Tag: kung fu

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Who Are You Kidding?

Steve Rowe

After 40 years of training nothing anyone says surprises me anymore.  However all through that time I have been constantly amazed at how easily people write failure into their training ideas and schedule without even realising it. I thought it might prove useful to pick up on the most common misconceptions I have heard and seen during those years. Success in the Martial Arts is no different to success in any other sphere of life.  If you practiced swimming, cycling, ballet dancing, gymnastics, guitar, piano, archery or any normal skill based art or sport you would have to go through … Continue reading Who Are You Kidding?

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3 Most Important Points In Martial Arts Training

Steve Rowe

If you had to name the 3 most important things to remember in the Martial Arts that would the biggest difference to your training what would they be? When teaching beginners what are the 3 most fundamental things to stress and continue to stress so the student doesn’t ever forget? Number One:  Stand straight – good postural alignment is essential!  The body must be pulled up to it’s full height, the classics say that the head should feel ‘as if suspended from above’, for every inch the skull moves off the top of the spine it doubles in weight, as the head … Continue reading 3 Most Important Points In Martial Arts Training

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Grading At Shi Kon

Steve Rowe

I am often asked why we grade differently to many others in the Shi Kon Training System.  I have trained in the Martial Arts for over 40 years to very high standard by top International Masters and have graded thousands of people all over the World, hundreds through to Black Belt – and a Shi Kon grade is recognised Internationally to be of a good standard.  I don’t set the bar too high or low, it is exactly right and in keeping with any good club. First of all, the standards are very clear and the same for everyone. There … Continue reading Grading At Shi Kon

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The 13 Dynamics Of Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Often called the ’13 Techniques’ or the ’13 Postures’ this list can really confuse Tai Chi practitioners and therefore they often get sidelined or bypassed, but when understood, they lie at the heart of Tai Chi practice.  To understand that they are ‘fighting’ dynamics that are held in the mind that are trained with the potential to be used instantly, reflexively and spontaneously in response to the opponent’s actions at any time  and although some are linked to certain techniques they are not the techniques, they are fighting strategies of ‘aliveness’ and are therefore dynamic because they are used to … Continue reading The 13 Dynamics Of Tai Chi

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A Door Inside

Steve Rowe

There is a door inside, in the deepest part of your heart. When you exit this world, it closes behind you. But it’s a door that can be used for refuge at anytime. Beyond it is a place of healing. Nourishment for the soul. A place where wisdom resides. A land of language without words. How do we find this door? There is only one way. Complete and utter stillness. Death within life. Thinking without words. When you are still and there is no words; Then the door will be felt. Once inside, you can heal; Understand what you were … Continue reading A Door Inside

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I Only Wanted To Be Kwai Chang Caine…

Steve Rowe

Why I only ever wanted to be Kwai Chang Caine. I was a typical South London council house boy doing Karate until that first Sunday afternoon in 1973 at 3pm when I watched the first episode of Kung Fu that turned my life upside down. Here was a Martial Artist and Buddhist priest that had nothing and yet had everything. How can that be? Listening to the wisdom dispensed from the Buddha I realised that suffering came from ownership, if you owned nothing you had everything. Happiness was simply an internal habit and unhappiness came from wanting to possess, keep … Continue reading I Only Wanted To Be Kwai Chang Caine…

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The Path To Success

Steve Rowe

Taken from the notes of Chris Gunn as a reminder as to what was covered on the Seminar on the 19th May 2013.  I post this on the blog because it’s an excellent reminder to any of my students and anyone in the Martial Arts that there is a straight forward linear path to success with no vague concepts if you’re prepared to put in the work required. It was very kind of Chris to allow these notes to be published. Steve had ended up entitling the Seminar ‘The Path To Success’ to help us determine the right path to … Continue reading The Path To Success

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Milk Of Amnesia

Steve Rowe

Tonight we are going to drink the elixir of Nirvana…… Milk of amnesia! Sensei always had a way with words. Sometimes he totally bastardised the English language and yet always found a way of using it to help us gain an insight toward a deeper philosophical point. His humour was also unique. Someone had to get the ball rolling. “Sensei, are talking about a drink to bring about a blissful state?” “No.” “But does not Nirvana mean enlightenment, or a state of bliss?” “Nirvana means to put the fires out.” “So we are to drink an elixir to put the … Continue reading Milk Of Amnesia

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10 Essential Points Of Martial Arts Leadership

Steve Rowe

‘Leadership’ is a much-maligned word in the Martial Arts these days; it tends to be over used, often by the wrong people in the wrong way. If you run a Club it’s essential that you fully understand the responsibility that you are undertaking. You primarily have a responsibility to yourself as the Leader of a Club and will be the pivotal figure that everyone is going to look up to. The Emotional Intelligence of the Leader will dictate how the rest of the Club will behave. If the Leader is disingenuous, a bully or financially greedy it will reflect negatively … Continue reading 10 Essential Points Of Martial Arts Leadership

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Peace Is Earned

Steve Rowe

Peace is earned.  The only harmony we have in this universe is amidst chaos, it is a natural state.  We are all built to fight each other for reproduction and food and in the human this has become so warped that it has become a highly evolved and barely noticeable part of our media, games and politics. The only way as a human that we can find peace is amidst this chaos. Our body is ‘balanced’ by continuous wars of huge armies of bacteria and microbes fighting each other for us to aspire to a good balanced healthy condition. The … Continue reading Peace Is Earned