The Fox Bagua Blog

Abstract Step Training

2012-01-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

In bagua it is most important to understand how to use steps to manipulate your opponent. By stepping toward the attack we can jam it before it reaches its most powerful position. We can step back to let him waste energy by missing. We can also step in an angular trajectory allowing us to gain a favorable distance while the attack glances past us. This makes it so crucial for us to practice Kou and Bai bu which is almost like the steering wheel in a car.

The problem with learning to think with our feet is that initially it is unnatural. When we flinch, our hands come up and cover our face instinctively. Bagua means that you have to retrain mind so that we flinch with our feet instead. The next problem is that the step must be rooted and weight sunken in order to prevent stepping into a trap. If we are in mid step as the opponent attacks our weight must be lowered so that we are able to better roll off the projected energy. It is only arrogance to assume that we will always be ahead of our opponent and we must prepare to react and protect ourselves in more unexpected situations. There are countless ways to practice foot work from the 9 palaces, to the mud step. One recent discovery I have fallen in love with is step training on black ice.

Blue ice, white ice, snow and sleet all offer different advantages for stepping and balance. However nothing is quite as merciless as black ice. Only when your weight is properly placed in the back are you able to maintain a solid stance. Every movement will undoubtedly make you take a slip or an adjustment step. This slipping is good because the first part of this training is not only to maintain balance, but keeping focus of your attack while you are off balance. Learning to stay focused on the attack while you are about to fall will make all the difference when you get into a real live combat situation. It is the motion in between motions that will be the deciding factor while in a scrap.

In addition to understanding your balance you must also be aware of the subtle quickness necessary to avoid danger while practicing stepping. Once your legs are stopped, then all of your plans will go out the window. A good exercise for this is to have a partner (grappler) lay on his back while reaching for and sometimes holding on to your legs. Continue stepping through Kou and Bai bu, using the power in the hips to free yourself from his grasp. As you get loose it is crucial for your partner to continually grab for the other leg. This is great practice for both sides learning how to adapt to difficult circumstances. (This idea was developed by Hanzo, a great training partner.)

Sometimes a mistaken step can be recovered from, while other times the wrong step will end your fray. This is why I enjoy practicing thorn stepping. By creating barriers of loose thorns or just practicing in an area naturally covered in thorns, we force ourselves to become cautious of our every movement. Continue moving without stopping and always thinking about your hand attacks. If you make a mistake you will know immediately.

Another style of stepping training that is similar to thorns, is creek stepping. This is much more tranquil and by far the most relaxing of all of the stepping training. (If you don't fall in the creek) Stepping atop the rocks that occasionally move and sway in the water will force you to continually concentrate on your foot positioning. Try to think light thoughts and make sure that you are only focused on your hand techniques. After all if you must look at your feet to know your position, then you are no where near ready for combat. Stepping has to be just as natural as flinching.

Evasive stepping is illustrated in my video "Bagua vs the world 101 ways to train. You can find it on youtube. Yet a more effective way to train this exercise is to have someone continually stab at you with a staff or even spear. Binding the hands behind the back gets us used to not relying on our hands to free us from danger and makes it much easier for us to move when our hands our finally free.

Ok I think that is good for now. Train safely. Always start slowly until it is too easy. Then slowly add the heat of intent with every step.

Gao Bagua's Eight Sides

2012-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

These are notes for my the spring semester class I'm teaching at WSU. Just some more information on our basic principles.

The eight sides of the Bagua in our lineage (Gao style Baguaor Soft Body Repeating Hands Bagua) are represented by 8 different energies: heaven, water, mountain, wind, thunder,fire, earth and lake. Each ofthe sections contain eight movements with at least 6 variations. Each sectionalso contains counter attacks, two person practice and a strengtheningtechnique from the circle. Thesestrengthening techniques are often known as Preheaven. The 64 applications ofthe techniques are called Post heaven. Gao Bagua is unique because it containsPreheaven and Post heaven practice.

Here are a few bits of information about each section. Inthis semester you will learn the complete Heaven section. I will still writeout the philosophies of each section in order to give you a sense of directionfor your training.

Heaven- The heaven section is the most honestand straight forward. It is the opposite of the Earth Section. It is also knownas the way of striking. It teaches how to generate power and overthrow theopponent from all eight possible trajectories of danger. This section is thefirst section because in many ways it is the most important section. Before there was anything, there was heaven. One couldspend their whole life only knowing these 8 motions and would easily be able todefeat their adversary. These eight techniques also unlock the understanding of power of the following energies. Thestrengthening technique is the Creeping Snake.

Water- The watersection indicates flowing motion and adaptation. It is the opposite of the firesection. It is also referred to as the way of the hands. This section isfocused on de-fanging the opponent by disabling the limbs. Once the limbs aredisabled, the opponent is then used as a shield against other possibleattackers. By manipulating the hands we are able to punish our attacker many times before releasing him, much like a yo-yo effect. This section requires more dexterity of the hands and sensitivity than the heavensection in order to effectively utilize the grabs and takedowns. Thisstrengthening technique is the Piercing Dragon.

Mountain- Themountain section resembles both silence and unmovable power. It is the oppositeof the Thunder Section. It is also called the way of diverting energy. These 8movements are specialized counters that focus on trapping or binding theopponent. A trap is a movement that your opponent must be lured into and not“forced”. By relaxing and reacting to movements while in a strong base, you can tie your opponent intoknots. This strengthening technique is the Striking Tiger.

Thunder- Thethunder section refers to untraceable loud noise. Hence it is the opposite ofthe Mountain Section. This section is also known as the way of the body. Thissection teaches how to use the entire body as an evasive weapon. It isimportant to have agile and assertive steps in order to master these 8techniques. This section is also very effective for fighting crowds while usingthe crescent moon swords for it shows us how to both chase and retreat whileattacking. This strengthening movement is the Turning Sparrow.

Wind- The windsection refers to invisible dangerwhich can not be contained. Hence it is the opposite of the Lake Section. It isalso known as the way of the elbow. The elbow is used for striking, blockingand wrapping opponents. Becausethe elbow transitions so easily from many attacks, it can be used to resolvedany situation with the proper timing. The elbow requires excellent footworkbecause of its limited range. This strengthening technique is the Spinning BackPalm.

Fire- The firesection refers to unrelenting power. This section is also known as the way ofthe legs. Hence it is the opposite of the Water section. These kicking andtripping techniques snap the vulnerable parts of the body. It is essential thatwhile using hand attacks the legs continually burn away at the opponentsdefense and balance. With the right footwork practice, kicking attacks can beespecially effective with multiple opponents. This strengthening technique iscalled The Twisting Searching Horse.

Earth- The earthsection refers to complexity and craft. Hence it is the opposite of the Heavensection. This section is also known as the way of entry. Every movement takesprecise hand movements and key timing in order to peel open the opponentsdefense. Any attempt to block these techniques only opens our opponent's defenses more rapidly. This section takesmastery of Footwork, Body work and Hand work in order to be effective. Thisstrengthening technique is the turning piercing palm.

Lake- The lakesection represents flowing motion that is in a contained area. It is theopposite of the Wind section. It is also called the way of footwork. Every oneof these techniques requires footwork mastery in order to manipulate thebalance of the opponent. In a sense your attacks should drown the opponent inthe depth of these 8 movements.

*By practicing the sections that are opposite to each otherwe are able to maximize different energies and find hidden movements. After a movement is done 10,0000 times it will change in its nature. Choose one move and practice it until it changes10,000 times and you shall become a master.

Bagua Count

2012-01-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

This is not really a post, but a list of numbers that can me accessed by students curious of our Xin Zhu Bagua Association. Keep in mind that I have only written out the movements that I have learned. I know there is still much more Bagua gooey goodness to learn.

Pre Heaven ( Circle) 10

Second Circle 10

9 Palaces 1

Post heaven 64

Post heaven Counters 64

Post heaven two person practice 64

Unlimited (Formless) Fist 28

Seven Stars 42

Seven Stars (Set 2) 33

Footwork Steps 25

Qing Ping Sword 60

Qin Ping Sword (Set 2) 60

Baji 68

6 Connecting Kicks 27

Guan Dao 40

Tai Chi 96

Strange Spear 26

Bagua Staff 128

Bagua Spear 126

Stealth Tiger Saber 40

6 Harmony Saber 40

Push Hands 9

Wudang Fist 56

Hooks 12

Three Principle Fist 30

12 Steps of Power 12

Five Elements (5) (12)

Sometimes you have to lay it all out so you can see it.

Thank you Master Wu Guo Zheng for 10 lifetimes of kung fu.

The Art of Knowing without Knowing

2012-01-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

Winter training is never as enjoyable as the spring or even scorching hot summer time, but it offers many advantages. As I bundle myself into extra layers of clothing, I add weight to every movement. There is also additional weight in my mind as I look out into my now frosted natural dojo of trees. Daily I spend hours with the same trees and watch as they change clothing for the increasingly brisk winter days. In the night time they appear to be a rustic, metallic color. Yet in the morning the fog passes through its bark that shines like smooth glass.

My art also changes as I move between the trees, never daring to slow down for fear that the cold will catch up to me. I can feel my movements ever so gradually improving as I attempt to see beyond the white of my breath. After a few hours pass, my Qi reaches its limits and my fingers and toes are fully aware of the brutal cold. I sit in a lotus position on top of the sleeping grass and the earth greets me with a sharp chill.

The chill immediately activates a part of my brain that is usually dormant, and it comes with a message that I am unable to interpret. I open my eyes feeling disappointed that I had lost what seemed to be a very important signal.

When I get home my wife can see from my expression that my workout has been one that has brought more questions than answers. Before I am able to explain to her my frustration, she answers the question in my mind.

"If you believe it was a bad workout, then it was."

Her answer plants a rapidly growing seed, that quickly develops branches and then fruit into my every thought. The ultimate level of kung fu is knowing. By knowing that everything that awaits you is good, we create the most desired outcome for ourselves. But when we feel that bad things will happen or have happened, we create the possibility of much darker outcomes. You must continually think on all of the great things that await you every second in order to block out the possibility of doubt. Your doubt in God, yourself and in your peers will eventually lead you in to a cavern of impossibilities. You must know how great you are at all times. You must also know that each day will only get better from here. Your every dream is just waiting for you to contemplate it into existence.

Of course we live in a world designed by nightmares. If you sit and watch the news long enough you will actually start to be affected by things that have nothing to do with your life. Yes they use convincing arguments to explain why it is important for you to be afraid of a billion things this year. Maybe if they make enough people believe the world will end, it will. After all we are made in the image of the creator and his thoughts brought us life. Will your thoughts bring you death?

I know this year is going to be the best year we have ever had. A time that we will each as individuals evolve into something more meaningful. A world that will no longer be distracted by games and obsessed with meaningless values. I know that our efforts create the paradise that we all deserve. But what I have come to know and understand in my training will mean nothing to you. Now it's time for you to answer the question,

"What do you know is waiting for you?"

Circus of Gladiators

2011-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

For a martial artist a martial arts demonstration is a place to learn and evaluate movements and ideas. Seeing the power of other styles can lead to gateways of how to unlock more potential power within our own art. There is nothing quite as fulfilling as feeling connected with such a long historic brotherhood.

Because the arts were designed out of war the demonstrations and friendly competitions are a great way to appreciate other martial artists without having to kill each other. These arts were developed in a severe time that most societies to date have completely forgotten about. Martial arts masters had a status as respected as a doctor or police. Many of them were very wealthy because they often protected those who wanted to protect their money.

With the introduction of new technology martial artists were forgotten to the world. As my father often says, "They threw the baby out with the bath water." Leaving martial artists today in a world that teeters between gladiators and the circus.

Martial artists in a ring beating on other martial artists for the entertainment of a world that doesn't even want to understand them. Or worse the martial artists that have taken all of the nutrients out of their art in order to make it entertaining to the untrained eye. Ring fighting, no matter how good you are, will leave you eventually broken and empty. A martial artist who uses the art to dazzle people will never be quite as impressive as a true circus acrobat. Both are pathways that will leave both the practitioner as well as the art without meaning.

I'm not saying that demonstrations or competitions are bad. In fact they can be stepping stones that can help us find our direction. Still we have to look at what society sees us as, as a whole. Think about what kind of demonstration that Bruce Lee would do. He would do his best to share with an audience that doesn't understand, the power of martial arts. He would never show you a bunch of fancy meaningless moves because he cares for the art too much.

If you ask a doctor to perform for you, what do you think he would say? Of course doctors have demonstrations for other doctors to further and pass along knowledge just as true martial arts demonstrations. Yet a doctor performing for someone who doesn't understand medicine, is a waste of everyone's time. So should the medical industry suddenly try to find a way to make themselves more entertaining to the public? Should they put fireworks inside of arteries so they may gain a greater reaction from the crowd. A doctor cares about his duties and responsibilities. It should be the same for martial artist. The question is, "Do you know the purpose of your art?"

Some would say, "If you don't try to entertain people, then no one is going to want to see your art." I have two answers for this person. The first one is that someone who only seeks to be entertained would never become a martial artist anyway. They want to find something to fill the void in their own bored life. If I entertain a crowd of thousands, I may pull in ten or twenty good students. Students that came because they felt something within.

Secondly if I change my art for the purpose of entertainment then I will become an entertainer instead of a martial artist. Fighting people for the approval of others exposes the weakness within myself. Am I not confident enough to do my art for me?

That being said, it's time for us as martial artists to show the world our true strength. We are more powerful than your guns and fancy cars. Our life may not be as shiny as the lifestyles on MTV cribs, but we have purpose. Purpose is something that many actors and TV stars act out in a movie. But when they go home and face themselves in the mirror they know that they are not truly heroes. They feel as empty as anyone who has yet to do something meaningful. We who choose to better ourselves, strengthen our lives, educate our peers and protect our loved ones, are the true heroes. Martial arts is just a tool to be used to dig out the most from your life. Don't get used by the ignorance of the masses.

誰看錯功夫？

2011-12-10T09:34:00.001-08:00

小時候三兄弟都不約而同的認為，成為ㄧ位武術高手比醫師或律師來的令我們更值得去追求與尊崇，當時我們壓根不覺的有比練功夫更好的生活方式。學習武術近30年的時間，見到功夫悠久的歷史背景下，產生出現今神祕且多元的表現方式。

   我們三兄弟很小的時候就認為功夫就是要實戰實打，二十多年前種族歧視的社會依然嚴重衝刺著我們的生活，幼小心靈要防遇的不只是語言攻擊，還包括身體，所以學習武術不只是打為了好玩或興趣，我們是打為了我們的自尊，我們的命。我們喜歡練拳沈浸在武術的世界裡，看見自己日益強壯的身心靈，但我們實在不覺的真正的攻擊傷害別人是開心的事。終於我們一家人搬到一個不用每天搏鬥的環境，當然我們沒有就因此間斷，還是天天在練，還是一天比一天進步，還是每個禮拜找到不同門派（截拳道忍術合氣道拳擊泰國拳巴西拳...等）的老師或是志同道合的人切磋切比劃與學習。

   之後我跟大哥都很幸運能找到ㄧ群真的喜好將武術實以用之的老師，接著十七歲在西岸的武術比賽拿到了冠軍，雖然冠軍這個頭銜是好的象徵，但我依然感到空虛，因為對予我來說打得比別人好，不表示我的程度在提高，反而是一種停滯。我開始思考起比賽的意義，是否贏得只是膚淺的歡呼聲，只是種驕傲的證明而已。習武十四的我，十八歲，我已經很難找到我心目中的老師，所以我開始自己成為老師，授課。我發現當我在教人的時候，其實自己才獲益良多，在這過程中我遇到一位台灣的朋友，他說：『要學更多的功夫，就必須學中文。』

   當我真正開始學習中文候後才發現，我對武術的歷史知識和了解還不透徹也不夠豐富。當時我們三兄弟都是已開始傳授他人武術一段時間。一天，二哥給我看一個影片，而其中一段是在解釋八卦掌，第一次看到它就決定有一天一定要找到最完整的八卦掌，在我學習中文三年後，學校剛好有機會能把我送去中國交換學生。中國浩大，要找到ㄧ位真正好的功夫老師其實不易，尋尋覓覓下，我還是找到八卦掌老師學習了半年時間，回到美國馬上想與兩個習武兄弟過幾招，讓他們見識我新學的功夫，出乎自己意料的，我被打的是落花流水。我開始意識到武功的理論與實際搏鬥的差別，但我繼續每天練我學過的拳法，只是希望能更進一步找到功夫的精髓。接著，這是我人生的轉捩點，台灣！

兩年的時間，兩年尋找師父的時光，終於我遇到我的師父，柔身連環八卦掌掌門人吳國正先生。我想，師父兩字即是老師以及父親的意思，非常清楚描述了吳國正先生在我心中的重大意義，他帶我進入了真正屬於高手的武林世界，帶給我無限的關懷教誨，並帶領我探討文化歷史外，更別說八卦掌那八千八百三百年也練不完的動作了，我遇到對我人生中最需要保護傳承的珍寶，八卦掌。勤奮辛苦的跟師父練了五年的時間，不論颳風下雨或工不工作我都堅持每天練上三個小時，因為我不知道什麼時候，我又必須回美國。

當我接受了如此淵博珍貴的武術精神洗滌下，我突然發現別人想要看到的功夫並不是真正的功夫，而是有如馬戲團只是快速飛躍彈跳，喊叫式的表演，在功夫以外的世界的人不是不屑一顧覺得沒有用，就是不了解什麼才是功夫，正因為如此，不幸的是真正的武術正在慢慢的消聲暱跡，所以，我現在在美國練武不是因為還像孩童時想要打某人亦或表演比賽，而是為了給人正確的教育，幫人找到屬於自己的力量。如今，我依舊一往如常，不論下多大的雪，下雨或是天氣多麼酷熱，我堅持天天練下去，為的是下ㄧ代不會遺忘我們，我不再浪費我的拳做很多只是“表面功夫”的事，我的掌是用來豐富別人，在功夫上指點迷津，還給功夫該存在的立足和地位價值，用我所有的精神告訴這世界，真正的功夫才是最精彩最值得一看的。

The secret of the Roses

2011-12-03T19:06:00.001-08:00

In the midst of my search of better ways to fight, think and react to life, something stumbles upon me. I get sick. Something about the viruses in America being different than the ones of my home in Taiwan. It could also be related to the stress of not knowing which country I will be settled in. Always continually searching for the place that the seeds of Bagua will be most fertile, I find myself awake at night with possibilities and ideas. I am usually able to keep sickness at bay through my Qi training, but some days you're just destined to get sick.

As my body shuts down my mind turns on and casts lights at shadowed questions in the room. The loudest question being the one all martial artists continually ask, "How do I get better?" Next to a cup of used tissues I scan across videos of the masters I met in Taiwan. While watching the videos I felt I was with them again as we exchanged different ideas on what it meant to "Get better."

We spoke of different theories and concepts about power development, focus and life. The discussions were important, but not nearly as important as the conversation that took place without words. Every gesture and facial expression said far more than the polite words that were spoken about the tea. I payed attention to every detail and movement that was made amongst the masters. After a person has practiced thousands of movements, millions of times, they even breath differently.

With this sickness in my system, I was certainly breathing differently. Coughing through out the night, filling my system with medicines of all kinds, I managed to keep a good mood. I may not have learned the kung fu that prevents you from getting sick (like many masters), but I have learned that a bad attitude weakens your spirit. The last thing you want when your body is all ready breaking down, is a side order of emotional issues. So when you feel the sickest, it's most important to smile!

After all, the flesh battle pales in comparison to what is really going on. I know that all forms of sickness have demonic roots. And when the mind ponders on self pity the roots strengthen the trees of aggravation. Dark thoughts only bear poisonous fruit.

So while I lie in my bed filled with Qi and Nyquil, I keep my thoughts on the blessings of all the new training I will begin when the virus leaves. If this sickness was permitted by God, then I know there is something good within the extra mucus. Besides it was so close to Thanksgiving and I had much to be thankful for.

When the headache receded I began to practice my Chinese characters. I've learned that calligraphy is directly connected to the sword, and I was getting sick of not knowing the secrets within my sheath. The point of either the pen or sword, is it must be guided with the hand, but the energy is from elsewhere.

"Elsewhere" is the place of many martial arts secrets. A land with a language so secretive that it can't be uttered. It may only be hinted in a hidden, unspoken conversation that appeared to be about tea, wine or whatever.

As I wrote characters I recollected on how I saw one master who appeared to be old and frail, grasp a heavy jug of water and pour the massive weight as if it was filled with helium. I smiled as I took my cup of tea and pretended not to notice just as the other masters. I felt at many times I was a martial arts detective searching for clues of each master's power. The only thing I was able to find was that each master had a connection to another skill that appeared to be unrelated to his martial art, but they somehow strengthened each other.

The sword master's handwriting was startling. I peeped over as he wrote a personal note to his kid, it looked like it should be posted in a museum somewhere. The master historian spoke of details and developments of each style that had only been written in books that had been burned. The heavy master's eyes scanned the room with a flush red face and genuine smile. He looked over weight, but he was the only one they classified as a kung fu genius. He had the ability to master any technique after just seeing it one time. I raised my glass showing my appreciation to my own master who had become a second father over the years.

"Tailong your master's fortune is in your hands. How will you pass it to the next generation?" The Taichi master asked.

This was the question that I didn't answer because I knew no words would be appropriate. It was this question that lead to me over training and getting sick in the first place.

When Thanksgiving arrived I was almost fully recovered aside from the occasional sniffle and cough. My wife read movements at random choosing from thousands within the text that my master has given.

"Pressing Palm Counter, Intercepting Kick, Reverse Palm Break" She reads as I move from technique to technique. Though I am fluent with every technique, I am searching for something that lies between the movements. Another epiphany that can help me further highlight my style. My wife had been around all the masters and had been a key factor in my journey. She seems to always know what I'm looking for without having to explain it. I'm blessed to be able to talk with her for hours about martial arts without her ever tiring.

"Come on man we gotta eat sometime Mr. Kung Fu." My brother Eddie said as he finished his own training in the other room. I admire both of my brothers who were on the same path as myself. Yet the power I feel when we exchange is from a completely different source.

Aaron has become like an immovable stone connected to the Earth. Only my most practiced techniques were able to move his solid energy. Eddie had become burning fire, the slightest touch would burn the tendons within my wrists and forearms. They referred to me as the wind, as I used the art of changes to manipulate and control the outcome. My brothers have always been the key to discovery within my training. I enjoy the miracle that we have all trained nonstop since we were four. We have our own hidden conversations amongst the table, but we have seen enough to know that we are still very young masters with much to learn.

When the holiday passes I begin my sword training anew. I leave my sword at home because I feel it is distracting me from my understanding. I find time before, after and between work to squeeze as many hours as possible out of the QIng Ping Sword. After a week of diligence I feel that something has changed. An energy suddenly flowed through me that disorients me. I bring my training to an end for the day thinking I'm light headed because I'm still not completely recovered.

A week later it is my wife's birthday and my sickness still tries to hide behind my lungs. I buy a dozen roses and place them on my dresser to surprise my wife. She sleeps soundly as I begin to practice techniques in the mirror. As I move I can feel a connection between me and the roses. They whisper to me a secret that energizes my technique. The beauty and power in their design blends within my style. My practice with the sword had opened a new gate way that was as delicate as the pedals reflected in my mirror. As I our energies combine my soul heats the entire room allowing me to unleash a new found power.

"You found it." My wife said while rubbing her eyes, excited for me.

"I guess it's a birthday for both of us." I said to her while giving her a hug.

