Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

If You Want to Make Progress in Martial Arts You Must Set Goals

Uncategorized Oct 31, 2019

I'm training this weekend with Chen Huixian in Madison, Wisconsin. I'm looking forward to seeing how she teaches and performs the Chen straight sword form. That is the primary focus of the workshop, especially on Saturday and then Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon she will review and make corrections on Laojia Erlu, which she taught a year ago at her Madison workshop.

Preparing for workshops like this has reminded me how important it is to set goals. I have pushed myself a little harder as the workshop has drawn closer. These workshops are NOT easy. They are physically demanding, and at age 66, trying to cope with one lung and a heart issue, actually going through a 15-hour workshop in a weekend pushes me to the very limit of my capacity.

I usually come home and have to take a couple of days to recover.

Because I don't want to look weak in front of a workshop group, I push myself in the weeks leading up to the workshop to do a little more and try to strengthen my body a bit more.

Back w...

Join Me in Madison This Weekend to Study Taijiquan with Chen Huixian Nov 1-3

chen family taijiquan chen tai chi tai chi taijiquan Oct 27, 2019

I will be in Madison, Wisconsin starting this Friday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 3 to study with Chen Huixian. If you live within driving distance, I hope you'll join me and train with one of the best.

Chen Huixian is an in-door disciple of her uncle, Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. Other uncles include Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing.

She grew up in the Chen Village and is highly skilled. Each time I train with her, I come away with deeper insights because of the personal corrections and coaching that she gives me.

She is teaching a workshop that will include the following:

Friday Night 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

** Zhan Zhuang (Standing Stake)

** Silk-Reeling

Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (with a 2-hour lunch break)

** Chen Straight Sword Form (1st half)

Sunday 9:00 a.m. to Noon

** Chen Straight Sword Form (1st half)

Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Laojia Erlu ("Cannon Fist") Review and Corrections

Chen Huixian's workshops are punctuated with laughter. It is very refreshing to have a...

If You Want To Learn the Internal Martial Arts Here it Is Come and Get It

Uncategorized Oct 03, 2019

Do you remember the old song by Badfinger called "Come and Get It?" The lyrics went: "If you want it, here it is, come and get it. But you better hurry, cause it's going fast."

The body mechanics and principles that I teach through my membership website and my instructional DVDs will serve you well regardless of your style of Xingyi, Taiji or Bagua.

There are stylistic differences from teacher to teacher, from art to art and from style to style within an art. But if you have the right body mechanics, any differences in style are just a matter of adjusting to a teacher's particular way.

In a recent podcast interview that I did with Jon Nicklin, he describes how a lot of "traditional" teachers in China work.

His teacher, Dai Xueqi is a business owner, so on Saturday and Sunday mornings, those who want to learn show up at Dai's home arrive and begin practicing.

At a practice, the students might stand in San Ti, then practice Pi Chuan or another fist posture. They might...

Loading the Rear Leg - An Important Skill in Xingyiquan

fighting with hsing-i fighting with xingyi xingyi self-defense xingyiquan Oct 03, 2019

An important concept in Xingyiquan is to take your opponent's ground.

Xingyi is not really a defensive art. The goal is not to take an opponent's energy and neutralize it. The purpose of Xingyi is to drive through your opponent like a bowling ball through bowling pins.

Xingyi is aggressive. It takes no prisoners.

But to take ground, you need to build leg strength by practicing taking ground. Step one in that process is to "load" the rear leg.

Take a look at the three images in this post.

In the first image, I am standing tall. If I had to spring forward, it would be difficult.

In the second image, I am loaded into a Xingyi fighting stance. My energy is "sunk" and I am ready. Notice how I am compressed into the rear leg. It is like a spring, ready to release. And my energy is forward, not backward.

In the third image, I am springing forward to strike with Beng Chuan.

As soon as I land, I will load the rear leg again.

Taking ground is not just for Xing...

The Tai Chi Skill of "Dang" -- a Rounded Crotch

body mechanics internal mechanics tai chi dang taiji dang Sep 16, 2019

There are a lot of things to think about when you do internal movement.

One of my teachers said that when you are first learning, you can be paralyzed by well over a dozen principles of structure and movement that you are trying to achieve in each movement.

Chen Xiaowang says, "If Taiji were easy, everyone be master."

It is NOT easy, which is why, after a lot of hard work, it is satisfying when you enter a room full of Taiji people and you realize that you understand internal movement at a different level.

The other night, a student looked at me funny when I said, "I want to talk about your Dang."

It's pronounced "Dahng."

Yes, we both laughed.

So I clarified.

"I want to talk about your groin."

That did not help the situation, but you probably know by now that laughter is an important part of my practices.

So I explained.

The term "Dang" is the shape of the legs when you are in a stance. When you look at the angles at the top of the legs, at t...

The Death of a Child and a Spouse Offer Tests of Internal Strength

internal strength philosophy Sep 16, 2019

A few days ago, my daughter Shara would have celebrated her 39th birthday. She was born on September 12, 1980.

