Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

The image above is from my journal on September 4, 1973, the day I took my first martial arts class -- 50 years ago this week. It was the start of the Bruce Lee Kung-Fu Boom. "Enter the Dragon" hit movie theaters a couple of weeks earlier and that was the spark I needed to enroll in a school.

I was a 20-year-old student at Eastern Kentucky University, but I drove to my hometown for the class (about a 40-minute drive) because Sin The (pronounced Sin Tay) was a legend in Lexington. At that time he held classes in a converted garage at Eastland Shopping Center. There were so many people at the first introductory class, we spilled out into the driveway and they had to open the garage door.

It was an exciting time. Kung-Fu was so mysterious and amazing! I was always a good fighter, but the "Kung Fu" TV show and Bruce Lee convinced me to study something that would boost my fighting skills. Nothing was cooler than martial arts.

We were all very naive. The internet didn't exist so we coul...

Owen Schilling and Randel Davis are martial artists and very good people. They are also the guys behind the "Kung Fu Conversations" podcast. They recently had me on as a guest and it turned out to be very good. I have been interviewed several times and I have become tired of my own stories, but Owen and Randel tried to plow some new ground. I hope you enjoy it. Click this link to go to the YouTube verson of the podcast.  You can also find the podcast on Spotify. Click this link to open the podcast on Spotify.

A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. contacted me as they prepared to release the new 4K version of "Enter the Dragon." They asked if I wanted to do a giveaway on my podcast of 10 digital codes. Of course, I enthusiastically said "Yes!"

So in the recent edition of the Internal Fighting Arts podcast I asked listeners to come to this blog and leave comments on what Bruce Lee and "Enter the Dragon" meant to their study of martial arts.

As it turned out, hundreds of people have listened to the podcast but only nine people actually left comments here on the blog.

Those nine people who followed the rules will automatically win a digital code for a copy of "Enter the Dragon." Those nine people are:

** Tom Norio Sakaishi

** Liam Machlin

** Eddie Ooms

** Neil White

** Jim Strother

** Mike Sherlock

** Ernesto Pon

** James Helms

** Jovan Lezaravic

Since the people above followed the rules and left messages on the blog post, they will each get a code. So that means I had one left. Several m...

This week, Warner Brothers is releasing a new 4K/Ultra HD version of "Enter the Dragon," Bruce Lee's kung-fu masterpiece that helped launch the Kung-Fu Boom in 1973. 

Warner Brothers has given me 10 digital codes to give away to listeners of my Internal Fighting Arts Podcast. Just comment below about what Bruce Lee and/or "Enter the Dragon" means to you. Did it impact your martial arts? Did Bruce Lee inspire you?

You have until the end of the day on August 26, 2023 to make your comment. On Sunday, August 27, we will put the names of everyone who commented in a box and we will draw 10 winners live on my Internal Fighting Arts Facebook page at www.facebook.com/internalfightingarts. 

Ten winners will each receive a code and you will be able to watch and download the new 4K/Ultra HD version of "Enter the Dragon."

I saw the movie in a theater when I was a 20-year-old college student. I was blown away. Not only was his movement the most beautiful I had ever seen, but we had never seen te...

"Hey Four Eyes!"

I didn't even have to turn around to know a bully was targeting me.

I turned.

He was obviously older, taller and heavier. Two smaller young tough guys were behind him.

"Yeah, you, pussy."

His two toadies glared at me with looks that said, "You're about to get your butt kicked."

My two younger and smaller cousins, Bobby and Mike (ages 11 and 10) were with me in front of the drugstore in downtown Wilmore, Kentucky. We had just enjoyed a vanilla Coke at the drugstore's fountain and looked at some of the comic books on the spinning wire racks.

The bully saw us when we walked out onto the sidewalk that ran up Main Street. Now he was taunting and following a little too close. "I'm gonna kick your ass."

We walked behind the drugstore and the bully and his buddies followed, his insults growing louder. We found ourselves on a gravel parking lot behind the building.

