Chinese Martial Arts Blog

observations on 116 YMWC Wooden Dummy

2012-07-12T16:34:00.001-07:00

Charles AL In the second picture of 116 Wooden Dummy *, the body turns side way to make room for the "arm pulling" LAP SAU. This appears to be a pull to the side rather than down since a clinch would be more effective pulling someone down. From 21-24 where PAK SAUs are performed**, the turn of the feet is minimal. Look closely and you will see that GM Yip Man turns the front foot

ways of taking down an opponent

2012-07-12T16:10:00.003-07:00

Charles Al Ways of taking down an opponent, heard from derrick, modified by me. 1. uproot them - make them fall 2. unbalance them - make them fall 3. tangle them - they make themselves fall 4. pain them w/raw power - when you are either hulk or Captain America

Title that summarizes what I want to talk about

2012-04-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

--By <name of author> This is the body. This blog is meant to be an example of how you can write your blog entry. The goal of using a blog verses a google doc is to make it easier to find information. What ever write in the body, the title, or the labels or tags will become searchable by google. It won't be immediate. Your new blog won't be indexed by google

pak sau

2012-04-24T17:58:00.001-07:00

tech a;lskdfj;asldkjfa;sldkjfa;lsdkjfa;lsdkjf lkjhlkjhlkjh

My back hurts....My knee hurts

2011-04-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Every now and then joint pain arises. A sharp pain shoots through your knee and makes you feel like limping. Or perhaps stop walking all together. The same can happen to the back where it feels like hot coals are baking those joints and making sure they are WELL DONE. Some people will say it is because of growing up and as you grow up things wear out..... I believe

Use what is natural: Kiyap

2010-12-24T02:47:00.000-08:00

Kiyap. It's that yell that Martial Arts people do when they strike. Why do they do it? What purpose does it fulfill? The kiyap has multiple interpretations and in this article I'll explain my reasoning for the kiyap. Some people say that it is so you hit harder. Some people say that it is to intimidate your opponent. Some will say it has to do with the release of chi starting

Use what is natural: Running

2010-12-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Early humans ran their prey to death using a technique called persistence hunting. Click the link to read all about it. Nowadays I feel that the consensus is that most people are scared or intimidated by running a mile or two. It seems like a lot, but given your natural chemistry, you are born and built to run. Don't believe me? Well, I was a non-believer before too. When I was in first

Earn Your Ph. D in Martial Arts

2010-12-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

The Goal If your goal is to get a great career, then there are 2 paths you can take. Some people will have you go to college so you can do those high paying jobs, like a Doctor, or an Engineer. Some people have decent skills and just know the right people. There was a System Admin who never got his Degree, yet he is one of the most sought after people. His age?

A Sparring Experience

2010-10-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Oct 23rd, morning, cloudy, got up late, didn't eat breakfast (finally brought down a bag of apple cinnamon pop-tarts), making calls, getting calls, arranging rides, got a pretty bad start in the morning. However, while on the way there, with some help from 95.1 and metal songs help my mind started to calm down a bit more. We got to the place around 950ish, just before wushu

Protection doesn't help

2010-08-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

While exiting the ring and stepping down to ground level. I felt a tightness in my right shin. I was still able to walk of course, but keep in mind that adrenaline does wonders to hide the pain. I just stopped sparring and it already hurt. What is going on?Fighting gets your blood pumped and your adrenaline levels shoot up. Adrenaline numbs the pain such that you can do your duty and get out

Learning To Spar

2010-08-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

I opened my eyes this morning recalling the events of last evening. I flexed my quads to tighten my knees. I rotated my ankles. They did not hurt as bad as the night before. Sparring....the act of you and your kung fu brothers hitting each other. It can be rough, but you learn quite a lot.In the mirror I saw a long rectilinear marking on the side of my ribs. My knees, pink and my shins

Why Train with Traditional Weapons?