Six weeks later, on a chilly October morning, the morning after she broke into a big, toothless grin for the first time, causing me, her 3-year old sister Harmony and her mom to burst out laughing, we found her dead in her bed from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Crib death came in the night and took our little red-haired baby girl.

We were devastated, shrouded for a couple of years in grief that felt like a weight vest. Over the years, the grief diminished to a manageable state; life went on, and after being knocked into an emotional hole in the ground, I managed to lift myself up and re-balance.

The philosophical Taoism and Zen thinking that I tried to adopt in the years before Shara's death had put down roots.

This philosophy is not about not feeling. It is not about being passive. It is about feeling fully, but not letting destructive emotions take control.

It is ab...

Learn the Chen Taiji Straight Sword with Chen Huixian in Madison Nov 1-3

chen huixian chen huixian madison wi 2019 chen taiji madison wi tai chi in madison wi tai chi workshops Sep 07, 2019

Chen Huixian will teach the Chen Taiji Straight Sword form at a workshop in Madison, Wisconsin on November 1-3, 2019. She will also review and do corrections for Zhan Zhuang, Silk-Reeling, and Laojia Erlu (Cannon Fist).

I will be there and I hope you'll join me to learn from a highly-skilled member of the Chen family.

Chen Huixian is a great teacher, an "in chamber" disciple of her uncle, Chen Zhenglei. Her other uncles include Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing.

Her workshops are an outstanding experience. She gives a lot of personal attention to students, is actually interested in the people who attend, she answers questions, and she offers corrections and coaching that will move your skills forward. She speaks English, which means there is no need for an interpreter between what she says and what you hear.

Her workshops are traditional and serious. You will eat bitter. But she has a sense of humor that adds an element of fun that is lacking in some workshops. Laughter is not uncom...

Brian Li Interviews Ken Gullette About the Internal Fighting Arts Online Course

internal fighting arts ken gullette learn tai chi online Aug 29, 2019

Do you want to know more background on this website? Listen as Ken talks with Brian Li, creator of the "Online Course Legacy" podcast.

Brian's podcast is aimed at people who are running or launching their own online courses (on any subject) but if you want more information on when, why, and how Ken started this online course, you might want to give the interview a listen.

https://online-course-empire.simplecast.com/episodes/ken-gullette-taking-martial-arts-online-HfjnsZYd

Song in Taijiquan - A Relaxed State of Readiness

body mechanics taiji Aug 26, 2019

The picture here shows me and Colin starting the movement "Six Sealings and Four Closings" from the Laojia Yilu form.

One of the problems I see in a lot of beginners, and even people who have been in the arts for a while, is a lack of peng throughout the body during movements or postures.

It is not just a problem in Taiji, but I also see it in students doing Xingyi and Bagua.

It is common to see someone in a yang movement with the "attacking" hand, and the rear hand has lost its peng. It is limp. There is no "song."

The word "song" to me means "a relaxed state of readiness."

I recently saw a Yang-style practitioner doing the Yang 24 form. He did "Brush Knee Twist Step" and his lower hand was held with fingers pointing downward. There was no peng in his hand and it was hanging limply with the fingers hanging toward the ground.

I pointed out that if his hand was this way when someone kicked him, he would have some broken fingers.

He had never considered that t...

No Partner? No Problem! The Benefits of Mental Martial Arts Practice

Uncategorized Jul 29, 2019

In the summer of 1997, I found myself suddenly unemployed. I had some time on my hands as I sent out resumes and waited for interviews.

I was one test away from earning my black sash in Yi Li Chuan kung-fu. Since reaching that point, I had moved and my teacher, Phillip Starr, had sold his school to a student and went into seclusion.

I called the student who was now teaching at the school and asked if he would test me for black sash. He agreed.

So I had about a month to brush off all the material up to black sash. But there was one big problem.

I didn't have a training partner for the one-steps, the joint locks, the countless self-defense techniques that I needed to demonstrate.

Sure, I had practiced them hundreds of times before with fellow students, but this was for black sash!

To prepare for the test, I trained for a month in my condo with an "imaginary partner."

I did not need an imaginary partner to work on forms, naturally. But with self-defense techn...

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Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

If You Want to Make Progress in Martial Arts You Must Set Goals

Join Me in Madison This Weekend to Study Taijiquan with Chen Huixian Nov 1-3

If You Want To Learn the Internal Martial Arts Here it Is Come and Get It

Loading the Rear Leg - An Important Skill in Xingyiquan

The Tai Chi Skill of "Dang" -- a Rounded Crotch

The Death of a Child and a Spouse Offer Tests of Internal Strength

Learn the Chen Taiji Straight Sword with Chen Huixian in Madison Nov 1-3

Brian Li Interviews Ken Gullette About the Internal Fighting Arts Online Course

Song in Taijiquan - A Relaxed State of Readiness

No Partner? No Problem! The Benefits of Mental Martial Arts Practice

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