Mizong Luohan, because of its characteristics, falls into the Chuantong Chang Quan or the Traditional Long Fist School. This is an important distinction because the Chang Quan featured in modern Wushu is far removed from its original roots. Traditional Chang Quan is characterized by kicks and strikes that are executed fully extended; by rapid footwork…
When practicing Chinese martial arts, especially the Neijia (Internal Styles)and Qi Gong, you become acquainted with the Dantian. You will hear instructions such as “Concentrate on your Dantian” and “Sink Your Qi to the Dantian” For a practitioner of the Neijia, as well as other Chinese martial arts, it is imperative to know what the…
In the philosophical teaching of the Doctrine of the Mean, a book of classical Chinese philosophy, there is a passage by Kongzi (Confucious) which reads, “In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of…
While studying Taijquan, also written and Tai Chi Chuan and Taiji Quan, you will often hear about relaxation. This English translation of the Chinese character 松 – Song, in my view does not properly describe the feeling that we strive for in practice. Loose, or to be Loose, is far more descriptive and appropriate than…
In times past, when someone wanted to learn Chinese martial arts from a master, the master would ask, “Can you eat bitter?” Chi Ku (吃苦), or Eating Bitter, refers to being able to endure both physical and mental hardships. While we can be enthralled by the artistry of outward movements, explosive skills, and flashing swords,…
In martial arts there are different concepts for expressing power in a technique. Some styles advocate that power comes from the hips. And other styles propose that power comes from the waist. In the Shaolin Styles such as Long Fist, the above concepts of expressing or generating power are referred to as Yong Jing Wu…
Zheng Manqing (鄭曼青, 1902–1975), also written as Cheng Man-ch’ing, was born in 1902 in Yongjia (present-day Wenzhou) in Zhejiang Province, China. Known as the Master of Five Excellences, he was highly accomplished in Calligraphy, Poetry, the Chinese Classics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Tai Chi Chuan (Taiji Quan). A college professor, he became known to his Tai Chi students as Professor…
The Traditional Taiji Quan forms, or routines, are lengthy. Not only do they require considerable time to learn and memorize, but they also need far more time to refine. Since the 1930s, masters saw the need for condensing the forms to make them available to the public. This was achieved by eliminating repetitive movements. Perhaps…
The posts on this Blog reflect the knowledge I have received from my teachers, and the volumes of information I have accumulated while doing research and conducting interviews with many masters, during the years of publishing the Wu Gong Journal and the Journal of Chinese Martial Arts. All the material published on this Blog is copyrighted. — Nick Scrima