I felt the phlegm in my system emerge as I spit the virus out of my body entirely. I knew I was fully recovered and now ready to begin a new level of training. I think I will call it, "The sword of roses."

Colors of the sky

2011-11-16T10:22:00.001-08:00

This morning when I exited my house I felt a chill that dug between the fabric of my thin gloves. I took my staff and saber not certain what todays training regiment would involve. It is so early that it feels like night time as I see the light from the half moon refract off the iced and crispy blades of grass. The stars on Orion's belt are clear and I use them to roll through possible training ideas. The stars turn like a slot machine as my thoughts wander on what needs to be trained the most. I take my stance as I see the stars light up "The unlimited fist."

The sky is black as I slowly begin my journey through 28 movements. My mind hasn't woken up enough to think passed the first technique. I dive into the first technique both deeply and completely. I finish dozens of repetitions before I relax and my arms become one with the darkness. The heat from the Qi trapped within my gloves creates a milky mist that traces my movements.

The sky changes to dark purple and my stance lowers bringing me closer to the chilled road. There is no life about except for my movements. Even the animals remain asleep as I move silently and unnoticed. I'm so alone that it is almost terrifying if I think about it. Especially when my thoughts wander to the funeral home nearby. I attack through my random thoughts of fear as I reach the street light and turn around for another lap.

When the sky becomes dark blue I notice a change in the rhythm in my technique. A question about the arts that I had asked my master many years ago had been revealed to me. I had finally broken into a new level of understanding with my movements. I am thrilled to see that at the beginning of my workout, I have already touched upon a new level.

A bright white line splits the sky in half as I come to the end of unlimited fist practice. I am lost within the new perks of my level up when one of my movements opens a new chamber of possibilities. The chamber is filled with answers that I have wondered about for many years. New ideas that I have been touching on in my Nine Palace training. I vacate my original training in order to run through the halls of the Nine Palaces just long enough to find a missing jewel. I search between the lines of every movement looking for a key to another level. After a half hour passes I realize that it is not something I can find today. I return to the last movements of the unlimited fist. Just as I bow out the street light turns off. It seemed to be cuing me to the next section of my training.

Pink stretches across the sky as I look at my two weapons on the floor. I know that there is no way that I can practice my staff techniques while wearing gloves. I remove them reluctantly and find myself being electrocuted as I grab the blistering cold staff. The staff slides back and forth through my hands like razors, completely overpowering the warmth of my Qi. The numbness in my fingers begins to affect my thoughts as I am determined to finish all 8 sections of the spear and staff 3 times. The pale blue sky seems to mock me as I use every effort in my body to ignore the pain.

The color of the frosty grass and naked trees comes with the sun. I grit my teeth through the remainder of my techniques just long enough to drop the staff. The sound shatters the quiet and startles all of the animals that have not yet awoken. I immediately practice the Eight Silk Brocades that I learned from the Southern Shaolin monks. It isn't related to my Bagua training, but it acts like a heater in the center of my palm. After only two movements the feeling returns to my finger tips.
My shadow seems to turn red as the energy circulates through out my body.

I look to see the sun and the moon now both in the sky at once. It makes sense that at this time of day there is more power to be gained. I inhale all of the power of yin and exhale the power of yang. When I finish the remainder of my techniques it is met with the applaud from the nearby animals. The energy of the atmosphere invigorates me like 1000 cups of coffee. There is nothing better than getting the hardest part of the day over before the day has begun.

End of Fall

2011-11-12T11:03:00.001-08:00

Fallen Staff -The perfect training for the end of fall has been with the staff. As the cold makes the leaves crisp they are easy to fall with the lightest touch. By using staff attacks I remove one leaf from the tree at a time making sure not to touch the other branches. The slightest in accuracy will cause the leaves to fall and I have to begin my count again. I must remove 100 leaves at great speed without hitting an undesired leaf in the process. This workout is internal with movement, but you are sure to gain a lot of muscle in the end.

Brisk Blades- Saber and sword training are also great for fall conditions. However the two types of blade training are very different. The saber can be used to first bang the tree and then slice the leaves as the fall. The back of the blade acts as a hammer or shield when defending an attack. After the forces shoots through the tree the leaves will fall giving you a chance to attack multiple targets before stopping. It is most important to make sure every slice is channelled through the ground. Keep a low stance is priority as you step along the rooted forest ground.

Solem Sword-The sword is much more of a patience and reactions game. Wait for a day that the wind gust are strong enough to pull the leaves off of the tree. You using footwork from the nine palaces will allow you to flow continually while letting the sword strike through the breeze. It is best to practice piercing attacks instead of slices. See how many leaves you can stack at the end of your blade before having to start over.

If you haven't started your fall training yet then it's time to jump into winter season. I could smell the winter in the air today and it's time to change the tires of my training for snow. My biggest goal is to focus on my ice spear training. I intend to learn all about the winter season through the eyes of my spear for the first time. I will take lots of notes and bring you the update when it comes into spring time. Train baby train!

Gifts and Opportunities

2011-11-11T17:22:00.001-08:00

After finishing my book I had a good friend of mine ask me what I planned to do next. Of course I have developed dozens of plans on how to get to where I wanted to go. I've made plans regarding film, writing, translating, training, business, teaching, researching and on and on. I have laid out blueprints on how to more efficiently train everything from new weapon ideas to memorizing Chinese characters. It is my determination and diligence that has prepared me for great things to come. Yet no opportunity I've had in my life has arrived due to my own plans.

In fact all of the greatest things that have happened in my life were given to me at the proper time. Though I had made countless plans on how to utilize my skills, none of them actually worked out. I ended up going to Taiwan because China didn't accept me for work. I met my Bagua master because I was chasing a girl. I made my first movie because of an opportunity brought to my friend. Every amazing step that I have taken has not been because I was chasing my dream, but because my dream had found me.

The truth is that none of us are able to control what opportunities may come. In a world that nothing is for certain it is only vanity to imagine that we could pull our own strings. Still I continue to make plans about what I am going to do next because making plans for one opportunity can prepare you for another. I don't know what the next opportunity is going to be that comes my way, but by continually polishing the skills that I have, I can be sure to do well when the chance arises. The only thing I can control is that I will be better the next time you see me.

In very recent days I have come to learn chasing dreams will only drain you of your energy. It is not in chasing the dreams that we attain them, but by continually cherishing them that they are received. Therefore the only thing that we can do is what we are called to do today. The fastest way to get to your goal is to help others with their own. Our dream is a piece of the grand design that can be easily lost when we are trying to do things our way. When we are patient in our diligence the dust settles and we can see what we want more clearly.

My plans are to enjoy myself with the betterment of my skills. I have dozens of Chinese novels in my closet that need reading. I want to write Chinese more beautifully than my calligraphy teacher. I have new training equipment that needs to be design as well as possible modern Bagua weapons. I have new fight scenes that will show martial arts to the world with out compromising its true internal beauty. I am busy everyday with a project to finish every hour. Who has time for a plan?

I'm so blessed to be in the moment that I am in now. This chilling morning was the best workout of my life. We miss out on our life while were making plans. Accept what comes and always improve.

Lucky number 13

2011-11-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

About three months ago I started a new movement training designed to enhance my "Shen Fa" (Way of the body training). It is one of the key components to harnessing power in every step. With good Shen Fa you are able to better blast, entangle, misdirect or off balance your attacker. This training can only be done after first spending crucial training time on footwork or Zou Fa.

The training I developed was to do one movement for one mile. The movement can be an attack or a defense with many different variations. More importantly it is the movement we use to engage the opponent allowing us to launch our attack more effectively. It closes the gap with the advantage in your favor. This spear hand can also be found in another article on my blog that I translated for my master, Wu Guo Zheng. I made a plan to practice this movement one time a week for the the next 25 weeks, giving me twenty five miles with the technique all together.

Unfortunately I didn't account for the change in weather conditions which hinder me from finishing this particular training. When I finished my 13th mile last week, I was forced to put an end to this training temporarily.

This actually is great news because it allows me to investigate other ideas that I have been researching and developing. The grueling cold winter is upon us and the snow will fall soon. It is this type of climate that most people fear to do any exercise in, yet I know it is the best opportunity for warriors. I want to spend the winter adding frost to my saber and staff.

Training weapons in winter add for many new pains to be revealed. The slippery surface and burning cold handles make it easy to feel uncomfortable. As my wife said, "You have to use real kung fu to deal with the blistering cold."

This forces us to keep Qi in our hands with every movement and a lowered center of balance and connection to the earth. The process is agonizing at times, but when I'm finished I really enjoy the comfort of my home. Not only am I enhancing the power within in my technique, I am also magnifying the treasures with in my own life. These are treasures that we neglect every day as we chase after things with lesser value. Only when I tire myself do I enjoy my time to rest.

This morning the sun rose as I tucked away my sword and I felt an energy I never get from my coffee mug before going to work. We must embrace our discomfort at times in order to remember why we live. We would never know who David was if he didn't deal with Goliath.

I will continue my Shen Fa training when the spring returns. For now I look forward to being baptized in the blizzard.

Seminars, Questions and Comments!

2011-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

I have been truly blessed to be able to finally come into contact with the style that I had been searching for most my life. Bagua is the most potent style I have ever come in contact with in regards of combat, healing and research. Each movement is a seed that through practice will become a fruit that will bear thousands more seeds. Meaning that if you start with almost ten thousands seeds, you will soon find yourself in a harvest of countless possibilities.

Today I am faced with the challenge of spreading these seeds across the world so that everyone who desires to may grow their own fruit. I do this not only because it is my responsibility, but because it is necessary for my safety.

The truth is as I practice and meditate on the movements they continually divide into countless mathematical equations. At times the thoughts actually create a weight within my mind slowing down my processing ability on every day thoughts. I literally find myself lost in the supermarket splitting the atoms of different palm techniques.

Lucky for me I am still very young to this new world of quantum martial arts so the side effects of these problems are very minor. By passing on the things that I have learned I unload my mind of the old information and am able to think freely on the new growing and developing ideas. The older information is seen in the students making them into new data containers. Every student that I teach is a load off my mind.

This December I will be going to Scotland to teach a seminar where my goal is to unload enough information in a few days that can be digested over the course of a few years. Yet I would like to hold a yearly seminar, ensuring they always have a heavy dose of Gao Bagua. This is a wonderful opportunity for myself and Scotland to grow within our realms of understanding. If there are enough students in any area I would happily offer my services to the dedicated. New students are my only chance of maintaing my sanity. It would also be great to not be the only person taking crazy pills.

I am not only grateful to those of you that have been following my progress, I need you in order to pass on the legacy that has been given to me. My book is near completion and I have dozens of projects that will be filled with the art, yet the only way Bagua will be able to survive is in a living container. So I am begging for comments, questions and different thoughts. Bagua is just too good to be stuck in one place.

Let's work together and share the dream.

The art of perception

2011-10-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today I made a comment about feeling better about each day that I have been given. Being able to see the good in any situation is the ultimate form of kung fu. Through mastering this technique we are able to let the light within us shine affecting not only ourselves, but the attitudes of those we come across. The truth is that even the most powerful of arts can not be understood until we first go through painful training.

Those around me see me smiling and may believe that everything is going my way. The look on my face says content, success and excitement. I have been chasing dreams for as long as I can remember. I have learned to relish in the frustration of self development by using the discipline attained from my martial arts training. Yet even my training is not the way that I yet desire it to be. In my eyes I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of my objectives. I find myself receiving news that would be disappointments to many on the daily basis. Outside accidents, arguments and misunderstandings are unavoidable even to the highest level of kung fu masters. So what's with the goofy grin?

My reality is not something that I will ever be able to control. I am even less able to control the opinions of those around me. The strength of perception is not held in avoiding conflict, but facing it. Tomorrow it doesn't matter if it rains, snows or the sun doesn't come out, I will still train martial arts. The same can be said for what I decide to see in every given problem. If I lose my job, will relish in my extra time. If I wreck my car, I will relish in my appreciation of my other belongings. If my goals fail, I will relish in making new goals.

Relishing in good things is not enough to erase pain. You are a fool to think that there isn't a time to morn, cry or even be afraid. After that feeling has been given its proper attention, we must return to our training. It takes far more strength to be positive than negative. Those who do not follow their dreams will always think of themselves as cowards, making all other forms of success only surface level. You must remember no matter what happens that you will be joyful tomorrow. Your joy as your training should never be dependent on the weather. Face the storm with a fearless grin. Everyone deserves to be happy, but unfortunately not everyone is strong enough to own up to it.

Bullies? That's what kung fu is for!

2011-10-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today in my English class I had to listen to debates about the bullying problem around the world. After listening for a of couple hours I came to realize that the ignorance about martial arts is evident in our social problems. My issues dealing with violent racism as a youth required me to confront bullies on a daily basis. All bullies used to be bullied themselves. Their insecurities become targets they seek in other weaker individuals.

Martial arts being the practice of daily refinement is the most obvious answer to the problem. Yes the teacher has a responsibility to the children to look after their safety. The reality is that no one can be around your kid 24 hours a day or be involved on their social networks. Parents have an obligation to teach their children about bullying, but they can not live their child's life for them. The child needs to understand that life is filled with dangerous situations and sometimes you got to dig yourself out on your own. It just so happens the universe has provided us the perfect tool for bullies, kung fu.

I say kung fu meaning all martial arts but you have to be careful using the word martial arts these days. Some people would tell you that martial arts is two guys in a cage beating each others faces in over money. No disrespect to gladiators, we all have to find a way to make money. Fighters use a lot of martial arts, but most fighters are not martial artist.

True kung fu first attacks the weakness within one's own character: laziness, fear, low self-steem and lack of strength. These flaws mold into traits that eventually act as a magnet to bullies. It is the essence of which the bully must feed on.

In China many families would take the weakest child to the temple to train for fear of his life. Maybe he was always sick as a baby or even picked on. They took him and left him on the temple stairs to be adopted by the monks so that they would train the weakness out of him. These sick babies usually turned out to be the most powerful masters. The advantage of being weak is that you understand the power of strength.

If you have always been strong then when training a technique you do not need to follow every detail to generate power. You use talent and muscle to make up for what you don't understand. Yet only starting as a weakling will you truly need every move to be perfect before you can generate power. The weakest will always become the strongest. Martial arts is a gift for the meek.

In a martial arts class the first thing that they will introduce to you is pain. Every stance, step, stretch and sparring session is going to be painful, but also it will be positive. Any child quickly gets used to the idea that getting hit is not so scary anymore. He will feel a confidence in his achievements and accomplishments. Martial arts will give him the ability to deal with his problems in many ways. The fact that a child would not admit to his parents that he was being bullied is an indication that he doesn't even have the confidence to speak up in his defense. And if push real comes to shove on the playground, bullies only want prey. They don't want a really fight.

On the flip side martial arts is also the solution for the bully himself. If he is in a style that utilizes his potential and worth while at the same time showing him the error of arrogance and pride. An art that gives him a true confidence along with peace of mind. So that when he wakes up in the morning he will feel to good about himself and his place in the world.

Bottom line is everyone needs to know kung fu. Plain and simple.

2011-10-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Light is less visible through a dirty glass. For us light symbolizes the power we attain through our positive efforts. These efforts create a pathway that will ultimately lead to our dream. While on this pathway we feel at rest and no obstacle can stop the force that is within us. Yet this force leaves us even as we think dark thoughts. Dark thoughts soon become soiled gestures and our pathway to perfection is unseen. Lost again in a crowded office, the loneliest person alive.

Dark thoughts are something that come to all of us, usually at a time we feel vulnerable. The sad truth is this negative thought of vulnerability is what attacks at the wisdom that would reside in us. Wisdom can never accompany unrighteousness. Therefore when we involve ourselves in this energy we are unable to access our powers: creativity, insight, passion, charisma and all other heroic traits. Fear comes in many shapes and strangles the potential of what we could do in every minute of the day. Call the light by name and it will always return to you. When you debate about the little matters you waste time you could be spending on your growth. Who cares if people don't know what you know? What difference does it make if you think I'm a dreamer?

Live as a righteous example and all that you have will be blessed. Kung fu with the wrong habits is a sure path to self-destruction. It must always be righteousness before kung fu for you to know any real power. I only speak to those who listen and those who don't are not a part of a problem I am able to solve. Many are addicted to darkness and claim to love the agony within. Pity them as they mock you for wanting more. There will come a time for all of us to face the person we have been. Lying to one's heart rots the soul. On the surface money may look cozy, but nothing compares to being loved. There really shouldn't even be a decision.

Follow Through

2011-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

There is a Chinese idiom that is one of my favorites: 一諾千金. It means that your word is a s good as a thousand gold pieces. You must never say anything unless you intend to do it. Once you have committed to an attack, to stop half way would leave you even more vulnerable to your opponent. Where as even missing will place you in a position for a better recovery than a half movement.

Myself I have been in the middle of many projects that all require attention. I am continually writing songs, designing fight scenes, researching new techniques, translating the scrolls for various masters, reviewing thousands of movements, designing better training programs and of course writing my book. This is all in the process of adjusting to my life in America and filling out mountains of paperwork to bring my wife home.

There are only so many hours in the day but everything thing must be finished. The best way to finish projects at the same time is to prioritize. These projects are going to continue stacking up until I knock some of the bigger projects down. My book so far is a total of 800 pages and rewriting it is quite time consuming. However I must put this onto the front burner so that other activities can take place. I plan to have the rewrite finished by November 11th. (My favorite video game comes out then)

Many other projects rely on the assistance of someone else, just as when I finish my book, publishing it will be a different project. At least once it is finished, I won't have to worry about writing it anymore. The good news is, you're going to love it! It's way cooler than my blog.

The other project on the front burner is training my student to fight in MMA. I know he is going to do some serious damage and shut up a lot of skeptics about Bagua. The only problem is, I have to really water the movements down so that he doesn't seriously hurt someone. The only problem being the most correct way to do the technique is also the deadliest way to do it. The angles that give the most power are the same angles that break the most bones. As the successor of the style it is not my responsibility to make sure the style is "sport safe." My students will all be given a full blueprint of the style and what they choose to do with it, is there own.

Chores

2011-09-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I think one of the trickiest parts of learning Bagua is a matter of time management. This style traditionally has been passed through the hands of individuals who didn't have an additional obligation like a job. Kung fu used to be an occupation for those who had devoted their life to their art. Their missions were related to fighting, teaching, passing knowledge or even research for the purposes of their style. In the process of my own training, I must also make sure that I not only practice the movements, but improve upon them to the best of my ability. The question is, where do I find the time?

One thing that I have learned to be true is that because Bagua is a collection of limitless angles and equations of combat, making literally an endless amount of ways you can train and project energy. I have found it best to take advantage of a mundane task such as chores and make it into a way to train, killing two birds with one stone.

Loading Dishes

When I take the dishes out to put them in the cabinet I can gain about 10 minutes of training time with my inward and outward stepping （Kou Bu, Bai Bu扣步擺步）. When the dishwasher door is down I have to take a dish out while pivoting around it and place it quickly (yet carefully) into the cabinet. I put pans into the lower cabinet making me hold a much deeper stance with the heavier objects, while practicing lifting power placing items in the higher cabinet. Make sure you never sacrifice technique and structure and you'll be sure to clean up a few techniques.

Sweeping

When sweeping there are a lot of options you can use, but currently I have been doing cross step (Tou Bu 透步） training. This is a step we often use in Bagua. First we step behind the leg and follow through with the energy forward. Meaning we start with the right leg in front, step through behind the leg, and end up with the right leg in front again. Of course we can change to start with the left leg in front. We can also practice the stance deep, or take short dashing steps. While sweeping the floor you have to adjust the step to the room. Holding the broom in a closed structure in the center of your body. You shouldn't be moving you arms aways from your body but only using your hips to swing the broom in position. The deeper the stance, the deeper the train. You can get about 20 minutes of training with a medium sized floor. A good way to get at some of those footwork cobwebs.

Drying clothes

In Taiwan sometimes hanging clothes up won't dry them off quick enough, so putting a little kung fu into your hang dry will do the trick. Ringing out clothing (preferable clothes your not worried about stretching out i.e. work out clothes.) By pinching it between your finger tips and dropping your weight, making sure to ring the water out with your stance, not your arms. Do it only once and afterwards use whip chain techniques until it airs out. If you don't know any chain techniques you can also use double stick exercises or butterfly swords. You'll find your arms will get a hell of a work out in only a few minutes. Careful, unlike boards, socks do hit back!

Driving

When driving a long distance you may have never noticed that by locking your arms into a structure you can control the wheel even easier. This lets you develop your circle power. It may take a little getting used to so take your time. I would suggest doing it for a few minutes at a time, but when you get sleepy it's great to recharge you.

Cooking

This has an endless amount of possibilities that you can explore. A master once told me he didn't like anyone to see him cooking because he uses kung fu to cook. Basically everything you reach for, grab, scrub, dice, or anything can be used to train. At the very least while your standing you can keep all your weight on the back leg. When it gets tired you switch legs.

I saw that master do a move where he used one hand to throw up an onion, then used the same hand to grab a knife and cut it into two halves. He then told me his goal was after he had cut the two halves, he wanted to put the knife down and grab the two halves with the same hand before they separated. Your kung fu can always get better!

These are just a few simple things that I can explain with words. The point is to use your mind to see things in a way that they become opportunities, not burdens. I could take any of these tasks and use them to improve my other skills as well. I can scrub the floor while I practice music, fold clothes while listening to a language CD, look at flash cards in my bathroom mirror. Design your life in a way that you are forced to see the skills you wish to acquire on the daily basis. Stop saying I will practice this when I have time. Take some of those times that you aren't using your brain and stimulate it.

At anytime you have to do something that is unpleasant, change your perception immediately. Take something little that you can work on so that at the end of the unpleasant situation, you will have gained. Trying to find a convenient time to learn something new is almost as difficult as trying to find an opportunity to attack your opponent. Sometimes it is only when our opponent attacks that we will see an opportunity to gain. Every chore is a chance for self development.

Everyone wins

2011-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

It is often said that your desires are what cause you to suffer. Chasing after uncertainties and dreams will eventually lead you to be disappointed. You should let life happen around and through you while capitalizing on the opportunities that come. Wise words and mostly true. Your life is a puzzle piece that fits together in the whole of time and the universe, making a beautiful masterpiece. As Ghandi said, "What we do is insignificant but it's very important that we do it."

It is all God's show and we can only do our part. Yet your desires were also created by God. The things that you wish to do are more complex than you could ever know. Of course on the surface it may seem the same as other people. Everyone would love to have that job or everyone believes the same woman is beautiful. Looking deeper into the details you would find that even at the same job as your co-oworkers, you would rather do things differently. You would also find that there is a mate for you that can reach you in a way no other could. Your desires are a unique fingerprint unlike anyone else in the world. But we are not wise enough to identify all of the things that are good for us. So we must always seek council before we begin any quest.

Recently I have been emphasizing my circle training. I have seen my master do the movements to such a level of power and control that I felt the earth move from under me. Leaving me watching while understanding that his decades of training surpass my own age. It will take me at least twenty more years to begin learning the things that he is coming into an understanding of now. Yet my desires are not to be as good as he is. My desires are to be better than him in my own way. To use what God has given me to overcome the obstacles in my life.

As I went through the motions and harnessed the energy into the coiling points in my structure. I practiced the movements first at the slowest possible pace. Taking almost a minute to complete one movement. I made sure that every stance was so deep that it would be unbearable. Then after 40 minutes I added a snap at the end of every technique. I used much force on the snap but never exceeded more than a half inch motion. About 20 minutes later I switched into a endless energy. Moving swiftly but not fast. A continuous flow of energy from beginning to end......

