Tai Chi beneath the surface

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As we approach the holiday season, stress starts to enter the body and mind, family dramas intensify and it’s easy to forget the simple things in life. That’s where Tai Chi can help.

The question of what use Tai Chi or martial arts are to modern life comes up frequently. Unless you’re in a job that requires frequent encounters with violence most of us will live our whole life with minimal exposure to violence.

So what else can martial arts offer? This short film by Pamela Hiley shows some of the meditative sides to life that Tai Chi can reveal, where questions resolve to silence and are answered by nature.

“True to Life’ is a cinematic essay portraying the spiritual ideas of Pamela Hiley, a Welsh born Taiji master living in Norway. This is an exploration of Taoist philosophy, seen through her eyes, with very little factual information apart from ideas on the transcendent mind: breathing, balance, defence, neutralisation of conflict and moving beyond polarity. We follow Pamela on a trip to China where she meets with masters and students of these ancient arts – they love and share a deep respect for the mysteries of their common practice. But this film is not about a journey in the physical world, but rather trip into the the inner landscape of the mind.”

 

Aikido Heresies. The dark side of Aikido.

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Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido

Just remembered I didn’t post about the last Heretics podcast we did. This one was about the history of Aikido. I thought it would be quite a light-hearted one, but as Damon explains, it turns out the history of Aikido, and its parent art Daito Ryo, is largely unknown to the average martial artists (i.e. me) and also pretty dark and nasty. Very nasty.

War crimes, extreme nationalism, invasion, torture, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and so on.

So, if you’d like to have your illusions about “the way of harmonious spirit” shattered, then listen on, otherwise, as they say, ignorance is bliss.

 

New Tim Cartmell interview

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ep354-wide

Tim Cartmell (not “Tim Cartwell” as stated in the graphic above)’s name will probably be familiar to most Xingyi enthusiasts. He’s a practitioner of Chinese martial arts and a BJJ black belt. There’s a new podcast episode by him that’s worth a listen. Tim covers his training in different martial arts systems and the differences between sport and street martial arts.

The interview has also been transcribed. Get audio and text version here.

Heads-up! New Xingyi book coming soon. Tai and Tuo Xing.

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book

Just a heads up that there’s a new Xingyi book on the horizon that deserves your attention. It’s called A Study of Tai and Tuo Xing and it’s by my old training partner Glen Board.

Tai and Tuo (Asian paradise flycatcher and Chinese crocodile) are two of Xingyi’s 12 animals. They’re considered advanced in the sense that the methods they use are difficult and subtle. The book is a thorough investigation of the fighting strategies and methods of both animals.

I’ve had access to a pre-final draft and I think it’s shaping up to be an excellent book. The illustrations are great, there’s plenty of historical background on Xingyi as well as technical discussion. The book also features good quality photographs showing martial applications and linking sequences for both animals. All in all, it looks great.

Look out for it soon. It should be on Amazon.

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Asian paradise flycatcher

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Chinese alligator

 

The Origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo (part 5)

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The final part of our podcast series on Jiu Jitsu and Kempo is live. In this episode we spend a long time trying not to talk about Aikido, then agree to talk about it more next time. Apart from that, we follow the developments in Japan through to modern times, with particular attention paid to the history of the yakuza.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/5-the-origins-of-jiu-jitsu-and-kempo-par

 

Fighting in the age of loneliness

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I thought I’d bring your attention to a great little video series written and directed by Felix Biederman that’s been produced by SBNation called Fighting in the age of loneliness. It’s a kind of history of MMA and the UFC, including all the influences from Japan to Brazil and elsewhere, including the Pride period, set against the social/economic backdrop the USA and Japan.

One particular quote I liked was:

‘Your home belongs to the bank, your gas tank is lining the pockets of those who had more to do with 911 than the country your brother just died fighting in and you’re told the economy is in high gear even though your paycheck is buying less and less but what you just saw in the cage was unambiguous. One person hit another and the other fell. Nothing about it lied to you.’

Here are the episodes:

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3

Episode 4:

 

Episode 5

The history of Jiujitsu and Kempo. Part 4

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The latest episode of the Heretics podcast is out!

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/episode4final

In part 4 we examine the time period between 1960 and 1980 in Japan, and discuss topics such as martial arts marketing and the different ways in which the Japanese created and promoted a wide range of new martial arts.

Here are a few links to videos of the things we talk about this time:

Gracie vs. Kimura – October 23, 1951 (Maracanã Stadium – Rio de Janeiro, Brasil)

Gracies vs bullies on beach:

Rikidozan vs Masahiko Kimura (1954 – Part 2/2)

PRIDE 25: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Antonio “Elvis” Schembri

Muhammed Ali vs Antonio Inoki Boxer vs MMA Fighter 1976

 

Mas Oyama vs “bull”:

TV show about Iwama and Aikido, Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken) Japan featuring the late Morihiro Saito Sensei.

Taido:

Kodo: