Self Defense

Defense against the self

Self defense in modern times, is it practical? In ancient times, before the invention of firearms, the practicality of being skilled in hand to hand combat was very clear. The way things are now in many parts of the world, a violent encounter is likely to be met with at the wrong end of a gun. At times like this, engaging in han...

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Confused About Unification?

Just recently while conversing with a group of martial artists on Facebook, I began to think about my current understanding of “unification”. More specifically, realizing how much I have taken this understanding for granted. Of course my understanding ...

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Tai Chi internal stretching

Dui La 对拉 meaning something like “to stretch between”. It’s one of those fundamental principles of taiji quan that are all too often forgotten or misunderstood. When I travel to give taiji, qigong or meditation workshops in Asia, the USA, Australia and Europe I find that this taiji principle is mostly ignored. Most people attempt to use their body as one piece, co...

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Basics of Double Heavy in Taijiquan

No concept in Yang Taijiquan has more confusion surrounding it than the concept of Double-Heavy. Much can be read about Double-Heavy in the classic Taiji writings. Much can be read but little understood. As with all Taiji concepts and principles, one must understand it before reading about it in the Taiji classics. Reading the Taiji classics without prior understan...

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Cheng Man Ching's

Many of us have heard time and time again the famous saying of the late Prof. Chen Man Ching to “invest in loss”. What does this mean? What did the professor mean when he said it? It is not easy to know another's intentions, none the less...

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Qi Gong, breathing for a positive life

It is an undeniable fact that the most powerful tool we posses is our mind. The mind can give us pleasure or pain, stress or peace. Often life unfolds in ways that we cannot control, yet even in such times we can influence our mental state and lead it in a positive direction. When we have a developed and skillful mental state, that can also lead more material aspec...

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