January 8, 2024
Many things are the same: if the orientation is wrong, it's just wrong. The incorrect thing, even if it is done effectively, is still incorrect.
Reading Time 10 minutes
January 1, 2024
If you found information relevant to the group’s safety during your intelligence gathering, share it during the intel briefing.
Reading Time 3 minutes.
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December 25, 2023
It is known that keys open locks, but who has considered a key carried to a foreign land in a time of crisis and exodus, what meaning can it claim in a new place? Even more so, what is the significance of a key left behind with no lock to open?
December 18, 2023
It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing our martial arts masters as infallible or near-invincible in skill. However, this mindset is not just erroneous, but downright dangerous too. The following article will explain why.
December 11, 2023
Numerous research findings indicate that Tai Chi & Qigong is as effective as, if not more effective than, conventional exercise, physical therapy, and cognitive-behavior therapy.
In the early 1980s the unique selling position of Japanized Karate-Do (with Shotokan as its prototype) was well established and further initiatives focused on stabilizing its market position and its organizational structure which was remarkably successful in both preserving its Japanese identity and protecting copyrights and financial interests.
The following is an excerpt from John Donohue's upcoming martial arts thriller, Keppan: The Blood Oath, coming to YMAA Publication Center in September 2023. This is the sixth installment of Donohue's gripping martial arts thriller series about martial artist Connor Burke. Fusing the way of the pen and the way of the sword, Donohue has trained in the martial disciplines of aikido, iaido, judo, karatedo, kendo, and taiji. He has dan (black belt) ranks in both karatedo and kendo. A nationally known expert on the culture and practice of the martial arts, Donohue infuses his thrillers with genuine cultural and martial aspects that every reader will enjoy.
Unless in military combat, it looks like males have game-like rules of engagement that ultimately dictate dominance, but, in contrast, women fight male attackers not to dominate but to survive.
In the wake of Michelle Lin & Quentin Lopes chat with Gene Ching about their new "Barehand vs Staff Sequence", Staff Writer Gene Ching explores the legacy of two-person training sequences in the Chinese martial arts.
The new China had turned its back on the glorious past. But the martial arts were a part of that past that could not easily be destroyed.
If the emotional mind continues to bother you, then you should pay attention to your breathing. Breathing is the banana. It is a treat for the body, and it’s a way to calm down the emotional monkey mind.
To correct mistakes, something has not just to be modified, but habits have to be completely unlearned before something new can be learned.
The key is in the uniformity and fluidity of the breathing, the body’s relaxation, and softness, the Yì’s peace and calmness, and the spirit’s condensation and upraising.
Karate’s sacred principle should be rephrased into ‘karateka aim at not to attack first, but they may move first’, when a not yet physical attack is underway as a clear indicator for an immediately following use of physical force.
“It is a must to practice the straight punches daily,” says Sifu Loukas. He insists that students should average around 2,000 punches a day in order to develop the coordination of both hands, accuracy, speed, and flow.
In acknowledgment of YMAA’s new publication Wing Chun In-Depth: Skills for Combat, Strategies for Life by Munawar Ali Karim and Loukas Kastrounis, YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching examines the global impact of the Ip Man films on pop culture.
When the word relax is used in Taiji, it is understood that the muscles are releasing, but the integrity and optimal alignment of the skeleton is maintained.
YMAA staff writer Gene Ching interviews YMAA Instructor Michelle Lin and Quentin Lopes about their new program, which is the only instructional video on the White Crane Barehand vs Staff sequence. Barehand vs Staff or Kong Shou Dui Gun (空手對棍) is an intermediate-level White Crane Kung Fu sequence from the YMAA Shaolin Training Curriculum.
“When the highest type of men hear the Way, with diligence they’re able to practice it.”—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.
What is Tàijíquán? It is a martial Qìgōng study. These training procedures are nothing else but regulating the body, regulating the breathing, regulating the mind, regulating the Qì, and regulating the spirit—five regulatings.
The primary objective of practicing Barehand vs Staff is to train your leg strength and reaction speed.
Always keep your eyes open and your situational awareness level high when you’re in large crowds or near densely populated tourist attractions.
Last year, in honor of World Tai Chi & Qigong Day, YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching wrote Is it Tai Chi or Taiji? For this year, he continues in that same spirit with an exploration of Chinese translation and romanization with Qigong.
“The true value of sword-fencing cannot be seen within the confines of sword-fencing technique.” —Musashi Miyamoto (A Book of Five Rings)
If you have a response to emergencies planned out in advance, your reaction and resolution will be much quicker, giving you more time to relax and enjoy yourself once everything is dealt with. Besides, that’s why we take vacations in the first place, isn’t it—to relax?