tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59406399557078857692024-03-12T17:51:48.711-07:00Empty Your CupA professor visited a Zen master to enquire about Zen. As the master was speaking the professor kept interupting with his own opinions. So the master served some tea. He overfilled the cup and tea went everywhere. The professor shouted "the cup is full, there is no room for more tea!" The master replied "like this cup, your mind is so full of its own opinions, there is no room for anything new, in order to taste my tea, you must first empty your cup."曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-46720027899596581042011-12-27T04:59:00.000-08:002017-03-13T19:52:50.700-07:00moved siteshi guys<br />
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from now on i will be using <a href="http://www.monkeystealspeach.com/">http://www.monkeystealspeach.com</a><br />
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here you can find all kinds of information about kung fu in china including interviews, translations of texts and theory, traditional training methods and listings of kung fu schools.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-48281653505720693972011-10-31T18:34:00.000-07:002011-10-31T18:34:26.252-07:00The Jade MasterA story my girlfriend told me:<br />
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In ancient China, when a jade craftsman would take on an apprentice they had an unusual way of training them. First, they would give the young child a piece of jade. Then, the master would read from a book; explaining the history, different kinds of jade: all the book knowledge on jade available. During the time, the young child would probably not listen, and just play with the piece of jade. after a period of time, the master would give the child another kind of jade to play with; all the while he never acknowledged the jade to the child, just read from the book and let him play. After doing this for several years, upon receiving a new piece, the child would suddenly call out "this piece isn't jade, it's just a stone!" At that time the master knew the child was ready to start crafting the jade, now he intrinsically knew the feel of jade, even if he couldn't explain why he knew if it was jade or not.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-25375138830157473262011-09-12T10:28:00.000-07:002011-09-12T10:28:03.644-07:00Motivation, Goals and BasicsAfter returning home for the summer with Master Zhou's basics to work on, I've realised I've ignored basics in the past. Now is my time to go right back to the beginning and get everything right. Basics are definitely something that every martial artist needs to train everyday, the bread and butter. Not only do they give you the correct body mechanics, but a serious session of repetition of basics, say doing Yi Bu San Chui (one step three punches) 100 times full power, 10 minutes horse stance, bow stance, stretches, kicks etc will leave you exhausted with every single muscle blasted. I've found loads of subtleties in the movements I had never thought of, a myriad of possible applications just from the most simple of movements.<br />
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The difficult thing is motivation. Forcing myself day after day to go through the same routine of the same endless amount of repetition of the same movements is boring, tiresome and horrible. But after a period of time I've started to feel the benefits. My body feels stronger, more powerful, my applications more natural and my forms smoother and nicer.<br />
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The only way I've managed to get through, is to set strong goals. Some days I get lazy, I feel like what's the point, I've done this so many times already! The only thing I can do is to remind myself of my goals and push myself through. Needless to say, I feel so much better than the days I give into my laziness, when I feel guilty and sluggish.<br />
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After all, this is the meaning of the very word kung fu. In ancient times kung fu wasn't the name of a martial art, it was an accomplishment of skill. Kung fu meant to have attained a high level through perseverance, through decades of training and refining; whether it was to make teapots, paint pictures, sword fight or even to cut vegetables, kung fu was an attainment. Through my constant training and refining, I have come to appreciate people who dedicate them to any skill, people who have that obsessive desire to perfect something. Kung fu is like a sculptor who chips away at the wood everyday, to reveal the beauty within; it's not adding on, but refining and discarding the roughness in your bodies movement.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-81813128250043477932011-09-09T06:18:00.001-07:002011-09-09T09:09:46.797-07:00<iframe class="distrify-player" frameborder="0" height="291" id="distrify-player-227" scrolling="no" src="//widgets.distrify.com/widget.html#227-2898" title="Distrify video player" type="text/html" width="460"></iframe>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-10015382927900568462011-08-10T08:59:00.000-07:002011-11-23T19:09:16.936-08:00New Beginnings<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve now trained with my master for two years. Recently, with me living far away from him and him being busier and busier, I’ve become a little frustrated. I’ve been spending long hours climbing the hill behind Ludong University to train alone; it’s been hard to keep my motivation up when I’m not learning anything new and unable to find a training partner. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfew1XGP73F9RzVlVeUpAege9skSRbFRD-pxCZhEoRz0z5B8zioWIU8Raocb4cIGJxh_ee4pN6PLhYUesha5GK3V0QzX7YCzqFKxbhoxQ13SKagAYB7tC2GsLqoj4bY7kyce3JKohvY-P1/s1600/2011%25C3%2595%25C2%25A6%25C2%25A6+066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfew1XGP73F9RzVlVeUpAege9skSRbFRD-pxCZhEoRz0z5B8zioWIU8Raocb4cIGJxh_ee4pN6PLhYUesha5GK3V0QzX7YCzqFKxbhoxQ13SKagAYB7tC2GsLqoj4bY7kyce3JKohvY-P1/s200/2011%25C3%2595%25C2%25A6%25C2%25A6+066.jpg" width="200" /></a>Right around this time fate kicked in and Kevin Brazier, a mantis teacher and historian/researcher from America, told me he was visiting Yantai to do some training and research for a book he’s writing. I jumped at the opportunity to meet with him and discuss mantis. He began to show me a lot of two person drills and principles of mantis, which I’d never been exposed to before. He also agreed to take me to meet the master he was visiting, Zhou Zhen Dong. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’d been feeling frustrated with my training, and my lack of progression, feeling that as I’m in China I should be making the most of my time here and getting as much knowledge as I can. The mantis I had been learning was very good, but I wanted to learn more about these principles and two person drills Kevin showed me. The way I had been learning before was more focussed on forms and sanda (kickboxing), and was modified from the traditional mantis. My lineage was from Master Zhang Bing Dou, who had made a lot of changes to mantis, adding a lot of Chang Quan, Xingyi and other stuff into it. It was complex and deep, but I felt it was just too eclectic and seemed to lack a core. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfx7sBMPsjVfSAfqAv8wb1yVfAksjGSUXApq5K4j7UHK-CdL3Gve9xMHGg0UxSz3BqEzVCnvR7EyVwjd9R_DviDuFaesMA4IOXb0afsPw7u_bLD8odhUmfcEM5BlSTpYRRxBR9H6TQXnJ/s1600/DSC05419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfx7sBMPsjVfSAfqAv8wb1yVfAksjGSUXApq5K4j7UHK-CdL3Gve9xMHGg0UxSz3BqEzVCnvR7EyVwjd9R_DviDuFaesMA4IOXb0afsPw7u_bLD8odhUmfcEM5BlSTpYRRxBR9H6TQXnJ/s200/DSC05419.JPG" width="160" /></a>So I met with Master Zhou, and noticed his mantis is definitely the more traditional. It seems to be more built upon a set of principles with core building blocks to help the student progress. After talking to a few of his students, including a mantis instructor from Austria called Nikki, I decided this is more for me and Master Zhou accepted me as a student, provided I start again from scratch. I then spent the next two weeks waking up at 5am to go to the park, training for 2-3 hours, then going to a field with no lighting to train from 7 to about 9 at night. During this time I would just repeat, over and over again, the basic movements. I had learnt most of these, but this time the body mechanics were different, and I was determined to make a good impression. So I would just go up and down, doing the same move over and over until I was ready to drop. It was a tough 2 weeks, and I lost some weight, but I persevered and Master Zhou was impressed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBCeREyetv3wCtKBRUbSB4zWdOyZGZs7F7MdgQHYxzmmbIiNLM_6eZ18VYjjph8ZiJscN69KaF3iZaaHSXQKUjUib0uQJwNrizxVhOMPEj0oVo0PNYQfQsFWLsaOsuEnNoL5B9Ch41Kke/s1600/cui+shou+shan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBCeREyetv3wCtKBRUbSB4zWdOyZGZs7F7MdgQHYxzmmbIiNLM_6eZ18VYjjph8ZiJscN69KaF3iZaaHSXQKUjUib0uQJwNrizxVhOMPEj0oVo0PNYQfQsFWLsaOsuEnNoL5B9Ch41Kke/s200/cui+shou+shan.gif" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Master Cui Shou Shan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Master Zhou studied from Zhang Kai Tang, who learnt two systems, Hao family meihua mantis from Hao Heng Lu and Taiji mantis from Cui Shou Shan, one of the 3 mountains of Laiyang, who were three blood brothers famous throughout China for their kung fu skills. Master Zhou had studied in secret from his master during the Cultural Revolution, facing persecution as traditional culture was banned and anyone practicing it was “part of the old” and had to be punished. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now I have returned home for the summer and I have three months to master these basic moves before I return to China ready to learn more. I’ve explained to Master Zhou that I don’t just want to learn forms (I already know sooo many), I want to get more confident in my fighting ability. I want a strong foundation of kung fu I can really use.<br />
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Sifu Kevin Brazier runs the Penglai Kung Fu School based in Florida. His website, <a href="http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/">http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com</a> contains huge amounts of research and writings on the history of praying mantis kung fu. </div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-49037312779946023852011-08-08T00:02:00.001-07:002011-11-23T19:10:07.452-08:00Interview with Kunyu Shan's Master Guo Xin Min<div class="MsoNormal">Master Guo Xin Min is a master at Kunyu Shan Kung Fu Academy, he is the successor of Grandmaster Yu Xian Hua for Jin Gang Li<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">(金刚力)</span>, a system of Qigong specialising in developing incredible power. He is the only person in the world to successfully break a slab of marble resting on tofu, and has managed many other feats of power, such as breaking marble with 2 fingers. He is also a master of Ba Ji Quan, Wing Chun and Chen Style Tai Chi. He has studied martial arts for over 30 years, and has much experience, both in performance and combat. He is currently ranked at level 8 in Chinese martial arts, and has created his own qigong techniques, which have been listed by the Chinese Martial Arts Committee. He is also vice-secretary general of the Kunyu Mountain Cultural Research Association. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He teaches Baji Quan and Wing Chun together, and has a friendly, easy going teaching style. He believes it is up to the student to get what he wants from training, and will give students back as much as they put it. His training regime includes a balance of all aspects, mainly concentrating on both forms and applications, with supplementary qigong, power training and sanda/wrestling.