Tag: Tai Chi

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Venom & Intent

Steve Rowe

Anyone that has worked or had to function in a violent environment will definitely know this and I would have thought that almost everyone would, but sometimes I wonder. Intent and venom rule above all everything else, followed by rock solid basics that produce power. I look at so many videos showing fancy shit and think that I’d walk straight through them as would any of my Kohai from back in the day. They take the p*ss out of ‘old style’ karateka practising relentless basics and using the makiwara but they have no idea of how we trained and tested … Continue reading Venom & Intent

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Form/Kata Training

Steve Rowe

One of the great things about martial arts is the ability to vary the training. Forms/kata can be:Large, middle or small frameSoft, natural, or focused energy, healing or dischargingFocus on posture, breathing or balanceFast, normal or slow speedWork on snake, tiger, crane, leopard or dragon stylesWork on ‘pulling’ inwards (strangling, choking, throwing applications)With the same techniques work on ‘pushing’ outwards (striking, pushing applications)Focus on different body parts (feet, legs, hips, waist, upper torso, arms, hands, head)Change intent, focus on body, skill level, opponent, power and venomWork on mobility, rooting or ‘pulsing’ to create movement. Other forms of solo exercise training … Continue reading Form/Kata Training

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The Bottom Line

Steve Rowe

When you plumb down to the bottom line of any martial art, past the dogma and politics, past the flowery hands and embroidered feet, you discover that although there are many paths, the bottom line is the same. Anyone who thinks it’s not, they haven’t got there yet. When you plumb down to the bottom line of any philosophy or religion, past the dogma, past the buildings, robes, and the rituals, you discover that although there are many paths, the bottom line is the same. Anyone who thinks it’s not, they haven’t got there yet. Truth is truth. It’s unchanging. … Continue reading The Bottom Line

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Hope Less To Enlightenment

Steve Rowe

You must have hopeYou can’t live without hopeThis is not trueWhen you reach a point in lifeWhere there is nothing leftNothing in the futureNothing you can haveEverything is out of reachNothing you wantNo desiresAs the self diesThere’s nothing to hope forYou are dead insideIn that darknessIn that stillnessIn that silenceLies immortalityUniversal consciousnessThe language of wisdom and insightNormally hidden by wantsAnd not wantsDesires and addictionsWhen hope diesSo does the selfAnd enlightenment arises.By Steve Rowe Continue reading Hope Less To Enlightenment

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Yang Family (Yeung Gar) Tai Chi Chuan

Steve Rowe

Historical facts about the founder of the Yang family (Yeung Gar) style of Tai Chi Yang Lu Chan are varied and often disputed, but he did teach in the Imperial Palace and also many high level dignitaries. I would speculate that this contributed to his notable skill and his ability to deal with opponents utilising the Tai Chi skills of a ‘soft front and a strong back’, often referred to as ‘a sharp needle, or iron bar wrapped in soft cotton’. He needed to be effective but retain a dignified approach, negating an opponent’s force with a blend of skill … Continue reading Yang Family (Yeung Gar) Tai Chi Chuan

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3 Qualities Of A Good Martial Artist

Steve Rowe

Do you want to know whether someone has a deep understanding of their martial art? Here’s 3 things to look for: Are they ‘in’ or ‘on’ their feet and legs? If they are ‘standing on their bones’ they can be easily pushed over, a skilful practitioner is balanced and can drop their weight into the soft tissue in the legs down to the feet by softening down through the body, and push directionally from there. Are their arms driven from the waist? Flapping the arms around is weak, but if driven from the feet, legs and then the waist, it … Continue reading 3 Qualities Of A Good Martial Artist

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Training With Pain & Fatigue

Steve Rowe

Training this morning with chronic fatigue, chronic arthritis, only one leg and sprained my neck and chest yesterday using a transfer board at an awkward angle to get from wheelchair to car. Was obviously seated, moving with care to not make anything worse and was using my breathing to open and then close all cavities, tissue and joints in the body filling them with energy to assist healing and reduce pain. Turning disadvantage into advantage was using my hip bones against the chair as my ‘feet’ and pain makes me extremely focused, mindful and concentrated, and the sensitivity makes me … Continue reading Training With Pain & Fatigue

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We Are Still Quadrupeds

Steve Rowe

We are still quadrupeds. We spiral outward in our feet to rotate the femur in the hip socket to open the hips, lifting the pelvic floor and bowing the legs and lower spine. We spiral inwards with our hands to rotate the humerus in the shoulder socket in the opposite direction to the hips to raise the upper back completing both the spine and arm bows. These actions complete and connect the 3 bows (spine, arms and legs) also connecting feet and hands. Humans are still built as quadrupeds so our hips and shoulders work together in opposite directions to … Continue reading We Are Still Quadrupeds

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Martial Arts Are Not Binary

Steve Rowe

Martial Arts are not binary. There are different types of people in every art and style and they are practiced in a myriad of different ways. Every self defence situation is pretty unique and a good martial artist has a toolbox of mental, emotional and physical strategies that they are able to use in a spontaneous way according to the situation to resolve it. I have used and seen used strategies and techniques that would be laughed at by the ‘one handed typist’ trolls and finger wagging reel makers that permeate our social media feeds. If only life was as … Continue reading Martial Arts Are Not Binary

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Eagle Vision

Steve Rowe

Eagle Vision People used to ask me how I could judge and grade a class of 30 students at the same time. Eagle vision is a skill using peripheral vision where I could watch the entire class at the same time and constantly pick out those above and below the standard I was looking for. It’s a state of mind where I utilise my awareness and instinct above thought. It enables me to read people and situations quickly and at a far deeper level than the thinking mind that is slow, laborious, easily distracted and reaches an apathetic state very … Continue reading Eagle Vision