Innholdsfortegnelse for May - June 2017 i Kung Fu Tai Chi

There’s been a lot of news about ‘fake news’ lately. As a publisher, I’d say it is the inevitable outcome of self-publishing. Modern technology has made selfpublishing easy so anyone can publish anything at any time. With no editorial control, no standards of loyalty to the outlet name brand, and no journalistic integrity, the news you read could’ve been published by a serious reporter, your drunk next door neighbor, or a Russian hacker. And with the democracy of social media, it’s not about what’s right or what’s alternative or what’s parody or what’s straight-out fake. It’s all about what grabs the most eyeballs and what goes viral. News outlets don’t write headlines anymore. Web publishers write click-bait. In this era of short-twitterattention spans, few readers read past the today’s headlines…

Hung Kuen Kung Fu is being celebrated far and wide for its legacy and renown. If that doesn’t excite you, imagine this: bone-crushing kicks, punches, and throws, similar to MMA. This is what the 2016 World Hung Kuen International Tournament offered for Kung Fu fans in Xiqiao, China. November 19, 2016, marked the second World Hung Kuen Association International Tournament at the Grand National Arts Studio Palace. The Checkley and Chinese government sponsored this extravaganza. Together, they graciously provided food and lodging for the competitors at the National Arts Hotel. The tournament was open to all practitioners of Hung Kuen. Competing were grandmasters, masters, sifus, and students from countries around the globe – the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the Czech Republic and of course Hong…

Every year, millions of people around the world begin their journeys into the practice of Taijiquan (太极拳). Their reasons may be different, but most look for authenticity in their instructors and systems. Within Chinese traditional martial arts, “authenticity" is a powerful concept under high scrutiny for countless decades, with as many definitions as there are groups, clans, schools, families, and academic researchers – each with their own merits and shortcomings. The intention of this article is to further shed light on the significance of the notion, specifically as it applies to Yang Taijiquan, with a special focus on its traditional weaponry, thanks to the invaluable contributions of Master Fu Qingquan (傅清泉, 1971– ), an internationally acclaimed 6th generation Yang Taijiquan master, during his last visit to Orense, Spain in 2016.…

The Choy Lay Fut (蔡李佛) system is categorized as a traditional system of Chinese martial arts. Founded in 1836, Choy Lay Fut has 180 years worth of history and tradition interwoven into the system. Though Choy Lay Fut is steeped in the culture and traditions that would come with any traditional Chinese martial art, many of its practitioners take on a surprisingly modern approach to training this system. That progressive approach to training may also in itself be a tradition. The origin tale of Choy Lay Fut has the founder Chan Heung (陳 享) learning martial arts from 3 different teachers. Each of these teachers taught a different system of martial art. Two of the systems he practiced were southern in origin and the third system was northern in origin.…

Once again, Chinese New Year’s was a clash of the two titans of Hong Kong film—Jackie Chan facing off against Stephen Chow. Jackie came out fighting with a one-two punch: Railroad Tigers and the highly anticipated Sino-Indian cooperative project Kung Fu Yoga. Railroad Tigers brought in over $100 million, but reviews were generally lackluster for its national propagandist leanings. Kung Fu Yoga earned over $230 million at this writing; however, it received criticism in India for playing to Indian stereotypes, grave disapproval from the Indian market that the film hoped to crack. The knockout this year goes to Stephen Chow, who triumphed again with his Tsui-Harkdirected Fant-Asia special-effects spectacular, Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back. The sequel to Stephen’s record-breaking 2013 film, Journey to the West: Conquering Demons,…

In the first line of this couplet, Shu (1st tone 書) literally means ‘book’ but here it implies book-learned knowledge. Dao (4th tone 到) means ‘go to’. Yong (4th tone 用) means ‘use’ or ‘apply’ and Shi (2nd tone 時) means ‘time’; combined they mean ‘when using or applying’. Fang (1st tone 方) means ‘square’ or ‘region’. Hen (4th tone 恨) means ‘regret’. Shao (3rd tone 少) means ‘inadequate’. The first line translates as “When you go to apply, you regret when your knowledge is inadequate.” In the second line, Taiji (4th tone 太, 2nd tone 極) is the same as the Tai Chi in Kung Fu Tai Chi. Jing (1st tone 精) means essence and Lian (4th tone 練) means ‘practice’. Cai (2nd tone 才) means ‘then’. Zhi (1st…

Things really start to pick up here at Tiger Claw as Spring has sprung. With the holiday hangovers long gone, martial arts schools across America are now in full swing. In addition to steadfastly processing and shipping orders, this time of year is an essential planning period for our own yearly event as well as hitting the road for another exciting tournament season. You might assume that going to the same events every year would get monotonous, but for me, this is far from true. It’s a great way to see you, our customers, face to face. Getting feedback on our products and customer service is the best way to keep tabs on how we are doing as a company. Oftentimes, some of the best input for new products will…