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">W (Will, me): Master Guo, please could you tell us about your experiences in learning kung fu:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">MG: My grandfather’s master was a monk from the Shaolin temple. He taught him several styles including monkey and Da Hong Quan. Then, during the Japanese invasion of China, my father learnt a rare style called Guan Xi Xiao Jia. My family at that time were farmers, during spring and autumn they were working on the farm, winter and summer there was no work, so they had a lot of free time and would hire travelling kung fu masters to teach them for a period of time. You see, there was a very big family in our village, which would bully the other smaller families and were like a mafia, so we learnt kung fu to protect ourselves. My father was very strong from farm work, he used to carry very heavy bags around and operate heavy machinery. He was very skilled at wrestling and locking skills. When I was very young, I saw him fight with someone, and he knocked the man flying several metres! This left a deep impression on me and I knew I wanted to learn that.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I was very young, I was often bullied, I was the youngest of several brothers and sisters, and my parents were very poor, so I didn’t get much milk as a baby. I was very weak and small, and the other children bullied me. I started kung fu at about 3 or 4 years old, but even at the age of 8, I still couldn’t fight. I spent too much time learning acrobatics and flexibility skills. When I was 8, I started to learn more practical kung fu, and when I was 10 I had my first fight. My sister was being picked on by some much older kids, so I went and beat them up. When I was a teenager I had a lot of fights with much bigger and older kids, and gained a reputation among kids in my village. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">W: Can you tell me about your qigong training:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">MG: My parents wanted me to have a good education, but I always wanted to do kung fu professionally. When I was 14, I became a student of a qigong master. He taught me Shaolin Nei Jia Yi Zhi Chan (<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">少林内家一指禅</span>shaolin 1 finger zen). I would stand in horse stance for at least an hour, with bricks on my arms. I sweated so much, there was a huge puddle underneath me, and in winter my whole body would steam. Sometimes I would even stand like this for up to 4 hours, and I could feel the Qi shooting out of my fingers. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then, when I entered high school, I changed to learn Jin Gang Li, which included martial arts, as Yi Zhi Chan was just developing qi. In 1992 I lived with my master, first I would stay with him in the holidays, later I quit school to study full time. I would do qigong in the morning and free fighting in the afternoon. After 1 year, I began to help my master to teach. In 1999 I travelled overseas to teach and perform kung fu.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">W: Your teaching focus is on Baji and Wing Chun, could you talk a bit about them:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">MG: In 1995 I felt like I wanted to learn more kung fu, so I travelled around looking at different styles. At that time I started Wing Chun. Most northern Chinese would make fun of Wing Chun, saying it’s for women and it lacks strength, so I was already biased against it. It wasn’t until 2000, that I was invited to teach some bodyguards in Guangdong, that I really came to appreciate it. You see before I was young and liked beautiful forms. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My master often travelled to Hong Kong in secret during the revolution to exchange ideas on kung fu there. So the lineage I teach is a mixture of mainland and Hong Kong Wing Chun. The big difference people notice in my Wing Chun to what they learn in the west is there is an extra form, which comes before Siu Lim Tao. This form is called Shi Er San Shou (<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">十二散手</span>12 free hands), this form gives the student the fundamentals of wing chun, it is 12 principles for combat, which are practical and easy to learn. For most of my short term students, I will teach them this form. In Guangdong they say if you just want to learn self defence, this form is enough. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the south of China, they use upper body techniques, but I am a northerner and my foundation is northern, so I like to use my legs a lot more. Traditional Wing Chun says kicks must be low, but I think that if you are good with your legs, high kicks are good too. In street fighting, low kicks are more effective, but in the ring, high kicks are better. Also, you can use a low kick, and then follow up with a high kick. They flow together. This is something I have added to the wing chun I teach.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Baji, however, I liked straight away. It’s strong, powerful and vicious. Wing Chun took me several years to appreciate. Wing Chun is like a gentleman’s art, it’s very reserved and humble. A Wing Chun fighter won’t move so much, and will act humbly. Baji is like a demon, it’s vicious, strong, and proud. So, it depends what mood I’m in as to what I practice, if I feel calm, I train my Wing Chun, if I’m excited, I train my Baji. Baji uses much more of the body than Wing Chun. In fact, Baji, Wing Chun and Taiji, in essence are very similar. Beginners can’t see that, but we all have the same body, there’s only so many ways of issuing power and moving it. In Wing Chun, we use the principle of leverage, in Taiji, it’s called Yin and Yang. They are both the same. In Baji, there are a lot of elbows and takedowns.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Baji comes from Wu Lian Zhi, native of Meng County in Hebei. He is the oldest generation still alive. Our lineage is Wu Shi Kai Men (wu style “opening the door”) Baji. In fact, our basic zhan zhuang, or standing posture, is a horse stance, with the arms held one bent up, one bent down in the figure for the character <span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">呉</span> (wu), the surname of my master.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">W: Can you talk a little about the relationship between traditional forms and modern Sanda (<span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">散打</span>kickboxing)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">MG: Many young people in China really like Sanda now. But after they train for several years, they often feel they want to develop more. This is where traditional forms come in. Forms were created by old masters by taking their fighting experience and condensing into a form, like a catalogue of fighting techniques or strategies. So a fighter can research the forms to find fighting techniques suitable for them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When you want to get a higher level, you can learn Qigong or Taiji. A lot of Sanda fighters get injuries; qigong training can help your body to heal faster, also to make it stronger and more resistant to injury. Many people who just practice hard kung fu get problems later in life, arthritis etc. I have a friend who was an iron head performer. He broke a concrete slab with his head one time and suffered a serious head injury. His face became partially paralysed and the doctors couldn’t do anything. I taught him qigong and he practiced for up to 8 hours a day! After breakfast, he would just do standing postures, and wouldn’t finish until dinner! After a period of time, his head had healed fairly well.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thank you Master Guo for sharing your knowledge and experience with us!<br />
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For more interviews like this visit <a href="http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk/">www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk</a></div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-29514743348571118822011-06-19T08:46:00.000-07:002011-11-23T19:10:52.868-08:00Interview with Shaolin Master Shi Xing Long<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rb8KjKTDkjK5LTlRRMIvIy9G8kZPMqKWYNGYes_P3wrOrTHcv536Bvbtly554YvQ1jLS-S_bwSPx3QbdGRZvwBilQnGAMizNtauyAC9eOi3HzCCpteCO9SMot5H0MEORjFf_3_N1EU5S/s1600/sanda1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rb8KjKTDkjK5LTlRRMIvIy9G8kZPMqKWYNGYes_P3wrOrTHcv536Bvbtly554YvQ1jLS-S_bwSPx3QbdGRZvwBilQnGAMizNtauyAC9eOi3HzCCpteCO9SMot5H0MEORjFf_3_N1EU5S/s320/sanda1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Shi Xing Long, aka Master Wang is a 32<sup>nd</sup> generation Shaolin master who teaches traditional shaolin kung fu and Sanda. He has a very deep knowledge of traditional shaolin and modern sanda. He has come number one in several national Chinese sanda tournaments, as well as China-Korean martial arts tournament, but he gave this up after suffering a serious back injury. He has mostly recovered now, which he puts down to Shaolin Qigong training. During his injured period, rather than wasting time, he dedicated his time to reading and researching Shaolin manuscripts given to him by his master. I first met him about two years ago when I first came to Kunyu Shan academy to learn Mantis. My first encounter with him was when he taught a Buddhism class every Friday evening. Often I was the only student who turned up, so we would discuss Zen and its connection to martial arts, as well as his own personal experience about life at Shaolin Temple. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9JJZbWE3EAQVEZGl311Cklns0y2TXQ0lNuO4lXNWOuItD8aS0Ww7WmPAgs0P9HG261_JigysY85_0t3-WdarSzxJVykFeHMiU_42GGLQTUxB3R2ar3I8sd0KShT1U4r1068AHX44mvb8/s1600/wangshifu2_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9JJZbWE3EAQVEZGl311Cklns0y2TXQ0lNuO4lXNWOuItD8aS0Ww7WmPAgs0P9HG261_JigysY85_0t3-WdarSzxJVykFeHMiU_42GGLQTUxB3R2ar3I8sd0KShT1U4r1068AHX44mvb8/s320/wangshifu2_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>He views kung fu as a way of improving people’s lives, to make them a better person, to be tougher, more confident, more polite etc. It extends to every aspect of life, not just fighting. I have seen many people change after spending some time training with him.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Master Wang was born in Shanxi province, into a very poor family. His grandfather was involved in kung fu and encouraged him to enter the temple for training at a young age. In the beginning, he was very naughty and had no interest in learning. His master would often beat him or make him spend 2 hours standing facing the wall. After his second year, he became much more focussed, beginning to mature and understand the training better. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">His master was Shi De Qian, who has passed away now. He was one of the most knowledgeable masters of Shaolin in the modern times. I managed to talk to Master Wang about his experience at Shaolin temple: learning kung fu, training with his master, and some lessons in life he learnt there….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Shifu, please could you tell us about your master, Shi De Qian:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Learning kung fu was very bitter. You had to have perseverance. Our master would test each student; he would watch them carefully during class. He wanted to find the ones with the most potential. Those students he liked, he would take his free time to give extra training and theory to. He was very traditional, and made sure we understood the theory and applications of all the forms. You have to really think about this, to do a form is easy, but you must take your own time to contemplate the features of different forms, to understand them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTW8zgNPedbGp-n-Y8o6cNIuhXJmZhKNiu0xlRTAfHSi5383khUUuhQRlVUaIVN-scyxlBC2xxq-OZOpaO5Nu6usSPp9lOf0CsOIn8zsYfqfH2iK-Xzbp1S3ZDYJdcSpJSfOiIMGdALjg/s1600/IMG_2683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTW8zgNPedbGp-n-Y8o6cNIuhXJmZhKNiu0xlRTAfHSi5383khUUuhQRlVUaIVN-scyxlBC2xxq-OZOpaO5Nu6usSPp9lOf0CsOIn8zsYfqfH2iK-Xzbp1S3ZDYJdcSpJSfOiIMGdALjg/s320/IMG_2683.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Our master was like a father, he would teach us about all aspects of life. He said we have to be men, At that time we knew how to respect our master, to help him teach new students, give him more free time. Because respecting the master is also a kind of kung fu.