UPDATE: EUROPEAN TOURE MAY-JUNE 2024 I will be in the UK and Northern Europe this spring, seeing the sights, making videos, attending events, visiting old friends making new friends, and sharing tai chi and internal arts.
The plans currently in the works involve: • the UK (London, Southampton, Devonshire, Norfolk, Newcastle, Doncaster, Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Cairngorms, and such.) • Belgium (Antwerp) • Sweden (Stockholm) • France (Paris)
I might also make it to Cologne, Prague, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Northern Italy.
I’m happy to save money on hotels. So, if you want to host me, (on your couch, or to share knowledge and experience), please contact me.
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Recent Posts
Upper and Lower, Part 6
Pedagogy, tuishou, space-time, philosophy, the standard model of particle physics, and the Dao…. But I digress. We can take advantage of our opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as our own. Good and bad choices are often measured by their results, which goes to show how there are variables that we cannot see. These are . . . read more
Upper and lower Part 5 (5-minute video)
Effortlessness in CONTEXT Teaching from first principles helps to avoid the pitfalls that plague many martial artists. Sparring, tuishou, competitions, and the myriad competitive exercises cause students to forget the context of real violence. Non-competitive training can be just as bad as competitive training, if and effort is not made to remind the student of . . . read more
Upper and Lower Part 4 (9-minute video)
Most people do not seek balance. We tend, rather to seek conflict. The proprioception afforded bt such conflict provides us with a sense of our existence, even while it undermines it. We end up fighting ourselves and giving the enemy the means by which to defeat us. Our own effort hastens our journey toward entropy. . . . read more
Upper and Lower Part 3 (11-minute video)
Energy doesn’t matter, and matter doesn’t energy Now that we are talking about yin and yang, let’s address the standard model of physics, and get this “qi” power thing out of the way. Fair disclosure: I teach qigong and neigong. There is a context for talking about “qi”, breath, energy, proprioception, calories, joules, and all . . . read more
Upper and Lower, Part 2 (6-minute video)
“Doing” meets “not doing” or “Ippon” meets “Koka” Martial sport is about winning. Self defence is about not losing. Hence, there are different (but overlapping) strategies and tactics. “Upper and lower mutually follow” refers to one’s own body. But the concept can be extended to include strategy and tactics. Being still when the opponent is . . . read more
Upper and Lower – Part 1 (7-minute video)
An important tai chi principle is called “Upper and Lower Mutually Follow” In this video we talk about how this applies to power and footwork.
Confronting Autocracy: How martial arts can stop individuals and societies from poisoning themselves.
Dictatorships are invariably self-destructive. They are, by definition, a failure of society to function in harmony. When absolute power is centralized, be it in a single person, a group, or a dogma, the ability of the society to function, grow, and adapt becomes crippled. But dictatorships continue to arise throughout the world. Even the most . . . read more
True power is integrative, not distributive
There is a common human disfunction, a pathological which causes us to feel that we can gain power by taking it from others. Security is a negotiation, even within the techniques, strategies and methodology of combat. We fail when we fight against force, move against speed, or throw away our own balance for fear of . . . read more
Don’t call it “chi”. Call it subtlety.
“Chi” or “qi” (both are pronounced “chee”), unless you are speaking Japanese, in which case it is “ki”. The so called “intrinsic energy” might be better though of as the sum total of all the momentum in a body, or system of bodies.
Questions, questions, questions. Students must ask more questions. (video)
If the teacher doesn’t like questions, then you might be in a cult. Questions are important, and should never be dismissed outright. If the teacher treats all questions with respect, then over time, the more questions a student asks, the more the teacher and student will learn. They will learn which questions are important, and . . . read more
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