Any martial artist interested in the Chinese martial arts should get their hands on Yang Tai Chi for Beginners. Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming takes the viewer through each step of the tai chi chuan form for Yang style. Each step is clearly labeled with English, Chinese, and the Chinese ideograms. At each new movement, he explains… Continue reading Review: Yang Tai Chi for Beginners DVD by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming
Category: Martial Arts
Kata mudra code
The longer I’m involved in the martial arts, the more mysterious they become to me. I’ve taken to reading bits and pieces of The Pinnacle of Karate again since summer has started. On page 47, Robert Trias talks about the “Kata Mudra Code” and lists out the 11 mudras of the Okinawan Shuri-ryu system. And… Continue reading Kata mudra code
Kata-based sparring
If there’s one aspect of martial arts training I don’t get enough of, it’s kata-based sparring. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been reading Iain Abernethy‘s “Bunkai Jutsu.” In one of the last chapters, Iain talks about kata-based sparring and methods on how to train for it. It is often said that kata… Continue reading Kata-based sparring
Where do I focus?
I’ve been reading Iain Abernethy‘s “Bunkai Jutsu.” I’m really enjoying it, as Iain provides a lot of thought-provoking ways to look at kata. However, I can’t help but notice that I’m finding difficulty in my kata training. On the one hand, Iain and all of my instructors have made it clear that we should be… Continue reading Where do I focus?
Four reasons why you should cross-train
Five months ago, I began to cross-train. Sure, I’ve taken tae kwon do for a year from some instructors who happened to be taking lessons from my karate instructors. But they were still in my school and influenced, to an extent, by my instructors. Reaching out to an entirely different art and going beyond my… Continue reading Four reasons why you should cross-train