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Master said, as a man, you must be able to face all kinds of difficulties. Now we are older, and live in society, we slowly realise what he was teaching us. Things in life are really like our master told us, and we must be able to face these challenges.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What was it like learning kung fu in the temple:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When we learnt kung fu it wasn’t like how people learn it now. We learnt from monks, but we had to rely on ourselves to study. We all started from basics. After mastering the basics we spent a lot of time on forms. Our master made sure we understood the theory behind the forms too. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As there were many students, we all had to prove ourselves worthy of learning the higher knowledge. We were all from very poor families; we had no choice but to succeed. Also, as life was in the temple, there were no distractions from the outside world, before I was 18, I have never seen an MP3 player, and I didn’t even know what kind of clothes I would wear if I went out, as we wore our training uniforms all the time. We had to dedicate all our time to kung fu, we didn’t think about going out to play or whatever, we just cared about training hard.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You must have a lot of insights from life there, could you share some with us:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well, training kung fu is not just about fighting. It’s about being a better person. It’s about learning to master yourself. For example, when we hold stances, it’s really tough, you want to give up. But you can see everyone else is doing it, and maybe the master will hit you if you stop. This doesn’t just give you strong legs; it gives you a strong mind. You can’t just go through life giving up at the first sign of discomfort, where will that get you?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All kinds of training are like that, when we train, we train our minds, and our spirits. Training is tough and painful, but as kung fu practitioners, we must be tough, be able to go through this difficulty, then we will be able to take on any challenge life can throw at us.<br />
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For more interviews like this, visit <a href="http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk/">http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-71797774588699936852011-06-17T04:48:00.000-07:002011-11-23T19:11:53.472-08:00Principles of Taiji Meihua Mantis<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">它练起拳来,腿分明暗,手分阴阳,上下肢时时旋转,划弧,很具太极拳特点</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">上下肢时时旋转,四面环绕,出手成撮,手不单行,手的招式像</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">朵朵梅花,发劲时“张如驰”发劲结束我静止时“缩如球”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">兼有螳螂活动之长</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When you practice forms</div><div class="MsoNormal">Footwork can be clear or hidden</div><div class="MsoNormal">The hands complement each other like yin and yang</div><div class="MsoNormal">Limbs move up and down, constantly whirling</div><div class="MsoNormal">Arms draw half circles</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is the characteristics of Taiji</div><div class="MsoNormal">Limbs move up and down, constantly whirling</div><div class="MsoNormal">Attack the opponent from all sides and surround him</div><div class="MsoNormal">Combinations should flow together</div><div class="MsoNormal">The movements’ don’t just have one purpose</div><div class="MsoNormal">The hands movements represent plum flowers</div><div class="MsoNormal">Emitting power you should "open like a bow"</div><div class="MsoNormal">When the movement finishes it "contracts like a ball"</div><div class="MsoNormal">Simultaneously these hold the development of the mantis movements</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">练功时,讲究意集神发,根固枝摇。技击方面,有时手脚并用,马不停蹄向前追赶;有时四面八方冲打或上,下,左,右,缠绕。横冲直撞,左捆右缠,锤肘密布,连招带。</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During training kung fu, you must express intent and show spirit, </div><div class="MsoNormal">Body movements must have a solid foundation.</div><div class="MsoNormal">When attacking, the hands must be in harmony with the feet, </div><div class="MsoNormal">Steps should be fast like sprinting.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Strike in all directions: coiling left, right, up and down.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Step in to hit directly, locking with left hand and coiling with right hand.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Strike continuously with the cooperation of the elbows.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Every movement must have fighting intent.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">for more translations like this, visit <a href="http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk/">http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk</a> </div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-58474253959993399352011-06-12T02:07:00.001-07:002011-11-23T19:13:23.659-08:00Song of Mantis Fist<div class="MsoNormal">Song of Mantis Fist</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">太极梅花螳螂拳歌诀:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">头往上顶脖颈竖</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">会阴内收气沉腹</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">沉肩垂肘</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">含晚竖手</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">含胸拔背</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun;">形似猫扑鼠</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Tip your head, raise your neck</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hui yin point tucked in, qi in dantian</div><div class="MsoNormal">Shoulders relaxed, elbows sunken</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wrist sitting, fingers raised</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chest hollow, spine stretched</div><div class="MsoNormal">The posture's like a cat poised to catch a mouse."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is a "song" explaining the correct body posture in mantis. Traditionally once a student mastered the basics of mantis, they were expected to memorise songs like this, to help them remember the internal principles of body posture and movement. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tipping your head refers to tucking your chin in very slightly, this offers slight protection to your throat and helps you to focus your eyesight directly ahead. Raising your neck means to have a slight stretching feeling in the muscles in the back of your neck, also, you can imagine a string from the top of your head (bai hui point) pulling your spine straight (spine stretched).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The hui yin point is an acupoint just in front of your anus. The meaning of tucking this point in is to allow your hips to drop and tuck slightly forward. The feeling being your tailbone is curved slightly and your lower back is straight, rather than arched in. You should feel like you are perched on the edge of a chair, sitting into your stance, but only slightly, dont stick your groin forward, or it will be an easy target.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Relaxing the shoulders and sinking the elbows creates more power in the arms, while avoiding stiffness. “The elbows never leave the ribs” is another phrase often heard. This provides protection to the core of the body from attack, as the elbows are kept close to the body, following a pathway in line with the ribs as they move back and forth. “Wrists sitting and fingers raised” describes a guard position, a slight tweak of tension in the wrists, keeping them in position and developing potential energy at this point. The wrists shouldn’t be kept totally limp, but should have life, a small amount of tension holding them in place.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hollowing the chest is a feeling of relaxing the chest. It shouldn’t be stuck out, but at the same time, hollowing means to relax, not to force it in. This allows your Qi to sink to your dantian (mentioned in the beginning), which means to allow your breathing to become deeper using your abdomen. This increases your power, by using this to point to breathe out sharply as you emit power.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Understanding and applying these points to your posture, as well as understanding the correct use of tension and relaxation, will allow you to use your body to its maximum potential in combat, allowing you to use a greater percentage of your bodies natural power and speed. Also, you will feel more powerful, and so will be more confident.<br />
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For more translations like this, visit <a href="http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk/">http://www.monkeystealspeach.co.uk</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-83616659601878530272011-06-11T05:06:00.000-07:002011-08-01T05:08:29.215-07:00One night in Yantai<div class="MsoNormal">Before coming to Yantai, I expected to find mantis schools everywhere, it being the hometown of the kung fu style and all. This not being the case, I at least expected the university Im studying at to have a kung fu culture, but after looking around, I just found some modern Wushu and old people doing taiji. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Through the introduction of a friend, I finally found a little pocket of the kung fu atmosphere I was expecting to find here. Walking down a little back alley at dusk we came to a small courtyard with some little kids stretching their legs on a wall. There was a very old man sitting on a tiny stool smoking, who got up to greet me. This was Grandmaster Qu Zi Jun. He didn’t have the powerful, overbearing master attitude I often see in China, instead he was welcoming and humble. He invited me in to an apartment on the side of the courtyard, he said he didn’t live there, it seemed to just be full of swords, trophies and calligraphy, with boxes laying around everywhere. We sat down and I handed him a small gift of some tea and a box of milk, which is customary in China when meeting a master or person of respect. In return, he gave me a T-shirt with a mantis logo and Chinese characters on it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After chatting for a bit, we went outside and I sat and watched the class. It was mostly kids, with 2 adults; my Chinese friend and another older guy who was helping teach. Master Qu would sit and watch quietly, chatting to me and occasionally telling the kids to stop talking and giving some corrections. I didn’t want to ask too many questions on the first meeting, I was quite happy to watch and soak up the atmosphere. From watching the better kids and the adults, I could see that even as our lineages are the same: Taiji Plum Blossom Mantis, there were obvious differences in the forms and body mechanics. They seem to be more obviously “mantis-like” in their movements, and I found it a bit more appealing to the eye. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">They asked me to perform Luan Jie, which I was a bit reluctant about, I rarely review old forms, but I felt surprisingly powerful and clear in my movements and they seemed to like it. At first, the older student thought I did Seven Star mantis, but I explained it was the same lineage, just from Zhang Bing Dou of Qingdao (my master’s master). I was hoping to see some applications and more partner training, but it was mostly a kids class, I guess that’s kept for the older students, who need to prove themselves. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I guess I need to get out more and get looking for these kinds of experiences; the masters won’t come looking for me. My master is my master, but I want to gain a larger insight into mantis, and with my masters blessing, take a look at what others are doing and get more involved in the kung fu community here. Master Qu welcomed me to come back and visit again, although as he knows I already have a master, I’m not too sure what that means. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-8501104369836315822011-04-26T03:54:00.000-07:002011-11-23T19:15:41.639-08:00Interview with Master QuMaster Qu Hai is a native of Yantai, birthplace of Praying Mantis kung fu. He is a 9th generation master of Taiji-Meihua Mantis, and a disciple of Li Kun Shan’s grandson, Zhang Bing Dou. He has practiced mantis since his early teens and is also a qualified Tui Na massage therapist and acupuncturist. <br />
