Swords
This article should really be titled ‘All the Gear, But no Idea’.
In the seven or so years I have been studying Taiji I have been taught forms using some of the various weapons to be found in the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts (TCMA), including the staff, the sabre, the straight sword and the broad sword. In reality, I have only dabbled, and sadly don’t know any of the forms well enough to teach them at this time. I am hoping to change that over the next few years.
In my typical enthusiasm, I rushed out and bought all the toys, which for the most part sit in my storage cupboard, unused.
The purpose of this article is to help the curious with the the types and names of some of the swords you might encounter in TCMA.
Good food in London
What!?
Restaurant reviews now?
What’s it got to do with Martial Arts?
Will this nonsense ever end?
To be fair, the link is tenuous.
But there is a link.
The Grandmaster
Ip Man's peaceful existence is threatened by the arrival of Gong Yutian (Wang Qing Xiang), the Wudangquan martial arts grandmaster from northern China, who announces that he has already retired and appointed Ma San (Zhang Jin) as his heir in the North. He then concedes that the South should have its own heir. A fight erupts as various masters attempt to challenge Gong, but they are deterred by Ma San. As the Southern masters deliberate on a representative, Gong Yutian's daughter Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi) arrives and tries to convince her father not to continue the fight, as she feels the Southern masters are unworthy. Meanwhile, the Southern masters decide on Ip Man to represent them. Three Southern masters test Ip's skills before the confrontation with Gong Yutian.
Personal Fitness Goals
I am putting myself on notice and declaring my 2025 fitness goals (perhaps slightly late already!)
First some context - I am no longer a spring chicken having turned 60 last year. I am a big guy and am about 12 kg / 25 lbs heavier than I want to be.
I sit at my computer all day for work, don’t walk enough, and my joints no longer sustain jogging / running. I can ride a bike without discomfort, and used to do the odd longer ride (~160km) for charity, but am now out of shape.
My goal is to build cardiovascular capacity, increase endurance, increase strength, increase flexibility / joint mobility and define a regime that complements my Taiji.
It hurts when I pi
‘Pi’ is the first of the ‘five element fists’ in Xingyiquan.
It is the Splitting Fist.
It’s element is Metal.
It is represented by the Axe.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is linked to the Respiratory System.
Year of the Snake
To celebrate the new year, the Chinese Association of Woking organises end of term performances at the school and in the local town centre.
This year the Wutan Kung Fu Sifus, Jim and Frank, kindly allowed the Taiji class to slide into one of their set pieces.
Taiji forms can be quite long (our short form is 5 minutes if you do it quick!) and don’t always lend themselves to a snappy demo, so we decided to do something aligned to Taiji, but different.
We settled on a very short ‘linking set’ of another ‘internal’ traditional Chinese martial art - Xingyiquan.
High Pat on Horse
We had some debate in class today about the correct shape for the extended right hand in High Pat on Horse (HPoH, Yang, Long form). I’ve been treating it as a mid-section (to the chest) push with the palm. Others see it more as a chop with the edge of the hand. In application, I guess it is what works at the time!
I’ve always been a little ‘anal’ since my long distant Taekonwdo days about knowing exactly what is the ‘weapon’ I am using, and what is the ‘target’? Those TKD guys were very specific about that, and I think it is a good thing to keep in mind. I want to get this right if I am to be passing it on to others.
What’s Fa Jin?
I was in a class today where a fellow student asked ‘What’s Fa Jin?’.
I somehow heard the question as ‘What’s Baji?’, and was ready to trot out a response based on my limited knowledge and experience. Something made me pause and challenge what I thought I had heard, ‘Oh, you mean Fa Jin? That means the delivery of power. You see that more in Chen style’. I also had a notion that it was involved with Push Hands.
Class structures, lesson plans and my ideal student
Some thoughts on what works well when teaching classes of mixed ability and whether it’s a good idea to allow ‘Pay As You Go’ (PAYG) students, rather than requiring a longer term commitment.
I discuss practical aspects of teaching that are all ‘legal, decent and honest’, but some might think of as the ’seedier’ commercial side of running any health, fitness or martial arts club and being at odds with offering the ‘higher goal’ of helping students live healthier more fulfilled lives.