The postures of Yang Primary 37 Taijiquan (杨式精 要三十七式太极拳) derive from Yang Chengfu’s 85 (杨澄甫) by extracting the 37 postures that are unique. With few exceptions, the posture sequence in 37 follows that of the 85 version. Turning transitions are added in appropriate spots to compact the performance area to 1.5 × 2.5 meters. Yang Primary 37 is loyal to Fu Zhongwen (傅钟文) book, Yang Taijiquan (杨式太极 拳), and retains the essence of Yang 85. The postures gracefully stretch the limbs of the body. The martial art techniques in Yang Primary 37 are strong but hidden in gentleness. The routine is easy to learn, and fun to perfect. When regularly practiced, Yang 37 is meditative, physically relaxing, self-cultivating, improves balance, increases qi, cures sickness, amplifies health, and promotes longevity. Yang…

Length 28” Weight 31.6 oz. Possibly Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) This ‘Iron’ Whip is very simple and elegant in design and quite unique for a Chinese weapon. Chinese whips usually have a shaft that emulates bamboo, a ringed or knotty structure. Additionally, they usually have rounded tips. This example has a beautifully tapered square cross-section rod of well-polished steel that tapers to a sharp point. Forged of one solid piece, the graceful handle has a small truncatedsquare guard and a rounded pommel with a flattened end. The pommel is pierced for a lanyard. The lanyard shown is new. This Chinese whip is reminiscent of a Japanese jitte which is a short metal baton that was carried by officials during the Edo period (1603–1868 CE). Those were akin to police batons although…

Jade Egg Jade Egg is an esoteric qigong practice in which women insert egg-shaped jade into their vaginas to cultivate qi. Jade Eggs started trending recently for two reasons. First, the practice was showcased on the Bravo TV show, Real Housewives of Atlanta (Season 9, episode 8) aired on New Year’s Day. The housewives took a ‘yoni egg’ class, which is essentially the same practice. It quickly descended into reality show hijinks when they try to lift high heels suspended from the yoni egg strings. Then a few weeks later, Gwyneth Paltrow’s popular women’s alternative health and beauty site, GOOP.com, began selling Jade Eggs and Rose Quartz Eggs. A seven-year practitioner of Jade Egg named Shiva Rose was her spokeperson. Dr. Jen Gunter, a gynecologist blogger, posted a rebuttal calling…

Just prior to Thanksgiving, I visited the set of Into the Badlands as they filmed Season Two. We featured the breakout AMC martial arts series on the cover of last year’s January+February issue. The lead actor and executive producer, Daniel Wu, was someone I had wanted to interview for years. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Daniel was an early pioneer in American Wushu. In 1994, he founded the University of Oregon Wushu Club, one of the very first collegiate programs in the United States. After graduating, he was discovered in Hong Kong, and early in his career he worked with Jackie Chan on several films, a dream role for any martial artist. But to avoid being typecast as just a martial artist star, he took on a variety of…

Despite being generally acknowledged as the most widespread traditional style of Wushu, Taijiquan (太极拳) still draws plenty of controversy. What is Taijiquan? Was it invented by a single person or did it evolve over time? Do Taijiquan masters use weapons as part of their training? If so, which ones? In this article, we will attempt to answer some of these questions. We’ll also provide an analysis of current trends in Taijiquan learning from the perspective and experiences of world renowned Master Chen Ziqiang (陈自强, 1977– ), a 12th generation Chen Style Taijiquan Master and Head Coach of the Chen Village Taijiquan Academy in Henan, China – obtained during his last visit to Santiago, Chile, in 2016. Historical Background The history of Chen style Taijiquan (陈氏太极拳) begins with the Ming dynasty…

Wing Chun Kung Fu has developed into one of the most popular traditional martial arts in the world today. Ip Man (叶问) became world famous thanks to his superstar student, Bruce Lee, and after that many of his students perpetuated Wing Chun around the world. MMA has come to dominate the martial arts world today, making many traditional Kung Fu styles seem obsolete. Yet Wing Chun has managed to remain relevant, and has continued to grow in the martial arts world. Recently there has been an influx of Wing Chun and Ip Man movies. Wing Chun is a compact, simple, and effective style. Approximately a dozen Wing Chun families are in existence today. Most have three empty hand sets, wooden dummy, pole, and knives. Its economy of motion, along with…

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophy, the first period (4/4–5/4) of this horoscope is the transition from spring to summer. The second period (5/4–6/5) is summer. The first period is ruled by liver and gall bladder, and spleen and stomach, so beware of maladies of the liver, gall, and digestive system. Nourish the liver and strengthen the spleen and stomach. Previous digestive ailments may flare up again. The summer period is ruled by the fire element and the heart and small intestine channels. The heart governs mind and spirit, as well as blood circulation. If the heart is overheated, it can disturb the mind, cause “heat disease” and strain the cardiovascular system. Nourish the heart and clear away the heat. Heed the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine: “Winter ailments are healed…