The global martial art community experienced a period of inactivity in the last three years due to the pandemic. Many classes were shut down, and online teaching was challenging for external martial arts. Although in-person classes gradually returned since late 2021, many schools’ enrollments have not fully recovered. Practitioners worldwide were disheartened by the absence of tournaments during this time. Courtesy of KungfuMagazine.com However, the Tiger Claw Elite KungFuMagazine.com Championship is making a comeback, and I was thrilled to hear about it. The organizers deserve applause for th ..read more

Sponsored by the Shift Network, Qigong Global Summit has established its reputation as a yearly must-go event for the global healing art community. This year’s theme is “Cultivate Ageless Grace, Vitality and Agility through Meditative Movement Practices”.  I am pleased to see many of the great teachers are invited back. Even more so, there are new presenters, like David-Dorian Ross, Gloria Yeh, Helen Liang, Shin Lin, Kevin Chen and others will share their knowledge so this year’s content is broader and richer. Science has proven that by consistently practicing Qigong, you embrace a joyful ..read more

Recently a student shared two paintings by artist OH Keehyung with me. The objects in both paintings possess the quality of being still as well as dynamic and resonate with me and reflect my practice of Tai Chi and Qigong. Artist OH Keehyung OH Keehyung is a South Korean artist and lives in France. She does calligraphy, watercolor paintings, and sculptures with clay. Sometimes she draws on her cell phone. Since 2007, she has exhibited extensively in France, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Vietnam, Belgium, China, Austria, Turkey, United States, Russia, and South Korea. Her father OH Sang Seok, a ..read more

According to Chinese Zodiac, there are twelve animals to represent years in the order of the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, and Dog, and the Pig and then repeat from the beginning. There is a separate system of Five Elements (the Wood, the Fire, the Earth, the Metal, and the Water), which is parallel to the Zodiac and also designates the years. Next year it will be a Water Rabbit and it was 60 years ago that a Water Rabbit last emerged. You might be curious as to what is the significance of a Water Rabbit. Sifu Sharon Sm ..read more

Wu Qin Xi or Five Animal Frolics is one of the most revered ancient Chinese Health Qigong exercises, which imitates the movements of tiger, deer, bear, monkey, and crane. It is proven that this exercise can offer multiple health benefits to practitioners and it is also fun to play. The recent publication of The Five Animal Frolics Qigong: An Adaptation of Master Jiao Guorui’s Five Animal Frolics, translated by Kevin Siddons and Ariel Ma’ayan provides a profound aspect of the form practice.   FrBook Cover of “The Five Animal Frolics Qigong” Hua Tuo (145 ACE – 208 ACE) of Han Dynasty (206 B ..read more

It was twenty-one years ago when I embarked my Tai Chi chuan journey in St. Louis, Missouri. My classmates and I were intrigued by the art and thirsty for the knowledge on the forms, the principles of Tai Chi, and the history of the art. Back those days, Chen Tai Chi was lessor known in the West, especially in St. Louis.  Resources were hard to come by and there were little information online.  YouTube did not exist until 2005. Amazon.com didn’t sell books on Chen Tai Chi chuan. Years later, through a friend of a friend, we got a copy of Chen Style Taijiquan: The Source of Taiji Boxi ..read more

As I mentioned in the first article of the trilogy, I decided to take Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming’s seminar to supplement the reading of his books on Grand Circulation and Small Circulation. I spent two weeks in the Yang Heights to learn directly from Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and felt fulfilled. Does that mean I learned everything in both circulations? Well, I am far from that goal. Among thirteen attendees, I was the only one who was new to Dr. Yang’s qigong training and the rest were returning students. Like me, many students are instructors. Sifu Paul McIntosh, a certified Qigong instructor by Dr. Yang ..read more

Chinese legend has it that Peng Zu (approximately born 1900 BCE) lived 880 years and survived 100 wives. If you don’t want to compete with Peng Zu but want to enjoy 120 happy healthy years or just want to reach Buddhahood or gain a spiritual fulfillment, Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming’s new book Qigong Grand Circulation for Spiritual Enlightenment can provide you with a roadmap.  As mentioned in my earlier book review (published on 07/25/22) of Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming’s Small Circulation, this 2022 publication is a companion to the Small Circulation. The 76-year-old author stated that due to a genetic i ..read more

Background A few months ago, I got a copy ofQigong Grand Circulation for Spiritual Enlightenment by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. Since I have been learning, practicing and teaching Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation for 20 years, immediately I was drawn to the subject and eager to read the book. I was totally amazed by the richness of the content and decided to dive in page by page. As a journalist with 700 articles on the subject, I have read hundreds of scientific studies, articles, books, classical Chinese documents, and interviewed countless masters and experts. I have accumulated some knowledge in t ..read more

– Authored by Sifu Alan Ludmer Over the long course of my martial studies I have been very fortunate to visit numerous martial arts schools.  I regularly noticed a dramatic difference between my visits to internal (Tai Chi, etc) schools and external (hard style) martial arts schools.  Almost all my visits to both types of schools would began the same.  I would met the teacher and the students, exchange thoughts and perspectives on a variety of topics, and demonstrated various Tai Chi forms.  In almost every external school, someone would politely ask if Tai Chi was really a ..read more