If you follow these steps you will be able to demonstrate ‘empty force. ‘ Actually it is fairly easy. The trickiest part is how to start. Once you have demonstrated your power a few times to a core group of students it gets a lot easier 1. Act like a master. This involves keeping your [...]
The young and beautiful woman's eyes are wide with fear. She looks around but cannot see where to go. She turns to see her pursuer raise his hand full of menace. You arrive just in time, offer the ruffian an honorable escape route. He refuses and assails you, but is no match [...]
One area of struggle within martial arts is the balance between the sense of healthy power that comes from training, and the appreciation that even with all the correct training you are still vulnerable. It is easy to slip into craving for more power, for more dangerous techniques, for an increased capacity to overawe and [...]
In many Chinese martial arts you find the principle of balanced, reversible movement. To explain, imagine that while in motion, at any moment your body can either stop, or change to move in any direction – which includes the reverse of your current direction.
If you can move this way then you are most able to utilise any opening a partner gives you, adjust to their attacks, or flow around their defenses. You can move swiftly and catch opportunities, in combat and in life.
There are certain tried and tested methods for the promotion of martial arts and martial arts organizations. Some might call them unscrupulous. But as there are many genuine and hard working martial artists struggling to make a living, I believe it’s time to pass on this valuable knowledge. Why shouldn’t the sincere and humble make [...]
If you want to progress in your training there is one attitude that can transform your progress. Ignore it and you can find yourself wading through endless plateaus of repetitive drudgery. If each time you train you get curious about what you can learn it will make a huge difference compared to an attitude of [...]
It is easy to think of meditation as a static, cross legged activity involving incense and mantras. In fact meditation is any activity that repeatedly brings attention back to a single focus. In religious meditation this focus can be a deity visualisation, a prayer, sacred word or question. Extracted from the religious context [...]
I’ve been practising a wide variety of martial arts for around 30 years. During that time I have met many people with many ages from many countries. They all have different motivations, some of which they are aware of, some of which they are less inclined to admit. Many people have a variety of reasons, [...]