2010-08-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Traditional Weapons TrainingVery often people are attracted to Chinese Martial Arts because of the absolute array of weapons present in the system. No other ethnic combat system can boast such a plethora of sharp and shiney, blunt and edged, long and stout tools of defense and war. However, aside from being a “marketing” ploy, many others ask, "what is the use of training in such archaic tools

Part 2 Gung Fu v Techniques [A]

2010-08-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is the second part of my three part series which began, in the previous post, with a discussion of the Gung Fu Form and its purpose in the art, despite criticisms of its uselessness.Our second pairing will be that of Gung Fu and Technique. First and foremost, these two are NOT the same. Let me repeat that by saying that they are NOT THE SAME. They are not synonymous save by the most extreme

My Kung Fu beginnings

2010-08-12T01:26:00.002-07:00

By Derrick HoPart 1 Meeting Sifu MengRed! Blue! Green! Black!Pink and Yellow,they’ve come back!Normal humans came together to harness the power of the dinosaurs. Their bodies covered from head to toe in a shimmering suit. It lay tight on their skin, yet flexible enough for even the highest of kicks. These guys were known as the power rangers. It was here that my martial arts journey would begin.I

Is Kung Fu Out Dated?

2010-08-12T01:26:00.001-07:00

By Derrick HoI used to describe, Kung Fu as a practical means of self-defense. I thought that if you trained long and hard, you would be able to use this Martial Art to defeat many foes. I used to think that Kung Fu would promote you to God of Fighting.The truth is hard to accept, but Martial arts like Karate and Muay Thai have a better chance at winning. The evidence is online. Just search

Why Forms?

2010-08-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

By Brian WangWhy forms?I am very happy that my teachers hardly teach me forms. At first I was upset, impatient. I was tired of doing the individual motions again and again and again, doing drills and always talking talking talking about theory. When the time came though, teach me forms they did, and now I see why. A form is like a poem, or a book, which contains all the secrets to something.

The Way of Tai Chi

2010-08-11T23:06:00.001-07:00

Author: Charles ZhangWhy did I choose Tai Chi as my first martial arts to play around with? First of all, the movies, kung fu fictions like the series written by Louis Cha (Jin Yong) and Tai Chi Master (1993) played by Jet Li, form an idea in my head that Tai Chi soars above the common techniques, and even kung fu itself to assert its ideas into even a spiritual way. It’s mysterious and alive.

The Purpose of Wushu

2010-08-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

All martial arts exist for one purpose and that is to preserve life. That may be your life, or your families life or the life of your loved ones. This brings into question, of how is killing a preservation of life? This isn’t the main topic of this article so I will explain briefly: People fight to survive. Wushu is chinese for Martial arts. However, for simplicity I will use two terms to

The Gung Fu Form

2010-08-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

By Vincent YuAt the very heart of Gung Fu are the forms, the intricate movements and postures and patterns and shapes which make Gung Fu such a character within the classification of fighting arts. Though most of the classical arts have forms or patterns or katas (the terminology shifts with the system but they point to a general notion), the reasoning behind the actual practicing of forms takes

Stuart Morales Debut and intro to Praying Mantis

2010-07-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

By Stuart MoralesWhere oh where to being...Let’s see I’m Stuart Morales and I’m a Kung Fu junkie and I have been addicted to kung fu for about two years now.(Hi Stuart says the AA). I spend most of my days thinking and dreaming about kung fu when I’m not socializing and being a good student of course. I’m a sophomore at UCR now, Vice President and Head of Traditional Kung for CMAC (Chinese

A Kung Fu man should Live by this code

2010-07-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

By Brian WangMove rather then block.Block rather then strike.Strike rather then break.Break rather then maim.Maim rather then kill.Kill rather then be killed.For all life is precious, nor can any be replaced.Sourcesource2

Bruce Lee takes after his Sifu, Yip man

2010-07-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

By Derrick HoIn order to use the Wing Chun, you would have to learn the whole system to understand it. (Siu lim tao, chum kiu, biu jee, mok yang jong, luk dim book gwun, and butterfly knives). If you understand everything, then you become a very skilled person. But you would NEED everything. This would not be a problem in a traditional world cause the student would merely stay with the Sifu and

ASUCR for dummies

2010-07-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

By Andrew SoteloASUCR is not an evil empire nor some sort of League of Shadows-type organization. However, there are a lot of byzantine rules that one must learn before dealing with them. Here's some advice that will help you navigate the murky waters of ASUCR.-Make sure you fundraise properly during the year so that you aren't blindsided when a reimbursement requisition comes through.

Written Words Preserve The Wing Chun Stance

2010-07-14T01:08:00.000-07:00

By Derrick HoYee Gee Kim Yeung Ma is the stance that wing chun people use. My Sifu just calls it the Siu Lim Tao Ma. Although it isn’t the right name for it, it still describes the same thing.The Wing Chun community is very large a diverse and depending on your lineage, there are slight variations of the stance. You can argue and maybe even prove that your doing it right by testing like a