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Shifu, could you please talk about your experience learning kung fu:<br />
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Well, when I was young, I was always interested in kung fu, and Shandong being the home of mantis, it was only natural that I chose it. I began training in basics and forms with a local master, but he was very busy and so recommended I follow a master in Qingdao, Zhang Bing Dou. <br />
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We would train in the evenings in Masters house, training was very slow and repetitive, we would get one move and just work that until Master was happy, then he would give us another one. Sometimes he would just send us home to work on one move and tell us to come back next month, then he would look at it and say its not good enough, go back and practice! Also, my master wanted to test you, to see what kind of person you are. You have to have a good character, and strong resolve. He won’ tell you anything for a long time, just make you repeat. Maybe after a period of time he will tell you what you’re doing wrong. You see, in kung fu, you must think for yourself, its not just about asking your master all the time. <br />
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For the first year, I just worked on basics, then forms. Later, I learnt paired practice, weapons and qigong. Forms are very important; they must be done with intent. It’s this intent that separates kung fu from mere wu shu. We would take single moves from forms and repeat them over and over again. If we didn’t understand an application, Master would make us spar, just using this one move. We never had mats on the ground or gloves like you guys. You can’t be afraid of being hit. Forms and sparring are interconnected, there is a saying: “spar like you’re doing a form, do a form like you’re sparring.” This is very important. <br />
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Shifu, how did you come to learn Ba Gua?<br />
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After studying mantis for a long time and having a high level, I felt like I wanted to broaden my horizons. I began to meet with people from other styles to exchange ideas with them. I took an interest in Wuxing Tongbei and Da Cheng Quan (Yi Quan). Later, I began to read about Ba Gua Zhang. After contacting a master named Wang Shang Zhi on the internet, I travelled to Beijing to meet him. We met in a park and discussed kung fu. I felt that he had a very high level and deep understanding, and I really liked his kung fu. So I spent three years living in his home studying Yin style Ba Gua. Master Wang made and sold redwood furniture, sometimes I would help him with his work. When we trained, I was often paired up with a huge guy, who was very strong. I had to use my brain to be clever. I couldn’t defeat him with brute force. Our master focused a lot on paried practice, and feeling the opponent. We learnt through doing and feeling, rather than explanations. The point was that if you got hit, you learnt something. Maybe your guard was down, maybe you left yourself open. So you wouldn’t do that again. Slowly you would learn and improve.<br />
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There is much talk about the differences between internal and external kung fu, what are your thoughts?<br />
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Actually there is no difference really. The names “internal” and “external” came about after the twentieth century. You must have internal and external together, internal power comes from correct body mechanics, and from intent. When you practice forms, you must have the intent of fighting. Don’t just do the movements, imagine there is an opponent, make your movements fast and flow together. In a fight you don’t stop after each punch, the same in forms. You can do three or four movements within one body movement. This is real kung fu, its not step 1, step 2, step 3 like you see in a magazine. That is just a beginner’s level. Also, you must use muscular power together with intent; you need to train power. Take Taiji for instance, most people think its all soft and powerless, in fact real Taiji training is tough and has high demands for power training. All kung fu is the same, you need a strong body to generate power, and you need intent to use your power.<br />
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Shifu, I find it difficult to explain mantis to people, it’s quite an eclectic style:<br />
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Well, basically, mantis takes the principles of how a praying mantis will catch it’s pray as a foundation. As mantis was created quite late, it was able to further absorb the strong points of other styles to add to this foundation. It is heavily influenced by Chang Quan, Tongbei Quan, Taiji Quan as well as others. The body must move as a whole unit, using circular movements, half circles and spirals, as well as the unity of opposites, such as forward and backwards, opening and closing etc. <br />
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And what about the differences between the different branches:<br />
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In fact, in the beginning, there was no separation of different branches. Liu He (6 harmonies) mantis was created fairly early, it has a different syllabus and principles to the other branches. Qi Xing (7 stars) and Taiji separated much later, and in fact the similarities are greater than the differences. Taiji and Meihua is pretty much the same thing, its only personal preferences as to the name used. Qi Xing uses the principle of body parts relating the 7 stars (the big dipper), and that these 7 parts should move in union. Taiji uses the principles of Yin and Yang, or opposites, like left and right, forward and backward, so that the body moves harmoniously and generates the most power. Meihua refers the footwork and hand methods; that they move in a plum blossom shape, attacking the opponent from different sides. All the styles have long and short, hard and soft, the principles are the same. It’s just like if I teach 5 of you, you will have Will mantis, Eric mantis, etc, you all have your own characteristics. <br />
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Shifu, how did you come to learn Chinese medicine?<br />
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In fact, my first master suffered from a bad lower back, so I wanted to learn massage to help him. Later, my interest grew and I saw how deep it is. I went to Jinan and later to Beijing, to gain my qualifications in Chinese medicine. <br />
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Finally, Shifu, can you tell me what you think the benefits of Mantis are:<br />
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Well, it can harmonise your body, kung fu exercises your body as a whole. Not only that but it is good for self defence, health preservation and making yourself stronger in body and mind. It can help you to become a better person, improve your heart and mind. You will be able to face whatever challenges life throws at you with a very peaceful and calm mind. You won’t be so stressed and worried, and will have more confidence in yourself. <br />
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Shifu, thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with us!<br />
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For more interviews like this, visit <a href="http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk/">http://monkeystealspeach.co.uk</a>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-81396323672625044222010-05-29T22:13:00.000-07:002010-05-29T22:13:07.735-07:00Jin Gang Li Gong, Iron Strength QigongThe style of Qigong I practice is called Jin Gang Li. It is a martial art Qigong, which means there is a large focus on building up and developing internal power. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnERW9TbIh7SNH7herMWNLzgb0XGWtjqj-XVCrpye_yL6AUTikKdxgHkWacPJ8zXO7YQvQwNWQPIV3Vo_A1xNJE4UkPQd75stan3cI2ttNCUbbL2efkbxdVSt7PAPOJa-Vn_vwflIADD1/s1600/IMG_2640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnERW9TbIh7SNH7herMWNLzgb0XGWtjqj-XVCrpye_yL6AUTikKdxgHkWacPJ8zXO7YQvQwNWQPIV3Vo_A1xNJE4UkPQd75stan3cI2ttNCUbbL2efkbxdVSt7PAPOJa-Vn_vwflIADD1/s200/IMG_2640.JPG" width="200" /></a>The main method of practice is standing posture, where you hold your hands in front of your chest as if holding a ball and a bent knee stance with the toes turned in slightly. This strengthens the leg muscles and after years of practice condenses the bones. While standing, we focus on building and strengthening the Dan Tian, which is the area of the lower belly, beneath the navel. There are actually three Dan Tians, but the lower one is the foundation, the part of your body where Qi is stored. The lower Dan Tian is strengthened through concentration on that area and deep breathing. You must breathe all the way down into your lower belly, expanding it. After a while of dedicated practice, you will begin to feel warm, numb or inflated feelings in your lower belly. This means Qi is beginning to accumulate here. It is recommended you stand for a bare minimum of 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours will give you greater benefits. It also requires long term persistence, you wont get any benefit just doing it on and off, it must be done daily. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There are also supplementary moving forms and sitting meditation. The sitting meditation focuses on using the mind to guide the Qi through different channels in the body. The moving forms help to strengthen the body, open meridians and release power. The first moving form is a collection of six basic movements which do all of the above. Then, there is the Sun form, which opens the meridians between the hands and the lower Dan Tian and increases the Qi flow there. The next form is the Moon form, which is taught once the middle Dan Tian, located at the solar plexus is opened. The middle Dan Tian acts as a kind of pump, it helps send your Qi from your lower Dan Tian to different arts of your body. The Moon form helps to open and strengthen the middle Dan Tian and the chest. The next step is the Heaven form, which focusses on releasing power. A a higher level, once your lower and middle Dan Tians are both full, you can work on the upper Dan Tian, orthird eye. This is located between the eyes, and is said to be the gateway into developing more esoteric powers, such as being able to send you Qi out of your body and other skills. I have been fortunate enough to feel this, when I had lower back trouble, while standing in Qigong, Master Guo would come over and press his thumbs into my back every day for a week. I got a feeling of intense heat coming from his thumbs into my back and my whole got a hot flush and I started sweating intensely.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJF3QH4sN2HxpvxvHayGFZgjqv3va2GDMOWmYtFb-usYQL1KDGtPncADZ5mI0C3aM4m_nr90Z5hHEuMaGx-QL_2eK4AEBj3iZsMNEFf_dO8mT1Gzhyphenhyphen7Cief1pE03xnZXU2v8hcimkjIx2/s1600/qigong4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJF3QH4sN2HxpvxvHayGFZgjqv3va2GDMOWmYtFb-usYQL1KDGtPncADZ5mI0C3aM4m_nr90Z5hHEuMaGx-QL_2eK4AEBj3iZsMNEFf_dO8mT1Gzhyphenhyphen7Cief1pE03xnZXU2v8hcimkjIx2/s200/qigong4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Another important part of Jin Gang Li is Iron Shirt training, which is conditioning the body to withstand blows. Any part of the body can be conditioned, such as the back, ribs, stomach, arms, palm, fingers, even the head. Advanced practitioners can take full power kicks to the stomach or ribs, have sticks broken over their back, break metal bars over their heads and more.<br />