Somewhere around this point in my training I lost where I was. I lost who I was. I was my master. I saw him inside of me as if I was a vessel and he was the pilot. Then there was a twitch in the air and I was operating my master's motion. For the first time, all of my technique was in the perfect position. Our energies flowed as an indescribable color. I enjoyed the feeling of moving within a different realm. Every turn and pivot was just where it needed to be. Then for only a fraction of a second, I saw my masters father, Wu Jin Yuan.

When I finished I felt like I had stepped out of a time machine as I almost fell to the ground dizzy. I didn't mention the details of my strange experience to my student. I hadn't finished digesting what had happened yet. Now I realized that I tapped into a frequency of some sort. I was practicing the movements at the same time as my master and my master's father. This of course seems crazy because Wu Jin Yuan has been passed for many years.

Our bodies are antennas that can transport energy past our own dimension. To a place where we are all is connected in both purpose and desire. In this place there is no time.

The endless energy that lives with in all of us is the same. The world being run by our flesh confuses our purpose into different ideas and religions. Only through knowing we are one will we know joy as a universe. I want everything great for you, just as you want everything great for me. Everyone wins.

With the Wind

2011-09-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Bagua is the art of eternal change. I have been training various methods of moving from one movement to the next while gaining power in every following technique. It feels much like harnessing the energy in the air through an electrical current. The more I relax the more I can feel the power surging within my core and just when I try to control it....it's gone.

The energy flows through me, but I do not own it. It is mine as long as I cooperate with the true current in the earth. I borrow it and can use it for many things just as long as I don't try to control it. The moment my thoughts are focused on "How do I control Energy" is the moment the energy leaves. For the energy to continually flow we must learn to let go of our "self".

The self is the part of you that seeks to do things for the reward that will come. We work for money and train for power. Everything that the self does is for something else. In our lives we become conflicted with many energies through making plans because we continue to ask "what's in it for me?"

This is a seemingly innocent thought but the roots travel into the soil of selfishness. Soon we find ourselves not doing things that would be good because there is no immediate reward involved. We also find ourselves doing bad deeds because there is a reward. Reversing our natural wiring and corrupting the nature of our existence.

When we can not see good things happening in our day, we must become the good thing for others. The energy you put out will always come back and sitting around waiting for life to be good to you is just lazy. Do every good thing that comes before your path because that is what you are called to do today. You will find that by ignoring your selfish needs you will actually help your "self" even more.

Now as I train I am learning no longer to see the destination of my attack but to allow the wind to tell it's story through me. I enjoy the cooperation of energy that allows me to paint my fingerprints in the universe in my own way. God is inside of both my movement and the wind, he is therefore the conductor of every thing good. Have you ever thought about all of the details that are in something good?

To meet the right person you must find someone who's sum of experience and ideas completely matches and reflects your own. Someone who has seen a mirror of life that is suited and tailored to only you. Every good thing you find has been on a road for a long time before finding you, meaning you should be enjoying the gifts that come to you, not controlling them. Remember that the best gifts can only be developed through time.

The more you try to plan your day, the more your going to be frustrated with the way things go. Let yourself become one with the wind.

Flaws

2011-09-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the flaws in our technique can act as mirrors for the flaws in our character. Maybe we have a weakness in a punch because we lack the patience to practice it slowly. It could be that your unwillingness to commit is stopping your kick from gaining speed. Inconsistent practice doesn't allow for any technique to develop fully. Frustration is the same thing as anger especially when it causes you to be hard on yourself. If you punish yourself for not doing well, you are only going to do worse. We must encourage our technique and ourselves in order to enjoy our art.

No technique is perfect just as no person is perfect. In the end we are measured not by how many times we fell, but on how many times we got up. Learn to see your flaws for what they really are, "blessings in disguise."

When I was a young man I used to lie and exaggerate stories. I thought by making people think that I was more interesting they would accept me. The ironic thing is that I lied about all of the things that I really wanted to do. The desires inside of me were actually of a good nature, but my insecurities perverted it into something negative. In a since that is what a flaw is: truth that has been twisted.

I eventually had to deal with all of the consequences of my actions head on. Be assured all wrongs will come back to you, no one gets away with anything. The consequences of what happened left me battered and almost broken. Even as I felt deserted I continued to do all of the things that I loved. When you love something, it doesn't matter what your situation is, you will continue to do it. I didn't care anymore about trying to prove myself to the world. Yet all of the things I used to lie about came true.

It turns out that I was never a liar, I was only a dreamer. I projected many of the ideas that helped me to find my success. When I became secure in my being, I was able to use these thoughts to accelerate my growth.

So it is only by conquering our weak points we are able to gain strength. Before you can have strength, you must first have a flaw. So instead of being hard on yourself for your mistakes, overcome them. Then be proud that you have come to be a better individual. We all got problems, but every problem you conquer makes you wiser. Meaning the more troubled you are, the more wisdom you will have to gain.

Basically....

2011-09-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

We here it so often in the martial arts world, "The basics are the most important for your development." Even as patiently as we may endure the basics we are very eager to move into the more interesting and complex motions of our art. Through time we grow in ways we never imagined and feel new potential power growing from within. Our research, training and trials opens a new world into infinite possibilities.

Soon we find movements we like and movements we love. The continual practice is a mathematical equation for your progress and success. We know that we have come to learn so much and have much more to learn. Soon we contemplate why some movements have developed well while others haven't really developed into what we want yet. How is it possible that I have trained so long and this move lacks so much of what it should be. We develop and design countless ways to make the move progress but it is obviously at a plateau. Every new concept and idea bears fruit but the move still doesn't have the magic it should have. Finally we find the magic in a place that we have long forgotten....in the basics.

It's funny how what we are looking for is always right in front of us. We just don't know what we are looking for yet. In practice when we are doing a deep and uncomfortable step it is easy to really think about what we are going to do after this move ends. When the discomfort sets in we naturally stand taller and taller until the discomfort becomes some what tolerable. In fact you can find plenty of motions that we choose to skim through instead of really feel the pain. Until one day you finally realize: the only thing that matters is the pain.

The pain is your body's way of trying to communicate to you. It doesn't have a mouth to speak so it uses nerves to say, "That's uncomfortable." Yet the nerves only hurt because that very basic and simple stance is changing you from the inside out. In another dialect your body is saying, "I'm getting stronger!" To try to make it more comfortable would be the same as trying to drink soda without the carbonation.

In life we often want to choose the road that is the most comfortable, but in comfort we hardly can grow. It is through long suffering that we actually find what we are looking for. What we seek is not in comfort but in purpose. Purpose and comfort rarely go hand in hand. The only true comfort rests at the end of your purpose. Once you have become the person you wish to be, you spend the rest of your days enjoying being who you are. Not contradicting yourself with negative thoughts and doubts of your own character. Look deep into your life at the many basics that you may continue to skip pass because those problems will always return to your path in a new form. Conquer your lack of patience, your temper, bad attitude, or apathy and enjoy who you are meant to be. Your pain is the pathway to your dream.

The Joy in Improvement

2011-09-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today I was sitting outside reading my Chinese novels that I enjoy at Starbucks. The stories of martial arts masters and lifestyles is like James Bond meets Batman. Some of it is just fiction and other parts are filled with true information about the history of many lineages. With the many responsibilities I have it is important to find those things that are pure joy and relaxation. To my surprise I continued to hear, "Don't work too hard, it's Saturday." from many passing customers.

I have always loved how friendly people are in America, it allows me to really see into the culture that I have so long been away from. A common denominator that I have found in both the Western and Eastern world is that relaxing entails turning your brain off and not thinking about anything.

It would seem like wisdom at first to want to calm your mind from all of the chaos of work and studying through out the week. So much time thinking about how to do your job better or raise your grades can be very exhausting. Yet most of our thoughts are consumed with trying to make more money or gain a position in life. Meaning we don't spend many thoughts on how to improve our own worth and being.

When I was in the university their was a point that I thought that Chinese might be useful for a job some day. When I began studying Chinese I lost all ideas for trying to use it for some superficial gain, it was something I did because I felt the characters were beautiful. I wanted to be able to understand it and maybe one day communicate with people in the martial arts world. My goal was something real to me and therefore attainable. My classmates who studied to find a job found themselves burning out early on and never actually became fluent.

Perception in the end is what decides if something is stressful or enjoyable. If you watch how much energy people use to play basketball it is obvious they are working very hard. Yet we find most people play basketball because they enjoy it, not for some kind of personal gain. We have many tasks that we are required to do that may not be easy to enjoy. This is mostly because your work is usually for someone else's well being, not your own. All of your effort calculates into the betterment of a company that you may or may not believe in. As my dad often says, "You can't throw out the baby with the bath water." Meaning not all work should be a bad feeling.

I can say one of the best parts of my life is being able to read the Chinese stories that I would have never known about if I didn't work at it. Now I completely forgot about all of the time I had to spend to get fluent. It's because once you have accomplished a task for yourself, you don't spend time thinking about how hard it was. You think about how fun and wonderful it is now.

Initially all work is going to seem agonizing. Especially if you are doing something that you have heard is difficult. When I came into learning Chinese I was scared because I wasn't very successful in Spanish. "You are crazy to learn Chinese! You couldn't even learn Spanish!" some one said to me once. Life is not a matter of difficult and easy, it's all matter of perception. I looked at Chinese just the same as those playing basketball. I found that it was much easier to me than Spanish ever was. I had fun in the moment of learning something new. I didn't distract myself with discouraging thoughts, or listen to those around me who were full of negative energy.

There are things that you have been called to do that reside in the middle of your soul. You may have been discouraged or intimidated for what ever reason, but you must keep true to it. Not for money, fame or anyone in your family. Like a fingerprint it is personally calling you so that you my find out who you really are. Only then will you find balance. I was scared my first day of Chinese just like anyone else, but now I laugh at the idea of being scared of a new challenge. A new challenge is only a chance to show the world and yourself you are special.

It's turned out that after I embraced Chinese I found most of the things in my life needed Chinese to even be possible. My master, my wife and my entire life took place after I took control of my fear of change. For you it may be something you wish to know about cars, cooking or science. It's different for all of us so only you have the answer. It probably looks like a mountain in comparison to all of the regular things in your life. But through your faith, all mountains can be moved. Learn to enjoy moving them.

Martial Arts and Heroes

2011-09-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

When you practice martial arts you are in a sense opening yourself to become a container for information. Martial arts and traditional dance uniquely share information that can only be held in their truest forms in living containers. No book or even video could ever capture the energy of the tiniest details buried deep into the arts. Therefore what we are able to learn lives through us and we become keys for the future of the style.

Every so often the art finds itself in the hands of someone who thirsts for it. Someone who will not be satisfied at just having bits and pieces but should adopt the art into his/her lifestyle completely. The art and this person blend into a harmony that becomes more than human. It becomes something we have grown to know as heroic.

In recent times our heroes have been replaced with actors and movie stars who carry the fame of heroes but lack any real heroic intent. We slowly follow them into a blind pathway of logos, sponsors, and name brands which are all part of a system that weakens our being. Heroes in fact are just the opposite.
In martial arts we have examples of different types of martial arts heroes that we identify with for many reasons. The truth is that many icons of the arts may be less involved with the art than you would suspect. However let me first say that all the people I am mentioning, I hold in the highest respect. I am merely making an observation based on conversations I've had with a variety of masters in Asia.

Let's start from the most obvious and influential hero, Bruce Lee. Bruce's first intentions with the arts were to learn how to be a better practical fighter. His course took him through many roads and teachers who were containers for the arts. However Bruce was very much unlike his teacher, Yip Man, who wished to be low key while preserving all of the information in the art. Bruce believed that if he found a faster more efficient way to fight, it would be better than learning any style in it's entirety. Bruce was very successful in his unique path of creating Jeet Kun Do which opened the doors of thought into the martial arts world. Still he had underestimated the root of his power which stemmed from routine Wing Chun training. Because he never gave his students a full blueprint of what he had learned, none of his students ever made it passed his level. And he himself, never surpassed his master.

Next we can take a look at Jackie Chan. He was the inspiration that followed Bruce and kept the martial arts in the spot light for years to follow.Without him, martial arts would clearly have a much different face today. In both the Eastern and Western world he is responsible for countless numbers coming into the arts. Yet he was birthed from a school that was focused on entertainment first. Starting as a performer in "Beijing Style Opera", he had to learn many different martial arts routines. The goal of the routines were to make something entertaining that looked like martial arts, not making martial arts look entertaining. He has inspired a new way to look at the arts through a lens which has birthed into what we know as martial arts film. Any master you meet will tell you TV martial arts and real martial arts are quite different. Therefore even with all of his inspiration, we still see the real arts struggling to survive today.

Jet Li is someone who has started with his roots in the arts from an early age. He is the one who is responsible for making me want to learn Chinese and come to China. He started as early as I did and spent the rest of his life doing demonstrations, movies and many forms of media. Though his roots are very deep in the art he has chosen to share the "performance" part of the art to the world. The performance being a side that is beautiful but not practical. This is a continual plague among martial arts films today. If people could only see the true arts, they would never choose to watch unrealistic movies. It is the lack of understanding that leads those to believe that real arts can not be captured in film. A real martial arts movie would feel much more like CSI with intricate details of how every battle has taken place. The continual spread of unrealistic marital arts movies creates an overall belief that kung fu is fake.

After the Great Culture revolution many masters of the traditional arts were killed, leaving many styles without teachers. When they witnessed the fame of Bruce Lee they decided to revitalize many of the arts that were lost. They created extravagant movements from the readings that were left behind but lacked the reason behind the moves. This is what has become modern day wushu. Very few individuals are like Bruce Lee and Donny Yen who put the art before entertainment. Still they are all heroes for if they did not exist, nor would I.

These heroes were recognized in a time of peace making them very different from the heroes who preceded them. The masters of today are birthed from masters who lived in a time of term oil where the look of the art could never compare it's effectiveness. Many masters would have to kill literally dozens of individuals before they were recognized for their art. Whether they were fighting for peace or for fame, it is clear that they have very different characters than we would be used to. It is said Ghengis Khan killed 10,000 with a sword. Imagine how that would affect the way you think when you go outside. What kinds of things would you talk about? How would that change what you dream of?

The point is that just because spends most of his time showing martial arts on the camera, does not mean he spends his life in the real martial arts world. The martial arts world I have come to know is full of heroes who have never had the chance or desire to be in a film or a ring. They thrive on the fact their art will be passed on and relish in the actual training. Nothing can be quite as fulfilling as doing a perfect move. A completely correct interpretation of power through your body is like a full body orgasm. (That's why the monks don't need to leave the temple) The best things in the real arts are the things now one but you gets to witness.

Now we live in an age that a different kind of hero is needed. The true arts remain in the hands of a few and we must train and fight for their existence. Between the need rise in technology and the laziness of people we may find martial arts in museums some day. Which means that if you are training right now, you are a hero that's legacy will be for future generations. We may not compare to those of Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and others, but we are equally if not more important than they are in our quest. Tomorrow go to your teacher and become the thirsty container that needs all of the information. Culture will be the new riches and you will live a life of wealth.

Glitter

2011-09-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's really not as complicated as everyone makes it out to be. You do good things and the same energy of goodness will be drawn to you. You do bad things and the reverse applies. This rule is as true for individuals as it is for groups or even countries. Usually the easiest decision is the wrong decision, making our society a true collection of easy decisions.

Imagine if in martial arts we decided to only train the easy or comfortable moves. No deep stances that would test your endurance and never a moment that would surpass your comfort. What would you gain in the end? The only way for a move to work well is if you have had an intimate moment together. Meaning like a relationship you have had trial and error, misunderstandings and even disagreements. Through all of these discomforts we gain what we call strength. Strength begins with the acceptance of your discomfort and later maybe even enjoyment. A pearl is merely an irritation to a clam.

So as the reflection of a negative society may shine in your eyes when you wake up, you must hold to your faith in goodness and overcome. Mirrors at times may seem very real but all mirrors are easily broken. The mirrors that have been placed around you, to believe that you are learning, working or even helping at times, may be working against you entirely.

By standing and looking at something long enough we can begin to see if it is something real or a reflection of society. Do I do this job because I can gain from it? Is this job only gaining from me? I have used martial arts as a way to keep myself focused on what I was doing. Still it in no form can replace our need for purpose.

Look deeper and longer into what you are doing. Is that really you or a reflection? A reflection can never express joy for the true treasures that we have been given. The treasures lie in the center of your heart tucked safely away next to your purpose.

Lastly I would like to make a comment for all of the scared heroes who have forgotten we're going to win this battle. Don't step away from your responsibility to be better for yourself and for your family. Sometimes we may get our hands dirty in the process, but we will understand what it means to be clean in the end. Draw good within, harness it and enjoy. Every dream you have ever had is rightfully yours and deserves do be realized. Of course don't get distracted by all the glitter that surrounds your dream. The glitter in most cases can make you miss the gold.

Now's the Perfect Time

2011-09-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

Today as I feel the brisk wind occasionally accompany the once searing heat of the summer days, I realize summer is approaching an end. I've decided to slow my training routine to match the rhythm of the winter season. The season adds color to every technique we practice while the theme is established by strengthening of our deepest weakness. Tragically most of us over look the blessings of our self inflicted pain and are distracted by goals that are admirable but meaningless.

A goal to become better, be a master, obtain a new weapon or even learn a new technique will only pull your mind to a place that you do not yet exist. Forcing you to guess and ponder on the possibility of a fictional you. The only you that is real is the one who is reading these words at this moment. The "present you" holds all the keys to being joyful in this minute, hour and year. The key is to view things in a larger reality than yourself and know that this moment fits perfectly together to a master piece of a plan. All you have to do is take a breath from time to time and focus on the beauty of the moment.

Bagua is a mathematical equation for both power and growth. The eight sides, angles and trajectories combined with the power of variating circles releases energy that spirals through out the universe. At first it changes the way you move, later it changes the way you see.

Looking at other combat styles it is much easier to see progress. When training boxing it is immediate that we see the results. Only a few basic offensive and defensive techniques that can be trained and understood immediately. Taekwondo may take longer to grab a hold of, needing both flexibility and balance, more body management is necessary to fight effectively. Jujitsu having the largest advantage over the two because the number one requirement is to be on the ground, making the style it is fighting against useless in its territory and a need for balance unnecessary.

Of course Jujitsu is easiest to learn for a sport but also the easiest to foil in a real fight. A sharp object, rough terrain (such as pavement or gravel), biting or busting an ear drum are all techniques that don't even need to be trained to deal with a grappler effectively. Yet these tools will serve no great advantage against a boxer or Taekwondo practitioner. Taekwondo is best for fighting against more than one opponent yet it offers the most vulnerability on the ground. In these styles we see a paper rock scissors scenario that shows us a balance. So how do Bagua and other internal arts relate to these external styles?

If the first three styles are shelters, we can compare them to huts of various materials. Quick and effective to keep you away from danger but vulnerable to a serious storm. As time passes this shelter is heavily weathered and unfit for living. This is especially true for those who continually use fighting competitions to show their art. It is the same as taking a beautiful car and smashing it every couple of months. Of course you can fix it but the continual smashing of anything will eventually lead to it's demise. It's not a matter of if, it's just a mathematical equation of when.

Bagua in the early years serves very little benefit for fighting. All of the basics that are designed to give you strength take years to grasp a hold of. Power is continually but slowly being gained in both defense and health. Still everything has to be carefully attended to and researched before reaching it's true potential years and years into your training.

Why does it take so long to learn Bagua? Bagua when compared to the smaller shelters is like that of a complex building or skyscraper. All of the blueprints must be laid out according to plan in order to stand it up properly. Pipes, wiring, ventilation, foundation, windows, stairways and more must be established before the building is even usable. The advantage is once this building is up, you have it for the rest of your life. Weathering against any storm easily and comfortably.

So when laying out the blueprints of your training, you must pay great attention to the details of your overall plan.

Here is a rough outline of some of my notes from planning:

Basic training- The first learning season is about setting a solid foundation. Practice all of the movements you learn thousands of times which teaches the nature of the art.

Reaction- Taking every routine through reaction training is essential for every movement. Start slow and steady with a partner then escalate adding speed, weapons and eventually put it against other styles to get comfortable.

Footwork- Footwork teaches us to move from A to B smoothly and easily. Practice so that you don't even need hands to defend yourself mastering controlling the space between you and your opponent. In addition to practicing this on many different surfaces it is most important to practice against low kicks and grapplers. If you can get out of the way without your hands, it makes it easy when you can finally use your hands.

Flow- This is the practice of movement to movement having no stopping or starting point. Every attack smoothly leads into another attack making combination speed and power primary.

Movement Change- A combination of flow and reaction training teaching you to move from offense to defense at any given time.

Trapping- Trapping practice involves baiting your opponent from any position into a desired "trap" or attack that can not be countered.

Slow motion- Slow motion training teaches more body power and balance. The more complicated the motion the slower it must be done to learn the nature of it's power for 100 percent of the movement.

Nine Palaces- Zig zagging through the footwork of the nine palaces teaches us the nature of gaining the advantage against multiple opponents. Almost like building up an electrical current as you shock enemy after enemy.

Weaponry- Of course all of the weapons will need a season of their own. It's best to choose a weapon to master first instead of trying to master them all at once. After unlocking the secrets of one weapon it makes it easier to understand the nature of others.

Projectile- This is projecting energy from the coiling power and combining it with a step which lets you extend your energy out of your hand. When done properly even a hat can cause serious damage.(That's why I love hats.)

Kicking- To be effective with kicking in Bagua you really have to take the time to hash out an understanding of the footwork and kicking so you don't get tripped up. It's almost like a tornado effect.

Finger Strengthening- Fingertip exercise which gives us both grip and piercing power.

Chores- Doing sweeping, dishes or mowing the lawn allow for us to do many different posture techniques. Dishes give us hand dexterity and accuracy if we put them away quickly and carefully. Sweeping is an excellent chance for wrist to hip control, meaning that the wrist only moves because of movement in the hips. The wrist then guides the broom into the desired direction. The lawn can be done using a simple "mud step", all weight in the back and hands in a structured position. (Yes chores taking longer, but you kill two birds with one stone.)

Shake down- This is a coiling exercise designed to reflect the opponent from close quarters. Allow him to try to grab you and use structure to project him in different directions. This takes great understanding of footwork and fajin.

I think this is enough to show you different ways to aim your training. This here includes about a fourth of the things I have been training for the last 10 years. I like to think of it as making yourself into a work of art, like pottery.

The basics cut of the biggest pieces of clay and smooth out the first details of your shape, reaction training puts you into the fire hardening you. Later footwork solidifies your movement and framing while the training that follows adds the paints and colors of your own choice. Slow motion takes us through yet another intensive heating which polishes us off. This accompanied with different weather conditions adds a different tint to our artwork. Finger strengthening in the winter on pavement is much different than in the woods in Spring.

The more we look into the different things that can be trained the more we see an endless amount of possibilities and variables. Meaning that everyday and every minute our training is only limited to our imagination. So instead of thinking about all of the wonderful stuff your going to do in the future, why don't you start enjoying the possibilities of what you can do right now.

Peace is balance

2011-08-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

The process of trying to master one's self is a journey that first requires us to know ourselves. A step that is so easily over looked when trying to find a mate, teacher, job or other "needs". We tend to focus much more on what we want, than who we are. The truth is we can not know what we want until we first find who we are. If you find the perfect job and later discover more about yourself, that same job may turn into a nightmare. As we so often hear but forget daily, "the journey starts within."

That means that you are going to have to first draw a line between who you are and who you want to become. Then we have to shed our true self from society's perception of our self. This takes a long deep look into the flowing river in your mind. What is it you have done up to this point? Are you proud of who you are? Is there anything you have wanted that you have ignored?

