Warfox Bagua 錦園八卦掌

As I watch my sons grow and develop, naturally my martial arts enters into a new season of understanding. It's become quite obvious that both marriage and raising children offer unique challenges that bring forth a form of maturity that cannot be gained from anywhere else. Every trial we overcome in both our art or our lifestyle will lead to a new depth of growth that brings us one step closer to who we desire to be. Unfortunately, it's easiest to attempt to neglect the message within each trial, convincing ourselves that the discomfort is not what we desire and we end up closing a door that will in turn delay needed development. Whether our development offers itself in the form of marriage, martial arts, career or even prison, the underlying message will never change. In fact, as a child you will be dealing with the same issues that you will be dealing with as an adult; a repeating test that is attempting to mold the careful listener. Our society as a whole continues to ...

Firstly, let me apologize because it's been a long time since I've been able to leave some training tid-bits, advice or inspiration in here, but there are seasons for all times and currently I'm involved in my new series Master Trey's Flawless Outlaws This is a first book of eight that is directly based on the arts that my master Wu Guo Zheng (吳國正) and the Xin Zhu Jin Yuan Bagua Association (新竹錦園八卦掌協會)  have passed on to me.  Each character in the story is fiction, but roughly based on the martial arts style they represent (and a few of my dope friends and students), making a fun-filled adventure as they enter deep into a mysterious underground world packed with dangerous foes. This is just the beginning of the creation of a new martial universe that has been in the works for quite sometime. I can't give it away, but there is a lot more involved than just the novels. Yet, by picking up every piece of the Warfox puzzle, you will be able to see a much mor...

Every martial artist, regardless of style, has to form a very close and personal relationship with pain. Pain is often times viewed as a barrier that needs to be surpassed in order to raise the level of our technique. In many respects pain is a teacher, helping us identify the different problems within our art. Bruises left behind after sparring can be viewed as a map that outlines the weaknesses in our defense, dull pains can tell us when something isn't aligned, sharp pains can warn us to slow down our training. After training long enough, we begin to understand that each type of pain is as a letter of the alphabet, spelling out our journey of training. As a martial artist, pain is a crucial language because it's the method the body uses to help us prevent injury. At times injury can also be a strict instructor, and at other times it can be a thief, attempting to disqualify us from the battle that matters most. Many young warriors are seduced into danger by their own ego...

Self reflection is not only important in terms of making progress in your training, it's also beneficial to help you gauge direction by separating your own needs from the "needs" force fed to you by society. Bruce Lee often mentioned that we must use our art to honestly express ourselves, but most people have such a diluted understanding of self that this concept is drowned in many forms of false identity.  How do you determine the bad habits in your fighting style from your own personal concepts of combat? Should you accept yourself even though you are overweight? Or should you become the more physical fit version of your self to be true? As early as birth, you are trained to understand a self that may or may not be you. Are you an American? Then you must speak a certain language, be opposed to certain ideas and be supportive of your countries cause. If there is a plane crash somewhere in the world, it doesn't concern you so much because it's not related to ...

Here is a article I wrote for Temple Underground about Bagua. If you haven't subscribed to their site yet, please do. http://www.templeundergroundmagazinetum.com/#!peer-review/cfvg A Treatise on Bagua In the beginning there was Wuji or the void: nothingness. The Wuji led to the Liang Yi, which is also known as the Two Concepts or energies of yin and yang (negative and positive forces). Liang Yi led to the San Cai or the Three Principles: Heaven, Earth and Man. The Three Principles led to the Si Xiang or the Four Directions: North, South, East and West. The Four Directions led to the Wu Xing or the Five Elements: Metal, Earth, Wood, Fire and Water. The Five Elements led to the Liu He or the Six Harmonies which are the three internal energies and the three external energies. The Six Harmonies led to the Seven Stars: Alpha, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid. The Seven Stars led to the Bagua or Eight Trigrams representing the eight e...

Trying to master a technique is a journey that continues to reveal a deeper purpose for those with the will to continue their exploration of the arts. What begins as learning how to strike, quickly transforms into learning how to think. We are scientists of combat, researching for betters ways to avoid and deal damage. Although there are thousands of reasons to pursue the arts and all of the objectives may wear different skins, the goal is quite simple: progress. Through analyzing a punch or a kick you have to utilize all of your senses. First we are focused on how it looks, then how it feels, but even how it sounds will come into play quite often. Personally I've found that every time I've practiced a technique ten thousand times, it changes in nature. Something new emerges and old flaws are revealed, humbling me while inspiring me to stay focused with hopes of eventually obtaining some sense of martial satisfaction. For those who are clever enough to crack the cod...

This is my first story, which follows my martial life from 4 years old all the way to China to complete my training. Lots of good training ideas and concepts are presented as I try to find my place in the world as a martial artist. This is an inspirational story with lots of comedy to lighten the spirit. http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Dreams-Successor-Robert-Arnold/dp/1592324150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429921930&sr=8-1&keywords=robert+jay+arnold Soon I will release my first martial arts novel which is a series of eight books. Stay tuned.