training for life
The Comfort Zone
Most people think of their martial arts in terms of close-range or long-range styles. For instance, in Chinese martial arts Wing Chun is said to be a close-distance fighting system, while White Crane is thought of as long range. Actually both are long-distance styles, as are many Japanese and Korean martial arts. There are two…
What’s In a Name
From time to time, students with backgrounds in the gi arts (those who wear a gi to train like Karate, Judo, & Jiu Jitsu) ask the equivalent terms of dojo, kata and gi in Chinese. The most popular term is dojo. “Do” in Chinese is ado, which means the Way. This “way” is the spiritual…
Don’t Worry, Be Healthy
One of the biggest selling points of internal Chinese martial arts are their health and longevity benefits. You know, practice tai chi and life becomes better for you. Well, that’s true. However, people question why several famous tai chi and hsing-I masters have died at relatively young ages. If we who teach tai chi tell…
A New Twist to an Old Question
Are traditional martial arts incapable of change? Do contemporary martial arts lack foundation and substance? These are two critical questions facing practitioners as they begin the process of choosing a style. What will happen, they ask, if their traditional martial art must grow to meet 20th century demands? Can it sustain such change? Or, is…
Training for Life, Safety First
Martial arts — the term is based on fighting. Originally, martial arts training was often the deciding factor in life and death combat situations. Some martial arts started with armies, where soldiers learned the military art of survival at the enemy’s expense. Others were developed for common people who needed to defend their families and…
