Unlocking human potential through martial arts
A martial arts school is defined primarily by the skills and the personality of its teachers. While technical ability is important, and universally known to be so, the importance of a teacher’s personality and attitude is often underestimated.
Teachers invest far more time and effort sharpening their martial skills, than in improving their attitude. It is attitude that determines how much they are willing to teach, and what they expect from students in return.
Looking beyond duality is the king-like view;
defeating all distractions is the king-like practice;
the practice of non-practice is the deed of the Buddhas.
How is this related to your Tai Chi practice? It depends.
Are you trying hard to become more internal, with the help of some dusty old books?
I was recently reading wujimon’s Taijiquan blog, and was a little surprised to find Top 5 Martial Arts Movies in his list of most popular posts.
Surely, I thought, such lowbrow pursuits are beneath the true “internal martial artist”? But it seems I was wrong; a fortuitous circumstance, because I know more about kung fu movies than John Hodgman knows about hoboes.
The old Kung Fu master touched his assailant, with no apparent effect. Days later, the assailant died a sudden and mysterious death. He was a victim of the legendary dim mak, the touch of death.
 dim |
 mak |
Dim mak is a popular discussion topic among martial arts enthusiasts. Some instructors claim to have the skill, or believe that it was used to kill Bruce Lee. Others insist that dim mak instructors are frauds and the skill itself is a complete fantasy. Is there any evidence to support the existence of dim mak? Could it possibly work?
Kung Fu version 1.0 was released at the dawn of human history, and it was truly a killer app. Though it contained only two basic features—kill people and kill animals—it was useful in solving the problems of the prehistoric age.
Kung Fu 1.0 provided end-users with critical advantages in the constant struggle for food, and an opportunity to reproduce. By leveraging bleeding-edge innovations in Rock and Stick technology, early adopters were able to live to the ripe old age of 30 years, and perhaps even become grandparents.
The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
From the book Zen to Go: Bite-Sized Bits of Wisdom
This video clip from Ripley’s Believe It or Not showcases the qigong skills of master Zhou Ting-Jue.
In the first portion of the video, Zhou raises the temperature of a damp paper towel (containing a sheet of foil) above 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Steam rises from the towel.
Watch martial arts experts and masters perform their precision techniques and forms. Various martial arts styles from China, Japan, Okinawa, and Korea will be presented!
Seattle I.D./Chinatown Community Center
Saturday, October 14, 2006
6pm to 8pm
Admission: $10/person
If you decide to attend, please post a review afterwards.
While reading another martial arts blog, I encountered this advice on the use of anger:
You have to be aggressive and attack your opponent, attacking them will make them block more and hence stop their attacks… So how do you become aggressive, if it’s just not in your nature? It’s all about how you process the situation, psychologically. Start thinking “I’m not going to let them do this to me. Fcuk them!”. You have to get mad.
I believe that, if you practice martial arts for personal development, rushing to rage is a counterproductive strategy. And truthfully, anger isn’t all that useful for fighting either.
SKOKIE, IL—Toshiro Tenchumaru, a 34-year-old ninja and longtime employee at Azuma Copier Corporation in Skokie, stealthily took the lives of 12 co-workers Monday after suffering what investigators theorize was “a breakdown due to job-related stress.”
The disgruntled ninja was later captured by police while attempting to flee on foot across telephone lines.