Changquan (“Long Fist”) is an external Northern Chinese style of kung fu that is characterized by long-range techniques that utilize fully-extended kicks and strikes. Ji Ben Gong is the grouping-together of all the basic Wushu forms, movements and drills, so Changquan Ji Ben Gong is the collection of Long Fist techniques that are used in [...]

Richard Van Donk is a really nice guy. At least, that’s the reputation he seems to have in all the forum discussions about him. But he likes money. And he practices Bujinkan Ninjutsu. Welcome to the Internet, the last bastion of fake reviewers and truth-sayers. Whether the man is nice or not, whether he likes [...]

American Kenpo, that wonderful synthesis from the mind of Ed Parker, has a colorful history full of sweat and blood and intrigue. The timeline of American Kenpo as a separate, legitimate style: First Generation: 1954-1961 (Original Kenpo) Second Generation: 1961-1963 (Traditional Kenpo – Removal of Jujutsu, Forms imitated) Third Generation: 1963-1969 (Chinese Kenpo) Fourth Generation: [...]

Tommy Carruthers is often cited as being the equal of Bruce Lee, and as blasphemous as that may sound to the many admirers of the late Lee it’s a comparison that might in fact have some basis in reality, at least as far as certain elements of his Jeet Kune Do techniques indicate. He certainly [...]

There’s a lot of talk in the martial world these days about Western versus Eastern styles of fighting – which is better, more effective, more realistic. This got me thinking about one of the more American forms of Western fighting – the kind practiced by rootin’, tootin’, gosh-golly-real cowboys! The ’50′s and ’60′s were the [...]

Nature has seen fit to equip animals with some awesome fighting abilities and tactics. Every creature from the lowly ant to the exalted Siberian tiger has its own unique fighting style, a style that human martial artists often receive inspiration from in the formation of their own fighting styles. The problem with that, of course, [...]

The Michelle Yeohs and Angela Maos of film fame (well-deserved, I might add) use their martial training to great effect and are well-known for their celluloid exploits. But there are a few female fighters that have far more films under their black belts, yet whose names are not exactly household terms. Mostly they are known [...]

Imagine a guy who was Mr. Hong Kong, knows several forms of martial arts, trained with Bruce Lee and actually taught HIS son Brandon, and once swam from mainland China to Hong Kong … is pissed-off at you. Good luck in your next life. Bolo Yeung (birth name Yang Tse), born July 3rd 1946 in [...]

Chi. Ki. Qi. Internal energy. Whatever you call it you can find a martial arts forum where it’s being discussed, usually at high decibel levels and involving the liberal use of references to mothers. Martial artists tend to fall into two camps when it comes to the concept of energy: either it is a mystical [...]

They’re just two sticks connected by a string, but they are also responsible for more injuries in the martial arts world than MMA, illegal club fights and the Dim Mak Death Touch combined. Nunchaku are perhaps one of the most misused and misunderstood weapons in all of martial arts. Never mind that Bruce Lee popularized [...]

Will we ever get to see a proper memorial to the person who was arguably the most influential figure in twentieth-century martial arts? Actions began last fall toward that very goal, urged on largely in part by Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon. Bruce’s home in Hong Kong on 41 Cumberland Road was hoped to be the [...]

Fa-Jing (Fajing) is the Chinese martial art technique of releasing power in a technique, usually in a quick and explosive manner. While it is a basic and necessary principle of internal arts such as Taijiquan, Xing Yi and Baguazhang and is trained as such, it has also fallen victim to many exaggerated claims by charlatans [...]