Interview

Tai Chi Notebook Podcast Episode 21: Will Wain Williams on Taiji Mantis, BJJ and travel in Asia

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

My guest for this episode is Will Wain Williams. Will has a background in Taiji Mantis Kung Fu, which he trained in China, where he also lived for 13 years. He’s traveled around Asia documenting ancient Kung Fu systems for his YouTube Channel Monkey Steals Peach ( https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyStealsPeach ).

I talk to Will’s about his travels documenting kung fu styles, as well as his upcoming trip to Taiwan and how he’s recently started Brazilian Jiujitsu.

Get the podcast here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/c0goI7CP2wb

Thanks for your support!

Episode 16: Tim Cartmell on keeping it real in martial arts

/ taichinotebook / 1 Comment

My guest in this episode will need no introduction to anybody who trains in the Chinese styles of Xing Yi and Baguazhang, especially in the United States. Tim Cartmell is a lifelong martial artist who spent many years living in Asia learning the internal arts, before heading back to the US where he took up BJJ, becoming a black belt. Tim is now the head jiujitsu coach at Ace Jiujitsu Academy in Fountain Valley, California where he teaches classes and trains professional MMA fighters. https://www.acejiujitsu.com/


In this podcast I ask Tim about his training tips, especially for older martial artists, where he thinks martial arts is going in the future and his approach to combining all the arts he knows into a single principle-based, reality-driven approach.

You can find out more about Tim at his website www.shenwu.com and don’t forget to check out the Shen Wu Martial Arts group on Facebook.

I hadn’t talked to Tim before this interview, but many of the people I’ve had as guests on my podcast have rated him highly, and now I know why – for somebody with so much experience of martial arts Tim is a very humble and genuine guy, as I hope you’ll discover over the next hour or so.

You can support The Tai Chi Notebook Podcast by becoming a patron. Head over to www.patreon.com/taichinotebook and become a patron today! You’ll get a version of the podcast you can download, exclusive video clips and articles.

Arlene Faulk on Tai Chi for Multiple Sclerosis

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

My new podcast episode is out! This episode is all about Tai Chi and the health benefits.

Arlene Faulk is the author of Walking on Pins and Needles, her memoir of living with multiple sclerosis without a diagnosis for many years, spending two years not getting up from the couch and how she eventually found Tai Chi and how it helped her combat the disease and regain her health, eventually becoming a Tai Chi teacher herself. Make sure you listen right to the end as we have some tips from Arlene on how you can use Tai Chi principles discussed in the Tai Chi Classics to feel better right now as you listen to the podcast.

Faulk Tai Chi can be found online:http://www.faulktaichi.com

Walking on Pins and Needles by Arlene Faulk, book cover:

Stephan Kesting on the martial arts life

/ taichinotebook / 3 Comments

In the latest episode of the Tai Chi Notebook podcast I’m talking to the man, the legend, that is Stephan Kesting. Stephan has taught thousands of people martial arts through his famous website grapplarts.com which, back in the day, was one of the first sites to put out quality Brazilian jiujitsu instructional material and is still putting out top notch instructional material today.


Stephan is a fireman, he has competed in marital arts, he has trekked across the Canadian wilds with a canoe and recently he’s undergone a full hip replacement and documented his recovery – and he’s about to return to training again, so he’s one tough old dude.


Stephan also hosts his own podcast, the Strenuous Life Podcast, which I’d recommend you listen to – because it’s always super interesting, especially his episodes debunking conspiracy theories.

Special podcast edition: Brad and Joe from The Fight Bible on Brad’s upcoming fight with D.K.Yoo

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to a special bonus edition of the Tai Chi Notebook. This time I’m interviewing Joe and Brad from The Fight Bible, a popular YouTube martial arts channel.

I used to train jiujitsu with Brad back in the day, before he went on to become a UFC fighter, so I’ve known him for years. Brad is retired from the UFC now, but he recently accepted a fight offer from the famous D.K. Yoo, who teaches martial arts seminars all over the world. The fight is scheduled to happen on December 4th on pay-per-view here:

Brad and Joe are flying off to South Korea in just a few days for a boxing match that looks set to make a huge impression on the martial arts scene. 

So, let’s find out how it all happened, how Brad’s training is going and what the boys think is going to happen on December 4th.

Ep 5: Priit Mihkelson – Meet the BJJ Turtle Master

/ taichinotebook / 1 Comment

My guest in this episode is my first from the world of Brazilian Jiujitsu. He’s Estonian Jiujitsu coach Priit Mihkelson.

For over 15 years now Priit has been pioneering an innovative, logical and defensive style of jiujitsu that has been taking the BJJ world by storm.

He’s just back from running a training camp held in a castle in Italy and his seminars are sold out until mid June next year, so it was great to grab some of his precious time and catch up with him before he jetted off for his next training camp.

In this podcast we talk about defensive BJJ, training methods and technical innovations.

Show Notes:

Priit’s talk at BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp in 2020
“Want to get better at Jiu Jitsu?”

Priit’s online coaching website:
www.DefensiveBJJ.com

Podcast Ep 4: Discover the link between martial arts and Shamanism with Damon Smith

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

What is Shamanism? And how does it relate to martial arts? In this episode I catch up with my old, friend and teacher Damon Smith to answer some of these questions.

