Every year my kung fu school hosts a Chinese New Year’s party. This year we were treated to an awesome display: a group of martial artists (whose name I can’t remember) performed a gorgeous Tai Chi sword form and a traditional lion dance. I got wobbly video of the latter:

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I had a fantastic time eating, chatting, and laughing with my kung fu family ( Read more... )

Here’s a great short film (only 8.5 minutes long) about the new art of Martial Arts Tricking. Many of the tricking shots were filmed at my martial arts studio, White Lotus. So many nights when I was there (in kung fu or weapons class), I’d find myself watching the ring of trickers taking turns on the huge spring floor. It’s truly amazing what ( Read more... )

I’ve been studying martial arts for 10 years now. I hit the milestone back in June. My studies have been erratic over the years - sometimes I was taking 7 classes a week, sometimes I was skipping classes for months at a time because of work or a writing deadline. Sometimes classes were fun, and sometimes they were miserable. They were always hard.

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One of Bruce Lee’s most famous speeches (and martial arts concepts) is the idea that the martial artist should become “like water.” Here, see for yourself:

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I love this idea, but I love how Bruce Lee describes it even more. This is a man so passionate about his ideas, he can barely contain himself. He wants to share his obsession and that spark ( Read more... )

I stumbled across IP MAN while browsing Hulu Plus on Friday night. (It’s also on Netflix instant streaming.) I recognized “Ip Man” as the name of Bruce Lee’s first Wing Chun teacher (although I had always seen it as “Yip Man“), and thought I might find a few good fights scenes to enjoy. I ended up loving the film.


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I love well-done web series such as Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog and The Guild. They speak to my geek sensibilities. Now there’s a new show that I think has the potential to be geeky and wonderful in a totally different way.


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Punching with intent? CHECK!
Punching with good technique? Um…not so much.

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Before I started studying martial arts in 2001, I lived a fairly sedentary life (where “fairly” means “entirely”). I had been an active kid, but gave up sports in high school when I had to wear a brace for my scoliosis 23 hours a day. And after the brace…? Well, staying lazy was just too darned easy.

When I stubbed a toe or walked into a table and ( Read more... )

Ooh, an elusive writing/martial arts cross-over post! (Well, okay. Not that elusive. Just go with it anyway.)

I believe in the worth of all genres. I don’t think they should be quantified - romance is not “better” than mainstream, science fiction is not “better” than romance. Live and let live, I say! There’s room for everyone’s tastes, both as ( Read more... )