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Jin Gang Li is an art which is being practiced less and less. Master Guo told me that nowadays, young martial artists want to do acrobatics and kickboxing, nobody wants to stand on one spot for long periods of time, so the art is not spreading. There are many westerners who come to our academy and they learn Qigong from Master Guo, but few will be around long enough to get a high level in the system. In 8 months I have got to focussing on the middle Dan Tian and the Moon form, but with my main focus being Mantis Kung Fu, I dont have the time to really focus on Qigong. Perhaps in the future, when my Kung Fu is much better, I can spend some time to focus more on this interesting art.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-4604997125686202332010-05-13T02:22:00.000-07:002010-05-13T02:26:29.835-07:00Some books I recommend on martial arts<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0804831386&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Sword Polishers Record-Way of Kung Fu: This is on of my favourite books on Kung Fu. It is written by a master named Adam Hsu, who teaches a number of traditional northenr styles, such as Baji, Xing Yi and Chen Style Taiji in America. This is a compilation of years of articles hes written on Kung Fu, such as principles, philosophy, purpose of forms, role of a teacher and senior students, culture etc. I really like this book as it relates to any style of Kung Fu and is a treasure chest of knowledge about real, traditional Kung Fu. He dispels a lot of historical myths, explains the misunderstandings about what constitutes internal and external, northern and southern, describes principles common to all Chinese martial arts as well as so much more. If you read one book on Kung Fu it should be this one.<br />
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<span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0743245512&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span>A Tooth from the Tigers Mouth: This book is a good supplement for martial arts training. It deals with treatment of sports injuries using Traditional Chinese Medicine. Firstly it introduces the principles of TCM and the common practices, then the later sections deal with treatments for common injuries, using pressure points, herbal medicines, ointments, massage and more.<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0804831106&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>The Tao of Gung Fu: A compilation of Bruce Lees earlier writings, this book is packed full of Bruces thoughts on martial arts, styles, famous masters of the past as well as techniques he used in Jun Fan Gung Fu before he created JKD. It is packed full of philosophy and theory for martial arts and is good for all Kung Fu practitioners.<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0865681740&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Xing Yi Nei Gong: This book advertises itself as presenting a set of supplementary internal strengthening excercises for internal martial arts. However, it does much more than that, containing translations of all the Xing Yi classes, which I have found very helpful, as a lot of the internal concepts relate to any style, I think practicioners of any style will find this book interesting and useful, especially for internal arts.<br />
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Whirling Circles of Ba Gua: Although this presents Cheng style Ba Gua and I practice Yin style, I still found this book interesting. It had a good section on the history and central philosophies of Ba Gua, demonstrates <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1583941894&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>the 8 Mother Palms, 8 Palm Changes as well as some applications and weapons. The theory/philosophy is excellent and the end portion of the book has translations of the Ba Gua classics, which have been indispensable to training.<br />
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曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-53904271185524639072010-05-01T22:26:00.000-07:002010-05-01T22:26:05.252-07:00A Look into Mantis Fist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MKcyEhzKUrsRJlyi6Hp0FdWKMZ3IDKc5LO20HnWMVpWPNjE9qQRfgpiCooINYySR-8qfBTzxSsxLg53x6mCLVB98fsektULtcDIyp2a22biY_F0beYVJYmTWo6L31gxtZrDmAukxQ0JL/s1600/IMG_2814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MKcyEhzKUrsRJlyi6Hp0FdWKMZ3IDKc5LO20HnWMVpWPNjE9qQRfgpiCooINYySR-8qfBTzxSsxLg53x6mCLVB98fsektULtcDIyp2a22biY_F0beYVJYmTWo6L31gxtZrDmAukxQ0JL/s200/IMG_2814.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div>I feel that now Ive been learning mantis for more or less 7 months, Im beginning to get a bit of an idea what it is all about. To an outsider, 7 months may sound like a long time, but anyone who has studied Kung Fu will know that it just the beginning of a very long journey. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Master Qu teaches slowly and thoroughly, and he doesnt always tell you things at first. Before, I thought that a teacher should tell you everything, but now I see that its not good to know things too early, you probably wont appreciate or understand them. When I practice forms, he is very thorough, I get one move at a time, and I need to practice that one move until its right, then I get the next one. In some cases, I have spent 2-3 weeks with no new move to my form. While this is frustrating, repetition is very important, to develop good body mechanics, good posture and correct use of power. It also develops patience and determination, as you have to earn the next move. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcrufYu-uFUkk9MPZWR2-WJfWX0LPwJTeZSp1P5d_JHqvBepHs9mw3gBNm0hgWdfkpdhE2HcJt1dN53EQV6iTDZ-2b3rfOtkZD3diPunonj0q997kuvF2zG8-RFisgB6vHUnBOoGRV4XH/s1600/tanglang4_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcrufYu-uFUkk9MPZWR2-WJfWX0LPwJTeZSp1P5d_JHqvBepHs9mw3gBNm0hgWdfkpdhE2HcJt1dN53EQV6iTDZ-2b3rfOtkZD3diPunonj0q997kuvF2zG8-RFisgB6vHUnBOoGRV4XH/s200/tanglang4_1.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a>Mantis uses a lot of trapping and controlling techniques, it has some similarities to Wing Chun in this respect, although Wing Chun is very linear, Mantis is more circular. While to an outsider, the application of the two arts may look similar, the ideas behind it are very different. Wing Chun is based on the principle of economy of motion, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, which is the same idea as Xing Yi Quan. Mantis on the other hand uses the idea that circular movements generate more power, akin to Taiji. Every movement uses the whole body in a twisting motion, starting from the feet and twisting from the waist. Each movement sets you up for the next one, like a swinging door. This also uses the centreline principle, except slightly differently from Wing Chun. In Mantis, the centreline is the core of the body, which is the axis for any rotation of the body. </div><br />
Mantis footwork is very powerful, but agile. Every step is light, yet strong, and provides power for the attacking arms.. The weight is not fixed on any particular leg, but is free to move between the two depending on the situation. For example if I straight punch from my front arm, the weight comes slightly forward, a hook punch from the back arm would bring the weight back again as the body twists. It has similarities in this aspect to the footwork of Ba Gua Zhang, which is why Master Qu teaches these arts together, as they are complementary.<br />
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Another interesting thing in Mantis is that despite the fact that on the surface it is vicious, fast and powerful, it is most definitely an internal art. Qigong is an important part of Mantis, standing postures provide the base for this, and then later on there are many movements, designed to strengthen the tendons of the body, open up the channels and meridians and develops deep, abdominal breathing, which strengthens the diaphragm and internal organs. Qigong not only develops these, but quietens the mind, giving clarity of thought and teaches you how to use your intent to generate much greater power than just the muscles. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp1DSZuMz4dsRC1vWomqrdh66HJ-CX5B3G5Yk_BC66jlx38s8PRBLmO6i9FmAEDlKzxhdRECZrRprAr9QqJkCeuZq8R_ve5asiWTM3a8xeW3nA69Gm4K456Sot6rYoIJjUjqupJcMcd0d/s1600/DSC_5036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp1DSZuMz4dsRC1vWomqrdh66HJ-CX5B3G5Yk_BC66jlx38s8PRBLmO6i9FmAEDlKzxhdRECZrRprAr9QqJkCeuZq8R_ve5asiWTM3a8xeW3nA69Gm4K456Sot6rYoIJjUjqupJcMcd0d/s200/DSC_5036.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div>The thing I like most about Mantis is that it is a very complete system. It contains elements of everything I want from martial arts, harmonizes the internal and external, develops powerful internal energy, is practical for fighting, good excercise for the body, is incredibly effective and vicious and looks stunning when performed well. It is a very complex art, not just the surface movements, but inside too. There is much more going on that what you see when being performed.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-46550635170480603202010-05-01T20:41:00.000-07:002010-05-01T20:41:37.737-07:00Finally, a good book in English on Mantis!<span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=emptyyourcu0d-21&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1583942408&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>I just bought this book on Mantis. It is the first book I've found in English that is actually good and interesting. It explains the history, putting a lot of myths about its so called connections to Shaolin to rest, and explains it according to its Taoist principles and as an internal art. Another nice thing about the book, is how it draws similarities between Mantis and Taiji, and has examples of the similarities throughout. This is something not many people are aware of, but something my master has mentioned. </span><br />
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<span>I hope that practitioners of Mantis, and also Taiji or any Kung Fu or martial art can get a copy of this book, its a really good read.</span>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-71631803133767894202010-03-26T22:03:00.000-07:002010-03-27T19:19:39.631-07:00Seven Stars Green Tea in Guilin, home of South Chinas most picture-perfect scenery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYzf1N1rANixHw8KmGmvp9IE5ysuCsFEW0k-p4TYxwXg28fCd_9J5fLpo8AB0sr6BC_YcR_3EbJ9IM9S4RRqxM5me-GYcbGBl8ADVa-gMnLmDf-A7ClqOTm1xGhC4d_h4SoDmqaWfoPk/s1600/IMG_0352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYzf1N1rANixHw8KmGmvp9IE5ysuCsFEW0k-p4TYxwXg28fCd_9J5fLpo8AB0sr6BC_YcR_3EbJ9IM9S4RRqxM5me-GYcbGBl8ADVa-gMnLmDf-A7ClqOTm1xGhC4d_h4SoDmqaWfoPk/s200/IMG_0352.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">While travelling with my friends in Guangxi province, southwest China, I was in the small backpacker-mecca of Yangshuo, nestled on the side of the Li River, in Guilin county, home to some of most well known scenery in all of Asia. Along the river, huge limestone karst peaks jut up into the air, giving the landscape a surreal beauty. The surrounding area is home to many of Chinas ethnic minorities, people who have a very distinct culture, lifestyle and language compared to the majority Han Chinese, who compose 90% of the population. Some of these minorities include the Zhuang people, Chinas largest minority and the Yao, famous for the womens really long hair. The town of Yangshuo, which is largely comprised of traditional white-washed houses, has become a backpackers paradise in recent years, with the main street, Xi Jie (west street) coming to refer more to the fact that is is full of westerners than that it is on the west of town. But several minutes of cycling will take you away from the western cafes, bars and hostels and into pristine countryside, where rice paddies and buffalos dominate, with the huge karsts jutting up randomly. </div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IKCFibppCQcaMAetN4ouK2i7vPjeIo1MBQfeGwC1Kfrl_-2rfEsUtvip6X-WovTufzUZ74DdoJ5Z1M-m0wlnahhms0_-XR5otkS_QDLvVkxIG99cjaoJwemGS58JDenCnADwlw5iBGM/s1600/IMG_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IKCFibppCQcaMAetN4ouK2i7vPjeIo1MBQfeGwC1Kfrl_-2rfEsUtvip6X-WovTufzUZ74DdoJ5Z1M-m0wlnahhms0_-XR5otkS_QDLvVkxIG99cjaoJwemGS58JDenCnADwlw5iBGM/s200/IMG_0426.JPG" width="186" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwlXWsWFNR5nmJohCXV1yizeohLaVB0Cc9bDqMnoT9pOt3VNlsdO9NgX-TWA3E-8lCom-QXaKPaB4o4YTCGZxn6Y2amkZ37MwIVYpxUMqVpSrZVw2XaeEVM9Ryhi0KRbQ6vAwuILmuQ_c/s1600/IMG_0601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwlXWsWFNR5nmJohCXV1yizeohLaVB0Cc9bDqMnoT9pOt3VNlsdO9NgX-TWA3E-8lCom-QXaKPaB4o4YTCGZxn6Y2amkZ37MwIVYpxUMqVpSrZVw2XaeEVM9Ryhi0KRbQ6vAwuILmuQ_c/s200/IMG_0601.