The Tai Chi Notebook

Hello and welcome to the first Tai Chi Notebook podcast of 2023! Happy Year of the Rabbit!  My guest for this episode is Will Wain Williams. Will has a background in Taiji Mantis Kung Fu, which he trained in China, where he also lived for 13 years. He’s  traveled around Asia documenting ancient Kung Fu systems for his YouTube Channel Monkey Steals Peach ( https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyStealsPeach ). I talk to Will’s about his travels documenting kung fu styles, as well as upcoming trip to Taiwan and how he’s recently started Brazilian Jiujitsu.  www.thetaichinotebook.com

Matt Hill is the owner of the Systema Academy in Wiltshire, England. Matt has a long history in martial arts, starting with Aikido, training under Morihiro Saito Sensei in Japan in the early 90s. From there he joined the Parachute Regiment leaving as a Captain in 2003. After this he started training in Systema under Vladimir Vasiliev and now teaches Systema, Bushcraft and leads groups trekking through jungles all around the world. Matt was kind enough to give me a 1-1 in Systema before we recorded this podcast at his academy, where he focused on the four pillars of Systema - breathing, relaxation, posture and movement. We discuss all these things in the podcast as well as the next destination for Matt's jungle trek. Links: Systema Academy: https://www.matthill.co.uk/

Salvatore Pace, or Salvo for short is a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and owner of Gracie Barra Bath, the Head Quarters of Gracie Barra in the South West of the UK, Gracie Barra West Wilts and co-owner of Gracie Barra Gillingham. He is a two time NAGA European Champion and Grappler's Quest champion. Salvo grew up in Sicily and had a passion for martial arts as a young boy, practicing everything he could get his hands on, from boxing and Kung Fu to wrestling, and then MMA in the emerging combat sports scene in the UK, but it was his first encounter with Brazilian Jiujitsu and his main teacher Professor Carlos Lemos Jnr, that changed his life forever and put him on a plane to Brazil and then the USA, where he trained with some of the biggest names in the sport. Returning to the UK Salvo had a dream of teaching jiujitsu for a living and set up Gracie Barra Bath in 2007, back when most people hadn’t even heard of Brazilian jiujitsu. And that’s where our paths crossed,  I first met Salvo way back in 2011 and I’ve been with him ever since, getting all my belts from white to black from his hands and it’s been a pleasure to watch his students and academy grow and develop and expand to new locations around the South West. Jiujitsu has certainly evolved a lot since those early days, but we can let Salvo tell that story, so here he is. Links: Gracie Barra Bath (South West HQ) www.graciebarrabath.com Gracie Barra West Wilts www.graciebarrawestwilts.com Gracie Barra Gillingham www.graciebarragillingham.com

My guest for this episode is Matthew Kreuger who hails all the way from sunny Alaska where he runs a his own podcast called ‘Walking with the Tengu’, which explores classics texts and writings for the modern martial artist. Matthew is also a fellow practitioner of Brazilian jiujitsu and also practice the Japanese sword art of Iaido and the Chinese throwing art of Shuai Jiao. Today we mainly discuss the topic of warriorship, but we actually start off with the topic of the performance aspects of martial arts and finish off with a discussion of how Matthew combines his three martial arts in his personal practice.  Links: Walking with the Tengu: https://walkingtengu.wixsite.com/tengu You can support my podcast by becoming a Patron, get the podcast early and get exclusive videos and articles. Head over to www.patreon.com/taichinotebook

Today’s episode is an interview with my old friend Professor Paul Bowman of Cardiff University who is something of a mover and shaker in the academic field of martial arts studies. Paul has written several academic books on martial arts including Martial Arts Mythologies, The Invention of Martial Arts and Theorising Bruce Lee. He also co-edits the Martial Arts Studies Journal for the Martial Arts Studies Research Network. Years ago I taught Paul attended my Tai Chi class- and now we both train Brazilian jiujitsu in the same organisation so this is quite an informal chat. We talk about what Paul’s been up to since he last appeared on my podcast (that was back in episode 3 if you want to check it out), his upcoming book on self defence and the sublime, plus his unhealthy obsession with the Internet personality Master Wong.  Links: Join my Patreon! Head over to www.patreon.com/taichinotebook Martial Arts Studies Network: http://mastudiesrn.org/