These are especially important if teaching is how you make your living, rather than a hobby.
I then describe what content or curriculum makes up a good class and lastly cover my ‘ideal student’.
Traditional Chinese Martial Arts
A ‘quicky’ including good videos of Xingiquan, Karate x Wing Chun and MMA (I am sliding this last one in quietly and hoping you won’t notice that it is not Traditional Chinese Martial Arts!)
Wild Colonial Boy: Tales of a Kung Fu Cop
In 1975, Dan Docherty, a young Scots law graduate and karate black belt, left Glasgow to spend nine years as a Hong Kong police inspector. As well as serving as a detective and vice squad commander, he also took up Tai Chi and won the 5th Southeast Asian Chinese Full Contact Championships in Malaysia in 1980. In 1985, he was awarded a postgraduate diploma in Chinese from Ealing College.
Podcast Roundup
A list of my favourite podcasts covering Traditional Chinese Martial Arts and combat sports.
Most of these podcasts have been mentioned before, I just wanted to collect them in one place. They are presented in alphabetical order.
My philosophy of Taiji
I don’t do mindfulness.
I don’t do meditation either.
But I am interested in the health benefits of studying Traditional Chinese Martial Arts.
Sun style Taijiquan
I have done a tiny bit of Sun style Taiji and wanted to pull together some notes for other beginners in this style.
If you are mostly interested in watching a high quality modern production of the classic Sun style form, then skip toward the bottom of the article to the video of Master Faye Yip. The other examples presented, particularly from the Sun family are included for historical completeness.
Cheng Style Taijiquan
Wutan’s version of Cheng’s form as adapted and considerably shortened from the Yang Long Form.
My own notes are here and are more detailed and potentially more confusing. This presentation might suit a more confident and/or experienced student.
Presented verbatim from The Path of the Complete Martial Artist (sometimes referred to as the ‘White Book’), Wutan KungFu International (WKI), They SoonTuan, pp 69-70, March 1991, £10.
My martial arts origin story
I started training in martial arts during my first year at University, 1984, 40 years ago this year. There have been long gaps when I was not training at all.
Please take my story with a pinch of salt and in the light hearted manner it is intended. In some areas I have solid evidence to corroborate and validate my timelines and in others I don’t - and my memory is getting fuzzy.
Brush Knee Twist Step
In our school we tend to call this one ‘brush knee push’.
I stumbled across Master Gu’s video below after falling down my usual YouTube rabbit hole.
We also tend to drill this quite a lot, but I can’t say I am anywhere up to a 1000 times a day!
Baguazhang - 1980’s documentary
This is a wonderful historical documentary of Baguazhang orginating in the 1980’s and recently edited and translated by Byron Jacobs of https://www.mushinmartialculture.com. I strongly recommend you visit his site. Byron is a Liang Style practioner, whereas the Wutan school is in the Yin Style lineage.
My notes are presented here as ‘revision notes’ as part of my goal to deepen my understanding of this art. I thought this was going to be a ‘quick and dirty’ article, but it turned out longer than expected!
Baguazhang Lineage
Following my recent article on Yin style Baguazhang showcasing Situ Ray Hayward’s wonderful and clear demonstrations, I have tried to piece together the Baguazhang lineage of our school. This is primarily derived from Master They’s first book - The Path of the Complete Martial Artist.
During the period that Yan Lu Tan held the post of Chief Instructor to the Imperial Palace, there were also other famous instructors in residence, such as Kuo Yin Sen of the art of Hsing Yi [Xingyi] and Tong Hai Chuan (1796-1880) [Dong Haichuan] of the art of Pa Kua Chang [Baguazhang]. Tong was also the king’s bodyguard and the first to bring Pa Kua to the public eye.
Yang Taiji - Application
From the YouTube Channel of Kevin Lee we see Dr Mark Cheng showing the application of techniques from Yang Style Long Form (large frame, old style). It seems that he learned Tai Chi from this father.
Dr Cheng explains that like most Chinese Martial arts, Tai Chi includes the ability to:
Kick
Punch / strike
Throw, and
Joint lock