A Salute To Mike Martello

Chin Na


Basic Bagua Class

These video's are of Mike Martello, who may be the best non-asian internal stylist I have seen yet. The Chin Na is a re-post but I wanted to include it to contrast it to the slow, classical and elusive movements of the Bagua Kung Fu. Martello is only 5'2" but really packs some power in a small frame. Many of his other video's show him training with his teacher in Taiwan, and his website says he is based in Belgium, Taiwan and New York.
Here is a post he wrote on Youtube about his decision to give up all hard style arts, something which is difficult due to years of training.
Mike Martello:
A small rant below, open to comments...

Many years ago 10yrs and a bit more, I decided to quit, stop all my hard styles, Baji, HsingI and Chen, lets say to retrain the inner connections. Not forget just stop, I felt I was using wrong intentions and ws being guided to the wrong idea of practice because I realized even the teachers were off in their approach...

I decided this after I met teacher Wang Chieh who demonstrated to me the idea of inner power and smoothness, and I knew I did not embody what he so seamlessly showed me, but I knew this is what I was searching for as soon as I made first contact to his arms and his center just engulfed me by light touch..

So I decided at that point all my training was wrong mind idea but which was good for foundation training and form training, but lacked real IMA. I knew to myself as many people are so afraid to say to themselves or confront themselves, once they have achieved a good level, to say I am empty and still don't know why, yes strong but empty inside. Many know what I mean and then overdo strength to make up for what they don't understand, and perceive they think they understand...

Well for me the answer was easy, I am no fool and play no fools games... When I am told if you practice it will come and years of hard training which brought me great forms and basic fighting self-defense skills, is NOT inner strength... Not inner power that enlightens ones mind and spirit...

One hears the stories of masters that can do wonderful things with there chi and mind and power that we want to train to achieve so idea, but we never get there, either bad teacher or style or whatever we blame it on, but ourselves for not opening our eyes... Our culture and food and the way we perceive CMA is all wrong for most... You never leave your town but you found the magic bullet in martial arts and all of a sudden you become sifu?? Man we are distorted aren't we...

One must travel and go down the mountain to understand why ones inner connection lacks what we train so hard for... I am sorry for such hard words, but I feel this way by watching all the crap out there, being a good fighter does not equal IMA... So decided to retrain and be honest to say to myself these ideas and learn from the beginning again....

Its a phenonomen for martial artists, they search and practice and find there power but never truly know themselves... The ones who read this and understand will laugh to themselves because I speak open heart... Sorry for the rant...

I hope all enjoy objectively.
mike martello