Life gets us so busy often times we completely forget to ask ourselves the most important question, "Am I happy?" Most of us spend time feeling anxiety for things that have yet to happen. In our mind running through all of our fears of the possibilities of things going wrong, Even at moments we should be enjoying ourselves our joy can be stolen by dark thoughts. How can we ever be happy if we torture ourselves with negative possibilities? Before we can begin to see ourselves clearly, we have to take out all the trash.

Then, see the three parts that sum you up: physical, mental and artistic. In these three parts we can find a balance within ourselves and they must be attended to daily. It is easy to neglect one or even two of these factors when we are focused on our job. I hear "I don't have time to exercise" about 10 times a day. We all have as much time as we allow for ourselves, the sad fact is for your boss you will bend over backwards and for your own health you will do nothing. To choose not to do any exercise is to waste one's true wealth.

Mentally you must continue to learn. We generally think of learning as a period of time that should end when we graduate, but we should never graduate from betterment of mind. Take the time to learn about everything you have ever wanted to know. Indulge into learning with out having the hassle of a deadline or a test. I'm not talking about learning so you can get paid more, I'm talking about learning so you can feel more. While learning new information your mind stays sharp and your wit will always be your best weapon.

Lastly is the artistic part of you that you may or may not know about. In a sense learning to play an instrument or draw up a vision you can only see in your mind is a way to express yourself beyond words. Do not forget that anything can be art through the right looking glass. Math is art if you know the right equation. Art is a skill that can be used to resolve problems and easy pain. Artists usually don't get paid much, but they control every atmosphere that we live in.

These three parts of yourself must always been continually growing and developing. Write out a plan to make sure that within a week all of these things can be cultivated. Maybe it's been a long time since you have even thought about some of these old "hobbies". Maybe that's why your slowly becoming someone you don't recognize. It's never too late to come back to you.

The real secret to maintaining energy in all of your developments is to not hurry. There is no rush to becoming a master, or becoming fluent in another language. Anything that makes you feel rushed is not going to be enjoyable. Anything that you don't enjoy will ultimately be temporary.

When these parts of you continue to grow from within, you will have true riches that will weather through a rotten economy. After all this you can look in the mirror and see a much clearer reflection of you. Now that you know who you are, go find out what it is you want.

Bagua Masters Unlimited

2011-08-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a workout can stimulate a thought of something we can not fully understand until days or even months after the fact. Three days ago in the midst of my flow training I made a connection. A deep connection that exposed the cores of movement centralized between myself and the earth. I gazed into an endless sea of techniques that had previously overwhelmed me and for the first time I was filled with great confidence.

I wasn't sure what it meant but as I set at my desk and looked around at passing individuals I was able to see the truth of the nature of Bagua and Dong Hai Chuan's earlier intentions. It was something that Bruce Lee also tried to explain but was unable to put into place before he passed. Energy it seems will keep being reborn until a container can finally hold it's presence. The problem with Bagua being, there is what would seem to be too much energy to contain.

My master and I both sacrificed a great deal of time, as he used every method possible both pleasant and unpleasant to deliver the mountain of information. Even with my experience in the arts it took the better part of a decade for me to obtain the "bulk" of techniques that he had. Of course like most arts it is a life time commitment that will slowly open itself to you over the years. The problem being as you teach, it continues to grow into more.

As I sat at my office and saw coworkers and students passing back and forth, I began to see the different types of Bagua masters they would become. Bagua is like a computer, a new technology that can enhance each individual in a unique way. I found a way to personalize each training regime so that every student will eventually become his own master. Mastering techniques that no one in the world will be able to do as well. For the first time ever, a martial arts class that is designed to show you your own super power.

These techniques will act as the seed of your development, giving you strong roots if you choose to add the waters of motivation. The goal is to have thousands of masters each with their own personalized style. The program contains training, reviewing and researching, meaning at the end of each program you will be assigned a technique to "find" or "rediscover".

If you are interested, make a plan to contact me and work out a schedule. It may not happen right away but there is nothing more important to me than getting this information out. If I can teach everything that I have learned it is not enough, I must teach until you know more than me.

As I travel the globe it is unrealistic that I will be able to teach any individual all of the movements (unless he so chooses). But I can teach you to maximize your potential through your talent, interests and experience. The universe of Bagua is so big that no matter where you are, you are at the center of it. In a sense, I will teach you how to develop your own style. Then it will be up to you to pass it along, leaving the traditional movements intact as your own personal map to your future.

Simple Step Practice

2011-08-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well walking the circle is crucial for helping you develop the necessary power for utilizing your attacks. However it is not directly related to the system of reaction regarding combat. There are other steps that can be used leading to thousands of modifications, but the beginning step is easy enough to explain. Stand so that most of your weight is on the back leg. The front leg should be about a shoulders length apart (roughly) and light, ready to move in either direction. It shouldn't be too light however because you may have to use it to move backwards. Remember when moving forwards, the lead leg should raise while pushing from the rear. When moving backwards the back leg should raise first while the front leg pushes to the rear. Whether moving forward or backward the legs should adjust to their original spacing, not allowing them to come to close or to far apart. The weight should still remain mostly in the back and the body should not elevate in mid step. If you elevate yourself as your opponent moves in, you will fall to the ground. This is why it is crucial to develop leg strength to maintain a low stance even while moving swiftly in order to place him off-balance if there is an un-forseen collision. Hence lots of circle training.

This would be the way of the legs motion training. Of course the step can be practiced in a half step, full step, Inward step (Kou Bo), outward step (Bai Bu), turning step, crossing step, leaping step, sinking step, angular step and so forth. But before moving to other steps make sure that you can use this single half step effectively. So when you push off from the back leg, make sure it doesn't come to the front, that would be a full step. Practice this step both forward and backward and get an idea of the rhythm of your feet. Once it gets easy begin thinking about attacking and defending.

All of the energy must be drawn from the back leg and then taken through the hips. The hips regenerate the energy through out the rest of the body with a flowing motion. The body holds the structure of the attack through the muscles in the back allowing the hands to relax while firing the attack. Much like a circuit, if there is any problem with the connection to the ground there will be no power. Also if you tighten up and put a clamp in the connection, you will lose all of your force. So only by remaining in a structured position while staying relaxed can one begin to draw internal energy.

While doing this step it's easiest to use the single palm strike. When you step forward allow the hand to fly straight fired off the hips. The legs pull the body and the body pulls the hands, meaning the last thing to move is your hand. If your hand moves before your step takes place, you will lack power. Take your time learning your timing. Even the masters have been working the same step for decades so it can always get better. You can also use the same attack while stepping back, full step, turning step, leaping step and....I'm sure you get it by now. The lower you remain to the ground, the more power you can attain. However it is essential to remain swift from a deeper stance. So have a friend try to punch you in the face.....careful though. Thanks for the question Kyle, you gave me a good blog.

As one

2011-08-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

In a previous article, "Master Wu Guo Zheng's talk on the history of the Bagua", I translated a brief history explaining the reason that there are so many different styles of Bagua. In short we can say that the style itself was so young in exposure that the earliest successors of the art had to add their own "finishing touches" giving the different arts of Bagua different personalities according to the individual masters' traits.

Cheng Style, Gao Style or Yin style were characterized from the masters that inherited them. Of course we know this leads into many political debates of what the art should be like. With all of the different variations how can we tell the true principles of Bagua?

My dad used to tell me, "If you go outside and start practicing how to punch thousands of times, you will eventually learn how to punch. But having a master will save you at least half the time. "

Meaning that it is the nature of our human body to eventually evolve into the most proper way to do a technique if we practice. At one point every style had to go through the tedious trial and error development process. Yet if we are instructed in the rules of the craft we might be able to understand part of it in one life time. In my training with the master there were many variations between himself and even his kung fu brothers. Though every tree may grow in a completely different way, the fruit must be the same.

-The energy must be drawn from the ground transferring energy through the legs, waist, body and eventually the hands. Most of these movements power is generated through a system of coiling or collecting energy.

-Bagua is unique because of the step. Every movement whether it be attack or defense, should start with a step (this includes a stationary step or sinking step). If the hands move first, it may be an effective attack, but it's not Bagua.

-There must be a circle training of some kind in order to get the power needed for Bagua.

If your style contains these three elements, then you will eventually be able to unlock the rest of the art.
The movements that are used in order to reach the goal are only secondary to the truth. It is only the study of one's energy and how it interacts in the world. The moves themselves are much like a combination lock that over time will show you the meaning. Many masters have had there epiphany only walking the circle for hours before Bagua was unlocked to them. Others have claimed that only when they were practicing thousands of moves at the same time were they able to understand.

The way we choose to enter into our understanding is almost as personal as our own fingerprints. In fact the only thing that will stop you from reaching truth is negative energy. Your fear, frustrations and bad attitude can cause you to poison your own path before you have arrived. It doesn't matter what style of martial arts you do. If you are easily upset, you are no master.

There is also another concern that many of you martial artists may or may not know. The truth is the true arts are dying off. Masters who have chosen to be closed to students have regrettably passed away being the last link in their art. Technology has taken away the idea that martial arts is necessary for defense, leaving most young people even in Asia to ignore the traditional ways. Bad martial arts media has destroyed the identity of any recognizable style and turned it into circus tricks. To top it off the sports world would have you believe that WWE is the ultimate style of defense.

We are existing at a critical point in time where many arts will die off completely in less than 10 years. Will we be like our masters and continue to fight over politics? Or will we come together to show the world something they've never been able to see?

Xing Yi Basics

2011-08-07T22:26:00.001-07:00

This is a small explanation of some of the XIng Yi basics. This is a personal note that my master gave to me that I decided to translate into English for all those who may be interested. Keep in mind this is my own translation meaning some of the terms may be different than the ones they use traditionally for Xing Yi English.

Written by Wu Guo Zheng

Translated by Robert Jay Arnold

Xing yi is composed in three major parts. Namely the Fist of Five Elements , the Twelve Shapes of the Fist, and Connecting or Linking Forms. The Fist of Five Elements being the most basic and most important of the fundamentals of Xing Yi. If these five elements are practiced thoroughly then all the other movements will come together in success.

The five elements refers to Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. In terms of fists it refers to dividing fist, drilling fist, collapsing fist, exploding fist and horizontal fist. It is most important to pay attention to the order of the elements and techniques. Mutually the five elements both birth and repel each other. For example Metal births Water, Water births Wood, Wood births Fire, Fire births Earth and Earth births Metal. In terms of fist this means dividing strikes birth drilling attacks, drilling attacks birth collapsing hits, collapsing hits birth exploding punches, and exploding punches birth horizontal fist. So the horizontal fist is the mother of the Five Elements just the same way the Earth is the mother of all plant life. All life including the elements comes from the earth which illustrates the principles of Xing Yi.

From a martial artist's stand point it is also important to mention defense. So we need to know that Metal conquers wood as the dividing strike conquers the collapsing hit. Water conquers fire as the drilling attack dominates the exploding punch. Wood conquers Earth as the collapsing hit manipulates the horizontal fist. Fire conquers Metal as the exploding punch destroys the dividing strike. Earth conquers water as the horizontal fist breaks the drilling attack.

These are the general rules and concepts of the martial offense and defense. Xing Yi utilizes these principles into the foundation of their combat life style. This is merely a very basic explanation of Xing Yi's five element system.

But the root of Xing Yi involves training the "San Ti Shi" (A type of Fa jin or power exercise. Translates in to the three bodies method 三體式) It is also known as the Eagle Claw or the Three Principles concept. From nothingness comes a single breath. Then this breath develops into the Yin and Yang energy. The Yin and Yang form together into the The Three Principles (San Ti Shi). And from the Three Principles all things are born. Xing Yi uses this principle of life for the development and root of the style. So in order to practice Xing yi well one must first undergo serious training of the Three Principles.

My Bagua Journey

2011-08-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw Bagua dates back to when I was 19 years old and already entering my second year in university. I had already studied martial arts for 15 years and had been teaching officially for 4 years. Most of my training consisted of Taekwondo, Boxing, Jeet Kun Do, Hapkido, Ninjitsu, Kung fu Sansoo, Jujitsu and many various hard styles. Because martial arts has saved my life so many times, I never slacked off in any of my training routines. My students also underwent extreme training in order to push ourselves to a new level. It was there we formed the Tianwudao.

My two brothers also continued there training in their styles (Hapkido and Wingchun) and my brother Aaron came to me with a video from his Wingchun teacher that had many different Chinese styles that I had never even heard of. The video seemed to be so secretive and everything spoken was in Chinese leaving us doing our best to decipher the movements. When I heard the word "Bagua" my mouth opened as it was followed with the most amazing techniques I had ever seen. It was so fluid, calculated and precise that I looked to my brother Aaron and said, "I am practicing the wrong style."

I continued my training as usual with no Bagua being anywhere in site and prayed to one day come in contact with my hearts desire. I felt the frustration of not being able to better myself because of the limited knowledge about the arts that was in America. I had only begun teaching because it became too difficult to find a teacher that could take me to another level.

"If you really want to learn the depth of the arts, you will probably have to learn Chinese." Hanzo said to me one day as we trained together. I took his advice to heart and changed my major to Chinese language. If I was ever going to learn Bagua, I was going to have to understand the language of the master.

I heard so many scary stories about how difficult the language was and it was impossible to learn for Westerners. I ignored the negative thoughts that would try to haunt me and spent 4 hours a day watching Chinese movies while continually writing Chinese characters. I really wanted to be fluent immediately. Of course it didn't happen immediately but after three years I was able to hold a conversation with out using any English. Still there was no sign of Bagua.

When I went to China as an exchange student my fourth year I was determine to find a Bagua master that could teach me. It was discouraging that most of the locals had never even heard of Bagua before. I saw a lot of other different kung fu styles and Taichi but I had already seen my destiny and it was Bagua. After a month of rushing around I decided I had just better start learning something before going home to America. That day in my dorm I saw a man wearing all white moving on the ceiling of the building across from my balcony. I thought he was a ghost because it was so fluid and smooth. I ran right over and asked if he could teach me what it was he was doing. He said, "You really want to learn Bagua?"

He did his best to teach me all of the 64 palms with the limited time that I had while in Kunming. It was a dream come true to have touched upon what I had been waiting for for so long. Yet when I came back to the states and began fighting with my brothers (As always) I found loop holes in many of my movements. Many flaws that I hoped that I would be able to work out through time. I trained every day but after I graduated I knew I would have to return to China in order to complete my training. My plans were crushed by SARS and I was forced to stay in America and find a job. I hustled with the Tianwudao doing everything to keep each others skills sharp while trying to make enough for rent.

It was a miserable time for me because I had touched with some many of the things that I dreamed of but was still working as a dishwasher on a graveyard shift. While I was in China I was a dance and TV star and America quickly took me out of the clouds. I often refer to this point of my life as the chapter of "training with tears". I had to completely let go of my plans and ask God to guide me to the place he desired me to be.

A year later I received a call not from China but Taiwan which I gladly accepted. I had just found a great job in the bank which I had only done for one week. Most people would have said I was crazy to leave an ideal job for some thing that isn't stable. I knew what I needed wasn't something financial but spiritual. I quit my job, sold my stuff and 3 days later I was in Taiwan.

I landed in Taiwan with a hundred dollars in my pocket and faith in my heart. It was like everything was designed to help me out. The landlord said I didn't need to pay him till I got my pay check, my boss loaned my some money, it was meant to be.

I began looking for martial arts teachers immediately and through the grapevine I found a Bagua fist teacher. This teacher was good and understood his information well. I took a few movements that I still use to cover possible dangerous areas. The only problem was it wasn't the style I was looking for. It was very different in movement and philosophy which is why it was called Bagua fist, not Bagua palm.

After a few months I found another Bagua teacher that seemed decent but there was something that wasn't right. After training for 20 years I was able to see that though this teacher was good, he wouldn't be the one who could take me to the next level. I left after a few months of training and continued to follow my heart while training what I knew.

Two years passed and I had almost given up on the search for Bagua. Luckily I hadn't given up on my search for women because I saw a beautiful fitness instructor that was teaching martial arts to her client through a big glass window. I got in contact with her and though we didn't date we spent a great deal of time training, fighting and learning together. At one point she hit me with a palm strike that I had seen before.

"You know Bagua." I asked her.

"Sure I do. You want to meet the master?" She asked me right away.

When I met my master, Wu Guo Zheng, I knew immediately he was the one. While demonstrating a small technique I felt his power almost pull my arm out of my socket. He knew the details of every detail and reasons for ever reason. Every question I asked him became a 3 hour training lesson.

"I will teach you as diligently as you practice." He told me the first day of class. Every day after that class I made sure to put aside at least 2 hours for Bagua training. The master loved my eagerness and determination and began taking me to demonstrations all over Asia. I just wanted to learn everything and he just wanted to teach it. The perfect relationship.

In this new society children in Taiwan have no time to spend such grueling hours training kung fu. They were trying to get into big universities and buy homes like everyone in America.

Thanks to all the time that I had put into studying Chinese, not only was I able to learn much from talking to the master directly, I also learned from the scrolls his father had handed him and my kung fu uncles. An endless amount of Bagua information was revealed to me because of my initial language investment.

"You know that you are successor of Bagua for the 6th generation don't you?" The master said to me casually one day as we ate.

"Are you sure that's ok? Do I need to do something special before I can accomplish that?" I asked him uncertain.

"You already have." He said while smiling.

I didn't really think he was serious at the time but over the years it became more and more apparent that I was his only student to retain everything. I had only wanted to learn Bagua and suddenly I had become Bagua. God gave me ten times more than what I originally desired.

After training in temples and garages learning secrets from kung fu uncles and masters of other styles I saw the true infiniteness of martial arts and that I had only begun my journey. I saw things that I will not tell of because people would only say I was lying. Nearing a decade in Taiwan I decided that it was finally time to come home to America to spread the gift that I had received.

"If you forget what you have learned, you will lose the family fortune." The master said to me before I left.

"I will make sure everything is better the next time you see it." I promised.

Devolution

2011-07-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

The real meaning of martial arts may begin with learning and understanding techniques but at a deeper level it teaches us focus. Giving us the ability to notice what is power and where it stems from while also being able to avoid hidden danger. As it continues to seep into my being I am able to see more and know more about myself and what it is I desire and need. The practice of the art must continually be applied in the decisions of my life in order to protect myself.

My latest revelation has brought me to ponder about the people of the past and the people of present. We are taught that the primitive ways of the past generations were obsoleted with the birth of technology developing into a more "advanced" society. From guns, cars, computers and cell phones we are just plain smarter than the people before us.

This is the energy I draw from many individuals who are blinded by the arrogance of the ignorance. Yes it is true that we are in many was better off because of the convenience of our modern society. Still in many ways we have become completely cripple in ceasing to do things that might make us stronger. Isn't it in inconvenience that we are called to bring more out of ourselves? The "lesser" people were able to grow food, catch food, heal their own wounds, purify their own water, tell stories, make shelter and on and on. These are only basic skills that are needed for our survival yet how many of us can do two of the skills that I have listed here?

In my years of training I often hear those say that they do not practice martial arts because they can just buy a gun. Sure a gun gives you the ability to kill someone if you need. I can also kill using martial arts, more importantly I can choose not to kill. I can control the situation before it occurs by using the strengthening of my mind that I have learned through martial arts. I also never have to worry about bringing martial arts with me. I may not have all of the advantages of a gun, but I am more powerful in many ways.

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a gun, but I am saying that you should make sure you truly have strength in your being. Every technology that comes out makes us more reliant on people who may not trustworthy. As technology grows our strength in body and mind lessen. How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Do you know how to sew an open wound if you have to? We can not let ourselves continue to devolve because of convenience. From a martial arts stand point, it is the most dangerous position to be in.

The answer is to learn the art of self preservation. Begin to train yourself slowly to be self sufficient. If you are a martial artist already you do not need to dwell too much on self defense. But even the mightiest warrior is useless if he can not eat. Learn to grow or store food incase the unexpected actually happens. Be aware of the natural disasters in your area (natural and man made) so that you can have escape routes in place. Do not pretend you don't know what's going on just because it's easier. Take responsibility for your life...or you might lose it.

Seasonal Gifts

2011-07-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Through all of the types of weather, training, and environment we find countless ways to develop our technique further. When we add seasonal challenges to our training we are awarded with a bonus technique. It's a little tricky to explain my meaning of an invisible growth, but I will share with you notes of my training which may help you visualize.

Frozen Steps

By practicing the circle and pre-heaven techniques on the ice I found it much more difficult to have a stepping root. Every transition must be completely balanced before an effective defense or offense can be executed. Sinking the hips and keeping weight in the right area intensifies the pain in the legs. Gaining more strength, speed and balance through lower stances. The end result being the ability to be moving while completely sticking to the ground. Overpowering opponents from any position.

Dark Wood Counters

At night in a forested area with medium sized trees we can develop sensitivity and awareness. Using only starlight to navigate our steps while using the nine palace footwork is an advanced technique. Without first mastering the stepping techniques kou bu扣步 and bai bu 擺步 there is no way to navigate through the roots of the tree safely. Starting slow is best but the real kung fu in this technique is released at a faster pace. Allowing you to do automatic counter attacks without seeing.

Sun Saber

In the hot sun it is great to practice the saber and foot work to find the right angles to reflect light while attacking. Emphasizing a sword swing with out a beginning or an ending. This will unlock the combination of speed and timing using the flash of the sword between your attacking rhythm. In combat this is a very effective technique. Step so that angle of the sword pushes the light in the desired angle. Then step the other way while attacking, creating the illusion of coming from two directions at once.

Wind Sword

This can only be practiced on days of heavy wind. Practice through the sword movements at the same rhythm of the wind. Wind the wind picks up the sword is fast in continuous if the wind stops, you stop. Sometimes you can chase the wind while others the wind will chase you. This will line your breathing with the earth giving you more nature awareness. It will also let you have complete control over the cutting angle of the sword if mastered. With this ability you are able to change course of action without pause.

Stomping Snow Punch

There are many stomping techniques in Bagua just as in Baji or Xing Yi. The problem being that an improper stomp with incorrect weight distribution can cause injury. When the snow is up to your knees, by stepping precisely you learn more correct weight. This ultimately will give you a more connected stomp and a more powerful punch. When stomping correctly on the snow an explosion of powder will flow from beneath in a small ring. Long warm up required!

Dew Spear

On the chilly moist mornings the spear is great to practice Fa jin direction training. Using the hips to fling the dew in a spiral off of the spear takes great relaxation. Make targets from an outward circle and continue striking before the target flinging the dew or light rain making a small splash. This is actually training your open hand techniques to relax into the correct structure delivering more damage to your opponent. Holding the staff with the hands closer together, will allow you to develop power for breaking joints.

Rain Sticks

Using the motions from section 2 which refers to the "Way of the hands" and stationary stepping in the rain is focus training. By standing under something that is dripping from over head you can practice piercing thicker droplets of rain with chopsticks. Keeping in mind that you are not just poking with your hands but using the entire body to make the attack. This will give you precise power to one point allowing you to increase your internal damage. Under leaves or lights has worked best. The heavier the rain the faster the train.

Fog Force

By practicing movements at a painfully slow rate in the Fog I find an extra sensation that I am still uncertain of. I do know that only on the foggiest days do I run into this mysterious connection. An extra denseness, perhaps my Qi reflecting against the mist. Still researching.

Hot Shovel

Use internal stances to shovel the snow with out wearing gloves. Through focusing on the stances your hands should remain heated and warm. If your stance is unconnected at any point you can immediately find the missing circuit before your hands cool down. This develops weapon Qi training. Learning to hold the weapon while always channeling your energy.

These are just a few of my training notes. Hopefully it will give you a few ideas. The truth is you need bad weather to have good workouts.

Bagua, Taichi and Xing Yi revisited

2011-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

In an earlier blog I had mentioned the idea that knowing the three internal arts to their completeness wasn't a realistic goal. I didn't mention that my master and myself have learned all three of the styles. After all, the movements themselves are so similar that some of the movements are almost mirrors of each other. So what makes it so difficult to know all three styles?

I wouldn't dare to tell the masters who claim to know all three styles that they are not legitimate in their teachings. Information wise if given enough time all of the techniques of every style can be learned. But there is a difference between learning a technique and knowing a technique. What my master mentioned before was no one could ever fully know the three arts. It would be the same as someone claiming they have three wives and know them all the same level of depth. Or a doctor who is a heart surgeon performing a surgery on the brain.

The reason being that even the three styles are very similar in mechanics, they are very different in application. Bagua uses the step to initiate every movement be it attack, defense or even a stationary step. You can stay in the same place to reflect or divert energy just as in Taichi, but many of the Bagua methods of dealing with a problem would seem to be "risky" maneuvers as far as Taichi is concerned. Also using Bagua with a Taichi mentality will cripple the possibilities of your Bagua's growth in development. Though in the beginning the arts may all seem the same, to go deeper in any of the arts you must make a choice. A tree can have many branches, but it can only have one trunk.

In a time of actual combat you will see that the masters who "know" all three of the arts actually favor one philosophy over the other. Combat in a sense is the only way to know how much an individual truly knows. Usually a master will feel comfortable with just a few movements when it comes time to battle.

That being said it doesn't mean that someone isn't able to teach you the seeds of the three arts. Just as an olympic coach can teach an athlete to far exceed his own ability because he is able to give the seeds and training necessary for growth. However no olympic athlete would be able to exceed in gymnastics and swimming on a professional level.

My master being the successor of the 5th generation of Gao Bagua has a responsibility of knowing all of the movements in the lineage. His father began training at 8 years old and taught for 40 years before passing away and leaving the art to his son. The earlier generations of martial arts masters didn't have a job in addition to their training. Meaning that they had an entire 24 hours to perfect and truly know the movements of the style. With thousands of movements to be practiced millions of times is there really time to know more styles? Only if you live to be 500 years old.

One Movement for One mile

2011-07-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those rare beautiful days that I could bask in the soothing sun while training my techniques. I'm still in a season of working flow and figuring out the changing secrets of the fourth section. There is still a long way to go before I am satisfied with my spear, sword or saber skills. Yet as I walked along the bike path that moved along the highway I could only think of one movement that I needed to do. It was a movement that I had already done pretty well, but I wanted it to be better today. No I didn't just want it to be better, I needed it to be my best technique. I looked along side of the bike trail to see that every mile was marked making it easy to keep track of my distance. I put all training ideas aside for the day and ventured into what I know would be a painful accomplishment.

I began my movement slowly and thoroughly knowing that it was most important to practice this technique as perfectly as possible for the entire mile. I would make sure that my stance was as low as possible not cutting any corners as I slowly began to speed up my technique. My legs began to ache after only a hundred yards and thoughts began to come into my mind,

"That's good enough for today." or "You don't want to over do it."

I blocked these distracting thoughts by focusing more on my body flow. My hands relaxed and I was able to feel a new level of power come into my strikes after a quarter mile. I began to see the circle motions within the circle motions. Like a clock with the most complicated gear system I continued to tick across the asphalt. I hear screams from the highway of a car passing by. I am unable to tell if they are mocking me or if they are cheering for me. It doesn't matter, what matters is that I am still not using enough push from the ground. My feet dig even deeper and I can feel the balls of my feet begin to blister. I hear the thoughts again,

"That was an excellent workout...I should stop for some water."

I remind myself that there is no pain, there is no water, there is only this technique. At the half mile marker I feel my body wanting to slow down, so I do the opposite, I accelerate. I move into an impossible pace and I can hear my heart beat in my ears. It drowns out the sound of the occasional biker that passes me. I try to form some kind of smile so that they don't think I'm crazy. The smile seems to take more energy than the technique, I have to save my energy, I have to be crazy today.

I can feel the holes completely burn through my shoes. It's only minutes before there holes also grow through my socks and then through my feet. It will hurt tomorrow, but today it is freedom. I will not be a slave to my negative thoughts today. I will be as impressive as I've always wanted to be. All of the things that are out of my reach that could create frustration don't matter now. I don't have money, a car, or a house, but I have this technique. I have become this technique.

Before I know it I have come to the end of my mile. What I have attained in the end is priceless. This technique will never be the same again. It has become alive with energy in places that I hadn't known about. I have changed my technique and in doing so my technique has changed me. Overcoming an impossible goal really gives you some understanding of your worth. I lay down in the parking lot filled with a peace and bliss that only a warrior could understand. If one mile felt that good, I better do two miles next week.

Learning from the Saber

2011-07-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Weapons wise I am technically still in Spear season. The Bagua spear is considered the most important in regards of training to unlock more power. Being able to whip the spear in small tight circles teaches your body the root behind coiling. When practicing with my master Wu Guo Zheng I have to use all of my might to hold onto the spear when he's blocked my attack with his inner power. It is clear that I will have to practice my spear for at least ten additional years before I am even able to grasp the complete idea around the spear's concepts.

However I find that in order to compliment my body flow training it is vital to spend more time with the Saber. The saber from a Western point of view is a one-sided broad sword. The saber is more of a soldiers weapon while the Chinese sword is much more precise and technical. I eventually will have to make a season for the sword too, but let's take one step at a time. In our lineage we use the Stealth Tiger Sword and 6 Harmony sword styles.

I used to believe that my saber skills were at least ok until I met with a real saber master who made me feel like a clumsy 6 year old. It was my encounter with this master that allowed me to understand the connection between the flow of the body and the saber.

'The saber is like an airplane flying through the sky." My master said to me at one practice. "Though it looks like it is flying freely, there is actually an exact route that it must follow." He finished.

The route of the Saber is designed to maximize cutting power. I have found that the route is usually tighter to the body and when flung out with a precise yet relaxed motion it creates an energy that maximizes the cut. Like many other techniques we must first tighten and then release in order to find the perfect amount of speed and precision.

The heat on my neck continually taunted me to go indoors as I flung sweat from my sword. I could hear the sweat droplets sizzle as it hit the dark pavement. Sweat eventually flowed into my eyes and I was blinded, only able to hear the sound of my sword cutting the air and the buzzing of droplets that surrounded me through every movement. The stinging in my eyes tried to distract me from what I would soon discover.

"Tighten then release." I thought to myself continually as I swung my sword blindly in the empty parking lot. I eventually came to the end of my techniques as I wiped the sweat from my eyes things seemingly more clear than before I shut them. Tighten then release was the secret that Bruce Lee was trying to teach his students as he came into his level of mastery. "Be like the nature of water." The ability to flow from technique to technique without any thought of any technique. What he continually taught about was the "release."

What he did not touch on enough was the "tightening". The part where you must follow the rules of the movements continually until it becomes second nature. After all it is his Wing Chun that made him have the defenses to use his release. The release is a mirror of you, it is the nature of your personality and all of the things that you want. The tighten is the law or route, what needs to be done in order to be effective. Every art, career and craft follow under these two rules. The yin and the yang of life.

This means that if you are having problems with your creativity, or writers block that you must go back into doing something with guidelines in order to become free. Or if you are bound by rules to the point that you are under immense pressure, you must release yourself into the things that you desire.

Of course the tightening must come before the release if you wish to have any form of power. Continually doing what you want to do without first plugging yourself into a system makes you a slave to meaninglessness. Staying plugged into a system so long that you can't find yourself will eventually rot you at your core. Just as the saber you must release at the right time for the most effective attack.

Wow got all that from the Saber and some sun. Wonder what I'll learn tomorrow.

The Way Of the Body

2011-07-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence, I have been writing out a new training program while taking a nice tour around the northwest (Thanks Orion). After finishing my trapping season it is time to move on into thorough practice of section four which is the "way of the body." Though I have practiced all of these movements countless times already, a season indicates a time of not only training the movements but really digging into the understanding of how the movement came to be.

While re-reading the scrolls given to me by my master I began to look at the reasoning behind the development of each technique. It was written by my grand master Wu Jin Yuan after he learned from Gao. Not only is it written in Chinese, but it is also an ancient encoded text that only those within the Bagua Association are able to understand. I have read it about a hundred times and finally I am seeing past the words and understanding the root meaning. Many masters would disagree with me publishing my findings for the public, but I believe that as the successor of my lineage if I do not pass this information on, the style will fade.

Thunder Section (West) 身法 Way of the Body
燕翻蓋手掌 Swallow's Reversing Covering Palm (Pre Heaven)
1.推掌 Pushing Palm (forcing palm)
2.托掌 Supporting Palm
3.帶掌 Taking Palm
4.領掌 Leading Palm (Guiding Palm)
5.沾掌 Staining Palm
6.連掌 Repeating Palm
7.隨掌 Allowing Palm (Following Palm)
8. 黏掌 Sticky Palm

What I missed the first 99 times reading through the manual is that within the fourth section lies the key to unlocking the mastery of changing movements. It explains that there are 5 different types of Bagua masters within our lineage. A master of changing motions, Yin and Yang master, a master of silent motions and two others that I have not yet discovered. (Don't worry I will keep you informed.)

I had to take the information that I learned from reading and draw out a new diagram that looks like a times table sheet. Every section represents one of the 8 elements of the gua:

Heaven, Water, Mountain, Thunder, Wind, Fire, Earth and Lake. Each of the eight movements within the section also represent one of these elements. Making a diagram I was able to pin point the personality of each movement responsible for becoming a master of change. In this section only four of the eight movements are indicated for this type of training. They fall under the axis of Thunder and Wind (Storm), Thunder and Fire (Rage), Thunder and Earth(Quake) and Thunder and Lake (Echo). I gave them all names so that I could keep from confusing them together. While training all of my other movements I have decided to lengthen my workout by an extra hour just to work on these techniques.

The first thing you may notice is that the four movements related to change are only categorized under thunder. Thunder is loud percussive like energy that is invisible to the eye. This means that every technique must be power focused but hidden within the structure of the body. These lead into four other motions from a separate section where the change takes place. Out of respect of my Grand Master I will not list the last four motions.

Of course I have only been doing this training for less than a month which means I am only scratching the surface, however through training these techniques I have grasped a deeper meaning of what section 4 represents. The "way of the body" here is not only related to the flow of energy within oneself, it also means the flow of the opponents body energy. In short, these are all grappling reversal techniques. By mastering these 8 techniques you can control the head from any possible angle of entry. I still have to run a few more tests to see if any of the techniques are safe enough to use in sport like competition. Unfortunately I think that the power generated through these motions create serious trauma on the neck and spine. More than likely many of these techniques will snap the neck with very little effort. Remember while practicing and researching lethal techniques with your friends, safety first.

Gao Bagua Staff Complete 8 movements

2011-07-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Dig deeper

2011-06-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up feeling the chill on my finger tips and ears as soon as I cracked the door. I don't know whether it's global warming or just because it's 5am but it sure doesn't feel like June. It was enough to make me really question my motivation to train today. After all I have a job interview at 8 that I could be getting ready for. Soon I will be dedicating 9 hours a day to some one else's quest to make more sales. If I can't give myself just two hours of something meaningful, then I will eventually find my being drowned in the sorrows of artificial comforts. So I bite my lip, button up my jacket and grab my spear.

Every morning I wrestle with the thoughts that would discourage me from making that small amount of progress I need for the day. It's amazing how persuasive we become when we choose to comfort or feel sorry for ourselves. Every time we can overcome this mental wall we bring more quality to our character. This mental accomplishment will become the most significant part of our training.

Today's battle with the cold sparked a new revelation in the terms of energy. Bagua studies energies from 8 directions that lead into an infinite amount of gateways. In order for me to open more doors I must relentlessly explore within myself. In the middle of an empty street I can hear my shoes tearing away at the step of every technique. I've done this technique so many times but I still can't do it fast enough...or slow enough. It isn't good enough to just practice, I must practice more perfectly and completely.

Some where between hearing the words of my master, my father and the sound of my hands slicing against the crisp breeze, I found something. It was as if I touched something so real that everything else seemed to become an illusion. It was only a flash but the feeling continued to linger with me. At the end of my work out I found myself surrounded by animals. Birds and squirrels within a hands reach stood next to me unafraid. It was like they were able to identify a part of me that I never knew I had forgotten.

In the shower I was able to start putting together what it means. It's said that we can identify hundreds of logos from every type of product yet we are unable to identify the plants outside of our own house. Why do I know more about the lives of movie stars than I do about my own neighbors? All of the food, information and entertainment is provided by people that I don't even know. We are being stripped from each other and the Earth to live as isolated servants. We may seem smarter and stronger than people in the past, but how many of us can retrieve our own food? We are completely reliant for our most basic and essential needs.

Maybe that's why martial arts is the one thing that keeps me feeling in tuned. Fighting seems to be the most surface level of the arts. Who knows what secrets have been hidden inside the depth of the techniques? We must continue to train in order to find the real truth behind the illusions. What ever your trade is you must grow enough that you can take care of your family not just in terms of finance. If you are unable to do so then I suggest you get started in those little things that might save your life. The system that we all have grown to love, might not be there one day.

Journal tip for trapping

2011-06-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is more like a journal entry gaging some of the different events that I have been going through with my training. It has been rolling around in my head so much that I figured it would be best for me to right something down.

This season I have been working with section 3 in the post heaven section which is " The way of diverting energy". After practicing these 8 movements hundreds of thousands of times, it is time for me to dig even deeper into the meaning. Every movement in this section leads to trap the opponents hands. For a trap to work effectively you do not need to be fast, you only need to know your opponents timing.

At first it seems like a sixth sense, the ability to always counter your opponent and make him fumble over his own hands. While he stumbles his other hand is pinned leaving his face exposed to your attack. Distant water can not extinguish close fire.

The secret behind this technique is being able to "bait" your opponent. A trapper doesn't just leave a trap in the middle of an open field, he first looks for the tracks of the animal he is seeking. In our case, tracks indicate the habits and tendencies of the other fighter.

Baiting your opponent means that you must make your opponent strike at a place he feels he will be advantageous. Or sometimes a small step can make him attack first, giving you the perfect opportunity to counter. It may look like a counter, but the step initiates the movement. You can see some masters do this while dodging a sword in a demonstration. The student whales away at the master and misses every time. It's because once you've forced your intention onto someone they have to react, if you are waiting with the counter then they should fall right into the trap.

Try it out. Keep training.

Mirrors

2011-06-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

Amidst the training of thousands of moves my mind wanders into the sea of undiscovered options. Counter techniques and new footwork applications that haven't been explored for dynasties. The Tianwudao, my kung fu brothers and my master all help me to reach deeper within myself. Still ultimately my quest can only be carried out by me. Guided in faith I seek the truth behind each technique. In every move is a fragment of mirror that reflects the truth in me. The light that radiates from the mirrors is the only true power I have. In my daily training and focus I continue to unlock to myself perfect gifts.

These gifts remain cluttered in a series of locks all with different combinations. So it only makes sense for me to dive deeper into my combination training. When I practice a combination I find the speed between speeds. Awkward movements and possible weak points bury themselves within the cracks of timing. Unpracticed movements create a paste in my reactions, leaving me vulnerable to surprise frays.

Some other gifts may be found in the routine watering of a single movement for a season. Making sure that the movement finds itself in every learning session of everyday. It can be painfully boring to drill the techniques that are old or unexciting. But many of the greatest gifts hide themselves in the bones of ageless repetition. A revelation awaits at the end of every season, another addition to my collection of mirrors.

My revelation for this season has brought me deeper into the understanding of good. Only by continually stripping away at our darkness can we gain wisdom. The agony of doing the right thing is contradictory to our imperfect self. Yet it unlocks every gift that will be needed to win the war inside of the mirror. From inside to out we must remain diligent. To dwell on any doubt will only feed the possibility of my defeat. While bearing love failure doesn't even exist.

The Adventure Of Your Life

2011-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

A lot of times we may find ourselves frustrated because we are lacking tools needed to achieve our goals. Lack of money, time, or whatever can lead us to believe that we don't even have the necessary components to begin our quest. How can you learn kung fu if there are no teachers in your area? How can you go to another country if you don't have any money? How can you get any money if there aren't any jobs available?

We all come into problems and questions that can create doubt for our own identities. Focusing on what we don't have is the perfect recipe for depression. Especially when you have all of those personal problems added in like your relationship, job or whatever. How can we achieve anything if the deck is stacked against us?

The good news is that all of these little "problems" that you have are the challenges that you need to get to your goal. No matter how insignificant an event may seem it may be the most important part of your training.

First you must understand that there is nothing that you can't do and there is no one who is better than you. As a citizen of the Earth you have just as much right to anything as anyone else. It is our faith in rules placed upon us that is the source of our frustration, not life itself. Some very smart and very greedy people would have you believe the illusion cast upon you. You can't fish without a license, you can't start your own company or even that the house you live in isn't your own are regulations that were decided before you were born. And everything you see is designed to make you see the weakness within yourself. The truth is that if you knew you were strong, then you wouldn't need to buy any of the junk they always sell.

Real kung fu is not about fighting, competing or ranks; it's all about the training. When I am practicing a technique there is nothing else that exists aside from the movement. I train until I can feel the ache in my legs, until my hands quiver, until my eyes water from the pain and I am grateful to be just a little bit stronger than yesterday. The truth of who I am begins to release into my spirit and slowly the world of illusions around me takes less effect. When commercials tell me I am not good enough I smile, when my boss threatens me I smirk, when they tell me I should be scared of the terrors outside I laugh. I know my goal will be attained and everything they throw at me is just another step.

The best thing about life is that at anytime of the day you can decide to be great. Take all of your disadvantages and stare them down with the power of your spirit. No matter how terrible your situation may seem, the fear of the result is much worse than the result itself. Be excited about taking the risks that pull you closer to your goals. There is no failure, only more experience. Only take advice from people who seek greatness in you. Live a life with the freedom of fear.

Conserve your energy

2011-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

In the martial arts world there are many things that we may find ourselves concerned with. Training, teaching and research are vital parts of developing our understanding or purpose in the art. In the process of our development we will most certainly come across different fighting ideas, concepts and strategies. The evolution of both ourselves and our styles requires a degree of understanding of the differences between styles. Is it better for me to use a roundhouse kick from Taekwondo or a roundhouse kick from Muay Thai?

The correct answer of course is that there is no correct answer. If you favor speed and accuracy then you will like to use the Taekwondo kick. Good for setting up a combination, fighting multiple opponents and controlling your environment. If you want to over power your opponent and break through his defense then you are certainly a Muay Thai kicker. Both of the techniques are correct, the question is can you do either of the techniques correctly?

This is a more obvious example but these types of differences between styles and movements have kept martial artists literally butting heads with each other since the beginning of time. Today if you look at the comments of any youtube video you can find remarks that are long drawn out arguments between self proclaimed martial artists. This master isn't legit, he isn't using fajin correctly, this is a bad technique etc. etc.

If you are really seeking to find truth about your style or movement the answer is always the same....train it. Only through training it will you have a full understanding about what the technique means. Time spent arguing and debating about the differences will lead you to a dark room of doubt and frustration. This dark energy will eventually take the joy away from you and hinder your growth all together. If your style is so effective, then why are you unhappy?

Remember that all styles and skills that we may achieve in life are merely a mirror we use to understand our world. In the very finite details of everything you will find the same truth. The only real truth that we can gather in this lifetime is that we can not know everything. When we attempt to prove others wrong our energy will darken regardless of the circumstances. In short, shut up and train!

Tradition and Research

2011-05-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

My return to America has been wonderful in all parts of my life especially my training. Instead of letting jet-lag get the best of me I decided to begin my training at 5 in the morning to get more Qi out of the air, as many other masters have suggested. It is definitely a challenge to get up so early to begin a tiring workout but the benefits have been so rewarding that I can not return to my previous routine. I feel that I am unlocking something that I had only heard about it legends. It may still be years before I fully understand what it is but just having a taste of the new possibilities fills me with vigor for the rest of my day. Being done with my workout at eight in the morning gives me true clarity for the rest of the chores and tasks that lie ahead.

Recently I have run into a divide in my training. I have the many traditional forms and movements that I have learned from my master. The thousands of techniques that I must plan out carefully in order to make sure that they are all improving:

Everyday: Wudang fist 3 times, Preheaven 20 movements two times, Post heaven 64 palms 4 times, 25 footwork steps 16 times.

Monday: Three principles fist and the staff

Tuesday: Unlimited Fist and Crescent Moon Swords

Wednesday: Baji and Spear training

Thursday: Six Connecting Kicks and the Qing ping Sword

Friday: Seven Stars and Stealth Saber/ Six Harmony Saber training

Saturday: Tai Qi and Guan Dao

Sunday: Nine Palaces and Throwing Knives

This is only my training regiment for the next 6 months because I am currently using this season to capitalize on my flow training. After my flow training levels up, I will readjust it to emphasize my hand precision.

That being said practicing these motions over and over are not the exciting part of kung fu. The second part of my training is my research which is very much alive.

Evasive training in the forest, fighting against other styles, new weapon ideas, more effective teaching methods, multi person fighting tactics, new strengthening ideas both internal and external. Researching is an endless road that will ultimately define what type of super hero you become. With out research you will become and old traditional robot.

Of course at times it is very easy for me to become so excited about the research that I don't want to train the traditional movements. Much the way Bruce Lee made Jeet Kun Do and tossed the rest of his training to the side. The truth is this is very selfish and irresponsible. It is the traditions that make it possible for us to research and learn more. It is true that we must all grow in our own way but we still need to pass on the seed that was given to us. Your students will not be able to have a strong core based off only your ideasand concepts. They must be given the same chance that you had to grow. The old movements that may seem boring at times are the letters of the alphabet that allow us to write our own story. When the letters are forgotten, then the students become illiterate, forced to try to piece together ideas of a teacher who neglected to give them roots.

So you can think of the research as the yin and the tradition as the yang. Both are essential for your growth and need to find time into your training routine. It may appear to be impossible to to do both at first, but you get the same 24 hours that I do. Just remember that you have dedicated at least a third of your day to getting money. Give yourself at least an hour a day to get stronger. You may soon find yourself in a situation that you can't buy your way out of.

How's your form?

2011-05-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

It is true in the system of Bagua, the training of the movements is essential. The exact details of why the structure of the body is a certain way is important for unlocking your internal power. However in many Chinese styles the looking at ideas in terms of actual combat can be questionable. Not all of the arts remember the importance of continual combat training. All of the arts are useful for your life in many different ways but the core and birth of every art has been from combat. You must be prepared to fight when it comes time to fight. Your own personal training and research is important for you to find the answers that you are seeking for your quest. Fights will come at you in many forms. Be it physical, mental or spiritual all levels of combat must be met accordingly. The fight for confidence in a world of insecure thoughts can make it feel natural to want to quit. But be assured you are the son of the creator of the universe. At all times and hours of the day your potential is unlimited.

Who wants to learn Bagua?

2011-04-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well after a few last adjustments with my training and projects in Taiwan that needed a final tweeking I am ready to return to the states. Where I land depends on those who may be interested in learning the art of Bagua. I have learned the complete system of Bagua including 18 weapons, post heaven, pre heaven, three principles fist, unlimited fist, Taichi, six harmonies, seven stars and much more. My responsibility as the 6th successor of the style is to share it with individuals that wish begin or further their training in the art.

