Disqus - Latest Comments for wujimon

Re: The End of Urban Samurai

wujimon — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:19:02 -0000

sorry to hear, but we must focus on the big rocks in our lives first! Your blog was very informative and a good read. You will be missed in the martial arts blogosphere

Re: Real Gold Does Not Fear the Fire

wujimon — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:45:43 -0000

Hi Carl. Check out the Link in the post to Shukuang Press. You can order the book from there. Here is the link as well: http://shukuangpress.com/Pr...

Re: Misunderstanding Double Heavy?

wujimon — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:22:53 -0000

FYI, I did an overview of Master Chen Zhonghua's Energy Alignment DVD at: http://wujimon.com/chen-zho...

Re: Practical Method Yilu – Short Version

wujimon — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:05:34 -0000

Greetings, Tim. You are correct that free style is a nice way to go. I often freestyle just walking around ;) However, I generally do not freestyle during a form. If anything, I will pull a piece out and just drill that piece. In a way, that's like a short form too :) Thanks for your comment ;)

Re: Practical Method Yilu – Short Version

wujimon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:42:14 -0000

Hi PMBrazil. I am glad you provided some background because I was getting ready to comment on the video to ask who created the short version. Thank you for sharing your video.

Re: Practical Method Yilu – Short Version

wujimon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:53:07 -0000

Greetings, Gregg. Like you, I enjoy taking my time with forms. I am not a "forms collector", and therefore have really no strong need to add more forms to my repertoire. In fact, I have been working on the first 13 moves of the Chen Practical Method Yilu for like the last 6 months now ... ;)

You're a bold man for attempting to do weapon forms! I love the taiji jian, but have basically vowed not to really practice it until I am able to control my own body, let alone trying to add an extension of my body ;)

I'm glad you enjoy the blog ;)

Re: Practical Method Yilu – Short Version

wujimon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:49:53 -0000

Greetings, mrinal. A lot of teachers have short versions of forms. I believe at the more recent world-wide taiji event, instructors of each of the 5 main styles taught a 13 form version of their respective styles. Even to this day, one of my favorite short forms is Chen Xiaowang's 38 form.

Re: What Does Chen Style Taiji Look Like?‏

wujimon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:38:38 -0000

Very interesting to note that a lot of things can easily be "lost in
translation". For me, this is one of the great strengths of teachers like
Chen Zhonghua, Stephen Hwa, and Fong Ha to name a few. They understand the
native implications and have a very good command of the english language to
properly translate.

Re: Empty Your Cup

wujimon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:35:38 -0000

Wow, great point about emptying oneself for the form and activity at hand.
Be in the now! ;)

Re: Counting Breaths in Zhan Zhuang

wujimon — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:29:05 -0000

Hi CS. Thank you for sharing the brochure. I like how you outlined the
various modes that can be used for meditation. They seem so simple, yet the
practice is not easy.

Re: Empty Your Cup

wujimon — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:09:53 -0000

Hi Rick. I agree that it may be "the first test" along the way ...

Re: My Top 10 Ninja Movies

wujimon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:38:52 -0000

"Only a ninja can kill a ninja"! I had such fond memories of Ninja 3 the Domination, only to realize how cheesy the flick is seeing it now ;) Good stuff and good list. I've added some to my netflix queue.

Re: Withdraw is to Issue

wujimon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:15:16 -0000

Hi Transit. I am assuming the "roll" could be analogous to "spiraling" in taiji terminology? If so, I would definitely agree! ;)

Re: Don’t Get Stuck (Double Heavy)

wujimon — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:19:26 -0000

Hi Rick. I would agree that focusing on front hand/foot combinations could be limiting in terms of progress. That is why I focused on the "being able to move freely" aspect of the quote.

Regarding "bracing", I think I have an understanding of it, but not really sure what it means in the context of double weighted. Perhaps you could write a post about it ;)

Re: Zhan Zhuang Adjustments

wujimon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:53:42 -0000

Hi Bev. My understanding of zhan zhuang has changed quite a bit over the past 2 yrs (as of the above posting). For some more current information, check out Wujifa Zhan Zhuang Alignment. You're right in that zhan zhuang doesn't necessarily have to be done with the back at a 90 degree angle from the ground. However, there is much more to zhan zhuang than just a straight back ;) Read the post linked above for more ;)

Re: Misunderstanding Double Heavy?

wujimon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:40:03 -0000

Hi Joanna. I like your notion of the "one circle" in regards to double heavy aka double weightedness. Lately, my own understanding of double heavy is being in a position where one is unable to move and lose balance. Your own definition seems to follow the same logic, ie, if I shift weight to the left, then my body turns to the left. This way, if need be, I can move my right foot to rebalance myself.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I am a fan of your writings, especially the ones about bringing the martial back to "martial arts" :)

Re: Wujifa is all of the above

wujimon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:45:54 -0000

Hi Rick. I agree with you 100%. I spent a weekend with Rick a couple of weeks back. I will post about my experiences in a bit, so stay tuned ;)

Re: Zhan Zhuang – Stand Still and Be Fit

wujimon — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:37:34 -0000

Hi Andy. I modified the post to make things a bit more clear. I received a book from my first zhan zhuang instructor and the video referenced in the post is more like a companion to the book.

Re: Isolate then Integrate

wujimon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:45:14 -0000

Hi Colman.

Thanks for taking the time to outline some of the exercises! I really
appreciate it and I'm sure other readers will too! Regarding the knees and
fascia, this is a new topic for me and something I will be exploring in
future posts! Thanks for your insights and stay tuned for more info on this
whole fascia thing ;)

Re: Isolate then Integrate

wujimon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:49:02 -0000

Hi Dave. I like the idea of "martial fitness"! I will definitely look more into the kettlebell training in the next couple of weeks or so. I already feel much stronger and healthier after just a little more than a week of P90X

Re: Isolate then Integrate

wujimon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:46:20 -0000

Thanks for exercise suggestions, Colman! I just did them both and found them very beneficial! I'm glad you included a link to a picture for dorsiflexing the wrist.

When I stand up straight naturally, my toes point outwards a bit. Also, my hands are about 6 inches in front of my hip joints. I tried to stand up straight with feet parallel and hands next to hip joint and can definitely feel the difference. I didn't realize how many issues I had in m shoulders!

Re: The Position of Shoulders in Opening the Chest

wujimon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:57:17 -0000

Wow, Dave. I feel pain just watching the video of shoulder dislocates. I didn't think this was something that could be trained.

Re: Personal Demonstration of Skill

wujimon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:56:16 -0000

Hi Rick. The bioenergetic stuff is not that important to me, it's more about "maintain a healthy body weight, an excellent state of overall physical fitness". This is what speaks to me when I think of this quote in relation to fitness.

Re: Day 1 of P90X

wujimon — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:34:55 -0000

Hey Dave. Thanks for your comment about isolate and integrate. It
reminds me of a saying that a system is only as fast as its slowest
component.

After the third day of P90X, my weakest parts are coming to light.
What did I do on a friday evening? Well, P90X of course! So I am
sticking with the program. I have toned down the intensity to do what
I can handle. No dizziness or blackouts after days 2 and 3.

I haven't forgotten about the kettlebell training and may look at that
a bit later. I'm having fun with P90X so far and looking forward to
tomorrow's Yoga-X workout ;p

Thanks again for your comments and encouragement!

Re: The Role of Physical Conditioning in Taiji

wujimon — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:53:31 -0000

Hi Jim. The wall push you describe sounds like the exact same thing we were doing at the Chen Zhonghua workshop in March 2009! Master Chen called it Static Power Training. Here is a picture of us doing it against a wall: static power training flickr photo