Necessity is the Mother of Invention - The Tiger Claw Set
March 18, 2024
The principle behind the Tiger Claw Set is simple: drop your attacker’s primary sensor system at the earliest opportunity before striking other various vulnerable targets until you can escape to safety. 5 Min. Read
A Mind-Body Prescription for Fatigue
October 2, 2023
To relieve, deal with and eliminate fatigue, YMAA Author Ramel Rones has created a Mind-Body routine based on the Eastern health and martial arts philosophies, Chi Kung, Tai Chi, and Meditation.
Building an Arsenal of Target Areas
March 5, 2023
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”—Bruce Lee
Graduated Levels of Awareness in Self-Defense
January 8, 2023
Awareness is your ability to be cognizant of the environment and events going on around you.”
The Flame-Thank You Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming
October 10, 2022
Unbeknownst to him, (Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming) his book (Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu) had a great impact on me, pointing me in the right direction during those incredibly formative first years of training.
Some “Art” and Some “Science” of Combat Sports, Martial Arts, and Self-Defense
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August 8, 2022
Martial arts, combat sports, and self-defense are different realms, and, while interconnected, they are not entirely the same.
A Scientific Approach to Self Defense
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July 4, 2022
The entire Tiger Claw combination should only take a few seconds to execute completely. With practice, you can deliver all four moves in less than three seconds.
Self-Defense and the Law
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June 20, 2022
When claiming self-defense, you are admitting that you are guilty of what would normally be a violent criminal action and that you did so intentionally and knowingly. However, you are also stating that your actions were justified under the given circumstances.
Meet the Author: Joe Varady and Gene Ching Have a Fun Chat About Hitting People with Sticks (video)
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April 6, 2022
YMAA Publication Center author Joe Varady talks with Shaolin staff practitioner Gene Ching about his new video series The Art and Science of Staff Fighting, his method of cross-training many martial arts, HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), and the reality of using long weapons (or a broom!) in real life defense situations.
Meet The Author: Ramel Rones Talks with Gene Ching About Bringing Tai Chi into the Medical Community (video)
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February 2, 2022
YMAA author Ramel Rones talks with Gene Ching about his pioneering work bringing tai chi and qigong into the medical community for decades.
Preparing Some Herbs
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July 6, 2020
Your best bet is to have pots dedicated just
to working with herbs. In fact, if you
are going to work with herbs that
are toxic, it’s a good idea to dedicate some of your pots and utensils exclusively to topical and/or
toxic preparations. Sure, you’ll
clean them well after each use,
but there’s always the chance of a bit of herb impregnated wax sticking to the inside.
The last thing you want when you’re making a nice stew is
bits of arnica or menthol getting into it.
Tai Chi – A Tradition of Immunity and Health - Part 2
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June 15, 2020
Observations and supporting research indicating possible physiological mechanisms of action underlying benefits, which may be unique to tai chi and similar exercises, is documented in my book “Mindful Exercise: Metarobics, Healing, and the Power of Tai Chi.” A range of scientific studies and supporting case stories provide hope and a direction for further investigations, research which in time may benefit a surprisingly wide range of conditions. Related to current concerns, I will provide a brief overview of key elements related to immunity at the end of this article.
Tai Chi—A Tradition of Immunity and Health - Part 1
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May 18, 2020
The question many may be asking is if tai chi may protect you from the coronavirus or other conditions. More research would be needed to determine this, and it is important for legal reasons to avoid making any claims that tai chi is a cure for any condition. But the preliminary research related to benefits for immunity and other conditions at least offers hope for enhanced health. And hope in many ways has been considered by many to be one of the best medicines. As noted by Orison Swett Marden, author and founder of Success Magazine, “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” Here is hoping for a better tomorrow through tai chi.
Metarobics for Immunity
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May 4, 2020
Researchers have also looked at the effects of tai chi practice on virus-specific lymphocytes. A study examining the effects of tai chi on varicella zoster (shingles) virus-specific lymphocytes found a significant increase in the number of these lymphocytes in a group of older adults after fifteen weeks of tai chi training. The tai chi group experienced an almost 50 percent increase in cell-mediated immunity to the varicella zoster virus despite not receiving the vaccine, compared to no change in a comparison group. A third group received the shingles vaccine, which resulted in a 75 percent increase in the number of virus-specific lymphocytes.
Mind Body Exercise for Relaxation, Health & Strengthening Your Immune System
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April 20, 2020
Physical tension usually turns into mental tension. Mentally you think you are “relaxing” on the sofa but actually, physically, you are collapsing. Over time you find yourself sore and stiff and not relaxed at all. Tight muscles pull on the bones which restrict the movement of your skeleton and over time cause physical discomfort and pain.