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Zm03CEStjK4z8lySKW7EJ7L7_vpsMzsCVKbwLSN5AsqI5v8n3Q3lDsF-D8j0mHMCFIOJcHaAwRZWKM898xyIOjy28OI6vKUjR5en5JD0XWPOEqu3AzASN8JF-ivnUy3X5GmXAVmJVs/s1600/IMG_0357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Zm03CEStjK4z8lySKW7EJ7L7_vpsMzsCVKbwLSN5AsqI5v8n3Q3lDsF-D8j0mHMCFIOJcHaAwRZWKM898xyIOjy28OI6vKUjR5en5JD0XWPOEqu3AzASN8JF-ivnUy3X5GmXAVmJVs/s200/IMG_0357.JPG" width="186" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">One evening I was walking along the street and I noticed a small teashop, called Seven Stars, so I decided to take a look and was invited by the owner, Annie Zhou, to sit down and try the local tea, Cuiyu, which is grown by her family in the nearby countryside. It had a distinct chestnutty taste with a clear green colour and the leaves were coated in small white furs. Her brothers plantation was opened in 2000, when he realised that as living standards were higher, people could afford to drink high quality tea. The plantation now covers 40 hectares of mountainside nearby Jiaobalin, a small village outside of town.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PajJsK2gOW6WAi7OfIL06oD6cTKGaeDZupqv-5-p6DviXI7PtvNnnG0c6z7576qRh5i5dIAMRB-rTltHENwbalSbtkf7Jx8GCeyyfRuK2e6zw3hn30YRCmLfJFttkmaQBRuJXy_RW8A/s1600/7starteahouse03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PajJsK2gOW6WAi7OfIL06oD6cTKGaeDZupqv-5-p6DviXI7PtvNnnG0c6z7576qRh5i5dIAMRB-rTltHENwbalSbtkf7Jx8GCeyyfRuK2e6zw3hn30YRCmLfJFttkmaQBRuJXy_RW8A/s200/7starteahouse03.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNcXoehWkoW0BwTqdAhxxJQm-qLSJ17TUtcjJb7DLQgPmsefcVq89YTafr16cTPocryI8tfreo2phd3Cn4QhKZFq5J88Jmfjvs4e66d3Vns5DQNKph_ICz6Yf01L1R9AHfRlRiXyE6jA/s1600/7starteahouse04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNcXoehWkoW0BwTqdAhxxJQm-qLSJ17TUtcjJb7DLQgPmsefcVq89YTafr16cTPocryI8tfreo2phd3Cn4QhKZFq5J88Jmfjvs4e66d3Vns5DQNKph_ICz6Yf01L1R9AHfRlRiXyE6jA/s200/7starteahouse04.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>Annie can organise tours of the nearby area, including the tea plantations and she will often perform the tea ceremony for visitors, where you can sample many different teas in a relaxed atmosphere.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-73149804890208268352010-03-21T22:36:00.000-07:002010-03-27T19:21:20.054-07:00Wu Dang Mountains, Mystical Retreat of Taoism, Ancestral Home of Tai Chi, A Centre of Tea<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY6rsTDLAywKCFs_WFdAwoqGEkDLCcHYLifFv8CEh_9ZaXPUyyofJX8Gt-RVZLNEgXO5vwDpcQvtelt5swAASUzWrXQxNvv2UNMrgabH7Cz-75gErIGTP5F1QMWNAGO8lZsjaNINhtnU/s1600-h/taiji13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY6rsTDLAywKCFs_WFdAwoqGEkDLCcHYLifFv8CEh_9ZaXPUyyofJX8Gt-RVZLNEgXO5vwDpcQvtelt5swAASUzWrXQxNvv2UNMrgabH7Cz-75gErIGTP5F1QMWNAGO8lZsjaNINhtnU/s200/taiji13.jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Many people who are familiar with China or martial arts will know that spread throughout the 72 peaks of Wu Dang are numerous Taoist temples, meditation retreats and Kung Fu schools. But what is lesser known is that this mountain range is home to some exceptional teas.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaUu1Pf6-bFiDfuPaNkCOl0e03w_Dqs2Qah-CBeOpQ2g5Ne0dywyK_YcVy7Fu2tjxk2DaMe8qSL8FEdRdWkQhnC6On5QuZSDwpbUBBxnACa6dVolo7vEQH0XbdzaevqfpyOY0ivd6eLg/s1600-h/n586615898_168177_4067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaUu1Pf6-bFiDfuPaNkCOl0e03w_Dqs2Qah-CBeOpQ2g5Ne0dywyK_YcVy7Fu2tjxk2DaMe8qSL8FEdRdWkQhnC6On5QuZSDwpbUBBxnACa6dVolo7vEQH0XbdzaevqfpyOY0ivd6eLg/s200/n586615898_168177_4067.jpg" vt="true" width="186" /></a>For centuries Wu Dang has been shrouded in secrecy, the Taoist monks who live here have practiced Qigong, a kind of esoteric excercise combining soft movements, breathing techniques and meditation, for centuries. Around 1000 years ago an immortal named Zhang San Feng was said to find his way to this place, where he brought his Kung Fu. But after witnessing a fight between a snake and a crane he was inspired by the graceful and flowing movements of the animals and so was said to have created the "internal" branch of martial arts, which doesnt rely on brute power or strength, but on yielding to force and developing Qi, an intrinsic energy in the body. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGkehfvRG69Prne5U5InCH75J8oRq_zSk19vRGYFRUYKifFNisCj2gMbg93kNEXLcGNw8ijDDGQgGlFPuyFwY1dWriTvuF0Qiug_zgiMKsFdPJHdAhRUdiguGoweVb0GMlE_XOUTaN_o/s1600-h/n586615898_168181_5024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGkehfvRG69Prne5U5InCH75J8oRq_zSk19vRGYFRUYKifFNisCj2gMbg93kNEXLcGNw8ijDDGQgGlFPuyFwY1dWriTvuF0Qiug_zgiMKsFdPJHdAhRUdiguGoweVb0GMlE_XOUTaN_o/s200/n586615898_168181_5024.jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a>he martial arts developed and grew, and so did the monasteries on the mountains, with Wu Dang becoming a centre of many Taoist academic studies, not just martial arts but also medicine, fortune telling and agriculture. Of course with a refined understanding of the cycles of change in nature and the seasons, the monks were able to grow outstanding crops, one of which was tea, which survives to this day.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynA8Opt2kBP1UwmgceKzGrDoKZN9z3GUG-YnWOCosYK1bx8rbYHvbtQmq8S_v_Tj8xc8cVxirBqV25bZRIn3YNBXPtzNwp-TWoWgzui4CD-vu7a-h221EuCASFPwz2KXGeW3rND1kgV8/s1600-h/n586615898_168148_7208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynA8Opt2kBP1UwmgceKzGrDoKZN9z3GUG-YnWOCosYK1bx8rbYHvbtQmq8S_v_Tj8xc8cVxirBqV25bZRIn3YNBXPtzNwp-TWoWgzui4CD-vu7a-h221EuCASFPwz2KXGeW3rND1kgV8/s200/n586615898_168148_7208.jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCclqenSokN_cQ0zix3gaUF8O6sK0Va4mmyIdCaqlggf11w-3wmadN2p6nR0LCkWbbIop0crx8MwSiPGaL3IOP-0dGEFm_oZdOhs_FC1vFtFIzjkGlYO9lZshS35__kVj4dSBCFGltiP8/s1600-h/n586615898_168189_6949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCclqenSokN_cQ0zix3gaUF8O6sK0Va4mmyIdCaqlggf11w-3wmadN2p6nR0LCkWbbIop0crx8MwSiPGaL3IOP-0dGEFm_oZdOhs_FC1vFtFIzjkGlYO9lZshS35__kVj4dSBCFGltiP8/s200/n586615898_168189_6949.jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a>At Wu Dang over 20 different kinds of tea are produced, all of which are organic and grown according to ancient taoist agricultural methods.They have many varieties of green tea, including Zhen Jing, Kung Fu and also wulong and black teas. I would love to see these teas become better known and spread, and hopefully in the future I will make them available to the west, so let me know if you are interested.</div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-70222423258374372502010-03-20T22:58:00.000-07:002010-03-27T19:21:59.070-07:00Huang Shan, Yellow Mountain surrounded by a sea of clouds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKExkcxo2lIptI6HO4041n9Sm7xBUqf-52zhyUMJNILbVHplXnGHcWJnQ6K7s0SOV9wjiZ4M4R7rzQOr6gE9_a9kWNJdKvioX-2z-JvbTE6njDYBNWZebtwSPfUjCRKATr1tSGmRJgH8Y/s1600-h/484px-Huangshan_fengjing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKExkcxo2lIptI6HO4041n9Sm7xBUqf-52zhyUMJNILbVHplXnGHcWJnQ6K7s0SOV9wjiZ4M4R7rzQOr6gE9_a9kWNJdKvioX-2z-JvbTE6njDYBNWZebtwSPfUjCRKATr1tSGmRJgH8Y/s200/484px-Huangshan_fengjing.jpg" vt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZs2NCUbQhFNfYykjCWiXABxfi1Qj6UVn9ehyphenhyphen1gozGHxxTjvItYDPytS1HaIEJftxbSV2_5pqrsSLNyoQVYqjgHt3p28aDk3owBc-D9V4-0lK8WeVk9XyNH7mnL1d80mdQBC4Qz239XM/s1600-h/800px-Huangshan_pic_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZs2NCUbQhFNfYykjCWiXABxfi1Qj6UVn9ehyphenhyphen1gozGHxxTjvItYDPytS1HaIEJftxbSV2_5pqrsSLNyoQVYqjgHt3p28aDk3owBc-D9V4-0lK8WeVk9XyNH7mnL1d80mdQBC4Qz239XM/s200/800px-Huangshan_pic_4.jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a>Huang Shan is probably the famous mountain in China. It has inspired poets and artists for centuries and even the Yellow Emperor, mythical founder of China and Taoism was said to have become a recluse here. The peaks of the mountain jut up into the sky and are often surrounded by clouds, giving it a mystical, heavenly feel when at the top. There is a phenomenon known as Buddhas light which can occur, where a persons head can become surrounded by a rainbow of light, resembling a halo. This is caused by a refraction of light. The mountain is also famous for its sunrise scenesand hot springs.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKeqS7_6TyCgy3hQBMneBjV8-odjU1F3em5tChD197IptyZc6UXpXp9qDD3zjyPXtS2QaOSUCU7VFX-QkEOuEklYwt47G-KBnGE6WCQixCbdEp_JyslD8KKW05iqir9R6GNeC9VKdpZw/s1600-h/800px-Maofeng_(medium_grade,_spring_2007).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKeqS7_6TyCgy3hQBMneBjV8-odjU1F3em5tChD197IptyZc6UXpXp9qDD3zjyPXtS2QaOSUCU7VFX-QkEOuEklYwt47G-KBnGE6WCQixCbdEp_JyslD8KKW05iqir9R6GNeC9VKdpZw/s200/800px-Maofeng_(medium_grade,_spring_2007).jpg" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Of course the moutain is home to a variety of teas, most of which are listed in the 10 famous teas of China. Huang Shan Mao Feng is a light green tea with a slight smoky aroma. Mao Feng translates as furry peak, describing the appearance of the processed leaves. Taiping Houkui is another green tea,, grown around Taiping Lake (ultimate peace lake) which has extremely long, large leaves. It has a stronger flavour and can be brewed up to 8 times. Qimen Hong Cha is a black tea grown in Qimen village close to the mountain, and has a rich, brandy like flavour. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfQ44_g-Bw8n5yozh016e3t9Hgf6uQNmrUyCxAqzA0-Y5oeFxXEr0G3Sj8FBxjCjKh0l97Y5c3A4MTehWF2jAvLG6jvn0MA5tI9a14aX-_IHFy3BZSYtfXm_Wm1PZbj0WBtZUYQhQhc/s1600-h/IMG_3097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfQ44_g-Bw8n5yozh016e3t9Hgf6uQNmrUyCxAqzA0-Y5oeFxXEr0G3Sj8FBxjCjKh0l97Y5c3A4MTehWF2jAvLG6jvn0MA5tI9a14aX-_IHFy3BZSYtfXm_Wm1PZbj0WBtZUYQhQhc/s200/IMG_3097.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a>One that i didnt mention in the 10 famous teas, but is also well known is Liu An Gua Pian, a very light green tea. This isnt from Huang Shan itself, but a nearby area called Liu An county. Gua Pian translates as Melon Seed, referring to the appearance. The tea is unique in that doesnt use the top leaf, but the second one down, the central vein is remove and it is pan fried to dry.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxt0R_BVN0e-d0v6bx1SBPbkPr4jzMBosmOkxrsS1kXIlTsvt5qqSZuUFr5y_S9ARY_mytyYxfXwuWzeqovfyqiTuXSCUNxUS6fsgP8ndi9MD9kw3OaUVZiclnmc0J8lwaj_hy8eiroY/s1600-h/DSC_1430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxt0R_BVN0e-d0v6bx1SBPbkPr4jzMBosmOkxrsS1kXIlTsvt5qqSZuUFr5y_S9ARY_mytyYxfXwuWzeqovfyqiTuXSCUNxUS6fsgP8ndi9MD9kw3OaUVZiclnmc0J8lwaj_hy8eiroY/s200/DSC_1430.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The surrounding area is known as Huizhou and has a strong local culture and identity. It is famous for its calligraphy and inkstones (above), as well as its unique architechture of white washed houses with ornate wooden carvings inside. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed in this area, in both Huang Shan and a Huizhou village called Hongcun. Teapots, carved from Huang Shan rock are also produced locally, photos below.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQlDHY4Ro67x-S8gIba0wcVA5C-TgRQVXMx2Ar7Ne8RIH11bq2ZxNGdXJh2Q7SQLeXOhWBAf0u4H_LRbBaL7MIOF4_6cW-8hOPiiylMmnOWj9ujVO-dw_-X20Dtha6g11WzA7_QKkbNo/s1600-h/IMG_3021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQlDHY4Ro67x-S8gIba0wcVA5C-TgRQVXMx2Ar7Ne8RIH11bq2ZxNGdXJh2Q7SQLeXOhWBAf0u4H_LRbBaL7MIOF4_6cW-8hOPiiylMmnOWj9ujVO-dw_-X20Dtha6g11WzA7_QKkbNo/s200/IMG_3021.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-47102945152440642542010-03-20T22:32:00.000-07:002010-03-27T19:22:55.801-07:0010 Famous Teas of ChinaOver the centuries, tea connoseurs in China have compiled lists of their favourite and highest quality teas. These lists have been compiled, edited and changed, but as yet there is no complete standard list, although the most common 10 are presented here.<br />
