Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

As our school comes to a close with final classes this Saturday, I'm honoring some of the people who have helped me during the past 10 years of teaching.

Marilyn "Skip" Hackett joined our tai chi class shortly after I began teaching in Bettendorf in 1999 (I began teaching in Muscatine in 1997). She loved tai chi so much that she added the kung fu class to her schedule, even though she was nearly 60 and had never done martial arts before.

Skip quickly became the mother hen of our school, recruiting many new students from her vast number of friends around Bettendorf. She became a publicist, mentioning the classes many times in her Pet Peeves column in the newspaper 50+ Lifestyles. She talked the publisher into giving me a column to discuss philosophy. She was a tireless promoter of the school, and kept student names, phone numbers, and email addresses organized for her dis-organized teacher. She bailed me out many times when I needed to contact students.

Skip became much more than a...

There are two great benefits to teaching martial arts. One is the way that teaching makes you a better martial artist. It pushes you to improve your own skills. That was driven home to me the first night I taught classes--October 1, 1997. As I stood in front of a small group of young guys, I realized that they were looking to me as an expert, and if I made a mistake, I would lose their respect. The pressure to be perfect is intense for a teacher.

The other great thing about teaching is friendship. A few students along the way become much more than students--they become family. The first week I taught classes, two young guys came in to see what was happening. Richie Coulter and Chad Steinke were teenagers. Richie had a brown belt in TKD but was curious about kung fu. The photo shows Chad on left and Richie on right.

They took to the training and became obsessed, rarely missing a class. After four months, Richie said that he had already learned more from me than in 2 years of taekwo...

It's been a year since Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing stayed in our home for a week. He came to Moline partially as a favor, because I sponsored his visa to visit the U.S. and teach seminars around the country. He held a 2-day seminar on Laojia Yilu at our school and I received some good private training in my basement. It was fascinating to host a man like this and to see a true master up close and personal.

Grandmaster Chen is in charge of all tai chi training in the Chen village. He has trained some talented young masters. We're about the same age. He's the younger brother of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang. He's the uncle of Chen Bing.

It was difficult for us to communicate, since he doesn't speak English, but when he trains, no words need to be said. One day we did push hands in my basement for a while. Each time I tried to attack him, he relaxed and suddenly, I found myself on the floor. We were both laughing--I was laughing because it was amazing to feel what he was doing but still be un...

This picture was taken in 1974, when I had earned my green belt from Grandmaster Sin The in Shaolin kung fu. I'm holding the "Staff of Death," which I and my students still use in our school. This staff has made dozens of moves with me--it has traveled with me to homes in Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and soon--Florida.

Our school is closing at the end of May. I'm taking a position as director of media relations at the University of South Florida. I'll be the university spokesperson and I'll work to get publicity for them, as I have done for ACT--the company that produces the college admissions exam--for the past 8 years.

It's a little strange to look at this picture, this 21-year old kid 33 years ago, and think of the journeys I've taken through the martial arts and through life. Even though it's 33 years later, I feel as if I've only scratched the surface of martial arts. There is so much more to learn.

When I take the Staff of Death to Florida, I'm excited at the pros...

Read this article about a teacher in Miami who trains in Iron Palm.

This teacher might be able to break four bricks, but my friends, "chi" has nothing to do with it.

When you "boil" your hand until the fingers swell up like grapes, and you continue doing this to your poor hands until you no longer feel anything, why would anyone believe that doing such a ridiculous thing is building "chi"?

If you condition part of your body to withstand pain--for example slamming your palm a thousand times a day onto a bean bag for months or years--it has nothing to do with chi.

If chi exists (and I doubt it) it would be a natural thing. Damaging part of your body so you can break a few bricks is the least natural thing you can do.

I've seen the knuckles of guys who pound wood or metal to strengthen their striking power and their "chi." Their knuckles are deformed, horribly calloused, and ugly. There is a philosophical problem here--a disconnect between the concept of "chi flow" and this type of ...