My guest in this episode will need no introduction to anybody who trains in the Chinese styles of Xing Yi and Baguazhang, especially in the United States. Tim Cartmell is a lifelong martial artist who spent many years living in Asia learning the internal arts, before heading back to the US where he took up BJJ, becoming a black belt. Tim is now the head jiujitsu coach at Ace Jiujitsu Academy in Fountain Valley, California where he teaches classes and trains professional MMA fighters. https://www.acejiujitsu.com/  In this podcast I ask Tim about his training tips, especially for older martial artists, where he thinks martial arts is going in the future and his approach to combining all the arts he knows into a single principle-based, reality-driven approach. You can find out more about Tim at his website www.shenwu.com and don’t forget to check out the Shen Wu Martial Arts group on Facebook.  I hadn’t talked to Tim before this interview, but many of the people I’ve had as guests on my podcast have rated him highly, and now I know why - for somebody with so much experience of martial arts Tim is a very humble and genuine guy, as I hope you’ll discover over the next hour or so.  You can support The Tai Chi Notebook Podcast by becoming a patron. Head over to www.patreon.com/taichinotebook and become a patron today! You'll get a version of the podcast you can download, exclusive video clips and articles.

In this episode I’m teaming up with Ken Gullette, to answer the kind of questions that Tai Chi teachers get asked all the time. Ken is an all-round good guy and owner of the Internal Fighting Arts website where he teaches the arts of Xing Yi, Bagua and Tai Chi at a very reasonable monthly cost. Check him out at www.internalfightingarts.com Ken is a Chen style guy, and I’m a Yang style guy so it’s no surprise we have slightly different views on a lot of different topics, but that’s part of the fun of it all. And if you’d like to help out my podcast then you can now become a friend of the Tai Chi Notebook on Patreon. Head over to Patreon.com/taichinotebook and you’ll be able to get a downloadable version of the podcast as well as support my work and get exclusive articles. If you’ve got any comments on what we say then send them in - we’d love to hear from you!

In this episode my guest is Phil Duffy, a senior student of Sifu Wan Kei-Ho from Hong Kong, who carries on a lineage of Northern Shaolin and Buk Sing Choy Li Fut from the famous masters Ku Yu Chang and Tam Sam. Buk Sing is a much rarer sub style of Choy Li Fut that involves less long forms and more conditioning and drills, and it’s the same style of Choy Li Fut that I learned in the UK, so when I met Phil back in the 2000s we had a lot to talk about. We’ve kept in touch over the years so it was good to catch up again for a chat. Here we get into the differences between the various Choy Li Fut styles, how it’s different training martial arts in Asia compared to the west, and we talk about the key to it all, the ging (or jin)  -  that special type of soft power, that some people call Internal power - that the Chinese martial arts are famous for, and how it’s used in Choy Li Fut. We also talk about the famed Wing Chun / Choy Li Fut rivalry and how Choy Li Fut relates to other styles from the same area of China, like the older Hung Kuen style. Support The Tai Chi Notebook for only £3/$4.50 on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/taichinotebook Links Sifu Wan Kei-Ho webpage: http://www.kungfuwan.com/eng_home.html The Tai Chi Notebook blog http://www.thetaichinotebook.com

In this episode my guest is Seymour Yang, a long time acquaintance of mine who is also something of a legend in the BJJ world, where he goes by the name Meerkatsu and is famous for his BJJ artworks, which get turned into beautiful t-shirts, rash guards and gis.  Seymour is also a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and teaches at the Roger Gracie academy in South Hertfordshire. So, it’s no surprise that this episode is highly focused on the art of Brazilian jiujitsu. We’re talking right after we both attended the same jiujitsu seminar up in Stafford with Priit Mihkelson (my guest in episode 5 of this podcast) so that’s where we start our conversation. I hope you enjoy it! Links: Meerkatsu Original Artworks: https://www.meerkatsu.com/ Seymour's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meerkatsu/ Roger Gracie South Hertfordshire https://www.rga-south-herts.co.uk/ Priit Mihkelson https://www.defensivebjj.com/ Graham's text adventure game from 1986: http://bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=1722

My guest in this episode is Michael Babin a Tai Chi practitioner from Ottawa, Canada who has been teaching Tai Chi since the 1980s. He’s primarily a Yang style practitioner, but also does a bit of Sun style Tai Chi on the side. Michael is now officially retired from running his own school, but still keeps his hand in training 3 or 4 times a week with his old students. In our discussion we talk a lot about the problems associated with teaching Tai Chi and what the Tai Chi scene was like in Canada in the 90s and how things have changed compared to today. We also chat about the various Tai Chi teachers Michael has trained under over the years including Tim Cartmell, Erle Montaigue and Sam Masich. Michael has recently started a YouTube channel where you can see him teaching and performing Tai Chi, which you can find at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp-_4T9Qhk8qVbrTOF0WBow 