"Kenny, that's the sheriff's son," my cousin Mike whispered. "He's the town bully. He's 17 YEARS OLD!"

I spent a few days training with Nabil Ranne in Philadelphia a week ago. I met Nabil through an email exchange in 2020 and interviewed him for my Internal Fighting Arts podcast.

My journey with Chen style Taiji began in 1998 and focused primarily on the Chen Village branch of the art as taught by Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and others. In recent years, I became intrigued by the differences in the Chen Zhaokui/Chen Yu branch in Beijing, so after the interview with Nabil, I did a couple of private lessons with him and then signed up for his online classes. 

What impressed me most about Nabil's teaching was the level of detail. And there were differences -- in the shorter stances where feet are parallel most of the time, in the shifting of weight, in the awareness of different jin in each movement, the fullness of the dan t'ien and the coordination of the mingmen, the opening and closing of the chest and back, the folding of the chest and stomach, the closing power in the legs, the gro...

If you are a martial artist, you are an athlete. You might be going for a yellow belt or trying to learn the next form. You might be preparing to compete in a tournament. It's always nerve-wracking to put yourself on the line and perform in front of other people. When you do any of these things, you are an athlete and your success will be more certain if you develop the mindset of a top athlete.

Top athletes use various mental preparation techniques to optimize their performance during competitions. Here are some common strategies they employ:

1. Goal setting: Athletes set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound goals to help them stay focused and motivated. Don't set unrealistic goals. Your next goal might be to learn the first five movements of a form. Learn them, practice them until you can do them well, and then set your next goal. Perhaps your goal is bigger, such as going for a black belt or black sash. You can achieve it.

2. Visualization: Also known as ...

In martial arts, a body method (also known as "body mechanics" or "body structure") refers to the way a practitioner uses their body efficiently and effectively to generate power, maintain balance, and execute techniques. It is a fundamental aspect of martial arts training and involves understanding how different parts of the body work together to produce force, maintain stability, and move fluidly.

Body methods can vary significantly between different martial arts styles and systems. You can even go to different teachers in Taiji and some will have a strong body method and others won't even mention it. The ones who don't mention it usually have weak gongfu. The more a teacher promotes health and "moving" meditation, the lower the quality of their body method, in my humble opinion.

In all sports that require your body to produce force and power, there are specific ways of moving the body most efficiently, although there are a lot of different personal styles of doing that. Look at di...

If you have listened to my podcast, you'll hear me encourage listeners to "remain centered at all times."

In Taoist philosophy, one of the fundamental principles is to find balance and harmony within yourself and with the world around you. To center yourself in the face of anxiety about the future, here are some recommendations:

1. Focus on the present moment: Instead of worrying about what the future might bring, focus on what you can do in the present moment to take care of yourself and your needs. This might mean practicing mindfulness or meditation such as qigong to help quiet your mind and bring your attention to the present. If you are washing your car, sweeping the floor or reading a book, focus on that one thing and if stray thoughts cross your mind, let them go and refocus to that one thing.

2. Let go of attachments: In Taoism, as in Buddhism, it is believed that attachment to things outside of ourselves can lead to suffering. Instead, try to let go of attachments to outc...

Taiji master Zhang Xue Xin passed away in China surrounded by family on February 25, 2023. He was 94 years old.

He began studying Chen style Taiji in 1963. One of his teachers was Chen Zhaokui. Later, he studied with Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang and became an indoor disciple. 

Master Zhang moved to the United States and began living and teaching in San Francisco. His classes were held at Golden Gate Park. He emphasized silk-reeling spiraling movements and applications, particularly chin-na (joint locks). He retired in 2013.

My first Chen style teachers, Jim and Angela Criscimagna, studied with Master Zhang for around eight years. I never studied with him, but I visited San Francisco on business a couple of times in the early 2000s and stopped by to visit his class. The photo at the top of the post was taken the first time I met him.

We have lost a great one with Master Zhang. I heard of his passing from his indoor disciple, J. Justin Meehan, who lives and teaches in the St. Louis area...