A Brief History of Stick Fighting and Why Learn It
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March 9, 2020
There are many practical reasons to learn how to fight with sticks. Stick fighting is a healthy, competitive activity that has real world applications. Stick fighting skills are very practical for self-defense, while stick fighting also serves as a sport, offering both entertainment and fitness. It appeals to all types of people, of all ages and ability levels.
Essential Stick Fighting: Crossing the Gap
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February 24, 2020
The human mind can be very predictable. Our brains have a natural tendency to look for patterns, and you can use this knowledge to trick your opponent into doing what you want him to do. This is called programming. Programming is an exceptional method of setting up your techniques, maximizing the probability of eluding your opponent’s defenses in order to land a decisive, disabling strike.
Tai Chi, Metarobics, and Immunity
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February 17, 2020
Tai chi practice has been shown to have beneficial effect on T cells. In a study conducted at the Chang Gung Institute of Technology in Taiwan, 12 weeks of tai chi practice resulted in a significant increase in regulatory T Cells. Monocytes (large white blood cells) also decreased significantly. Lower Monocyte counts are an indication of good health, since Monocytes increase in response to infection and chronic inflammation, indicating poor health.
Maximizing Metarobic Effects
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December 16, 2019
Those forms of exercise that focus on relaxation, efficient movement, and slow, deep breathing yield consistently higher blood oxygen saturation levels, as well as feelings of enhanced oxygen diffusion. This includes relaxation- and breath-focused forms of qigong and yoga. Since one of the drawbacks of traditional formats of tai chi is the long learning curve, I developed an easy-to-follow format. This format consisted of shifting the feet back and forth in place through the range of movements found in tai chi, focusing on movements that maximize Metarobic effects.
Metarobics, Tai Chi and Alzheimer’s
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June 10, 2019
Alzheimer’s is a scary disease. To go from having memories and full mental functioning to not knowing who you are, a decline in mental and physical functioning, and eventual death—what can be scarier than that? And as a disease, Alzheimer’s is becoming increasingly prevalent. According to the Centers for Disease Control, death rates from Alzheimer’s disease increased 55 percent between 1999 and 2014. Approximately one-third of all people age 85 and older may have Alzheimer's disease. Although genes and environment can play a factor, much of the growth of Alzheimer’s may be linked to a more sedentary lifestyle.
Tips for Selecting a Tai Chi Class
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January 14, 2019
To learn or practice tai chi for health, teaching ability can make more difference than the years of experience a teacher has in tai chi. This was also something hard for me to admit as a longtime practitioner. There are many traditionalists with a more martial orientation who may have incredible skill in tai chi but little patience as teachers. One of the largest barriers to learning tai chi identified in a survey of major programs in the United States was lack of patience on the part of the instructor.
Qi: Science or Magic?
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November 26, 2018
Tai chi and similar exercises are yielding phenomenal results for a large variety of health concerns. When I began collecting case stories, I was amazed at the number of people who have benefited from these exercises, often in dramatic ways. That tai chi and various qigong exercises increase blood oxygen saturation indicates that it is no coincidence that the Chinese word "qi" (pronounced "chi") is so strongly associated with these exercises. Despite qi's common association with the metaphysical and energy work, at its most basic level qi is best understood from its literal translation as "air."
Essential Elements of Metarobics and Tai Chi for Therapy
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September 17, 2018
Tai chi is fast becoming a popular exercise, resulting in a wide range of teaching methods. Some changes are beneficial, but others may reduce or even eliminate the unique benefits of tai chi. This chapter provides a brief overview of the development of tai chi for health and discusses what to look for when choosing a class to maximize the benefits of tai chi from a Metarobic and structural perspective.
Metarobics and Tai Chi: How a Student with Cancer Changed My Understanding of Exercise
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August 20, 2018
My awareness of how the body responds to certain kinds of movement occurred over a period of several years, and quite by accident. It was a gradual process. It began with the first student who came to me convinced that tai chi had cured her cancer. Over time, I came to realize that a large variety of chronic diseases shared a common element—an element directly affected by tai chi and similar exercises, which have unique and measurable effects on blood oxygen saturation and diffusion.
Tai Chi Dosage, and Making Tai Chi “Fit” into your Life
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July 30, 2018
There is an amazing array of research studies supporting the benefits of tai chi and related exercises for a wide range of conditions. Metarobic theory explains how and why from a medical perspective, but there still remains the question of why some studies show conflicting results particularly in the field of cancer.