Every individual has a different goal and I can tailor the style to the requirements of each student. Whether you want to stay in shape, learn self defense, increase vitality, security or all of the above, I can give you a complete training program that you can take with you for the rest of your life. I plan to teach to all of those interested around the world using seminars or one one one classes. Please make a comment if you are interested in learning the style or contact me at my personal email at warriorfox@gmail.com. Now money, time or distance is no longer an obstacle if you have the will to learn this rare and beautiful art form.

In addition I will also have my own school set up in either Seattle or Portland depending on the interests of the people. Look forward to training with you soon.

Music for martial artist!

2011-03-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

If you didn't know I have been just as dedicated to my quest in hip hop as I have for martial arts. I feel that hip hop has taken a turn toward negativity leaving the youth without a positive inspiration. All of my songs will be focused on martial arts and the journey of bettering oneself. You can trust after 20 years of rapping, none of it will be corny. Get the new cut on itunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/my-life-is-a-fight-scene/id427389258?i=427389276&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

What kind of hero are you?

2011-03-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

My first steps into understanding what it means to be a master has lead me to a series of new developments. My training has undergone dramatic changes so that I may improve more efficiently. I hope that by sharing my recent evaluations that you too may be able to find a better route in your own training.

The first step of course is knowing the basics of your art thoroughly and where they are leading to. Bagua has a vast amount of basics that must be understood before reaching the next level of training: footwork, coiling, fajin, trapping, locks, weapons, reversals, trips, qi training, weapons, and so on. The amount of information just pertaining to the basics, is enough to train everyday of your life for 30 years and never repeat a single movement.

However training everything in the style at all times would undoubtedly make you ineffective at everything. It is the equivalent of going to a university and trying to major in all of the subjects. Even though you would have invested a thorough amount of time, you would have been training just for the sake of training and never finding your true mission in the art.

As I have mentioned before a master is specialized in his field of expertise giving him the full advantage when he is placed in a combat situation. Guan Fu mastered the Guan Dao and killed thousands of soldiers of many styles by only wielding his one weapon. He didn't waste his time on those things that might have been interesting but in the end would have diluted his commitment to his mastered weapon.

Of course there are many masters that are not specialized in combat: knowledge, Qi, healing, teaching, research etc. The main point being that the critical criteria of finding what kind of master you are already lies within yourself. In can be broken into three parts: determination, natural talent and interest.

What we are naturally talented at is much like the clay that we use to mold ourselves. You may feel that you are not talented but I can promise you that this is not true. Myself I have learned everything slowly and used to be frustrated by the fact my brothers learned much faster than myself. Even to this day I learn things from my master that take me much longer to digest than the rest of the class. It took me a long time to realize that by learning things slower I am better able to teach students in the future how to avoid mistakes. Those who learn quickly can easily miss the point of a movement which actually serves as a disadvantage. In a sense, my talent is that I learn slowly. Talent is not always obvious.

The next part is determination. The things that we have made up our mind to be good at will be our most powerful attribute. In many cases this power comes from those telling us what is not possible or can not be done. Much like a bow and arrow, the farther you are pulled back, the farther you can soar.....if you don't lose your aim. When we train and develop we must always have our goal in mind. It is the glue of the fabric that we are made of.

Finally we must be interested in where we are going. We can not do the same thing over and over without a sense of joy behind it. It's understandable that practicing thousands of techniques can be boring and painstaking after a while. This can eventually kill our determination and drive. It is important to constantly change the way you practice your thousands of techniques. Change the environment, speed, setting or whatever is necessary to keep you driven. I will practice a set of techniques for a couple of weeks and then practice the same techniques with an added adjustment. This week I have been practicing all of my techniques while using steel chopsticks in my hands. This will give me more accuracy and help me to focus more on my hand precision when attacking.

Through understanding ourselves more we can dive deeper into our art and lifestyle. Do not train with out passion or purpose or your final product will be empty. Even while doing the necessary things that we do not like, we must relish in the truth that we are strengthening. For those of you that are curious, I am a master of training. Keep the faith, you are a hero.

End of the World

2011-03-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

In my years of training I have learned the art of perception. Meaning no longer just seeing physical attacks and defenses but seeing the truth behind the movement. Any craft that allows you to continually refine your ability to perceive and develop will ultimately give you a glimpse of truth. Whether you choose to ignore this glimpse or embrace it will determine your outcome at the end of the spiritual battle.

Movements just the same as thoughts are energy. In combat the energy is used to manipulate your opponent or avoid being manipulated; counter attacks, footwork adjustments and dominating power will lead you to the fate of your fray. The biggest advantage being of course the ability to mentally dominate your opponent rather than physically. If you can make your opponent believe he is weaker than you, then indeed he is.

Being able to perceive the truth, if even only for a glimpse, can still reduce mental distraction gaining us true advantage. In short you can say life is fighting, or if you prefer, fighting is life.

Admittedly it is much easier for me to see what my opponent is planning in combat rather than the true enemy in my life. The darkness that supports all evil deeds and denies truth a chance to be revealed through poison and illusion. Being blinded by a job that leads no where or caught in a race of fashion that endlessly wastes one's life, is a prison that for those born in it, have never even dreamed of freedom.

In the end if we do not try to refine ourselves then we can be made to believe we are weaker than the illusions that imprison us. Our illusions have become our entire world and the end of such a world, can only mean freedom. The truth is coming.

To become a master

2011-02-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

In my younger days I had always dreamed of one day becoming a master. After enough exposure to the many arts including Bagua I began to feel that it was an impossible task. So many moves that need to be perfected from any given circumstance in order to be effective at all times. How can one person master 8000 movements when each of the movements should be practiced tens of thousands of times. In my mind, I was convinced that I would never be a master.

Yet, in my time training in Asia I have met many masters. All worthy of the title master, specialized in different arts, weapons, skills, knowledge and achievements. After spending enough time with them I began to understand what a master is.

"You must have an epiphany about your style." Master Chen said to me one day as we were doing a private demonstration together. His meaning was that you must make a connection between your style and yourself. In essence you become one with your fighting style and the concepts it contains. Becoming a master is synchronisity, not perfection.

These last years I had been trying every type of training idea that I could think of in order to better understand the depth of my the movements. Continually reading the Chinese scripts that my master and others have handed down to me. Diagrams that are encoded in song, classical Chinese characters that can't be found in any dictionary. The task of becoming a master still seemed to be insurmountable.

Only a little more than a month ago I woke up in the morning to train as always and something changed. As I awoke I felt that something in me had grown deeper within. I had a feeling of peace that I usually have not had. Every worry that might come was batted down by a pulsating energy channeling from my soul. And somewhere in the back of my mind I heard God whisper, you are a master now.

As soon as I began training that day, I realized that everything about the way I moved had changed. A new balance, a far deeper connection to something I had not been aware of. The thing I could see in my master but could never understand. Something that he could only give me clues about because this is something that can not be taught.

All of us have the potential to become masters. It is not something that is impossible because it is not perfection. In short it is the perfect harmony of your style and you. And you will never be perfect. Nor can any master. It should never be a goal to become God but to work with everything that he's given us in order to achieve balance. What ever your skill is cherish it and nurture it until you can bring the best part of you out. Becoming a master has shown me that my learning has only begun. So much more training before I can grasp yet a deeper understanding. I am honored and excited to start from the beginning.

Master Wu Guo Zheng's talk on the history of Bagua

2010-11-14T04:24:00.001-08:00

Bagua is an art form that has a very confusing background in regards of history. Dong Hai Chuan usually is considered the founder for most lineages. Yet there is also the history of Bagua developing from the Wudang temple. History in China is something that is almost impossible to pinpoint due to many legends, rumors and events that continually changed through out all eras of China.

We do know that it was usually found in the hands of those who were of a higher branch in some form of combat. From the personal elite bodyguards for the emperor, to high level assassins. The nature of both occupations would not allow for any public information about bagua and its secrets.

My line of Bagua, said to have been developed my Dong Hai Chuan, has passed through the hands of five successors. From Dong Hai Chuan, Cheng Ting Hua, Gao Yi Sheng, Wu Jin Yuan, and Wu Guo Zheng. Each style of Bagua takes on a very different form depending on the teacher of the style. This is also a mystery of the history of Bagua. Each student should in someway resemble their masters. However all of Dong Hai Chuan's students are masters of very different styles of Bagua, not resembling each other any more than distant cousins.

What is the reasoning for this odd development of Bagua? Some say that Dong Hai Chuan taught each of his students special techniques that would more compliment their way of moving and previously studied styles. If we understand a little more about Dong Hai Chuan, then maybe we can understand a little more about the history of Bagua.

This is a piece of my masters speech that I have translated to inform those outside of circles that I am lucky enough to be a part of. Keep in mind my masters speech is more like a casual discussion of the lineage given to at the cultural university to a group of martial arts majors.

_________________________________________(Translated By Robert Jay Arnold)

Today isn't a serious meeting but more of me just talking about some of the things related to Bagua and aspects of the different lineages.

All of the styles of the styles of Bagua are very different with variations and emphasis. In order to understand why Bagua styles can be so vastly different we must first understand the history of Bagua. In order to understand the history of Bagua we must look in to the life of a man named Dong Hai Chuan.

Dong Hai Chuan was born in 1797. A little over 200 years ago during during the Qin Dynasty. A time of many different revolts, conflicts and other term-oil. Dong Hai Chuan came from He Bei and at a very young age took interest in the martial arts. He began studying many of the arts that were in his area. However it's indicated that he got into some kind of trouble because of hurting an individual and when the authorities came looking for him he was forced to flee.

When he left he went to find every kind of martial arts teacher that he could. Always enjoying the process of developing in the different styles. We know he studied with many different famous masters at the time which would later lead to his development and creation of Bagua.

During this development process there are many legends about Dong Hai Chuan and his accomplishments but the point for now is to have a general understanding of the lineage and not so much into the stories of Dong Hai Chuan. We could have speeches all day on just some of the many events that he encountered.

He continually practiced all of the arts he encountered until the age of 50 without pause. Yet, he had no reputation in the martial arts world. It wasn't until 1855 that he came to Beijing at the age of 58 years old when he was compelled to work at Shu Wang Fu's Imperial Palace. Another interesting point is we know that Dong Hai Chuan was also a enoch.

There are two possible reasons that Dong Hai Chuan may have decided to go to Shu's Imperial Palace. Reason number one is to avoid being found by certain authorities that were looking for him. The other possibility is that he may have been a spy for the Tai Min Jun (People's Army). These reasons fit very well with what we understand about the history in that era.

In 1855 he officially began working for the imperial palace. After working there for many years, slowly he began to pass the teachings of Bagua. We know this is where the beginnings of the history of bagua start to formulate and develop. His reputation slowly began to pick up even though the art at that time remained unnamed. It wasn't until his encounter with Yang Lu Chan who's style was known as The cotton fist, or neutralizing fist (known today as Taichi) that people began to notice Bagua. We've seen the pictures of them crossing hands advertising their fight in old books, magazines and films

If we think about it how old were they at that time? They were both fighting in their sixties. When we watch a fight today how old are the fighters usually? 20 or 30 year olds make for a much more exciting show. Dong Hai Chuan was 68 at this time, while Yang Lu Chan was just a little bit younger. These were to elderly men fighting. I'm sure it couldn't have been too exciting.

Later we know that Dong Hai Chuan had another fight with Guo Yu Sun, a match between Bagua and Xing yi. How old was Guo Yu Sun at this time? He was younger than Dong Hai Chuan by thirty years. How could a 40 year old have a fight against someone who is almost 70 years old? If they did have a match it couldn't have been the same concept of fighting that we are used to. We know in the martial arts world we have a concept of respect for the previous generations of masters. Dong Hai Chuan was of the same generation as Guo Yu Sun's master. Which also makes us wonder why Guo Yu Sun participated instead of his master. This is just a brief look at some of the matches and details that added to the strength of Dong Hai Chuan's reputation.

Later Dong was able to start gaining students and officially start passing the art in 1866. The already popular Tai ji Chuan (Tai chi) and Xing Yi Chuan lead to Dong Hai Chuan giving his art s style with three words. Ba Gua Zhang (Bagua). Bagua took its name for the first time in 1866. We can see bagua is about 144 years old. So it is a very young style in comparison to others such as Shaolin and other styles that have over 30 or more generations. As for Gao Bagua my father was the fourth generation me only the 5th generation successor of Gao Bagua.

Another thing to look at is the location the style was held in. Do you think that the common people would be allowed to enter the imperial palace and practice martial arts? Of course not. Also it wasn't easy for a member of the imperial palace to go out and teach who he wanted. So even though Bagua was being passed from 1866, we also no there is no chance that a lot of people were able to learn it aside from those who were of the imperial military and personnel. Until Dong finally retired for reasons probably related to his age.

Let's start from the two students that we know have had the most influence over the style. Cheng Ting Hua and Yin Fu. We know that he was not able to teach outside of the palace until he retired in 1874. Realize that when he began teaching, he was probably around 77 years old.

Cheng Ting Hua is the second generation successor of our style of Bagua. Cheng Ting Hua was born in 1848. He began studying Bagua when he was 28 years old in 1876. He studied with Dong until he passed away in 1882. Yin Fu's time with Dong Hai Chuan was about the same, even though some claim that he trained with Dong longer than Cheng. Every style has a different story about the same history so let's not go too far into that. But we do know he wasn't teaching to the outside before 1874 so there couldn't be too much difference in his students training time.

Leading up to the discussion of our own style which is Cheng Gao Style Bagua ( Gao Style Bagua), I will ask a question. If the style of Bagua is less than 200 years old, then why are there so many different versions and lineages of Bagua? How could all of the techniques vary so dramatically from style to style?

In my personal opinion I believe it is because at the time Dong began teaching the system of Bagua it was not yet completed. He continued to mold and develop it at the same time he was teaching it to his students. So the things that Dong taught to all of his students varied in method. When do we ever see a master teaching his students completely different material? Many say that he had his reasons for teaching each individual different movements, but it leaves a lot of room for question. So we can see that more than likely the style was still coming together piece by piece.

The natural development for anything to be completed is never all of a sudden. Just as the earth went through a process that took a long time before it was able to have life. As the style passed to Cheng Ting Hua, the art was still in the process of developing.

I think everyone here should probably have an idea about Cheng Ting Hua already. He had a job making glasses and corrective lenses and was later killed by the French alliance in 1900. He died at 52 which is unfortunate because this is the prime age for internal styles.

Before he passed he taught to our grand master Gao Yi Sheng. Giving us the name Cheng Gao Bagua. My Grandmaster Gao was born in 1866 which was close to the time that Dong Hai Chuan had started teaching. He began his training in Bagua at the age of 34 in 1896. We are not too certain of the arts Gao had studied before Bagua. Gao was from the village in Wu Di county of Shandong China, which is the same village that my father and grandfather lived. He was very close to my grandfather before he left at an early age. Gao later earned a great name in the martial arts world when my grandfather invited him back many years later to stay at his residence as a bodyguard.

He came to stay with my grandfather around the age of 45. He stayed there for 5 years which were the most important five years in regards of our style. This is the time when took Bagua through a thorough refining and evolving period. This would be the same time period that some people say Song Yi Ren who was also a student of Dong Hai Chuan came and taught him. Whether Song Yi Ren is a real person or not remains to be seen. It might be true or it might just be a story to explain that Gao made great changes to the style. Possibly a clever way to show people of his new discoveries. That is when our style of Gao Bagua began to solidify into the art it is today.

Gao again left our hometown to teach and research the new form of Bagua making his reputation grow even more. It wasn't until he was 60 years old that he returned to stay with my grandfather and began teaching to my father Wu Jin Yuan who was around 8 years old at the time. Starting at such an early age it can be difficult to grasp all of the complex ideas of Bagua, but Gao taught to my father everyday for the next 10 years being able to give him the complete style of Gao Bagua. Afterwards my father was able to make the final tweaks and adjustments to the style, where we got our stepping training, two person practice, My father's story of training and teaching goes on until he was 60 years old, traveling to He Bei and many other places to further his training before coming to Xinzhu. He also learned from other masters adding many parts to the style including the Qing Ping Sword. We later referred to him as the old master. He's not with us anymore so I'm just sharing a few words that he taught to me.

_______________________________________________________________________

That is where the speech carried into a lot more details which requires a more physical explanation of the movement. I hope this gives you more of an idea about the art of Bagua. I will end it saying a few of my masters words, "It doesn't matter what style you learn if you don't train it. The best teacher in the world is nothing without a diligent student, but the diligent student will always make the best teacher.

Glad I missed the bus

2010-10-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

My training has continually taught me and re-taught me of how to refine myself. By refining my physical abilities I am able to sharpen my mental skills and percieve the actions of my life through what some would call wisdom. Every master of every creed and type will eventually step into an arena of clarity, a heightened since of perception that can only be called truth.

Bruce Lee, Tiger Woods, Micheal Jordan, Muhummad Ali, Albert Einstein and other masters, were able to use their craft to explain a portion of what would be purpose.

However on this very same path without guidance we can be tricked into stepping into a darkness with in ourselves that can lead us to perverse our own gift. Man being riddle with flaws, we must always stay connected with the source or we could completely lose ourselves.

Every day there is a chance to look into the energy of your own life and choose to grow stronger or grow weaker. We have no control over the things that happen to us but complete control over how we may respond.

Today while getting ready to take the bust to practice I had to run to the bank first. I missed the bus for practice and was going to have to wait a half hour for the next one. I was supposed to be there early to help the master teach for a demonstration next week. Instead I was going to be over an hour late.

At this moment I had the choice of being blinded by my frustrations or look into the benefit of missing the bus. I looked around and noticed the sun shining through a tree that hit the bus stop sign and casted a shadow that reminded me of a movement. As I came closer I noticed the tree had laid out perfect spots on the ground for me to practice my footwork stepping.

I dropped my bag and immediately seized the opportunity to understand the message being sent to me. I practiced my foot work right there on the spot and unlocked the flow training that I had been working on for the past few months. I was able to take my training to a brand new level only because I stopped to look around.

If I had chosen to be down and disappointed, I would have missed the entire lesson of the day. Don't get frustrated, learn to understand, life truly is magical.

One perfect move

2010-09-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have always seen the line between martial arts and life. How each is just a mirror of the other and a way of achieving a better focus. Recently I was training my footwork when I came into an enlightening experience that let me see more deeply into kung fu and life.

While working on my flow training the idea is to keep each movement connected to the last. Movements can be changed in direction, speed and timing but never sacrificing the flow of energy from one step to the other. In bagua the legs pull the body, the body pulls the hands and the hands are able to let the Qi flow through every motion. Striking and defending are all a part of the same circle at a different point of axis.

I found myself growing into a much deeper understanding of the movements after years of researching new methods of training. But instead of finding a better way to train, I found a better way to live. I found that every movement was connected to a thought, memory or experience I have had and am yet to have. For one moment I was able to see time as a continual circle that the past, present and future all existed at the same time.

From there I could see that every challenge that has come to me in my life has been an opportunity for me to choose my growth. The times that I was less patient with people, unforgiving, or insensitive were directly connected to how I developed into a situation that was less favorable. On the other side every time I chose to help, or pay attention to the problems of a coworker, or finished an undesirable task with a smile, I had become a better person giving me a more favorable position. Which means that the bigger the challenges are then the more we can benefit from them. Sometimes we are just one big challenge away from our success. But even the tiniest challenges can be opportunities for us to feel better. Organize your pictures, help some one with chores or learn a new skill. They may not seem important currently but it might be just the polishing you need for your character.

Lost in my techniques, lost in time and lost in my thoughts. It was maybe only a second but it felt like a life time. I realized that even when we are doing the right thing it is more important to be focused on those around us. Their success is just the same as our own success. If we dwell to much on what we should have by now we will miss the point of today's challenge. Continue to train and pursue your dreams. Make sure the people around you are also finding direction. Only by doing God's work can we make real progress. Find the rhythm in your life that let's you happily accept the challenges that come. They will only make you better.

Be like water

2010-08-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

We often hear that it is important to be like water when practicing martial arts. Meaning we should be clear and able to adapt to the attack of the opponent. Reacting to every movement that is made and attacking the exposed parts of his defense.

Of course this is much easier said that done. Most times we find ourselves planning out an attack and trying to force open a weak point of our own. This usually leaves us struggling with both our opponent and our own idea of what to do. In the end if we can not let go of our game plan and mold to the situation we may find ourselves defeated. Not by our opponent but by our unwillingness to adapt.

It is the very seem when seeking out opportunities in life. Though we can spend lots of time preparing and training for opportunities that we hope might come, we are not able to bend life to our will. Therefore the most important factor is our ability to flow with the situation and seize the opportunities that appear before us. This means we may find ourselves in a few positions that we didn't plan on or considering ideas that we had never thought of. If you continue to prepare yourself for your idea opportunity then you will be ready when it comes. In the meantime continue to flow and develop to the obstacles that are in front of you today. It will only make your situation more advantageous in the end.

Keep training, keep believing.

The Return of Robert Jay Arnold

2010-08-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

My birth name is Robert Jay Arnold. A name that over the years of different challenges and struggles I grew a certain disdain for. Half of my friends called me War and the other half called me Fox for different reasons. All details that I will share in my book The Story of Warren Fox.

No I am not going to change the name of the book because it carries even more meaning and is a crucial part of the plot. Keep reading along and you will get it. I will add the other chapters soon.

Returning to my original name means that I have finally found peace and have conquered the demons of my past. Now I will use my birth name to deal with the demons in the future. Sorry for all of the confusion. Just one of those little growing pains that we all have to deal with. Keep training.

Bagua Fight Scene 八卦掌用法

2010-07-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Fight Scene I shot with the Tianwudao Crew. It's kinda nice.

The story of my life

2010-07-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am writing a book which is kind of like an auto biography of all of the events that have shaped my life. If you are interested in all the details you can check out the site.

http://tianwudao.com/the-story-of-warren-fox

Taiwan Top Model Demonstration

2010-07-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

I just finished a demonstration for a runway model competition. It was kind of wild. You can find the details on the TWD site.

http://tianwudao.com/the-ronin-and-fox-diaries-top-model-in-taiwan

Take the day with you

2010-06-06T21:21:00.001-07:00

My father used to tell me stories about his masters and his master's masters. I remember one about his master Choi, who used to go into the mountains in Korea to train. Inside of a cave he would do a ridiculous work out, thousands of punches and kicks. He mentioned to my dad that he used to punch the wall hundreds of times a day for several years. After years had passed he said that the wall had not changed much aside from the small, smooth groove. But now every time that he hit someone with that punch, they would also feel the wall of the the cave.

I don't recommend punching walls for training these days but there is more to the story than that. Every day that you are able to get up and train, you take a part of the day into your technique. The days I train and it's freezing cold I add the frost to my footwork. The days I train in the intense heat I add intensity to my lungs. The days I train in the blinding rain I add clarity to my attack. The days I train when I have no time I add dedication to my stance. The sun is in my weapons, the moon is in my Qi.

You may not see me training. You may not know the battles that I have fought to get here. But when the time comes you will feel the elements of every day that have been trained into my technique.

Never stop doing what you do. There will always be a thousand reasons not to train. For those of us that continue, there is a 100 percent chance of success.

Bagua sticking and trapping tutorial

2010-05-25T22:19:00.001-07:00

I am going to keep putting tutorials on the Tian Wu Dao site. It allows me to have more space. Also it gives me a chance to be a part of something bigger than me. Check it out.

http://tianwudao.com/bagua-sticking-and-trapping

Tianwudao video links...