Arlene Faulk is the author of Walking on Pins and Needles, her memoir of living with multiple sclerosis without a diagnosis for many years, spending two years not getting up from the couch and how she eventually found Tai Chi and how it helped her combat the disease and regain her health, eventually becoming a Tai Chi teacher herself. Make sure you listen right to the end as we have some tips from Arlene on how you can use Tai Chi principles to feel better right now as you listen to the podcast. Walking on Pins and Needles by Arlene Faulk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walking-Pins-Needles-Resilience-Sclerosis-ebook/dp/B09S2CLVHK/ref=sr_1_5 Faulk Tai Chi: https://faulktaichi.com/ Find out more about The Tai Chi Notebook podcast at: www.thetaichinotebook.com

Welcome to the first Tai Chi Notebook Podcast of 2022. Happy new year of the tiger and I hope you are in good health.  In this episode my guest is David Rogers of the Rising Crane Chinese Marital Arts school in the UK.  David has an extensive background in Chinese martial arts and has been training since 1984 and teaching for over 25 years, mainly in Tai Chi  and Hap Gar, but he’s also trained people for MMA fights and been quite involved in the competition scene, so he’s got lots of great insights into the practicality of Chinese martial arts. He is a disciple of Master Deng Jan Gong, one of the most famous Kung Fu masters in Southern China. In this hour long talk we address many of the questions that we both have about Chinese martial arts in the current times, and we hear his thoughts on training Chinese arts for a mixed martial arts environment, the origins of forms and much more. Find out more about David at www.risingcrane.co.uk

This episode I’m talking to the man, the legend, that is Stephan Kesting, Stephan has taught thousands of people martial arts through his famous website grapplarts.com which, back in the day, was one of the first sites to put out quality Brazilian jiujitsu instructional material and is still putting out top notch instructional material today Stephan is a fireman, he has competed in marital arts, he has trekked across the Canadian wilds with a canoe and recently he’s undergone a full hip replacement and documented his recovery - and he’s about to return to training again, so he’s one tough old dude. Stephan also hosts his own podcast, the Strenuous Life Podcast, which I’d recommend you listen to - because it’s always super interesting, especially his episodes debunking conspiracy theories. Links: www.grapplearts.com To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

My guest this episode is Rob Poyton a veteran of the UK Tai Chi and martial arts scene. These days Rob is a teacher of the Russian martial art of Systema, which he has been teaching in the UK since the early 2000s and has run workshops and seminars all over Europe.  Rob is also a prolific author of Systema books and videos which you can get via his website Cutting Edge Systema which is found at systemauk.com In this wide-ranging discussion we talk about what the UK Tai Chi scene was like back in the 80s and 90s, and the similarities and differences between Tai Chi and Systema. We even get into a bit of politics, and talk about Rob’s experiences as a professional musician and his sideline as a horror fiction writer. So, sit back and enjoy as we get under the skin of Tai Chi and Systema.

Hello and welcome to a special bonus edition of the Tai Chi Notebook. This time I’m interviewing Joe and Brad from The Fight Bible, a popular YouTube martial arts channel. I used to train jiujitsu with Brad back in the day, before he went on to become a UFC fighter, so I’ve known him for years. Brad is retired from the UFC now, but he recently accepted a fight offer from the famous D.K. Yoo, who teaches martial arts seminars all over the world. The fight is scheduled to happen on December 4th on pay-per-view here: https://www.fite.tv/watch/dk-yoo-vs-xu-xiaodong/2pa2e/ Brad and Joe are flying off to South Korea in just a few days for a boxing match that looks set to make a huge impression on the martial arts scene.  So, let’s find out how it all happened, how Brad's training is going and what the boys think is going to happen on December 4th. Links: -------- The Fight Bible: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFightBibleofficial Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

In this episode  Tai Chi Notebook podcast my guest is Ken Gullette, a native of Illinois, USA, where he trains in all three of the main internal arts - Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi. Ken also runs a website called internalfightingarts.com where he trains students from around the world in the three internal arts using a combination of recorded and live classes.  Ken is quite famous for his focus on body mechanics, internal power and getting to the root of these arts in a non-mystical and no-nonsense way.  In fact, he’s written an excellent book that’s available on Amazon - it’s called ‘Internal body mechanics for Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi’, and I’d recommend you get a copy. In this episode we discuss the internal body mechanics of Tai Chi, training with disciples in the Chen family linage and there’s also a few stories of the times Ken has had to use his arts in real situations. Visit Ken’s website at: www.internalfightingarts.com Facebook page: www.facebook.com/internalfightingarts Blog: www.internalfightingartsblog.com Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

