One of the things I like to do when watching UFC fights is to try and analyse what the fighters are doing in terms of Xing Yi's 12 animals. Now, I’ve got at least one friend who hates when I do this because he believes it makes people think that by practicing a few Xing … Continue reading UFC 295 – Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka: Chicken vs Swallow fight analysis
Movement
The Chen style knee wobble
Master Ren Guangyi’s signature 21 Form has to be one of the clearest examples of the Chen style knee wobble I’ve seen. https://www.instagram.com/p/CtMs3jhAQvs/ You can see the little wobble of the knee he does before he does a fajin in the form. This knee wobble has been the source of seemingly endless debate. Some lineages … Continue reading The Chen style knee wobble
A simple exercise for opening and closing in Tai Chi
The plum tree in my garden is blossoming, and that can mean only one thing: Spring is here! Without getting too poetic about it, the potential energy trapped within the tree over Winter is releasing and opening out to the world. So, in keeping with the cycle of the seasons, let’s return our Tai Chi … Continue reading A simple exercise for opening and closing in Tai Chi
Ep 20: Matt Hill on relaxation, breathing and fire ants!
Matt Hill is the owner of the Systema Academy in Wiltshire, England. Matt has a long history in martial arts, starting with Aikido, training under Morihiro Saito Sensei in Japan in the early 90s. From there he joined the Parachute Regiment leaving as a Captain in 2003. After this he started training in Systema under … Continue reading Ep 20: Matt Hill on relaxation, breathing and fire ants!
Systema and Tai Chi – similarities and differences
Matt Hill and Vladimir Vasiliev I had a great visit to The System Academy in Wiltshire last week where I enjoyed a bit of 1-1 Systema coaching from my old friend and owner of the Academy, Matt Hill. I also recorded a podcast episode with him for The Tai Chi Notebook Podcast, which will be … Continue reading Systema and Tai Chi – similarities and differences
Episode 18: Warriorship and martial arts with Matthew Kreuger
Our new podcast is out! I talk warriorship with the esteemed Matthew Kreuger of the Walking with the Tengu podcast, as part of the #warriorshipconversing project started by Kung Fu Conversations podcast. We also talk about Shuai Jiao, Iaido, BJJ and professional wrestling. You'll find us on iTunes and Spotify. Search for The Tai Chi … Continue reading Episode 18: Warriorship and martial arts with Matthew Kreuger
Practicing Tai Chi in nature: Being like a teabag in the ocean
On holiday in the southwest of England for a week I managed to find some time each morning to practice Tai Chi in a lovely old wooded area. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChEtei1oFqV/ So often we have to practice Tai Chi in our front rooms, back gardens or patios because of time pressures. Or maybe we only get to … Continue reading Practicing Tai Chi in nature: Being like a teabag in the ocean
How to make use of your dexterous and non-dexterous hands in Tai Chi
Except for that tiny minority of ambidextrous people, most human beings have a dexterous hand and a non-dexterous hand. We use our dexterous hand for things that require precision, like writing and the non-dexterous hand for holding and framing. I’m sure we’ve all tried to write with our non-dexterous hand before and found it almost … Continue reading How to make use of your dexterous and non-dexterous hands in Tai Chi
Why BJJ should really be considered a weapons-based art
Picture Grog, the caveman. He's sitting around the fire with his tribe, wearing animal skins and singing the songs of his ancestors, while his kids run around the back of the cave and paint bison on the walls. Compared to the sabre tooth tigers with their man-splitting canines and the huge giant sloths with their … Continue reading Why BJJ should really be considered a weapons-based art
The joy of Manchu Wrestling
In the last episode of the Heretics podcast we talked about Chinese wrestling - Shuai Jiao - but Damon also mentioned Manchu wrestling quite a bit. He described it, but you can't get a proper idea of how it works without seeing it done, so let's look a little closer. Manchu wrestling is a unique … Continue reading The joy of Manchu Wrestling
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