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Xihu Longjing, or West Lake Dragon Well is pretty much always number 1. It is a green tea with a rich, nutty taste that is grown on the mountains around West Lake, in Hangzhou city, eastern China. The tea leaves have a unique flat appearance and are crumbly in the fingers.<br />
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Huang Shan Mao Feng, or Yellow Mountain Furry Peak is grown on Huang Shan, a beautiful mountain in Anhui, central China, which is famous for having many famous tea varieties grown here. Mao Feng is a much lighter tea than Long Jing with a more delicate flavour. The tea has a very slightly smoky aroma.<br />
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Taiping Houkui, is a tea which is grown on Lake Taiping (ultimate peace), in Huang Shan. It is unusual in that the leaves are unusually large and long. It has a rich flavour and can be brewed up to 8 times, unique among green teas.<br />
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Qi Men Hong Cha, is a black tea (red tea in Chinese), which is from Qimen, a village close to Huang Shan. It has a rich, almost brandy like flavour and is good for warming the body in cold winters.<br />
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Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun is a delicate green tea with a white fur on it that is grown on the mountains at the side of Lake Tai, near Suzhou in eastern China. Suzhou is a very cultured city, in ancient times it was home to many rich merchants and scholars and the area has many beautiful canal towns.<br />
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Anxi Tieguanyin, is known as the Iron Buddha of Compassion and is a rich, intense wulong grown in Anxi in Fujian province, southeast China. The area has many varieties of wulong and black teas and has a unique culture and dialect. Tieguanyin was believed to have been created when a farmer found an abandoned shrine to the female Buddha, Guan Yin, who came to him in a dream and told him if he restored the shrine, he would be rewarded. So after he cleaned it up he found tea plants growing at the foot of the shrine. Another story talks of how buddhist monks trained monkeys to climb the mountains and pick the tea from the sides of cliffs.<br />
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Da Hong Pao, or Big Red Robe is a black tea from the Wuyi mountain range in Fujian. Legend has it a Ming dynasty emperors mother was sick and this tea cured her, so the emperor covered the tea plants in red robes, three of the original plants survive today and are highly venerated.<br />
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Wuyi Yan Cha is a smoked tea that comes from the same mountain range. It has a unique smoky flavour to it as the tea is flavoured with the smoke from the local pine trees.<br />
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Pu Er Cha is a unique tea from Yunnan in the far southwest of China on the borders of Burma and Laos. It is unique in that the tea species is a larger leaf variety that is often grown wildly and many of the plants are hundreds of years old. The area is mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities, hilltribes with a very different culture and language to the majority Han Chinese. Pu Er tea is fermented and processed, often into bricks or cakes, then can be aged for many years to improve flavour. There are 2 varieties, Sheng Cha, which is unprocessed and green, or Shou Cha, which is processed black tea.<br />
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Junshan Yinzhen or Gentleman Mountain Silver Needle is a yellow tea from Hunan province. Yellow tea is similar to green, except they are given a longer drying phase, allowing the leaves to yellow slightly. It was the preferred tea of Chairman Mao, whose home province this tea originates. Hunan is in south-central China and has a diverse climate, with many mountaineous regions.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-40163767965883562452010-03-20T05:22:00.000-07:002010-03-27T19:18:29.339-07:00please visit my ebay shop to see the tea items im selling. im starting small, but im hoping to get some high quality and rare teas from china in stock and also some good teasets and teapots.<br /><br /><a href="http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/mistygreenmountains">http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/mistygreenmountains</a>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-24092842112109732102010-01-29T17:13:00.000-08:002010-02-14T18:46:31.109-08:00What Is Kung Fu Really and What Does It Actually Mean<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJsDJV_9UThiYsPbr_Z7QcwLDE9AOLvUKLVhPxpFWWN7uKvAN7wQMeLQwHopmRWGJ-BTfOFKRZ_CDBC-Sr3pV-zBdLh3jbNfLBfkfK5Mbdwv9-TgPv2D_sgNqQ0-ytxlcW5oj1BLFJkcf/s1600-h/IMG_3245.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438295356079783986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJsDJV_9UThiYsPbr_Z7QcwLDE9AOLvUKLVhPxpFWWN7uKvAN7wQMeLQwHopmRWGJ-BTfOFKRZ_CDBC-Sr3pV-zBdLh3jbNfLBfkfK5Mbdwv9-TgPv2D_sgNqQ0-ytxlcW5oj1BLFJkcf/s200/IMG_3245.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>Many people practice Kung Fu throughout the world. Many people also know how the word translates into English, hard work, perseverance, skill acumulated through years of training etc..<br /><br />But I feel like there are many practitioners who dont put that into practice. Kung Fu is about more than just learning some cool forms or being able to spar or hit a bag well. It is about disciplining yourself. When you train, you have to be focused on what you are doing. You have to drive yourself to improve and put in 100%. It is too easy to get into a comfort zone and then you become stagnant, you have to drive yourself to do more each time. Kung Fu is much more than just the techniques, its about developing yourself physically, mentally and spiritually. You need to train your body in a special way, so it can take much more than a normal person. I think of training as a way to improve myself, like a sculptor who takes a plain block and chips away at it to reveal an inner beauty. "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war."<br /><br />The way masters teach in China often seems strange, but it is very methodical. They may not answer all your questions or validate things, you have to trust them. If they just answer all your questions then you are just becoming a robot that repeats what they say. You have to learn and understand for yourself. Basics often seem a bit pointless, circling your arms around, kicking your leg straight up in the air, holding strange stances. But with time and perseverance you can come to understand how they are useful, how they build up strong foundations and good body mechanics.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyrH3akKZaQsZ9MhQ7ro4bQRnRJMwfIMOJp24iPOG3ow5VnEfr6DOYLkayKEAKHBCctoMbtXwOz7rSqbEk70R_7rRo-Z5hFhyphenhyphenQ6gixCSy17owKVac5bfzqIxHET2TlrF-RMKUiSC6KBvT/s1600-h/IMG_3235.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438295733900116482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyrH3akKZaQsZ9MhQ7ro4bQRnRJMwfIMOJp24iPOG3ow5VnEfr6DOYLkayKEAKHBCctoMbtXwOz7rSqbEk70R_7rRo-Z5hFhyphenhyphenQ6gixCSy17owKVac5bfzqIxHET2TlrF-RMKUiSC6KBvT/s200/IMG_3235.JPG" /></a>You really cant rush Kung Fu, you need to spend a lot of time on basics, the slower you progress the better. There is a saying in Kung Fu, "three years of horse stance" which doesnt literally mean you must only do that for 3 years, but that you must spend a long time to build up good foundations, they are the key to your progress later on. Another saying which illustrates this is "practice begins after 1000 repetitions, perfection after 100,000." When we practice basics at the beginning of every Mantis class, Master Qu makes us do a few rounds of arm circling movements and basic straight leg kicks, which I always thought were a bit useless, but then recently he explained how they are applied and what they train and it made so much sense and I see how applicable they are.<br /><br />Also, it is important to spend some of your free time practicing and reviewing, so in class time you can progress more. Sometimes masters will mention a key point only once, so if you dont get it and practice it in your free time, its gone. You need to keep practicing everyday without fail to improve. Another saying in China, "miss one days training and you will know, miss two days training and your master will know, miss three days training and everyone will know." This shows the importance of daily training and perseverance. You need to drill the movements into your subconscious. Kung Fu requires your body to move in a strange way, you have to have coordination and body mechanics to be able to generate power and have good technique.<br /><br />Here at Kunyu Shan, there is so much each of the masters has to teach, not just techniques, forms or theories, but something much deeper, the importance of self development, perseverance. These things are not so apparent on the surface, you have to be open to receiving it, its easy to miss. They all have their own unique personalities, teaching styles, experiences, which makes them all pools of knowledge and if you show them you want it, you can get it.</div></div>曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-77833056307082438582009-11-28T01:00:00.000-08:002009-11-29T02:18:31.908-08:00An Introduction to the Styles I StudyI thought Id write a little about the styles I learn here. I mainly focus on Mantis, Ba Gua and Qigong, and also do some Taiji and Xingyi.<br /><br />Mantis:<br />The lineage of Mantis we practice is Taiji Meihua Mantis, and is local to this area. Mantis was said to be created around the east of Shandong province, particularly Yantai city. Mantis is a combination of internal and external Kung Fu, and it is quite aggressive. In Mantis, we defend by attacking, moving forward into the opponent with vicious attacks and low kicks and sweeps. When striking, the whole body twists to generate power from the back foot up through the waist to the fist. We use a lot of leg sweeps and takedowns as well. In Training we spend a lot of time on basics movements, particularly footwork and developing lower body power. We also train forms and applications, like punch combos, takedowns etc. A good stance and agile footwork is important. Master Qu is very methodical in his teaching, in 1 lesson we may only practice 2 techniques over and over. Also, once we learn a basic movement and can do it well, then we learn different ways to apply it, and also how to follow on from it, counter it etc.<br /><br />Ba Gua Zhang:<br />The lineage of Ba Gua we practice is Yin style Ba Gua. Ba Gua is only 100 or so years old and was developed in Beijing. We spend a lot of time on circle walking, which is the foundation. It teaches you to be able to evade attacks, move behind the opponent and deal with multiple attackers. We also practice other basics, our forms and applications. A lot of the applications are locks, throws, takedowns and sometimes it resembles Aikido or something. You have to have a loose and flexible waist, which at the same time is strong. Ba Gua is based on the 8 trigrams in Taoist metaphysics. The 8 trigrams were are an ancient Chinese way of explaining change in the universe and so in Ba Gua they correspond to the 8 palm changes, which are the fundamentals of Ba Gua.