I’m special!
My Tai Chi Notebook podcast has been picked by Feedspot as one of the top 10 Tai Chi podcasts on the Internet. I have to say, I hadn’t heard about most of these, except my friend Ken Gullette’s Internal Fighting Arts podcast. (He’s special, too).
But anyway, here’s the full list.
Bājíquán (八極拳) or shorter just Baji, is commonly known as “the martial art of bodyguards”. It emphasises the use of attacks that close down the distance as well as explosive close combat techniques such as combinations of elbow, knee and takedown techniques.
Both Rikard Elofsson and Miika Wikberg are senior Baji students of Lü Baochun, based in Finland who has over 40 years’ experience in the training and practice of baji. He has trained under many of the famous martial artists who used the style, such as Han Longquan and Zhang Xuchun.
Timestsamps:
0.40: – Rikard – Introduce yourself/how did you meet your teacher Master Lü Baochun?
3.15: – Miika – Introduce yourself/how did you meet your teacher Master Lü Baochun?
7.15: What makes Baji different to other martial arts?
8.30: Old Baji and new Baji
9.20: Trademark techniques of Baji
10.15: How is Baji power different? Training methods and the 3 stepping methods –
12.40: The forms and sets in the Baji system
19.20: The history of Baji
25.15: The mixing of Baji and Pigua
26.09: Baji and body guarding
29.41: Is Baji hard to practice?
31.29: Baji and stamping/stomping
34.34: Baji and Tai Chi being taught together
36.25: How to train with Master Lü Baochun
38.00: Do you spar?
40.15: Can you add Baji to an existing skill set?
41.05 Is there a Baji Qigong?
42.18 Are there Baji conditioning exercises?
43.54 Iron Body and Baji
44.35 How do you integrate Baji with other arts?
47.24: Baji standing exercises
51.00 – Wrap up and the Muhammad Ali influence
Links
The Baji Association (English):
Bajiquan Wasa
Facebook
Instagram
Baji Kung Fu Stockholm:
Facebook
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!
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 Notebook podcast. Enjoy!
#BJJ #warriorship #philosophy #martialarts #jiujitsu #shaijiao #iaido #podcast #taichi #taijiquan
In this episode of the Tai Chi Notebook podcast I’m teaming up with Ken Gullette, to answer the kind of questions that Tai Chi teachers get asked all the time.
Ken is an all-round good guy and owner of the Internal Fighting Arts website where he teaches the arts of Xing Yi, Bagua and Tai Chi at a very reasonable monthly cost. Check him out at www.internalfightingarts.com
Ken is a Chen style guy, and I’m a Yang style guy so it’s no surprise we have slightly different views on a lot of different topics, but that’s part of the fun of it all.
And if you’d like to help out my podcast then you can now become a friend of the Tai Chi Notebook on Patreon. Head over to Patreon.com/taichinotebook and you’ll be able to get a downloadable version of the podcast as well as support my work and get exclusive articles.
If you’ve got any comments on what we say then send them in – we’d love to hear from you!
The latest Tai Chi Notebook Podcast is out!
In this episode my guest is Seymour Yang, a long time acquaintance of mine who is also something of a legend in the BJJ world, where he goes by the name Meerkatsu and is famous for his BJJ artworks, which get turned into beautiful t-shirts, rash guards and gis.
Seymour is also a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and teaches at the Roger Gracie academy in South Hertfordshire. So, it’s no surprise that this episode is highly focused on the art of Brazilian jiujitsu.
We’re talking right after we both attended the same jiujitsu seminar up in Stafford with Priit Mihkelson (my guest in episode 5 of this podcast) so that’s where we start our conversation. I hope you enjoy it!
Links:
Meerkatsu Original Artworks: https://www.meerkatsu.com/
Seymour’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meerkatsu/
Roger Gracie South Hertfordshire https://www.rga-south-herts.co.uk/
Priit Mihkelson https://www.defensivebjj.com/
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:
My latest podcast episode features David Rogers on Tai Chi, Hap Gar and MMA.
Here’s a short clip of David talking about the strengths of Chinese martial arts compared to MMA.
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.
My guest this episode is Rob Poyton a veteran of the UK Tai Chi and martial arts scene. These days Rob is a teacher of the Russian martial art of Systema, which he has been teaching in the UK since the early 2000s and has run workshops and seminars all over Europe. Rob is also a prolific author of Systema books and videos which you can get via his website Cutting Edge Systema which is found at systemauk.com
In this wide-ranging discussion we talk about what the UK Tai Chi scene was like back in the 80s and 90s, and the similarities and differences between Tai Chi and Systema. We even get into a bit of politics, and talk about Rob’s experiences as a professional musician and his sideline as a horror fiction writer. So, sit back and enjoy as we get under the skin of Tai Chi and Systema.
The Tai Chi Notebook 