A Trip To Wudang Mountain

Lets take a short trip to Wudang Mountain, a legendary sacred Taoist retreat:

Here's an Ariel view:

And one with snow for contrast:

Wudang is known as one of the birthplaces of the "Internal" Martial Arts:

(From "Bagua, Hidden Knowledge In The Taoist Internal Martial Art; by John Bracy and Liu Xing-Han)
"Noted Sinologist John Blofeld describes his meetings with Taoist holy sages and recluses in the mountains of China before the communist takeover of the mainland. Below is an account of Taoists in mock battle he observed one evening while a guest at a Taoist hermitage:
"The climax of the evening was a combat between two pairs of recluses armed with swords. Dark robes billowing in the wind, sleeves flapping like phoenix-wings, they ran and leapt, cut and thrust with such agility that their weapons darting in the moonlight produced spurts of liquid fire. The clash of steel on steel and the flurry of sparks proclaimed that the great swords were no toys; it seemed impossible that the contestants would emerge unwounded from an encounter fierce enough for me to expect to see heads and limbs sundered from their bodies. The blows were no feints, but dealt in earnest in the sure knowledge that the opposing adepts had the speed and skill to protect themselves by parrying or swift avoidance. The combat had the aspect of frenzied ritual in which the contestants were determined to die beneath one another's swords. By the time it ended, I was sweating with anxiety and could scarcely believe my eyes when the four recluses walked towards the Abbot smiling and unscathed."

And here's a short video of a trip up the mountain:


Yes, some day Ol' Dojo Rat might just have to hop on a tramp steamer and sail to China, rent a donkey and ride up to Wudang.
I'm not too sure about that cable-car...

Review: "The Xingyi Boxing Manual"

"When drinking water one should ponder it's source". (Ciu Heqing, in the forward.)

The above quote is a good reflection on this small book about an art cloaked in antiquity and mystery.
"The Xingyi Boxing Manual; Hebei Style's Five Principles and Seven Words" is short and poetic, with plenty of room for "pondering". John Groschwitz has translated Jin Yunting's edited collection of Xingyi "songs" and historical references and biographies.
Xingyi, the hard-hitting cousin of Tai Chi Chuan and Baguazhang is often overlooked because of it's apparent simplicity. Belying that simplicity is a system complex in structure and effective enough to be the core empty hand and weapon art of the Chinese Army.
Xingyi is a "niche" art, and as so "The Xingyi Boxing Manual" is a "niche book" that will apply to practitioners of the art. Don't expect a manual on fighting applications, consider this book as sampling a fine aged tea.
Again, from one of the many forwards, this one by Sheng Jun:

"Aside from the cultivation of virtue and the cultivation of wisdom, I also value the cultivation of the body. There are many paths to cultivation of the body, but if you are seeking one that is simple and suitable for all ages, there is none like Xingyi boxing, because this art specifically takes qi cultivation as it's foundation. Splitting, Smashing, Drilling, Pounding and Crossing correspond to metal, wood, water, fire and earth and divide externally into the five postures. Internally they fill the five organs and are the natural, profound way to health".

"The Xingyi Boxing Manual" is a light, poetic read with profiles of Masters dating back to over 900 years ago. For the Xingyi boxers out there, this book will add to your collection.

This book was provided for review by Blue Snake Books. This title and hundreds of other martial arts titles are available at Blue Snake Books website, LINKED HERE.

Oriental Esoterica

Well, I'm off chasing another elusive Dragon.

After talking with my Xingyi instructor Jake Burroughs we decided on my next level of training. As some readers may know, I transitioned from hard-style Karate into Tai Chi Chuan and Bagua starting around 1996.
-Still got the Karate "chops" (pun intended), it's difficult to get rid of ingrained training. But the internal martial arts offer a way deeper aspect of introspection and body knowledge.
Back in the old days (1980's) when I started in the martial arts, instructors would tell us that martial arts were 20% physical and 80% mental. Then they worked us to a 110% physical routine. Maybe we got one minute of seated meditation in a two-hour class.
In Tai Chi Chuan we were introduced to spiral meditation, microcosmic circulation, Chi projection, and other mental imagery. There are various forms of "Chi Gong" that we discovered.
Now, my current focus is on learning the third style of Chinese internal arts, Xingyi.
Xing Yi Quan, literally "Form-Mind Boxing" has it's own methods of internal body work, called "Nei Gong". Here is what Wikipedia states about Nei Gong:

"The martial art school of neigong emphasises training the coordination of the individual's body with the breath, known as the harmonisation of the inner and outer energy(內外合一), creating a basis for a particular school's method of utilising power and technique.
Neigong exercises that are part of the neijia tradition involve cultivating physical stillness and or conscious (deliberate) movement, designed to produce relaxation or releasing of muscular tension combined with special breathing techniques known as the "tortoise" or "reverse" breathing methods to name but a few. The fundamental purpose of this process is to develop a high level of coordination, concentration and technical skill that is known in the martial arts world as neijin (內勁). The ultimate purpose of this practice is for the individual to become at one with heaven or the Dao (天人合一). As Zhuangzi stated, "Heaven, earth and I are born of one, and I am at one with all that exists (天地與我並生, 萬物與我唯一)".

The method of Xingyi and Neigong I am learning is from Master Li Guichang.