My guest in this episode is my first from the world of Brazilian Jiujitsu. He’s Estonian Jiujitsu coach Priit Mihkelson.  For over 15 years now Priit has been pioneering an innovative, logical and defensive style of jiujitsu that has been taking the BJJ world by storm.  He’s just back from running a training camp held in a castle in Italy and his seminars are sold out until mid June next year, so it was great to grab some of his precious time and catch up with him before he jetted off for his next training camp.  In this podcast we talk about defensive BJJ, training methods and technical innovations.  Show Notes: ------------------- Priit’s talk at BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp in 2020 “Want to get better at Jiu Jitsu?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Wv7A2Hdf0 Priit’s online coaching website: www.DefensiveBJJ.com Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

What is Shamanism? And how does it relate to martial arts? In this episode I catch up with my old, friend and teacher Damon Smith to answer some of these questions.  Damon is an incredibly experienced martial artist with a background in various Japanese and Chinese arts including Karate, Kempo, Xing Yi, Baji and Choy Lee Fut. And those are just a few of the arts he’s pursued to a very high level. But despite being a great martial artist Damon’s true love has always been Shamanism.  And while he’s no stranger to banging a drum, Damon’s shamanism is not the hippy dippy sort of practice you might associate shamans with, instead it’s a very down to earth and practical art, much like the martial arts he does. In this episode we talk about the link between martial arts and shamanism, and where the crossovers lie. Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Paul Bowman is a professor of cultural studies at Cardiff University. He’s the author of multiple books on martial arts, including several about Bruce Lee, and most recently, “The invention of martial arts: popular culture between Asia and America”, which was published by Oxford University press in 2020. Paul also helped establish the academic journal Marital Arts Studies, and organised conferences for the Martial Arts Studies Research Network. In this chat we reminisce about our times training together, talk about paul’s recent discovery of Brazilian jiujutsu and discuss the emergent field of martial arts studies. Show notes: 10.15: The Bruce Lee period Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theorizing-Bruce-Lee-Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy-Contemporary/dp/9042027770/ref=sr_1_1 Beyond Bruce Lee: Chasing the Dragon Through Film, Philosophy, and Popular Culture 1 Mar. 2013 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Bruce-Lee-Chasing-Philosophy/dp/0231165293/ref=sr_1_1 16.00: I am Bruce Lee, the movie https://vimeo.com/96517261 17.30: Marital Arts Studies https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/ 22.40: Understanding Identity Through Martial Arts, with Prof Adam Frank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZb3WjosTs 23.53: On How to Talk about Taekwondo, with Professor Paul Bowman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cALt0O3Y5_s 31.05: The invention of martial arts On The Invention of Martial Arts with Prof Paul Bowman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOyAllbfYsM The Invention of Martial Arts: Popular Culture Between Asia and America 24 Feb. 2021 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-Martial-Arts-Popular-Culture/dp/0197540341/ref=sr_1_1 44.50: David Carradine - No Limitations Be Anything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q85cV3GOMw 55.00: Comedy and honour around martial arts styles Are Filipino Martial Arts Realistic? | Master Ken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiuTGP-jnT8 Sensei Seth: If Every Martial Arts Style Taught Each Other https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGo2_f50GLo --- Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more about this podcast please visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Byron Jacobs is a teacher of Xing Yi and Bagua based in Beijing, China. He’s a student of the famous Shifu Di Guoyong and is heavily involved in the martial arts scene in Beijing. As well as training traditional martial arts he’s also a BJJ practitioner and competitor.  If you’d like to be taught by Byron in the arts of Xing Yi and Bagua, then he has an online learning platform available at https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture - find out what’s available on the platform here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRjNAhP91nI&t=1s In this wide ranging discussion we talk about training Xing Yi, Bagua and Tai Chi and whether Wu Shu will ever get into in the Olympics. We also find out what it was like to train martial arts in Beijing during the Corona virus pandemic, and what the Chinese BJJ and MMA scene is like. Show notes: (9.45)  Byron’s Hua Jin Online learning platform https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture (15.22) Byron’s Mu Shin Martial Culture YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg_V6eznSvYOFz2naGlgRpg (47.05) DQ'd for Kicking TOO HARD? - Doctor Reacts to Olympic Karate Controversy and Knockout Science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFxxM3QOws (1.05.30) Speed passing by Rafa Mendes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu_9Lcdrh_w (1.18.11) Ku Yu Chang (Guruzhang’s) Yang style Taijiquan: A STUDY OF TAIJI BOXING 龍子祥 by Long Zixiang https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-taiji-manual-of-long-zixiang/ (1.23.00) Stand Still Be Fit by Master Lam Kam Chuen https://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit Music by lesfm from Pixabay To find out more visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Ep 1: Daniel Mroz on defining Chinese martial arts. What is the relationship between Chinese martial arts and Chinese theatre, religion, mime, serious leisure activities, fighting and military tactics? How do all these factors intermingle and produce the arts we have today? In this wide-ranging discussion between Graham Barlow of The Tai Chi Notebook and Daniel Mroz, Professor of Theatre at the University of Ottawa we tackle all these subjects and more. As well as being a professor of theatre, Daniel is also a Choy Li Fut and Tai Chi Chuan practitioner, and has lectured at the Martial Arts Studies conference.  He writes books and contributes articles to various journals including the Martial Arts Studies journal.  Podcast Notes and links 1) Daniel Mroz quote in full: By ‘Chinese martial arts’, I refer to folkways that began to assume their present forms from the mid 19th to the early 20th centuries, at the end of the Imperial, and the beginning of the Republican periods of Chinese history. These arts train credible fighting abilities through exacting physical conditioning; through partnered, combative drills and games; and through the practice of prearranged movement patterns called tàolù  套路 (Mroz, 2017 & 2020). For millennia, up end of the Imperial period in 1912, China explicitly understood itself as a religious state (Lagerwey 2010). Communities across China not only used their martial arts to defend themselves, they performed them as theatrical acts of religious self-consecration, communal blessing, and entertainment in an annual calendar of sacred festivals (Ward, 1978; Sutton, 2003; Boretz, 2010; Amos, 2021). Modernization, and secularization at the end of the Imperial period removed the original context of these practices. The Chinese martial arts were transformed over the course of the 20th century by both their worldwide spread, and by their ideological appropriation by the Chinese Republic of 1912, and the Communist state that succeeded it in 1949 (Morris, 2004). Their religious heritage forgotten in many social, and cultural contexts within greater China, and internationally, the arts we practice today combine a legacy of pragmatic combat skill, religious enaction, participatory recreation, competitive athleticism, and performed entertainment. 2) THE STRENUOUS LIFE PODCAST WITH STEPHAN KESTING 334 - Ten Guru Warning Signs with Dr Dr Chris Kavanagh https://kesting.libsyn.com/334-ten-guru-warning-signs-with-dr-dr-chris-kavanagh 3) Peter Johnsson http://www.peterjohnsson.com/higher-understanding-and-deeper-reckoning/ Peter Johnsson - long video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6N3x_4gOtw&list=PLvIylNOaOkiZxaCtKkEVlVP3gQGXHpgSG Peter Johnsson - short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiSoLMx3v0I 4) Cung Le Sao Choy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRQkV0DWjlE 5) Daniel Mroz Tàolù – The Mastery of Space: https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/abstract/10.18573/mas.111/ Academic page: https://dmroz.academia.edu 6) China: A Religious State, John Lagerwey https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/China.html?id=WAOOzQi0dCkC&redir_esc=y You can stay in touch and support The Tai Chi Notebook by visiting our website www.thetaichinotebook.com and following our page on Facebook.  Music by lesfm from Pixabay