I've been teaching for nearly 10 years, and one of the most enjoyable parts of that experience has been seeing my students compete successfully in regional tournaments. A week ago, my friend John Morrow hosted a tournament at his school in Moline, Illinois.

Four students competed and  walked away with 8 trophies between them. They're pictured here--from left to right--Chris Miller, Kim Miller, me (I didn't compete due to a lack of black belt competitors), Kim Kruse, and Rakeem Johnson. Kim Miller is 6 months pregnant and placed with the Chen 19 form, an appropriate selection since the tournament was held on World Tai Chi Day. I'm very proud of these guys.

--by Ken Gullette

My mom is dying.

Three weeks ago, she was working. Now, she has very little time left due to a fast-growing cancer.

She has been a Christian as long as I can remember. In her own mind, she was a very serious one. In fact, when she learned that I had parted company with religion and had embraced Taoism as a philosophy, she predicted that "if anything ever happens to one of his children, he'll be on his knees again praying."

Her prediction became partially true. Shortly after she said that, in 1980, my daughter Shara died of crib death. But despite the devastation and sorrow--as low as a human can go emotionally--my philosophy helped me weather the storm over time.

When someone I know is dying, I talk with them about it because I feel that I'm intimately familiar with the topic. And I ask them questions. I'm curious about what they're thinking, and if it's causing them to change opinions on their faith, or the way they view things. I talked with my mom about it two weeks ago, and she...

Last year, a student joined our tai chi class who has been involved in the art for decades. He even teaches now, even though he really shouldn't, based on his knowledge of body mechanics.

One night in class we had a discussion of chi, and I explained my views. I said that no one could use chi to make a person move without touching them.

"I can," he said.

"Really? You can make me move without touching me?" I asked.

"Yes, I've done it many times."

"Well, all I can tell you is one, no you haven't, and two, you certainly can't make me move without touching me," I said.

So, with several students watching, he walked up close to me. Very close. His face was inches away from mine, and he held his hands up just a centimeter or two from my face.

Now, the natural human reaction when someone moves so close is to back away, but that's what he expected me to do. Instead, I relaxed and decided that I wasn't going to let the fact that he had violated my space bother me. He kept his hands in fro...

I'm not sure where these tips came from, but I thought I'd pass them on because they're good ones for the practice of Baguazhang.

1. Keep the head upright and neck straight (but not tense) with spirit and intention.

2. Keep the back rounded, stretched and natural, not stiff.

3. Keep the shoulders relaxed and dropped (so power can reach the hands).

4. Keep the arms closed inward -- front arm bent and extended; rear arm protects the body.

5. Drop the elbows. The role of elbows is to protect within attack.

6. Palms - the thumb is spread outward, fingers extended and fanned as if holding a teacup. The tiger's mouth is round and separated.

7. Waist is like an axle - hardness and softness exist together. There is twisting and turning with strength and agility.

8. Keep the hips under the body - don't let them protrude. Relax the lower back.

9. The front thigh leads the way and the rear thigh supports. Knees are kept together and both thighs protect the crotch.

10. The inner foot (th...

In class Wednesday night we did some "connecting" drills. 

Remaining centered and connected to the people and the world around you is a noble pursuit--one that we naturally fall short of at times because of human nature, but that's true with any philosophical or religious pursuit, isn't it? We can really try to live our philosophy, but there's always the occasional slip-up.

The practice of kung fu, at its core, is about mastering ourselves. Let's face it--I hope I'm never in another real fight. I haven't been in a real fight since high school. I've managed to calm down potentially violent situations several times as an adult, and I've always felt good about that. The reason we practice the martial art is to gain control over our minds and bodies.

But if we fail to control ourselves in daily life, our martial arts training isn't very effective.

I've told this story before, but the first time I realized I was incorporating the philosophy and the centering skills into my life was when...