2010-05-13T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has been stoppin by the Tianwudao site from time to time. If you like more than just Bagua, there are a lot of different flavors to see and learn. Now each of the styles have videos to give you a clearer idea of what the style is about.

www.tianwudao.com

Keep training.

Find your power

2010-05-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

I'm nearing the end of my footwork training which is only the first step of developing my body flow training. Ideally I train footwork for a full year. Training each and every step and turn everyday until I have practiced thousands of variations of possible ways to enter and exit my opponents defense. When this is finished, I will begin training my weaving and flow training which is a completely different type of focus. It all leads to the third and final step of this training program which is to develop the way of the hands. All of the footwork and flow training is only a means to extend more power into the hands. Each training period lasts a year and after that it will be the beginning of a new training program. If I actually counted the days that I have from now until the time I finish the program I have layed out, it will be over five years.

It is a distraction to think about the amount of time that it will take. It is also a distraction to wonder if I will have enough money to begin the training that I will need for the second part of my training which requires special equipment. We always see the obstacles that stand in our way before we take our first step on our journey. Most of the things we want to do require money to get them done. So we find ourselves saying I will do this when the money or the time is right. The truth is there are probably a lot of steps you can take before you need the money in your hand to resolve the problem. If you continue to grow stronger in the direction of your dream life will make a way. Do not even acknowledge the possibility of failure. Anything that would appear to be failure is actually just another step. The only thing we can control about the things that happen to us is how we percieve it. If I lose a job, I have more time to focus and plan. If I lose a house, I have more time to roam and understand. If I lose my dream, I have trully lost myself.

I am working with a few companies that want me to market martial arts to the masses with the promise that you will get fit in 30 days, only three minutes a day blah blah blah.

Is there anything you have gotten in your life that was worthwhile that came easily? Can you get a great education without studying? Can you have a great family without caring? The idea that you can be healthy without effort is a lie.

So I have a new motto for those who are interested in martial arts and exercise. Yes it will hurt. Yes it will take a while. And yes a lot of the times you won't feel like doing it. But you don't need anything that's easy. Someone tricked you into thinking that you have to work hard at the things you hate and not pay attention to the things you need. I promise that if you do start martial arts, dance, or whatever your kung fu is that it won't be easy. But every day that you spend training and bettering yourself instead of just aging, you will make your life easier. You will be proud of how you feel about yourself, how far you have come, how much you have changed. In the end the only thing that you have is you. You should spend a little more time enjoying yourself.

We're all super heroes. Find your power.

Effort

2010-04-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have just come into my 8th month of footwork practicing. It has been a long and steady process that I am looking forward to getting through. In the end I will have a lot better speed and balance. For myself it is exactly what I need to get to the next part in my training. This year the weather has been a little crazy. The hot weather has been especially hot, the cold weather has been especially cold. I have also added on additional speed training with my moon crescent swords. Everytime time I finish it feels like my hearts gonna come out of my mouth.

Why do you train so hard? What is the point to all of it? Why not just put it off until next week? I hear these questions echo through my head as I wake up to another open field to start the process. Squeeze in a few hours before working my Clark Kent job. Maybe a little bit of Taichi after work. I don't get any money from training. I don't even get a belt in my style. The only thing that I have at the end of every session is the self respect that comes with training.

No one at my job knows what I do. In there eyes I'm nothing special. I'm just the guy who smiles a lot. Most people don't even believe martial arts is real, so I have a hard time getting into the details about what the internal arts are. So why do I keep doing what I do? Part of it is because I can spread the culture and history to the world. Part of it is because so that I can protect the people around me. There are over a thousand reasons why martial arts is good for you. But none of them are the real reason that I pick myself out of bed everyday and get back to my training field.

Somewhere along the line I picked something up that I have not been able to let go. My training is not for money, competition or even my master. It's the one time that I can feel something that is real. Money is an illusion, beauty is temporary, love is immeasurable. Effort is something that I can grasp a hold of. I may never be the best and I never need to be. I need to know that I have put the effort into my life to make the best version of myself. The effort I put into my training is the same effort I put into my friendships, my Clark Kent job and most importantly my dream.

I am blessed to not have been born with talent. Everything has always been hard for me in the beginning. Maybe that's the reason I wanted to be better. It seems that talented individuals get bored easier making it harder for them to keep pushing. Like a bow and arrow, the farther you pull it back, the farther it can fly. The good news is you don't need talent, looks, or even youth. You just need to keep pushing. There won't be anyone at the end of your day to tell you "good job". There may not be any visible progress for months. But I promise you there is nothing you can continue to do everyday and not get better.

You can't control anything in your life except for your effort. Train hard. I'm training with you. To the people who are going through this......good job.

Demonstration with the Martial arts heroes

2010-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I was invited to do a demonstration with the masters from China and Taiwan. They were all representatives or the head of their lineages of the arts. It was great to be able to meet them in person and talk about different ideas. Im am truly fortunate to be able to do a demonstration with masters of such a high caliber. My master Wu Guo Zheng also demonstrated. He did the Pre heaven and I showed the post heaven techniques. To be selected to be a representative of an art is a huge achievement in China....especially if your not Chinese. I wrote an article about it on our new tianwudao page.

http://tianwudao.com/the-ronin-and-fox-diaries-martial-arts-demonstration

This has all of the nitty-gritty details. Keep you posted for more. If you haven't signed up for the tianwudao site yet, you should. If you like my blog, you'll love this.

Tianwudao site!! Need some help....

2010-03-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been I while since my last post. We have been working hard on the new tianwudao site which is for all martial artists. It is an on going process much like kung fu that will continually be growing. There are many areas where we can use your help about martial arts teachers, schools and supply stores. No matter where you are....you can do your part. Check out the missions on the site.

http://www.tianwudao.com/

Interview with Daniel D. Zarazua

2010-02-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

My man David hooked up this interview with me a while back. Check it out, show support. Every move brings us one step closer to our success.

http://www.domingoyu.com/writings/identity-culture/interview-with-taiwans-warren-fox/4

Bagua vs Grappling

2010-01-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

A lot of students who practice the internal arts ask me about what techniques are best used when facing grapplers. Of course there is no one movement solution because grappling is alive and many factors can change what would be the most effective solution. But here are a few tips I have found useful for my training.

First you must have a proper root before trying to use any techniques, defensive or offensive. This comes from practicing strikes and blocks from a low and agile stance. In Bagua we say, "When you are moving you are like water, but when we stop we are like a mountain." These means we must be low and fast at the exact same time. If you haven't trained your stances enough you will find yourself exausted in just a few minutes. When someone shoots in on you they have to have their base lower than your own. If you can train yourself to always have a lower base than your opponent while being able to strike and evade then you have already one half of the battle.

Second you must be aware of your opponents intentions. It isn't hard to know when someone wants to go down to the ground, in fact that is almost all people seem to want to do these days. When he is about to grab you is when you have your greatest opportunity. His head, neck, throat and shoulders are all exposed to you now. If you have a strong stance you can meet his force with an elbow strike from below or attacks to the chin and temple. The biggest pressure point on the head is the ear. If you are in a real fight, smack the ear with the palm which will bust the eardrum. You can also pull the ear off depending on what kind of situation you are in. There are much more severe pressure points you could use but without a video it is easier to just describe the easy ones. If you are attacking a charging bull you should understand two things. Where ever the head goes, the body goes. Never fight fire with fire....fight it with water. When he shoots towards your legs he is already off balance and is using you to break his fall. So you have to use your footwork to only let him get a slice of you (if anything at all). If you are in a rooted position a slice won't be enough to take down your tree. While he adjusts to get the rest of you, you must control the head. Turn his head so that it is facing upward to keep him from reaching the rest of your body. Be careful, if you turn his head to quickly while his weight is dropping it is easy to break his neck. You should find controlling his head easy if you are using internal structure to direct his energy.

Other useful techniques include using a hooking or clawing technique on the inside of his cheek. Intense pain always distracts an opponent. The pressure point's on the face line up with the nose. The top of the lip right at the base of the nose, the top of the nose between the eyes, the bottom of the lip and the chin. Remember that the larger your striking object the more external the damage. If you smack the skin, it is mostly spread arcross the surface, a fist goes a little deeper, a knuckle even deeper, and a finger is the deepest. When striking these facial pressure points it is best that you are using a knuckle for deeper damage. Alas if you are wearing gloves, pressure points are almost impossible to hit.

Still before you decide what technique you can use, you must be very good at your footwork. If you are on the tracks when the train comes, all of your plans are going out the window. So find a friend to help you practice avoiding the shoot. It may be frustrating at first because nothing good comes easy. They say that it takes 1 year to be effective with wrestling, 5 years to be effective with striking (boxing, muay thai, etc.) and ten years to be effective with the internal arts. So if you just started learning the arts, be patient. You are investing in the long term plan.

____________________________________________________________

Chinese Translation) 中文翻譯

有許多與我實行武術練習的學生問我什麼技巧最適用於抓握的方式?!
當然，武功在實戰中是沒有準則的，好的武術是能依照人為或環境因素靈活運用,所以能夠反應出平常所練習的基礎就足以效擊敗他人。
在這裡提供了訣竅與搏鬥辦法,可以利用一些以下做為平常鍛鍊,使這些技巧繼而提升自己的程度。

首先，你必須有一個好的基礎，然後試著用任何可以防禦或進攻。這來自於以往是否熟練於讓身體的重心保持低和靈活的狀態。在八卦我們說：“當你移動時像是水，但當我們停止我們就像一座山。”這說明了,在快速移動而短暫的打鬥時間內,無論如何都必須採取重心低的姿勢。如果平時沒能訓練的足夠，將會很快發現自己的時間相當有限。當有人對你在攻擊他們必須先找到低於自己的位置。如果你能訓練自己習慣用較低的姿勢採取攻擊下,在與真正與對手較量時，又能打擊和閃躲，那麼你已經有一半的勝算。

第二你必須了解你的對手的意圖。這不難得知，當今所有的搏鬥競技項目中幾乎都採用先抓住敵人要點的方式,所以,當他將要制伏於你時，就是你出手最好的時機。這時他很可能暴露了頭部，頸部，喉部和肩膀。如果你有一個紮實穩固的姿勢,你能輕易的看見他的弱點,接著用肘部攻擊或從下面攻擊下巴。耳朵是頭部能給予最大壓力的部位。如果你是在實際打鬥中，手掌力量和拍擊聲能使耳膜受傷甚至爆裂。這要視當時情況緊急與否而定,當被威脅生命時,甚至可以把對方的耳朵撕扯下來，其實還有很多有效攻擊性的方式可以使用，但是因為沒有影片的示範,所以只能略為説明些簡單的方法。如果當有一個人,突然衝向你,你應該明白兩件事;能控制對方的頭部就表示能控制他整個身體。別用火隊副火;該用水對付火。當他要重新抓住你的腿時，他的雙腿已經失去平衡，所以，這時必須使用你的步伐，利接著用在他不利於抓到你雙腿的位置,這時便可箝制他的頭。你必須控制他的頭,為了能改變他頭的方向。要小心，因為重力加速度原因 ,他的頭很容易就能折斷。如果能使用由內部發出有結構性的的力量,應該就能找到能控制他頭部最好施力的位置。

劇烈的疼痛始終是能分散對手的方法。涵蓋了些有用的技巧包括;頭頂眼睛中間人中下巴的下面都是攻擊點,請記住，越大越顯著的瘀血擴散的僅僅是表面的皮肉傷而以。如果用的是拍打的方式，受傷的地方會明顯的在表皮表面上擴散，而拳頭可以深入體內，其次是關節，最深入要害的是手指。
最好能採明顯的面部做攻擊，你使用的是指關節,所以會更近一步深入要害。唉，所以如果是戴著手套，幾乎不可能做到。

為何是功夫？！

2010-01-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

每天，起床後第一要做的事，就是得練拳，不管天氣多寒冷，或下大雨，身體不舒服的種種情況下，我還是非得練不可，已經這樣持續了26年，但是學的再久，功夫始終是學了一輩子還是學不完的東西。最近朋友問我：你為何要自己辛苦的練習這樣已退了流行的運動？？尤其在這個時候根本賺不了錢

小時候，練拳是爸爸的要求，我跟我兩個哥哥都要練習功夫，之所以要學功夫，是由於我們以前住的地方因為有嚴重的種族歧視的問題，黑人常受到欺負，所以先學會保護自己必然是重要的。當我在12歲的時，已經實戰了十來多次，所以，就因為我在如此在不安的社會，使我可以在每一次的打鬥經驗中得到其中的技巧和重要性，當我慢慢長大後，雖然還被看不起了，但我還是很自信的，因為功夫是讓我的腦中和精神，以及動力都變的更堅毅而強壯，我長大後才得以看清楚這些武術的深奧內涵，打敗別人是很簡單的事，但打敗自己的缺點，是每天都要經歷的過程，這原來才是生命中最難克服的戰局吧！

因為有了這個''武''的基礎，讓我能排除了在我生命中所有的疑難雜事，我不畏懼我心中所有的主意想法，無論在寫歌拍戲抑或表演，都能利用武的精神面對，一開始有人單挑我會說：我根本不怕你！，接著一群人，我還是會說：我不怕你們！我不怕這些人，我不怕自己的缺點，我更不怕失敗，因為失敗是自己承認了自己失敗，才算是真正的失敗，就算失去了工作，跟女朋友分手，考試不及格，都是個新的挑戰可以有機會讓自己變的更強，更了解真相，最重要的是功夫是如何的給你無窮的自信，方向，或是別人眼中遙不可及的夢想，這是榮華富貴也無法買到的高尚心靈，不只是成長也增長了智慧，如此珍貴的一切都是功夫賦予給我的力量，這才是我想要把武術帶給每一個人的最大原因！

Commitment

2010-01-03T01:19:00.000-08:00

The hardest part of training Bagua is the amount of information and movements that must be practiced and memorized until they are effective. If I spend everyday thinking about all 8000 movements, weapons, power development and new research that needs to be done it can begin to stress me out a bit. Mapping out a plan with thousands of tiny pieces seems like an insurmountable task. On the other hand no matter how complex something may seem, it is at the same time very simple. Just the same as love, sometimes looking at things through a microscope can actually take you out of focus. In the end Bagua is just a combination of circles. Making a circle around your opponent, a circle with in your hands and your body, a circle with your qi. Of course a circle has 360 degrees, angles, etc. But what is the point of making things more complex than what they actually are? My master's father once said, " If you practice walking your circle making a thousand revolutions a day, for a thousand days, you will have perfect kung fu."
This means that even without learning the details of every movement you can still reach perfection through your commitment. Making a thousand revolutions would take you about 10 hours, and one thousand days is about three years. Meaning that with a non stop relationship you could reach mastery of the art in a short time period. But how many of us have ten hours a day?

I think to try to force yourself to spend a lot of time everyday on a project is also a good way to give yourself pressure, stress and eventually drive yourself to quit. If you are learning a language it is not important to spend ten hours studying a day because there is only so much that the mind can retain. It is more important that you study the language daily, even if only for ten minutes a day. If you learn one word a day in a year you have learned 356 words. The average educated person uses about 150 to 200 words a day. You may not have a perfect understanding of the language and there of course is more to learn, but celebrate the progress you have made today. Make sure that you don't let one day go by without putting in ten minutes to your quest. You are already the person that you wish to become, or the desires wouldn't have been placed in your heart. Now all you have to do is commit to yourself and you will be recreated. Every obstacle, injury, set back and let down is a part of your strengthening. Some days we have to move slower than others, but we must never stop.

The One Thing

2009-12-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I finished learning the movements in the system of Gao Bagua and was very excited to begin my journey of developing. Learning all of the movements is only the beginning of our quest. I have spent all of my recent time refining and perfecting all of the techniques. The sword, spear, footwork, combat, conditioning have all been a daily routine for me in finding my understanding of the art fully. I have mapped out new training techniques and ideas that will revolutionize the way people train or perceive the martial arts. My training has been going very well but progress as always has been slow and steady.

I have trained everything that my master showed me. Well, almost everything. There is this one exercise that I just hated practicing. It made every part of me ache so much that I didn't have energy to do the rest of my workout. I have never been a lazy person, but this one exercise just took everything out of me. So every time I have set up my workout schedule for the day, this technique was "forgotten". Later when I started teaching my own classes about six months ago, I had to teach this technique to my students. My style of teaching is to go through the pain with the students no matter what the exercise is. So of course I am giving myself a good dose of this technique that I have been avoiding. Slowly the pain of the technique starts to subside, I am able to almost relax while I am doing it. I found a way to get through it and eventually made my peace with the technique.

After practicing this technique I found that everything that I was trying to develop had taken an explosive jump. Techniques that I felt I could never do completely correctly felt so simple. I was much faster, stronger and even discovered a few "lost techniques". It turned out that this techinique was the last piece in puzzle I needed to level up.

Even when we are diligent in our pursuit for truth we can often put off the things that we need the most to complete us. It is always the one thing that seems unnecessary that we put to the side that is the very thing we need the most. Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and do the one thing that we hate in order to get to the next level. It might be doing a job, it might be quitting a job, but whatever it is it isn't easy. One step closer to being a better man, one step closer to becoming a master.

Attack the Cold

2009-12-03T07:40:00.001-08:00

Today when I woke up and felt how cold the floor was, I was tempted to crawl right back in bed. This is the time that the weather can make us want to change our plans around a bit. "Let's not work out today because its raining." It's hard to push yourself to your goal and it's twice as hard when it's raining. But if we have to be at work or school at a certain time, we can still get up and get there. We all push ourselves for financial reasons, job security or a "secure future."
But training is something that is important for the future of our mind and our body. Is our body not as priority as making money? 9 to 5 at a desk and not an hour or two for ourselves.

Well I always view the weather as another opponent. The heat, cold, rain and snow are all additional ways to improve our technique. In fact training when the weather is nice, is also the time when our progress is the slowest. These are some training tips for cold conditions.

When it's cold outside it is very important to do a thorough warm-up. Slowly give your joints enough time to lubricate and adjust. This is especially good for practicing your chi. The cold can give your body more sensitivity to feel where your chi is. Tai Chi or any soft art is great for working with the cold. You can also use the hard style approach which is fast combinations, running, and foot work training. If you are lucky enough to get some snow then take advantage. Snow up to your ankles is a great way to work your stances. Making sure they are deep and stable. If you have any part of your movements that is uncertain, the ice will be your best teacher. For my fellow Bagua practitioners, the ice is a tool for training your circle walking. Practice the whole Pre Heaven form on the ice to find your stability.

As warriors of the new age we must turn every obstacle into our advantage. Look forward to the cold floor, it lets us know we're alive.

Don't Be Held Back

2009-11-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is a topic that is a little harder for me to express because the nature of martial arts and life is patience. To grow stronger we must first go through the process of enduring discomfort for a period of time. The longer the time period, the more fruit that can be harvested in the end. Even if we want to become more patient, we must first be tested by situations that will test our patience. Therefore if things are going good for you, it is much harder to develop character. The unfortunate sayings, " No pain no gain," or "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," are just as true today as they were years ago.

On the other hand there is a time when you are no longer enduring and you are only tolerating. Therefore you are wasting time without the benefit of developing character. In fact you can begin hindering your character development with feelings of frustration and disappointment.

A friend of mine has been training with a "kung fu master" for the past 3 years. He has been very diligent in his training and really works hard to better his technique. The only problem is that the master has only given him a few techniques to learn over such a long period of time. Of course in the martial arts world this is common for all beginners. But every master knows that you teach the student at the pace he is able to handle. If he is lazy, no need to teach him much. But if he is true to the technique, then bless him with knowledge. This master gave him the same techniques for 3 years without ever giving him the explanations needed to understand the meaning behind it all. Mindless techniques practiced in repetition without purpose for years on end.

Not everyone can be trusted to be your master. Just as not everyone can be trusted to be your employer, or spouse. We must remain humble so that we may find the answers that we are in search of, but we must always respect ourselves enough to know when we are being taken advantage of. At that moment we have to draw a line in the sand and move to a surrounding that we truly can develop. Just as my friend waited patiently for a long time for more techniques we can find ourselves hoping for our situation to change. Sometimes even if we know we are on a path that leads nowhere, we persuade ourselves into believing that we are still moving. Just like laying on your back in the grass and watching the clouds go by. You may feel like your moving, but the world is just moving around you.

If you have fear to leave a situation that you know is not right for you because your afraid of losing.....whatever. If you make any decision based on fear it is the wrong decision. Just because this guy is your master, boss, best friend etc. It doesn't mean that he is more special than you. It doesn't mean that his purpose is more important than yours. We all must play our role to the fullest. Never let anyone make your path harder than it already is.

Make time

2009-11-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

Often times I meet people who say, " I want to learn martial arts but I don't have time." I think its funny what we say we have time for and what we don't have time for. If you sleep for 8 hours a day and live to be 75 years old, you have spent 25 years sleeping. I imagine that the majority of us who work 9 to 5 spend another 25 years at work alone. Which means in 75 years of life you have only had 25 of those years to do something for yourself. If you are lucky you will live to see 75 springs. How much of this time goes by being wasted making excuses. I am not saying that everyone has to do martial arts. Martial arts is my path, it's what helps me refine and develop. At the highest level of any expression we can find our worth. In China once a person reaches a certain level of achievement people refer to them as master. It doesn't matter if they started as a martial artist, a teacher, or a cook. The end title is master.

Every path that you may choose to be successful in will be hard. You will go through great frustration, pain and hardship in ALL walks of life. The most important question is, "Do you like the direction you are going in?" Are you doing a quest that is something that lets you enjoy your journey. Even if you practice martial arts and your goal is to become great, but you don't enjoy the process of training, you are on the wrong path. We are bound by time and forced to plan our day to day activities. Save money for this, get my degree for this, etc. But in the process of reaching for these "worldly" possessions, we must have something of our own. The gift of self development can help us reach a real understanding of our purpose.

Try not to use "stuff" as a way to gauge your progress. Its the same as someone feeling that they need to have a black belt in order to be good at martial arts. The only thing that is real is your own effort. Just imagine if all the stuff that you "needed" to survive just disappeared. No house, no clothes, no money. Many people in these circumstances actually find peace of mind without the distractions of finance. Yesterday and tomorrow don't exist. There is only now. Right now you make the decision of what you want to do and who you want to be. If you want to learn to learn martial arts, get out of the chair, go outside and do it......Now.

Your Weapon and You

2009-10-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

In our style of Bagua there are many different types of weapons. The sword, sabre, spear, hooks, deer antlers, staff, double sticks, Guans blade, two sided spear, etc. All of the weapons have there advantages for different situations, as well as different variations. I have seen many masters that carry "special" weapons around to practice, compete, or just show how bad ass they are. My master has always told me, "Real kung fu is all about your weapon." Initially I thought I understood the meaning, but after training for a long time with the various weapons I have deepened my understanding of what the weapon's purpose is.

Of course in the times of war these weapons had many places of more obvious use. Choosing your weapons was a matter of deciding what type of strategy that you want to use kill. Disarming, penetrating armor, distance, surprise, or whatever was your most effective tool was the deciding factor. This is actually one of the more surface level understandings that I originally had about weapons. Through training I have been able to see more significant effects in my techniques barehanded directly related to my weapons training. When I train the staff my stance strengthens, the deer antlers give me better footwork, the sabre increases my trapping power, the spear gives me more snatching and palm power, Guan's blade increases internal power and endurance, and on and on. Therefore if someone favors using sword techniques, it is probably true that it helps them master another unarmed attack. This makes me especially curious about those masters with the"special" weapons.

