Category Archives: Uncategorized

Teacher Profile – Che Qiang

Posted on March 18, 2017 by

 One of the benefits of having quit my job is that I can travel and visit masters in other parts of China. One of the teachers I had been wanting to visit for a long time is Che Qiang (车强), … Continue reading →

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Gordon Tso and Song style xingyiquan

Posted on February 18, 2017 by

Alex Kozma, the distinguished martial arts teacher and author, has produced a great interview with Gordon Tso, a Hong Kong-based teacher of Song style xingyiquan, in which Gordon talks about the history and practice of the style, how he came … Continue reading →

Posted in Shanxi xingyiquan, Song style xingyiquan, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Plateau Effect (or the Value of Aimless Practice)

Posted on January 25, 2017 by

I realize I have not updated my blog in a while – as usual, it has been a case of life getting in the way, and also not having many new insights to share! As I will be leaving China … Continue reading →

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Sifus Talking Smack

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

It is an unfortunate truth of the kungfu world that there is no necessary connection between how skilled someone is and the size of their ego. In general, my experience in the Chinese kungfu world has been that humble teachers … Continue reading →

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Wake-up call in the Chinese Jianghu

Posted on April 19, 2016 by

Several friends who have studied CMA in China have commented on the lack of a spirit of open sharing and exchange in the CMA world, particularly in China. Teachers from separate branches of the same style or even kungfu brothers … Continue reading →

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Beijing MA Trip – Dachengquan of M Deng Fuli

Posted on October 17, 2015 by

During my trip to Beijing over the Chinese National Holiday, I made several visits to Tiantan park, which is one of the hotspots of CMA activity in Beijing. In addition to the taijiquan groups which can be found in any … Continue reading →

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Becoming a Disciple – The Baishi Ceremony

Posted on October 2, 2015 by

In traditional CMA, there is a saying “the teacher observes the student for 3 years, the student also observes the teacher for 3 years” (shifu kaocha tudi san nian, tudi kaocha shifu san nian). Obviously, this doesn’t mean that in … Continue reading →

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