Martial Arts

16 Oct 2009 2030H

Everything is 馬

Recently I have been thinking maybe I should change the name of this blog to be “Everything is 馬”. Perhaps that is after all the fundamental truth about our art, about every art. It is easy to say that everything flows from stance. It is so everyday, so much a part of the martial artist’s [...]

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14 Aug 2009 1129H

I like playing forms

The thing I like about my art and have come to realize is that I am comfortable with playing forms. Of course that’s only a small part of learning a martial art: the form is nothing without the techniques that constitute the form. The other day I learned that what appeared to be a pulling [...]

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04 Feb 2009 2354H

Hung kuen is like. . .

whatever you want it to be. Perhaps that is true of all martial arts; perhaps that is the art in martial arts. I had thought that the essential character of hung kuen is hard, short, crushing, steamrolling. But people don’t have to be big and beefy to play hung kuen. It helps only with the [...]

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08 Jan 2009 1209H

Kung fu restart

As I write this I am suddenly aware that fully three years have passed since I first started studying under my teacher and I have not made any progress at all. I am hopeful that this year is finally that year when I can finally focus on my personal growth. Last night headed to Rockford [...]

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05 Jul 2008 0547H

The art of fighting, without fighting

“The Colombian military chief of staff, Gen. Freddy Padilla said Thursday, ‘On the morning of the operation, I prayed to the memory of my mother, to whom I have never asked anything, to grant success and for there not to be anyone killed.’”
I love it when a plan comes together.

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25 Jun 2008 1754H

Git ‘er done

Tim McGraw didn’t like it when one of his fans got hassled. So he yanked the guy outta the crowd himself:

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14 Jun 2008 1928H

The fist bump?

As a young martial artist, we often bumped heavily foam-padded fists (since we could not easily shake hands) with opponents in the ring as a way of extending respect. Probably this is where we got that gesture. Yet the amount of pundit time being spent on it due to the Obamas is rather ridiculous. I’d [...]

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08 May 2008 1717H

And another thing. . .

I just looked at the heels of my shoes trying to determine whether I am neutral, overpronator or underpronator, and I rather severely underpronate. So badly worn are the outsides of the shoes they would nearly make a perfect bowl shaped arc. Perhaps this would account for all the foot and ankle pain of late. [...]

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18 Apr 2008 0002H

re: Forbidden Kingdom

Hollywood is bankrupt. I fever for the burning of Babylon till a river of flames drip from my brow. The studios can’t burn soon enough.
Why does there have to be a damn gwailo involved everytime we have the possibility to break the glass ceiling? Here of course Jet Li, who vowed to make Fok [...]

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17 Jun 2007 1042H

KF Week 2

This is Week 2 of KF. As everyone knows, besides the cultural maintenance stuff I do with the historical society, the pop culture, language, and all that, I study a 300-year-old Southern Chinese martial art tradition called hung kuen (洪拳).
This Friday, as I plan to do each of the next every other Fridays for [...]

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