The fighting forms are practiced as a somewhat "softer" mode than in other Xingyi systems, which makes it dovetail perfectly with my Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan. The NeiGong of Xingyi is similar to some ChiGong but is often characterized as "Internal Body Method" as opposed to "Breath Method" of ChiGong.
So, even though I have practiced other Chi methods, this is a new experiment for me. It requires daily practice, and as such, I have to put something else on the shelf for the time being. That means my Bagua practice will have to take a backseat while I continue with Taiji, Xingyi and the Xingyi NeiGong.

So off to chase that elusive Dragon, my instructor says it will take 100 days to internalize this new practice.

For more thoughts on this subject, see my recent post on "Shen Fa", or "Body Method".

Bring Out Your Inner Barbarian

Well, it's been a while since we did a post on Vikings, and this one is prompted by a great article in National Geographic: "51 Headless Vikings In Execution Pit Confirmed". From the article:

"Naked, beheaded, and tangled, the bodies of 51 young males found in the United Kingdom have been identified as brutally slain Vikings, archaeologists announced Friday.
The decapitated skeletons—their heads stacked neatly to the side—were uncovered in June 2009 in a thousand-year-old execution pit near the southern seaside town of Weymouth".

From the 1958 movie "The Vikings"


(snip)
Vikings Found With Hacked Heads, Naked Bodies

Many of the skeletons have deep cut marks to the skull, jaw, and neck. This suggests the men were war captives whose heads were savagely hacked off, said David Score of Oxford Archaeology, leader of the preconstruction survey that found the Vikings' execution pit.
"The majority seem to have taken multiple blows," he noted.



(snip)
"Other injuries hint that some of the slaughtered attempted to shield themselves from their executioners' blows. For instance, the hand of one victim had its fingers sliced through, Score said.
The heads were neatly piled to one side of the pit, perhaps as a victory display."

The 13th Warrior


(snip)
"Aside from their injuries, the headless Vikings "look like a healthy, robust, very strong, very masculine group of young males," he added. "It's your classic sort of warrior."



""They had left their ship, walked inland, ran into an unusually well-organized body of Saxons, and were probably forced to surrender," Siddorn speculated in July.
Despite the Vikings' brutal reputation, there was actually little to differentiate Vikings and early English warriors on the battlefield, said Siddorn, also a founder of Regia Anglorum, a historical-reenactment society.
"You would find it very difficult to tell the difference between a Viking and a Saxon if they stood in front of you in war gear," he said. Both used spears as their primary weapons, with swords and axes as backups, Siddorn added".

(D.R.)
So despite their fierce image, Vikings occasionally got their asses kicked too.

Here's my favorite Vikings, they're from Minnesota:

Friday Fun: Odds and Ends

Ahh, the end of the work week-- time to cut firewood, play Guitar, and double my Beer intake.

But let's take care of some "Odds and Ends".
First, The Odds:
Hello to all our friends at Halliburton Corporation and Lockheed Martin. My stat counter says you've been checking in regularly.
I mean, sure I get ISP's from .Gov and .Mil checking in all the time. But hey; the "Free Market" defense contractors can snoop too!

Halliburton


Lockheed Martin


And "Ends"
Our ol' buddy Fess Parker passed away yesterday.
Yes, I'm old enough to remember watching all the "Daniel Boone" shows. Clean, exciting and with a strong moral message, "Daniel Boone is what all American boys in the 1960's watched.
And yes, I had a "coonskin hat".
Got it at Disneyland.


Have a good weekend, and drink lots of Beer!
P.S.- You guys at Halliburton and Lockheed; please don't invade anybody this weekend.
Thanks.

"Needle Through Brick": Kung Fu Documentary

My Friend and Xingyi instructor Jake Burroughs turned me on to this movie trailer for "Needle Through Brick".
It brought tears to my eyes.
In fact it looked so good my training partner Corey ordered a copy, so I'll have a full review later.
Take a look and see what you think...

Here's the link to the producer's site if you want to order a copy.

Cheng Hsin: Elusive Boxing Method

Last Post we looked at Peter Ralston in a really great push-hands session. The thing I clearly saw is that Ralston was elusive and mobile. The only time I saw him dig into his "Root" was when he was transfering power into his opponent, in some cases taking the opponent clear off his feet. Otherwise, he was extremely elusive and "cagey".
My Tai Chi Chuan instructor Michael Gilman (who is a push-hands champion) makes this comparison; Most Martial arts behave like a big dog- Dogs respond to touch by jumping on you and wanting to wrestle. Tai Chi Chuan push-hands should be more like a cat- you reach out to pet a cat and they are elusive, they back just out of reach and come to you on their own terms.
The video above is of Ralston's students demonstrating the slipping and dodging method rather than hard blocking against a Boxer. I'm sure there are some Boxers out there that will have some criticism, but let's face it; the objective is to not get hit.
Tim Cartmell told us that trying to block your opponent's punches is like throwing rocks at the rocks your opponent is throwing at you- at some point one of his rocks will get through and bean you. Tim's students are trained to slip and deflect from a covered position, a more modern approach compared to classical Kung Fu.

The thing I have taken away from these two Ralston videos is that his Cheng Hsin relies on evasive movement, whether in stand-up Grappling, or in Boxing.