Damon is an incredibly experienced martial artist with a background in various Japanese and Chinese arts including Karate, Kempo, Xing Yi, Baji and Choy Lee Fut. And those are just a few of the arts he’s pursued to a very high level.

But despite being a great martial artist Damon’s true love has always been Shamanism.

And while he’s no stranger to banging a drum, Damon’s shamanism is not the hippy dippy sort of practice you might associate shamans with, instead it’s a very down to earth and practical art, much like the martial arts he does.

In this episode we talk about the link between martial arts and shamanism, and where the crossovers lie.

Paul Bowman on Bruce Lee, martial arts studies and martial arts comedy

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

A new episode of the Tai Chi Notebook podcast is out, featuring Paul Bowman.

Click the link above, or you’ll find it on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Search for The Tai Chi Notebook.

Paul Bowman is a professor of cultural studies at Cardiff University. He’s the author of multiple books on martial arts, including several about Bruce Lee, and most recently, “The invention of martial arts: popular culture between Asia and America”, which was published by Oxford University press in 2020.

Paul also helped establish the academic journal Marital Arts Studies, and organised conferences for the Martial Arts Studies Research Network.

In this chat we reminisce about our times training together, talk about paul’s recent discovery of Brazilian jiujutsu and discuss the emergent field of martial arts studies.

Show notes:

10.15: The Bruce Lee period
Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theorizing-Bruce-Lee-Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy-Contemporary/dp/9042027770/ref=sr_1_1

Beyond Bruce Lee: Chasing the Dragon Through Film, Philosophy, and Popular Culture 1 Mar. 2013
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Bruce-Lee-Chasing-Philosophy/dp/0231165293/ref=sr_1_1

16.00: I am Bruce Lee, the movie
https://vimeo.com/96517261

17.30: Marital Arts Studies
https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/

22.40: Understanding Identity Through Martial Arts, with Prof Adam Frank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZb3WjosTs

23.53: On How to Talk about Taekwondo, with Professor Paul Bowman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cALt0O3Y5_s

31.05: The invention of martial arts
On The Invention of Martial Arts with Prof Paul Bowman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOyAllbfYsM
The Invention of Martial Arts: Popular Culture Between Asia and America 24 Feb. 2021
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-Martial-Arts-Popular-Culture/dp/0197540341/ref=sr_1_1

44.50: David Carradine – No Limitations Be Anything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q85cV3GOMw

55.00: Comedy and honour around martial arts styles
Are Filipino Martial Arts Realistic? | Master Ken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiuTGP-jnT8

Sensei Seth: If Every Martial Arts Style Taught Each Other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGo2_f50GLo

Podcast Episode 2: Byron Jacobs on Beijing martial arts

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

Episode 2 of the Tai Chi Notebook podcast is out!

Byron Jacobs is a teacher of Xing Yi and Bagua based in Beijing, China. He’s a student of the famous Shifu Di Guoyong and is heavily involved in the martial arts scene in Beijing. As well as training traditional martial arts he’s also a BJJ practitioner and competitor.

If you’d like to be taught by Byron in the arts of Xing Yi and Bagua, then he has an online learning platform available at https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture

In this wide ranging discussion we talk about training Xing Yi, Bagua and Tai Chi and whether Wu Shu will ever get into the Olympics. We also find out what it was like to train martial arts in Beijing during the Corona virus pandemic, and what the Chinese BJJ and MMA scene is like.

Show notes
—————

(9.45)
Byron’s Hua Jin Online learning platform
https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture

(15.22)
Byron’s Mu Shin Martial Culture YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg_V6eznSvYOFz2naGlgRpg

(47.05)
DQ’d for Kicking TOO HARD? – Doctor Reacts to Olympic Karate Controversy and Knockout Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFxxM3QOws

(1.05.30)
Speed passing by Rafa Mendes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu_9Lcdrh_w

(1.18.11)
Ku Yu Chang (Guruzhang’s) Yang style Taijiquan:
A STUDY OF TAIJI BOXING by Long Zixiang
https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-taiji-manual-of-long-zixiang/

(1.23.00)
Stand Still Be Fit by Master Lam Kam Chuen
https://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit

You can find it on all the usual places you find podcasts – search for The Tai Chi Notebook on Apple podcasts, Spotify, etc.. or here’s a link:

Spotify
Apple
Web

The current state of martial arts, with Dan Hardy

/ taichinotebook / Leave a comment

I’ve been listening to, and really enjoying, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy’s recent interview on the Raspberry Ape podcast. With a background in traditional martial arts, Dan was a pro MMA fighter and official UFC commentator.

Warning! It’s long. Over 3 hours, in fact, it’s almost 4 hours long.

The issue of how long a podcast should be is always a contentious one – you hear a lot of people say it should be as long as a commute to work, so 20 minutes to half an hour, but I have no objections to something like this one, which weighs in at over the 3 hour mark. I’m an adult – I can handle the idea of not listening to something all in one go.

Dan has a lot to say about the current state of the UFC, MMA, traditional martial arts, combat sports, capitalism, the old days, growing up and more. It’s quite a run through of various related topics. His thoughts on self defence, violence and the place of MMA in society I thought were particularly interesting.

Give it a listen – just not in one sitting!