Which came first in Xing Yi, the 5 elements or the 12 animals? This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/06/29/is-xing-yi-a-nature-based-martial-art-any-longer/

Dim mak, pressure points, high kicks and nerve strikes! This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/25/pressure-point-striking-is-back/

Does lineage reallt matter in Chinese marital arts? This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/18/does-it-work/

One admonition from Yang Cheng Fu’s 10 important points, that has become something of a law in Tai Chi Chuan, is to ‘keep the head suspended, as if from above’. In the Tai Chi Classics it also states “Stand like a perfectly balanced scale and move like a turning wheel”, whilst also saying, “Don’t lean in any direction; suddenly appear, suddenly disappear.” This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/04/04/suspended-from-above-bringing-a-sense-of-lightness-to-your-tai-chi/

Some advice on how to stop trying so much in Tai Chi and learn to go with the flow. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2018/08/24/dont-put-power-into-the-form-let-it-naturally-arise-from-the-form/

Are you hydrated? How do you know? Should you be drinking a certain amount of water a day? Find out in this episode of The Tai Chi Notebook. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/19/how-much-water-should-you-drink-a-day/

I’m going to have a bit of a rant today about Tai Chi people who still think that their art is too deadly for the ring, so please bear with me. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/13/tai-chi-is-still-too-deadly-for-the-cage/

A look at the concept of timing in martial arts and a way to practice it that comes from Xing Yi. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/01/03/the-real-secret-to-martial-arts-bruce-lee-and-the-concept-of-jeet/

A review of Introduction to Baguazhang, by Kent Howard. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/18/review-introduction-to-baguazhang-by-kent-howard-2/