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 […]
Mar
16
2023
16
2023
Aug
5
2022
5
2022
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, […]
May
9
2020
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 […]
Dec
14
2018
14
2018
How Legends Grow
After 5000 years, an ocean of rumor and a mountain range of myth still proscribe the land of Kung Fu. And the stories that most attach themselves are often related to the origins of weapons. Not every weapon has a backstory and a legend. But the folk stories that accompany weapons—believable or not—range from the […]
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 […]
Nov
6
2017
6
2017
Aug
4
2017
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 […]
Mar
12
2017
12
2017
Mizong Jia: Shaolin Mizong Kung Fu style
Here’s a pop quiz (no cheating!) What style is the inspiration for the two films, “The Chinese Connection” (with Bruce Lee) and “Legend” (with Jet Lee)? Want a hint? This style is associated with Kung Fu Master Huo YuanJia, Head Instructor of the famous Ching Woo Association. Ok, so the title of this post gives […]
May
8
2016
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 […]
Feb
12
2016
12
2016
Just a Handful of Books
We have SO many new texts in Chinese to offer that we are just picking some at random. Some are on rare material like Shi style Bagua, others are those classic collectibles taken at the beginning of the last century with dodgy photos and famous masters still young men. We picked a few subjects at […]
Sep
7
2015
7
2015
George Xu on Power and such
Three more DVDs from the latest workshop with George Xu, who seems an almost endless source of new ways to invigorate your study while nudging you gently toward higher skills. In this case the intriguing thing is that we have three levels of practice and George Xu is able to distinguish their complexity and […]
Aug
31
2015
31
2015
Second Look: A Big Book on a Misunderstood Art
I often jokingly called YiQuan “the old martial artist’s pasture” because it seemed that only people who wanted minimal practice, yet expected super-human powers, ever ordered any related products. I have to admit that at this point I never really “got” YiQuan. Even though I’ve been in the field for a long time, this seemingly […]
Jun
15
2015
15
2015
XingYi Quan – The Five Elements: Shifu Adam Hsu
Admittedly, the prospect of sitting down to three DVDs about Hebei XingYi Quan is intimidating at best. Yet, almost immediately, you are taken into a story of practice, of history and, most importantly, Shifu Hsu’s absolute command of his topic. His enthusiasm and dedication become contagious even through the subtitles. And always there is his […]
Jun
6
2015
6
2015
The Complete Book of Yiquan
As we mentioned in closing our last article on meeting C S Tang in Hong Kong, we have acquired his new book (along with a few others to come) on Yiquan. As a matter of fact its title, The Complete Book of Yiquan, is quite accurate: it is a comprehensive manual on this sometimes-controversial practice […]
Jun
2
2015
2
2015
Meeting C. S. Tang
Those even slightly familiar with our site, might note the name C. S. Tang. Sifu Tang is a familiar figure in Chinese martial arts (CMA) and also the co-author with Liu Jing Ru, of a popular Bagua Zhang book, “Dragon Stretches its Claws”. We went by his school and were warmly greeted by Sifu Tang. […]
Mar
16
2015
16
2015
A Better Book Returns
The Xing Yi Boxing Manual has skipped in and out of being available for a while now. But all is forgotten with the new edition—revised and expanded—of this important Xing Yi text. As it says in our page description, this is not only a major book of instruction on the five elemental fists, but the […]
Feb
16
2015
16
2015
Adam Hsu Speaks Up
From a lifetime of teaching and writing about Martial arts, internationally known Adam Hsu has compiled many of his thoughts in this three+ hour discussion. Billed as a “debate” it would be more fitting to call this “debate points” like what you might rehearse with your own hometown debate team. His approach challenges many ideas […]
Oct
16
2014
16
2014
A Qigong sequence from Xing Yi
Xing Yi Quan: Tu Na Si Ba The Four Breathing Methods of Master Li Gui Chang Tom Bisio takes a little time off to present this book on the Xing Yi Qigong developed by Li Gui Chang (student of Dong Xiu Sheng.) His teacher Dong was the student of masters Geng Ji Shan, Li Cun […]
Jul
7
2014
7
2014
One, Three and, of course, Two
These are the announcements we love to make: YiQuan practitioner Jan Diepersloot has not only reprinted the scarce Volume One in his Warriors of Stillness series, but look! He has now also published the long-awaited Volume 3: Masters of Perception. Diepersloot studied under Fong Ha, Han Xing Yuan, Yu Pen Xi, Cai Song Fang and […]
