitioners: Li TianJi’s The Skills of XingYiQuan;  311 pages, with hundreds of illustrations. This is a thorough text on the style handed down to Li Tianji from his father, Li Yulin. It’s very well laid out with sections covering basic […]