<br /><br />Qigong:<br />Master Guo teaches the Qigong classes. Qigong is a practice which harnesses, increases and develops your Qi, or your bodies natural energies. The main kind of Qigong we practice is standing meditation, which we do for 15 minutes to an hour. We learn how to focus our Qi into our lower Dan Tian, which is a point in the lower belly, and once you begin to accumulate Qi there, you can harness it to increase your power, fight disease, and at high levels even more esoteric things. We also practice several kinds of moving Qigong to circulate the Qi around our bodies and focus it to different places for different effects. Ive started praticing Hong Sha Zhang, which concentrates your Qi in the palms of your hands, and makes them feel hot and turn red. It can be used heal, or also to inflict heavy internal injury on someone. Ive not got very far yet though. We also do iron palm and iron body conditioning, so that we can break bricks, rocks etc with our hands and take strong kicks to our back, ribs and legs (most of the masters here can have thick wooden poles broken over their bodies).<br /><br />Taiji and Xingyi:<br />I dont study these in detail so Il just mention a little. Ive completed the basics Yang style 24 form in Taiji and progressed on to learning the Chen style Taiji forms. Chen style is the original style of Taiji and uses really low stances, flowing movements and sudden bursts of power, so it can complement other arts if as well as mastered alone. Xingyi is an explosive internal art. I has some similarities to Wing Chun in that is uses short explosive movements in a straight line. Again, Im only really learning the forms, not the full style.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-4998197029457134112009-11-22T02:37:00.000-08:002009-11-29T02:19:34.164-08:00my first full contact sparring matchI had my first full contact sparring match on Friday. I was really nervous and though about not going through before, but felt much better after for having done it. I didnt feel like I did that well, but it was good experience and made me realise a few things. Most of my training went out the window, I resorted to pretty basic head punches. Its really hard to use a lot of techniques you learn when someones pumelling your head.<br /><br />I realised several things from that fight. I now see the importance in having a wide range of experience in order to teach. Its not enough to be able to validate a technique by talking about such and such an angle, but you need to be able to back it up with action. You need to be able to tell a student it works, because youve really used it. When youre adrenaline is really going, most of what you learn is forgotten. Only the most basic stuff comes out.<br /><br />Ring fighting and street fighting are very different things, but ring fighting is a good way to test yourself in a controlled circumstance. What I like about the Sanda matches we have here are that there are no winners or losers, its not about flaunting your ego. Its a chance to test yourself. Find out what youre capable of under pressure and find your strengths and weaknesses. How can you know what you learns works, unless you test it. To quote Buddha, "application is the only way to verify truth." Although I dont think I did so well in the fight, I now know more about my own level of skill, and how I cope in that kind of situation. So I know what aspects of my training to focus on improving, mostly my fitness, leg conditioning (my thigh is swollen from taking somer hard kicks) and general technique. I hope next time I can use more technique and strategy in the fight.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-42085255441979197752009-11-01T01:17:00.000-07:002009-11-01T01:40:21.318-08:00My first month of training at Kunyu ShanIve just completed my first month training here. I feel like Im really getting to grips with the basics of mantis and have started my first form. Ba Gua on the other hand is much slower as we only do one day a week of it and its a slow-to-learn style anyway.<br /><br />Im really getting into Qigong too. I do at least half an hour of standing meditation a day, Ive done a few sessions of an hour. Master Guo says if I want to make real progress then I should do at the very least an hour at a time. The bare mininum should be 30 minutes as that is the time it takes the blood to circulate round the body once. Master Guo told me that when he was my age, he was doing 2 sessions of 2 hours standing and 1 session of 1 hour sitting meditation a day, and could go a week without eating! So I have a long way to go! Im beginning to get a strong feeling of the Qi in my Lao Gong points (centre of the palm of the hand) and Im also getting a feeling, although not so strong, in my lower Dan Tian (the abdomen). Once I accumulate enough Qi in the lower Dan Tian, I can move change my focus to the middle Dan Tian (solar plexus) and then upper Dan Tian (third eye). Once all these points are open then supposedly you can begin to develop some kind of powers, such as healing, or psychic abilities, although you shouldnt focus on developing these, they are your natural potential and they will happen naturally. I dont know about this, but I have much better clarity of mind, and there are times when I can sense things will happen and it turns out right.<br /><br />Ive been going to the weekly Buddhist classes, and sometimes Im the only one there as its on a Friday night. Master Wang, who is from Shaolin gives the class and he oftens talks about his personal experience of life at Shaolin, which is really interesting. We think our training is tough, its like a holiday camp compared to their life. They trained most of the day, and "rest" periods were usually spent doing work, like carrying supplies up the mountain, cleaning etc. If they misbehaved the masters would beat them and make them stand facing a wall for long periods of time. Master Wang is also a world Sanda (Chinese freefighting) champion and he has a certain presence about him that commands the respect of everyone.<br /><br />All the masters here are unique and worthy of respect. My master, Master Qu, is also a Chinese doctor, and is really strict during class, but also likes a joke and really cares about us. He learnt Kung Fu the real traditional way, and is in a direct lineage from the Laiyang San Shan, 3 masters all with Shan (mountain) in their name. They were the greatest masters of Mantis Kung Fu. He is also highle skilled in Ba Gua, the other style he teaches and is also in a direct lineage of Yin style Ba Gua. He teaches us a good balance of lots of basics, training drills like pad work, sensitivity drills etc, forms and conditioning.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940639955707885769.post-12569952394843243502009-10-10T19:29:00.000-07:002009-11-01T01:40:56.316-08:00Kung Fu Training at Kunyu Shan mountains, ChinaIve just completed my first full weeks training here (here being Kunyu mountains njear Yantai, Shadong province). Im learning 2 systems, Mantis and Ba Gua Zhang and taking extra classes in Qigong twice a day and some bits of Taiji and Xingyi. The school is set at the just outside a national park, in the mountains, so the environment is really peaceful and the air is fresh. There are 4 masters at the school, 2 of them Shaolin monks, called Big Wang and Little Wang, and the other 2 are Master Qu, who is my main master, for Mantis and Ba Gua and Master Guo, who teaches Wing Chun and Ba Ji, he teaches the Qigong and other optional classes. There are about 30 students here, from UK, France, Belgium, Australia, South Africa, America, Canada and other places.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn2U3ITd4wt1ITgP6mnrt3XOyMABTPG6lBWuDyP9K4LsjlVyC-r-rSK1puvFdmq4q9M43DaFfv93q6CIaCpe7Trltn9UCfpdoSMXZ_gW9zAlwA831U7jbJSb2IDoCRHpIx3cm304D_L8D/s1600-h/9519_148997340898_586615898_3149571_4078414_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391170953268751938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn2U3ITd4wt1ITgP6mnrt3XOyMABTPG6lBWuDyP9K4LsjlVyC-r-rSK1puvFdmq4q9M43DaFfv93q6CIaCpe7Trltn9UCfpdoSMXZ_gW9zAlwA831U7jbJSb2IDoCRHpIx3cm304D_L8D/s200/9519_148997340898_586615898_3149571_4078414_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The training is much better than I expected, I was a little worried it would be a lot of Wushu forms and acrobatics and no real Kung Fu, but actually, it is exactly what I wanted. My Mantis class has just 6 of us, and Master Qu is a really good master. He is friendly and caring, but at the same time, is very strict and has high standards. Everyone here comments that Mantis class is of a high standard. Master Qu is in his 30s, but looks much younger, he is strict in class, people who mess around or swear have to do 40 push ups or hold horse stance for 5 minutes, and is someone is slacking, he gives them a little slap or whack with his bamboo cane. We have a good balance of physical conditioning and technical training. We spend a lot of time on basics, sometimes in an hour and a half session, we will work on 2 or 3 basic movements, first just doing them in the air, then on the punch bags, then as a partner drill. Afternoons we often do more application work, learning how to use our basics or forms. We do 2 or 3 mile runs a week, then Friday we run up and down the mountain 4 times, which is hell. We have a power training session, which is like strength training, we do things like doing basic movements or holding stances with bricks in our hands, practicing our grip strength on wooden poles and whatever other pain Master Qu wants us to go through. We also have a power stretching session, where you hold a stretch as deeply as you can, then someone pushes you even further, ignoring your screams and holds is for a minute, it feels so good after though! Then we do forearm and shin toughening on trees and learn to take kicks to different parts of the body.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlpsUdfrzyTxWffZwP7XST5CGFmHIMBampqDDV4IEGvK6-EC3mMtxyYtam0fWVVnPLsHnQ5rx9MRpbhohZdJRT9VlHhnmn2YfzLlZJnB5MNzfTVTMX6izXYkRHY9U5P4utH1Nk88byepL/s1600-h/9519_148997295898_586615898_3149566_30351_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391170801748401074" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlpsUdfrzyTxWffZwP7XST5CGFmHIMBampqDDV4IEGvK6-EC3mMtxyYtam0fWVVnPLsHnQ5rx9MRpbhohZdJRT9VlHhnmn2YfzLlZJnB5MNzfTVTMX6izXYkRHY9U5P4utH1Nk88byepL/s200/9519_148997295898_586615898_3149566_30351_n.jpg" border="0" /></a> The only downside here is that Id like to do more Ba Gua, we do Mantis 4 days a week and Ba Gua only 1. Ba Gua is a good style for me because Im small, and its all about evasion and moving round the opponent, so its good for multiple attackers. It works on redirecting force through circles and getting behind the opponent for takedowns, chokes etc.<br /><br /><br />I really enjoy the Qigong class with Master Guo. He is really friendly and approachable and seems to always smile. His Qigong is his own families system, which is very effective. We do it twice a day, standing for half an hour, the first 10 minutes we focus on the Qi in our Lao Gong points, which are in the centre of your hand, you have to build up a magnetic feeling between your palms by moving them together and apart, and when you get it, it feels great. Then, you move your focus to your lower Dan Tian, in your belly, which is where the Qi is stored. You can feel a warm and inflated feeling there. One day a week, we learn Hard Qi Gong, which is how to use your Qi to break bricks and things, which will take a while for me to get the hang of before I really try! Then we do Taiji every morning with him, although its pretty much just the form, and we do Xingyi Quan twice a week in the afternoon after Qigong, I like doing it, but I think he only really teaches the basics as its an extra class. Master Guos internal power is amazing, apparently a few weeks before I came, the Masters gave a performance, and Master Guo broke a marble slab, balanced on tofu, with 2 fingers. Although he broke 1 finger in the process, but then he used Qigong and healed it in a week.<br /><br /><br />Weve also had theory classes in the evenings, learning massage, acupuncture theory, Buddhism, Taoism, Kung Fu theory, history and philosophy and calligraphy. I really enjoy the training here and highly recommend Kunyu Shan to anybody serious about Kung Fu training.曾潇垚http://www.blogger.com/profile/06771900561030417475noreply@blogger.com7