November 18, 2016
Tai chi originated in China as a martial art, and has been known for centuries as a mind-body practice that brings practitioners fitness, health, and wellness.
November 7, 2016
Sumo is the fusion of honored ritual with unbridled power. Even in a combat sport like sumo, where great body mass and girth are often winning factors, superior technique can overcome size and strength.
October 10, 2016
Tai Chi Fit is a unique workout that I have developed after decades of traditional tai chi (taijiquan) practice. It is an effort to make tai chi more fun and accessible, while making your fitness more graceful and holistic. It’s a ride along the wave of your inner power, like surfing on your own life energy (Qi).
October 5, 2016
This article will discuss several martial arts to illustrate how different looking martial arts are apparently closely related and how the idea of hidden historical roots applies to many martial arts. First the origins of karate and Okinawan sumo will be explored. Then the root of jujitsu will be uncovered.
July 25, 2016
The axiom that street violence is volatile and unpredictable could not hold truer than when facing multiple assailants. Facing multiple assailants, let alone multiple armed assailants, is an extremely dangerous proposition. Try to recognize the situation as soon as possible such as if two people are walking towards you and they suddenly fan out to your left and right. Running and escaping is your best solution.
Street violence is volatile and unpredictable. An attacker will seek every advantage including ambushing you in concert with multiple confederates. You may well find yourself in a "negative five" position or initially unprepared for the fight of your life. Krav maga (Hebrew for "contact combat") developed for the Israel Defense Forces will provide you with the instinctive tools and ability to fight for your life and win.
David-Dorian Ross, an acclaimed international tai chi teacher, has worked for decades to bring tai chi to the mainstream. Ross is also a recipient of eight US Gold Medals, a World Silver medal and two World Bronze medals in tai chi. Now he is taking instruction to the next level by offering to the tai chi community the first interactive online streaming video.
A combative strike will have optimum force if you accelerate your strike in combination with correct body mechanics. Principally, this involves a total body weight shift through the target. Physics teaches that acceleration times mass equals force. Your strike will generate more force if you accelerate your speed as you extend your arm and put all of your body weight (mass) behind your strike. This requires proper body positioning and technique.
The key is your mind-set: to neutralize an opponent quickly and decisively. In fighting sports, the following tactics are generally banned: eye gouges, throat strikes, head butting, biting, hair pulling, clawing, pinching or twisting of the flesh, striking the spine and the back of the head, striking with the tip of the elbow, small joint manipulation, kidney and liver strikes, clavicle strikes, kneeing or kicking the head of an opponent on the ground, and slamming an opponent to the ground on his head. These are exactly the combined core tactics krav maga emphasizes.
I am not, nor have I ever been, the most physically competent martial artist. It takes me inordinately more classes to attain technical proficiency in many areas than it does others. I am tall and fairly agile, but I do not have much muscle mass. And then, over the past few years, two significant medical challenges have crossed my desk. Couple all this with the fact that I am now in my 60s, and a potentially bleak image begins to materialize.
The Tai Chi 48-form is traditionally taught divided into six sections, so you may focus on adding a small number of movements to your overall form gradually. The first section stresses basic hand and foot movements and the essential Peng, Lu, Ji, An (Ward Off, Rollback, Press, and Push).
Footwork and body positioning combined with timing, whether standing or prone, allow you to simultaneously defend and attack, leading to seamless combative transitions essential to retzev or "continuous combat motion."
These are the movements of the official Tai Chi 24-form, which is often referred to as the "Simplified" form. This list and the video included show this traditional form as it was originally intended to be performed correctly.
The Tai Chi 48-movement form is ideal for those interested experiencing in the true essence of tai chi chuan, because it combines powerful techniques from all styles into a sequence embodying the spirit of relaxation and softness with circular, continuous movements. There are over 250 million people worldwide that practice tai chi daily for health benefits.
Krav maga is designed around a few core tactics to counter a myriad of attacks. Defenders get tools for their toolboxes along with a general blueprint for how to use them. Imi's goal was survival in any defensible situation. While there are no set solutions for ending an armed confrontation, there are preferred methods using violence of action combined with retzev, or "continuous combat motion."