The first stage of learning a weapon is much like ourselves when we are first born. Useless. Without training or direction we lack purpose. In a sense when we begin to master a weapon we begin to identify and master ourselves. Or maybe its better to say that the weapon is just a reflection of your personality. The hardest part of course is first getting past yourself so that you can begin to learn. I know everyone has picked up a pair of nunchucks and swung them around until BANG. Then their little dreams of being a teenage mutant ninja turtle were crushed. No pain no gain, no guts no glory, whatever doesn't kill you...blah blah blah. Do whatever you need to get back up and do it till its done.

In any case I strongly suggest that you become acquainted with a weapon from any of the arts. To master a weapon is just the same as taming a tiger. Something that may have been dangerous can turn into your protection.

The Connection Between Kung Fu and Calligraphy

2009-10-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

I have heard many times about the connection between the Chinese characters and martial arts movements. This is what actually stimulated my interest toward learning Chinese and gathering a deeper understanding of the "root" of martial arts over ten years ago. I believe it would have been impossible for me to gather such an understanding of Bagua or the internal arts without seeing and understanding the characters with my own eyes. At first glance the list of movements appears to be the explanation of the techniques and how they are practiced or applied. But there are many places where they use "words behind the words" or "meaning behind the meaning." It's almost like trying to decipher a song that Shakespeare and Tupac wrote together. Every year reviewing these scrolls and continuing my training I am able to peel a deeper level of understanding of the words and adjust my training accordingly. Don't worry you don't need to be able to understand Chinese to understand martial arts at all, I am just explaining my personal journey in the understanding of new concepts.

Recently I have focused an extra amount of time in my writing practice. Writing these complex characters over and over smaller and smaller have given me a great deal of hand control.

It is the same feeling that I have when practicing accuracy with my sword. At first you are just doing or immating the movements that you see. Through practicing yearly you begin to gain a sense of structure. A standard in how things need to be done. Through this structure you finally find real power. Then you realize that it is the same structure that has given you power, that must be forgotten in order to achieve free flowing power. Only with this free flowing power do we have a real understanding of martial arts, Chinese characters, or life.

This is the process of refining ourselves. Real martial arts, calligraphy (or whatever vehicle you choose) is about cutting away at the part of us that is a weakness. A weakness can take many forms inside of ourselves and continually distracts us from becoming free. Pride, Vanity, Fear, Greed etc. are the parts of us that are not our personallity. They are flaws that we can choose to refine out of our lives completely. First we just need to find our one focal point. Then, slowly let that expand through out the rest of our lives.

If it was easy, we'd all be masters by now. Keep up the fight of positive energy.

Sparring

2009-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

In martial arts it is always necessary to feel out the level of reaction time with your techniques. Sparring has always been the step that is used as sort of a bridge between fighting to make sure that your balance, timing and accuracy are up to par. Everyone has there own rules on whether they wear equipment or strike to the face etc. Controlled sparring should never go passed 80 percent of your effort because then it gets more dangerous for both or all participants. The unfortunate truth is if you have not taken the time to practice all of the techniques to the point they are natural and effecient, then you are just wasting your time. Sparring is the step you take after you want to test your attacks and defenses that are "solid." The sparring will give your techniques timing and understanding but not help with speed or power. Therefore if you begin sparring too soon, you will never have powerful techniques. On the other hand if you never spar you will never know timing or feeling out your opponent. So as with all things there must be a balance.

The first step is too make sure my technique is mastered. Lets use the spin kick for example since there are not too many people that have trained it fluently. First I practice my spin kick in the air over and over. Until my balance, speed and force are all connected. Next I train my accuracy to make sure I can hit exactly what I am aiming for. I usually tape a few pieces of paper to the wall no longer than a finger nail. Tape each piece of paper at various heights because as the height changes, the range changes. First I practice the single spin kick as fast as I can, kick the paper without kicking the wall. After it is easy to do a single movement I can now apply it in a combination. Throwing 3 to 5 kicks as fast as I can. This lets you fix and adjust the footwork and range between each kick.

Now I am ready for two person drill training. The idea of two person forms or drill training is that you begin to teach muscle memory of your reaction time. So it is important that with many of the drills that you are really trying to hit each other if you are training your defense. Whether you are practicing with swords or barehanded the idea is to do the exercise repeatedly so that the movement is trained into the back of your brain. You may find that while doing this type of training you might punch in your sleep or automatically strike a friend if he sneaks up on you. (By the way...Don't ever sneak up on martial artists.) But with two person training exercise it is ideal that both people are training the desired technique at the same time. Person A starts the attack and person B counters on and on and on and on.

Now my technique is ready for sparring. I have learned control so my partner won't get injured. I have learned balance so that I won't get injured. Timing is the most valuable factor that can be learned from sparring. To use an effective spin kick is the same as your opponent stepping on a landmine. Just as he is committed to the exact range BANG. This is where it is important to catch your opponent between thoughts. As he changes strategies or ideas he is unable to calculate his position. Which is why Bruce Lee used to use vocal distractions when he was fighting against Chuck Norris.

The unfortunate truth is that most people rush to sparring without ever rigoursly training their technique. In a microwave society everyone wants everything right now. We want the power without the purpose. True martial arts is having to refine ourselves to the very core of our weaknesses. When we are fighting with another opponent we are actually using each other as a gauge to understand how we need to improve. Therefore winning or losing should never be our focus. If I define myself by beating others then I only need to be as good as the person infront of me . This is the cause of a lot of arrogant martial artists which in itself is an oxymoron. Arrogance is birthed from our insecurities of not being accepted, good enough, or strong enough. True masters never compete unless it is connected to the battle of self. The only battle worth fighting.

Guilt and Progress

2009-09-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

In martial arts it is easy enough to see how good we want to be through our masters, kung fu brothers or other inspirations around us. The process of learning a technique well can be an ongoing and sometimes even frustrating transition. But the process of trying to become a better martial artist or individual is a much more severe path that we must journey on. It is good to be able to visualize the warrior that you are trying to become. Whether you are trying to gain more speed, power, focus it can be disheartening to realize how far you are from where you "should" be. This is not unlike the process of chasing a dream that has yet to be realized or the on going pursuit for the house with the white picket fence. The unfortunate side of pursuing after a goal is to give ourselves pressure for the things that we have not yet attained. The pressure then becomes self resentment or even shame which can cause us to quit reaching toward our goal all together. It's funny how many students that I have had that would apologize to me for missing class. It is almost as if they were using me to apologize to themselves. The danger does not lie in missing practices or being busy. The danger is the self inflicted guilt trip that we give to ourselves and say, "I'm so far behind that I will never catch up." Or, "I have forgotten everything if I go back it will be embarrassing." This is the real danger! You're perception of yourself in the end is your reality. If you create walls that stop you from reaching your goal because your scared, embarrassed, ashamed or whatever, then you are you're own worst enemy. Yes it's good to get on a program and stay on it but if you don't...then your human. Get up and go back to it. Even if you have to start from square one it will be worth it and you will start to feel good all over again. Otherwise, you begin to dig an endless whole that inevidably will lead to self pity. Nothing effects you more than how you feel about you. If you are too hard on yourself you will never be able to make it to your finish line. It is never too late, you're never too far gone and you never out of the game.

Priority

2009-08-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

My master wrote an article about making training a part of your lifestyle. So that it is never something that you have to get around to because it is a part of your daily chores. It is tricky when you have the world trying to convince you that what you do is a "hobby". A hobby implies that it is something that I should do when I am killing time. Meaning that I have finished all of the important tasks in my day and now I can practice my kung fu or dance or whatever your hobby is. The truth is that your hobby is probably more important for your life than your job. So many become so obsessed with trying to promote themselves in their job or in school that they lose track of the things that actually matter. In fact for many people what you do on the side might be the only thing that gives you any real sense of purpose. What happens when you set that aside and become only your work? You begin to sacrifice the "little things" like: health, joy, time, and family. Its ironic that so many of us work so hard to provide for our families but the work itself pushes us farther from home. Still we must give to Caesar what is Caesar's and we must provide rent at the end of each month. I feel that it is important to always know which direction you are going.

What we do everyday defines what we are to become. There must be time in your day for you to be the person you are designed to be. You should never push the things that are most important for your development in the background. Some of you may be lucky enough to have your quest and your job wrapped into one. For the rest of us we must find the strength and the courage to be ourselves when everything in our environment hinders us. Of course we need money even to fuel our hobbies from time to time. But the pursuit of money without purpose is the first step to losing yourself. If you had enough money, what would you be chasing?

I train not just to remember my movements or self defense reasons. I train so that I have the strength to win the battle of "self" from day to day. So that I can continue to do the unpleasant tasks requested of me with a smile. No matter how stressful things may become I know that it is not this job that defines me. But it is my "hobby" that is my real quest.

Eight Philosophies of Bagua

2009-08-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

I know that I have already listed the different parts of the 8 Trigrams before but have never really explained some of the concepts about what they represent in more detail. I am still working on the book which will include a lot more detail of everything, but I still would like to put a little something something on my blog.

The first section that we start from is the Heaven section. It is the simplest yet in a lot of ways the most powerful of the eight. It is direct in its approach and is known as the way of striking. The strikes cover the main focal points of entry on the body. It opens, carries, drags, lifts, pulls, and carries the opponent into an imbalanced position in order to launch a more powerful attack. In a since the Heaven section is also the most honest, where as the Earth section is the most deceptive.

The next section is the Water section. Also known as the way of the hands or arms. In this section there are more approaches to deal with being grabbed as well as arm locks and breaks. In fact 5 of the 8 movements start with first by snapping the arm. Aside from that these strikes mostly involve combinations. The idea is to first snap the arm but to continue holding on to it. This way we can keep our opponent in range while striking him several times before letting go. It is much like a yo-yo effect.

Then there is the Mountain section also known as the way of diverting. This means that these movements mostly involve counter attacks. Even though all of the movements in Bagua are counter attacks this section specializes in dealing with multiple attacks. Usually parrying two to three times to manipulate the opponent into a "checkmate." This is the section most involved with trapping. Trapping means locking the opponents hands into his own body so that he is helpless in defending the on coming attack.

The fourth section is the Thunder section. Also known as the way of the body. This means that with every attack or dodge the whole body is used as the weapon. This is where you see a lot of the snake low attacks, turning spins and running attacks. Keeping the full body in motion in order to overwhelm the attacker. It also is the section I have found to be one of the most effective with the deer antlers. The charging attacks coordinate the hands and feet so that you can stick to an opponent even when he is fleeing away.

The fifth section is the Wind section also known as the way of the elbow. This section utilizes the elbows in every aspect from defending and attacking. It also focuses on breaking the elbow joint. This is a crucial technique for Bagua users everywhere. Using the elbow to redirect the flow of your opponent's attack as well as crush an oncoming attack can be a great "de-fanging" tool. Four out of eight of these techniques are elbow breaks and the others are elbow strikes.

The sixth section is the Fire section or the Way of the legs. As it sounds it is related to the kicking techniques in the style. There are a lot of trips and take downs in addition to the kicks. There are quite a few high kicks in this system of bagua. Crescent kicks, Thrust kicks even a kick that resembles the kick kick in Muay Thai. Though many people who practice Bagua don't do high kicks, there are many in the system. ( I even stuck in a few of my own dirty tricks from Hapkido.)

The seventh section is the Earth section or the Way of Entry. This is the slickest section of the Gao Bagua system. Techniques that use set ups to take your opponent one way and then the other. Much like Bruce Lee said, "When your opponent expands you contract, when he contracts you expand." That is the main theme for all of the movements in this section. Getting through your opponents guard in the most unexpected ways. This section also contains the movement which is the "special move" of Gao Bagua. Known to be so powerful that people have used it to knock horses unconscious.

The eighth section is the Lake section also known as the way of foot work. Of course all of these movements involve a lot of footwork since Bagua is actually applied while walking in the circle. However this refers to bursting steps in the Bagua movements. Through steps, dropping steps, crossing steps. Quick steps into the gaps of your opponents mind. When done correctly it is very hard for your opponent to counter because you are already behind him.

In each section there are eight movements adding up to sixty four. 64 movements along with additional 64 counters to all of the movements. I recommend training the opposites together in order to develop more power. Heaven is opposite to Earth, Water is opposite to Fire, Wind is opposite to Lake, and Thunder is opposite to Mountain. Thunder is the opposite of Mountain because it is loud and invisible while the mountain is enormous and silent. Wind is free to move about and cannot be contained while a lake is not only contained but deep.

I have also had fun training other movements together such as Fire and Mountain(Volcano) or Water and Mountain (Waterfall) Training the different movements together will allow you to flow smoothly and naturally. All of the movements are meant to be forgotten...but only after you have done them all millions of times.

New Class Schedule

2009-08-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

Well now that I am settling down in Taiwan again here is the new class schedule.
At Guo Fu (Ji Nian Tang) Memorial hall. At 11 am on Tuesday and Thursday.
Class should be pretty small which allows more time for personal focus. Stop by and get some Bagua in your diet.

Gao Bagua Masters United

2009-08-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a great exchange between the two different Gao Bagua lineages taught by my master Wu Guo Zheng and Master CS Tang from Hong Kong. My friend Benard and I helped the two masters to get in contact for this wonderful learning experience. Even though the styles are of the same lineage their are vast differences between practice methods and technique applications. However the main point of each technique was identical. Just as I have said before Bagua practitioners are much like trees because we all choose to grow and develop very differently. But the root of each style is the same which means the fruit is also the same. It was great for me to see another masters ideas and concepts about familiar techniques. I could even see the eyes of my master and CS Tang light up with new ideas after discussing martial arts concepts.

It shows that we all need to come together not just for the purpose of learning but also for the purpose of inspiring and motivating. It doesn't have to be from the same style because power always recognizes power. Sometimes while we are training we can find ourselves in a rut or hit a plateau. The best thing is to go out and pull together with other groups to trade ideas.

I know that in the past styles have been very secretive about what they show and display to other schools because of one day maybe having a conflict with a rival school. But look in the society we live in now. Do you really think it is possible that you are going to get robbed by another kung fu master? If you are humble and considerate it is very unlikely you would have a confrontation with another lineage. These days there should be no rivalry. All martial artist in all countries are looked upon as strange individuals. If we don't start showing the true beauty of what martial arts is we will disappear. Many styles have done such a good job of maintaining their secrecy that they no longer exist. Our purposes is to extend the range of the brotherhood of martial artists. One master and one student at a time.

Fighting more than one, Know your circle

2009-07-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

When I was in the university teaching martial arts about 10 years ago. One of the big focuses and concerns was how to fight more than one person at a time. Realistically if you are a bigger guy like myself, no one is going to fight you unless they feel they have the advantage. A weapon, friends or both. So in my experience with self defense I have rarely been in a one one one fight situation. There is always at least one friend hanging out in the background.

The first and most important step is a tactic that I take from ninjitsu which is awareness of your surroundings. You have to know how many exits you have, how many exits you can create, what could be utilized to your advantage. Of course when you are in the middle of a fight it is too late to analyze these things. So it should be a habit that anywhere you go you are "counting" your environment. In most cases you will find you can see a potential situation developing before it escalates and your already gone.

If you are really in a life or death situation then your biggest concern should be survival. So it is important to train your movement aside from combat. Running, rolling, climbing etc. You could have the most deadly punch in the world but if you can't get from A to B it's worthless. Aside from basic mobility it is also important to learn how to stack the deck in your favor. For example if you put a table between you and your opponent you have given your self a shield from his attacks but placed yourself in perfect kicking position. Also attack at opportune times. If you are surrounded by a group don't look at the person you strike first, it will give you away. Use anything from salt shakers do gravel to stun your opponent so that you are guarenteed a clean strike. Don't waste energy doing attacks that won't land.

Also it is important to realize that you have the advantage because you have the element of surprise. (Unless you are fighting against a tactical strike team which is organized and coordinated with their attack.) But ordinary groups attack one or two at a time. This is why it is always most important to practice footwork and spacing. Especially using the footwork from Bagua or Aikido which is circular stepping. The understanding of your art and how it uses the circle is what will make you successful. Bagua weaves between the opponents much like a thread moves through material, Hapkido can manipulate and clutter opponents into each other with various locks, Taekwondo places the the opponents outside of the circle and the fighter's back can easily become his front with a turn of the head, Muay Thai can allow you to take more blows than most if you have undergone the right training, Judo is extremely powerful if the take downs are done on the edges or corners of objects.

Once you understand the circle of your art it becomes much easier to manipulate your environment in any situation. Naturally this is something that should be practiced on your own first with a few friends or even alone. The hardest part is learning how to flow from one movement to the next, one direction to the next without any awkward stumbling or pauses. If you do the right move with the wrong amount of space then you're in big trouble. You must practice every possibility. Then after your body has learned the system of your style you can relax and just flow.

Fighting more than one at a time

2009-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

When I was in the university teaching martial arts about 10 years ago. One of the big focuses and concerns was how to fight more than one person at a time. Realisitically if you are a bigger guy like myself, no one is going to fight you unless they feel they have the advantage. A weapon, friends or both. So in my experience with self defense I have rarely been in a one one one fight situation. There is always at least one friend hanging out in the background.

The first and most important step is a tactic that I take from ninjitsu which is awareness of your surroundings. You have to know how many exits you have, how many exits you can create, what could be utilized to your advantage. Of course when you are in the middle of a fight it is too late to analize these things. So it should be a habit that anywhere you go you are "counting" your environment. In most cases you will find you can see a potential situation developing before it escalates and your already gone.

If you are really in a life or death situation then your biggest concern should be survival. So it is important to train your movement aside from combat. Running, rolling, climbing etc. You could have the most deadly punch in the world but if you can't get from A to B it's worthless. Aside from basic mobility it is also important to learn how to stack the deck in your favor. For example if you put a table between you and your opponent you have given your self a sheild from his attacks but placed yourself in perfect kicking postion.

Also it is important to realize that you have the advantage because you have the element of surprise. Unless you are fighting against a tactical strike team which is organized and coordinated with their attack. In that case....good luck.

Fox's Online Tutorial

2009-07-04T01:09:00.001-07:00

I just set up my new website with the assistance of my good friend we call Knight.

www.foxgua.com

The website organizes things a little nicer than the blog does and later I will use both the blog and the website for new articles. In a couple of months I am setting up a very detailed on line training program so that those intrested in the art but can't find teachers can learn movements from the basics to advanced techniques. The only thing that will be needed is your own motivation to take you to the next level of understanding the art. This we you can stay armed and prepared even if you live out in Louisiana or where ever. It won't be for a couple months since I still have to take care of some little things while adjusting in Taiwan but feel free to check out the site now and I will be sure to keep updating new articles on both sites. Keep training and learning.

Real fights and "Complex movements"

2009-06-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here in my time in the states I have found most people believe that the concept that the simpler movement is the most effective movement. That many movements take to long or are too complex to remember in a real fight when your full of adrenaline. It is true that in a fight you don't have much time to think about a movement or you will freeze. However this has nothing to do with the complexity of the technique, but rather its related to how familiar you are with the technique. Also don't believe that when your adrenaline kicks in you will become some kind of werewolf with no mind at all. In fact you must always be keenly aware and mindful of your surroundings at all time. Where is your opponent? How many people might get involved once it begins? Where are my exits? How can I use the environment to my advantage? These are all things that must be immediately evaluated before your fray begins.

As for which techniques are going to be most effective, it's going to be the techniques that you have practiced the most. Muscle memory is developed after doing movements thousands and thousands of times. So at the time that you are in a battle everything should be second nature and nothing should seem complex.

Actually you can see how muscle memory works in sports. If you play basketball all the time you don't have to think about the rules. No matter how intense the game is or how much adrenaline you have going on both sides you can't just pick up the ball and start running. You have to obey the rules of the game at all times just as you have to obey the rules of your art at all times. Is Kobe Bryant thinking about dribbling while he is playing? Or is he thinking about the open opportunity. Most people don't practice as much as Kobe at basketball and may have to think about things such as passing, dribbling and shooting. A movement like passing behind the back would seem foolish for someone who has not mastered the basic passing. This is also the case with martial arts. Just remember how many thousands of years have been spent to perfect the martial arts . There is nothing that is designed to be "flashy". It is only arrogance to believe that in your short life span you can develop something better than what has already been refined for generations. This includes Bruce Lee who even though is the greatest hero of martial arts. Even after he developed his own style, he could never beat his master.

My advice is to make sure that you can do all of your techniques in real time. Have your friend start punching at you slow while you perform the counter. Do it over and over, faster and faster. Do it everyday with the same technique for a month, a year, a decade. I promise you that movement will be effective no matter how complex it may seem.

In the end I hope that all of you can understand when it is time to fight. When someone disrespects you? Betrays you? Steals your girl? Takes your money?
Of course it is up to ones own discretion to decide whether or not this is the time. When I was younger I used to fight a lot more over many different situations. As I grew wiser I was able to realize the unfairness of the situation. Even though this guy is bigger than me, stronger than me or even has friends with him, it is still unfair. I spend all of my time understanding the weak points in the body. Thousands of techniques a day trying to develop the most power and speed that is possible. Maybe this guy did call me a nigger. Maybe I do have the right to respond with force. But in the end he is only trying to fight with me because he is ignorant. No matter how angry or crazy someone is, they cannot overpower the physics of martial science. You should consider your art the same as carrying around a gun. Would you pull out your gun for any argument that you had at a bar? The techniques that you may be fiddling around with are the same ones that were used in the battle fields of China to kill thousands of soldiers. Make sure you weigh out your options.

Fox doing the Six Connecting Kicks or Six Harmony Kicks

2009-06-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

This is a small clip from a demonstration from a while back. This style is a part of our system of Gao Bagua as a supplement to teach kicking. It is known that you cannot understand soft style until you have first learned hard style. Otherwise your movements we be empty. So this lineage has many other styles that have been adopted in order to emphasize certain techniques that later could be attached to your Bagua learning. We most often use Baji, Seven Star Palm, Wu Dang Fist, Five Elements, Six Harmony Kicks, Crouching TIger Sword, Six Harmony Sword, Strange Spear, Gao's Staff, Double sticks, Qing Ping Sword etc. All of these systems are not part of our system of Bagua but all teach fundamentals needed to understand the nature of combat. I know that a lot of people don't like forms because they believe it is some sort of performance but that is not what it is designed for. Think about any form as being the ABC song. We have to learn it when we are young so that we don't forget any of the important letter when trying to spell a word. Just as a form you must take the letters and movements out so that you can begin to write your own story. So it is best to take the movements that you need the most and then practice them over and over in a combat scenario.

Master Wu Guo Zheng Doing Preheaven Demo

2009-06-25T11:16:00.001-07:00

This is a demonstration from a few years ago with my master showing a few movements from the preheaven set. Watch for his alignment of structure and how he seemlessly transfers power from his legs to his body to his hands.

Bagua Seminar in Seattle Before I Leave

2009-06-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have recieved a lot of emails from individuals that wanted me to teach them or open a school in the Seattle area. Before I leave I would love to at least provide an opportunity for individuals who are intrested to learn a major section of Gao Bagua. I am going to offer lessons for those who are dedicated from the 22nd of June untill the 26th of June in the Seattle area. I will teach the complete Heaven section which includes 8 post Heaven movements, foot work, applications for combat and Pre heaven movements. For those who have an intrest in Bagua this will be a great opportunity to begin your training. For others who are more experienced it will be an opportunity to advance your skills. All individuals with good attitudes are welcome. It will be 5 days filled with a lot of information so is it is recommended that you bring something to take notes or video record. Classes will be held for 2 hours and the total price will be 50 bucks. Making classes 5 dollars an hour. I will decide the location as the date gets closer but all of those who are intrested please make a comment or send me a personal email. It might also be a good time for you to learn more about Tian Wu Dao.