The way of the warrior
Listening to one of my regular martial arts podcasts - the Drunken Boxing Podcast - where Byron Jacobs of Mushin Martial Culture interviews Christopher Bates…
Christopher Bates is an experienced practitioner of the martial arts with an extensive background in both Burmese and Chinese systems. He was a direct disciple of Master Hong Yixiang in Taiwan since 1982 and is currently studying under Master Hong Zehan is the son of Hong Yixiang.
…the guys covered so many issues including introducing me to martial arts luminaries such as Robert W. Smith
Robert William Smith (December 27, 1926 – July 1, 2011) was an American martial artist and writer, most noted for his prodigious output of books and articles about the Asian martial arts and their masters. Smith's writing was an important factor in the spread of Asian martial arts such as judo, baguazhang, xingyiquan, and tai chi in the postwar United States.
and Donn F. Draeger
Donald Frederick "Donn" Draeger (April 15, 1922 – October 20, 1982) was an internationally known teacher and practitioner of Japanese martial arts. He was the author of several important books on Asian martial arts, and was a pioneer of international judo in the United States and Japan. He also helped make the study of martial arts an acceptable topic of academic research.
But most importantly there was a reminder of the wonderful 1983 BBC series - The Way of the Warrior - which has been uploaded to YouTube.
I watched this series with my father, but can’t say I remember the individual programmes. He bought the book that accompanied the series and I am currently looking for a copy.
The quality of the video compared to modern standards is shocking! Nevertheless, there is so much there worth learning, you just have to push through. I will be watching all eight episodes, but I had to start with this one…
It also includes substantial content on Xing Yi Chuan and Baguazhang presenting these internal martial arts as an essential pre-cursor to Tai Chi Chuan.
The BBC focused on interviewing and filming master Hong Ze-Han from Taiwan.
There is also content on traditional Chinese medicine (acupuncture, cupping).
Some cute takeaways for me courtesy of Robert Smith’s Wikipedia page:
Go without sleep, go without food, but do not go without T'ai Chi.
Yes. That’s me. I need to do this.
It takes at least five years of practicing T'ai Chi to realize you know nothing.
Yes. That’s also me.
Lastly, Chris Bates has a book coming out in December, a translation of Master Hong Ze-Han’s book Blurred Boundaries: A Martial Arts Legacy and the Shaping of Taiwan
Cover image Donn Draper, 1967. Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4762156
Draeger on the set of the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), for which he served as martial arts coordinator
