History of Taoism vs Confucianism

Originally posted on Internal Wudang Martial Arts:
The Beginnings The Taoists trace their original founder to the Yellow Emperor, and even to the Divine Farmer. They consider all the hermit philosophers under the Five Ti Rulers as of their school. Lu Shang, the prime minister of the first Chou emperor and the founder of the…

Extreme Pilgrim

Master Wu Nan Fang lives in Shaolin, where he has a small school teaching Wu Gu Lun Gong Fu. As one would expect, his martial art skills are amazing. Traditional Shaolin Wu Gu Lun is part of the Shaolin heritage. It is a graceful and rhythmic practice, very Chan (Zen) in nature, but capable of […]

Samurai

Fubiz posted a rare series of portraits of the last samurai who lived in the course of the nineteenth century, after 700 years of hegemony warrior in feudal Japan. Colorized by hand, these beautiful well-preserved photographs allow us to contemplate, in every detail, the structure of weapons and armor, as well as some massive tattoos […]

Kenko

“Things which seem in poor taste: too many personal effects cluttering up the place where one is sitting; too many brushes in an ink-box; too many Buddhas in a family temple; too many stones and plants in a garden; too many children in a house; too many words on meeting someone; too many meritorious deeds recorded in a petition. Things which are not offensive, no matter how numerous: books in a book cart, rubbish in a rubbish heap.”

Essays in Idleness – The Tsurezuregusa of Kenko.

Wu Wei

Another great video from School of Life.

The Three Treasures

Originally posted on Internal Wudang Martial Arts:
In the Taoist tradition the life is supported by three main pillars, these three pillars or compounds are important to lead a balanced and healthy life. The translation of these is very vague and every Taoist master might give you a slightly different response. This translation here is the…

Yang Style 13 Form

I’ve started filming the forms I’ve been taught for my Sifu. Here is the first in a line of videos for his school.

Spiritual Essence – Martial Application

The spiritual is the essence, the martial is the application. Spiritual development in the realm of martial arts is applied through the ching (metabolic energy), ch’i (breath energy) and shen (spiritual energy) – the practice of physical culture. When the martial is matched with the spiritual and it is experienced in the body and mind, […]

Power

“The power comes from motion, not emotion.” – Luo Dexiu Laoshi in reference to piquan

Eating Bitter

There is an old Chinese Maxim that says “you must eat bitter.” It means to endure something unpleasant in good humor or to continue despite difficulty. In a Martial Arts context, it means that success requires sacrifice, in that achieving something good requires an investment of time and effort, and so anyone who desires a reward […]

yin yang journey

A Journey Through Martial Arts

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