Is it just us, or is there a deficit of spring in this year’s Spring? Well, we’re hoping we can put a little more spring in its step (and yours, too). This Spring, purchase our most popular qigong book, Blossoms in the Spring: A Perfect Method of Qigong, and get the 1 hour instructional DVD […]
Apr
3
2023
3
2023
Aug
24
2022
24
2022
Yiquan Seminar with Sifu Ken Cohen
We want to make sure that you all know about an upcoming 7 week online seminar on Yiquan, taught by the inestimable Sifu Ken Cohen. These classes, which can be viewed live through Zoom and/or downloaded after each session, will approach Yiquan as foundational to Qigong practice. Please read the catalogue description below, and click […]
Feb
28
2021
28
2021
Recommended Seminars
As a longtime teacher, I do not get much opportunity to actually be a student myself. So I was delighted to be invited to take a seat (well, take a stance) in Ken Cohen’s recent online zoom class on Yiquan. Cohen Shifu is all that one could hope to find in a teacher; everything from […]
Dec
9
2020
9
2020
Dec
7
2020
7
2020
A Perspective on Chi
More than 50 years have gone by since I began studying martial arts. In those Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris dark ages, all of us who practice Kung Fu knew of this thing, “Chi” (vital energy). Few of us suspected it would ever become so widely known outside the training halls. Of course, “known” and […]
May
20
2020
20
2020
Practiced Intent
Internal martial practice is an important step to deepening and improving your kung fu. In this video, Sifu Ted Mancuso demonstrates and teaches a short exercise learned decades earlier from Sifu Wing Lam, for developing and incorporating intent into movement. Following the instruction is an interview with Ted, where he further elbaorates on these concepts. […]
Apr
21
2020
21
2020
The Simple Art of Breathing
This simple method of breathing works well for people practicing Chinese martial arts, Chinese medicine, meditation and what is commonly referred to as Qigong (Chi Kung). We call it simple, but it is also profound; as it relates the physical act of inhalation and exhalation with the mind’s intent, keeping a special focus on a […]
Mar
27
2020
27
2020
Inner Circle Tai Chi Daily Neigong
Our illustrious and accomplished colleague and friend in Sacramento, Sifu Robert Nakashima, has generously created and shared his daily Neigong routine. Running about 20 minutes, even just watching this video provides calm and comfort, although getting up and trying it yourself is highly recommended. The setting, the presentation, even the light chirping of birds in […]
Sep
11
2017
11
2017
QiGong and Healthy Eyes
Teacher Ma XuZhou begins this DVD training series with an in-depth discussion on the origin and diagnosis of eye problems from the standpoint of a Chinese Medical practitioner. All methods are related to opening and controlling meridians (an energetic network in the body) and you do not have to know these precisely. The eyes are […]
Aug
9
2017
9
2017
The Taiji Ruler System
Every once in a while, we at Plum discover, to our embarrassment, that an article that appeared in our old weblog somehow managed to escape the transition to WordPress. This one by Rich Mooney is a classic, not to mention a generous and concise discussion of the Taiji Ruler in practice. We (re)represent it below. […]
Jan
10
2017
10
2017
Stillness & Movement: Part Three
Dynamic Balance There’s a very old martial arts saying that we should “find stillness in movement, and movement in stillness.” It’s not just an old saw. For instance, say someone punches at you. You move out of the way extremely rapidly, but not so hurried that you resemble a bad example of the startle response; […]
Nov
7
2015
7
2015
Deep Practices
Learning Kung Fu can be a unique experience or, if you are not paying attention, it can be just another subject with the same tired educational template thrown over it. By a “unique experience” I do not mean the kind advertised on vacation posters. I mean an experience that shoots through your veins and hovers […]
Aug
25
2015
25
2015
Edgy
I have to admit that I’ve spent many years standing around just… standing around. Standing practice entered my life in the late Sixties. I experimented from that point on with sessions of continued standing and then modifications. You should know that there was not a lot of information in English on the subject and it […]
Aug
9
2015
9
2015
Heaven Mountain QiGong
Sometimes it is fun to pick up a short QiGong exercise from a style different from your own. You might feel the energy of the other style or, sometimes it’s plaim enough that you can practice it and infuse it with your own style. Tian Shan (Heaven Mountain) QiGong Number 8: Post Stance, Heaven and […]
Jul
3
2015
3
2015
Xing Yi and Taijiquan: 2 New Items
There is such a diversity and quality of materials on all major Kung Fu styles, that we sometimes can’t keep up with the new postings. Here is a version of probably the most famous and popular of Xing Yi style two-person sets: An Shen Pao. Not only does it pair up the two players from […]
Oct
22
2014
22
2014
Chi: Straight Up
This is a lively approach … to the topic of CHI.
Jul
2
2014
2
2014
The Qigong You are Already Practicing…
I seem to be getting lots of questions about qigong from our readers. Some of these questions are pretty sophisticated and others ask more about beginning practice. I thought it might help people to discuss a really broad view of qigong from the martial arts perspective that, classically, is one of the three main divisions […]
Jun
21
2014
21
2014
The Best Qigong Package, At a Noble Discount
Without a doubt, Ken Cohen’s ESSENTIAL QIGONG TRAINING COURSE is one of the best Qigong series ever created. Balancing book,CDs and DVDs, it covers a huge swath of the Qigong territory (including a few things we might not let beginners practice) skillfully using different media to detail methods, diagnosis, diet, philosophy and more. Here, at […]
Mar
23
2014
23
2014
Come to the Dance
Qigong is like a community dance. If only three people show up from the area, it is still a community dance. But as the music plays, revs up, more locals stroll in and join the fun. Eventually, every member of the community is involved, all joining the celebration and acting as a happy crowd. As […]
Jan
25
2014
25
2014
Why should martial artists stand?
But in general, the question “why should martial artists stand?” kept bugging me.
