November 27, 2023
With the Abbot of Shaolin Temple visit to California in November 2023, Staff Writer Gene Ching ruminates over the distinctions between some Shaolin styles of Kung Fu practiced around the world and the curriculum propounded at the original Shaolin Temple of China today
September 25, 2023
If you practice Chinese martial arts or qigong, how important is it to understand Daoism? YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching ruminates on this by reflecting upon his own personal history as a practitioner who is not Daoist.
July 31, 2023
In the wake of Michelle Lin & Quentin Lopes chat with Gene Ching about their new "Barehand vs Staff Sequence", Staff Writer Gene Ching explores the legacy of two-person training sequences in the Chinese martial arts.
July 17, 2023
The new China had turned its back on the glorious past. But the martial arts were a part of that past that could not easily be destroyed.
July 25, 2022
There are countless kung fu forms across innumerable schools and lineages, but sometimes different schools share the same form. While reviewing the Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu Complete Collection, YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching discovered some overlapping forms between his Northern Shaolin tradition and YMAA’s curriculum and discusses the shared roots and divergences.
Jin, or Martial Power, can generally be divided into three categories: Hard Jin, Soft-Hard Jin and Soft Jin. Among these, Hard Jin uses the most muscular power, followed by Soft-Hard Jin and finally Soft Jin.
Jin, or Martial Power, can generally be divided into three categories: Hard Jin, Soft-Hard Jin and Soft Jin. Among these, Hard Jin uses the most muscular power, followed by Soft-Hard Jin and finally Soft Jin.
The beginning of Chinese martial arts probably started long before history was recorded. Martial techniques were discovered or created during the long epoch of continuous conflict between humanity and animals, or between different tribes of humans themselves.
It is known that the Chinese art of Qigong has a history that goes back over 5,000 years, though only a few historical documents exist today. Qigong can be roughly divided into four periods.
On October 1, 2007, YMAA celebrated its 25-Year Anniversary. There were many phone calls, letters and emails of congratulations.
In Chinese martial society, candles were once popularly used for training. This is because candles were an important source of lighting in ancient times, and thus were more readily available for practice.
Though it is very hard to catch the Chin Na techniques with 100% accuracy from a book and a video, many techniques can still be learned as long as you ponder, practice, and humbly ask.
If you are interested in learning Taijiquan, you must understand Yin and Yang, and their relationship with Taiji. Without knowing the theory and the Dao, your Taijiquan practice will be limited to the external forms and movements.
Martial morality has always been a required discipline in Chinese martial arts society. Teachers have long considered martial morality to be the most important criterion for judging students, and they have made it the most important part of the training in the traditional Chinese martial arts.
Traditional Chinese silk clothing has a long history, dating back to the 27th century BC. Once the skill of spinning silk, or sericulture, was discovered, the Chinese made silk exclusively for 3,000 years without divulging the secret of the process and it was a valuable commodity for trading.