Martial Arts Poll

Wing Chun – The Art of Sticky Hands (Video)

If you have ever wondered why Wing Chun Kung Fu is called sticky or sticking hands, here is a good example. These practitioners have an amazing amount of upper body strength. A deflecting block turned into a pull can easily upset and unbalance the most mature fighters.

Enjoy this little demo.

Timing Is Everything (Video)

This Capoeira fighter needs to use his brain. Bravado only gets you so far, while a well timed punch can end a fight.

Simplicity Quotable Quote – Bruce Lee

One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
–Bruce Lee

Books: American Shaolin

I saw this on Guy Kawasaki’s blog and grabbed a copy. Fun reading for anyone that uses their brain and not just brawn in the martial arts.

This is a first-person narrative written by Matthew Polly. He was a proverbial “98-pound weakling,” tall, skinny white kid from Kansas who decided to prove himself by training at the Shaolin Monastery beginning in 1992. It is absolutely hilarious from the moment he explains to his parents what he’s going to do, to how he finds the temple, to how he gets in, to his interactions with various monks, masters, students, and Chinese babes. Imagine if you combined George Plimpton (Paper Lion) and John McPhee (A Sense of Where You Are) and then this amalgamated man went to China for two years to learn kungfu—this is the book you’d get.

Chinese Proverb

“It is only when a person gets into difficulty that one can truly see his heart.”

Isshin-Ryu Founder Demonstrates Wansu Kata

Filmed in the early 1960’s, Founder and Grand Master Shimabuku demonstrates Wansu kata.

Isshin-Ryu Founder Performs Sunsu Kata

Founder and Grand Master, Tatsuo Shimabuku performs the Sunsu Kata for the camera – circa 1960.

First Rule of Thumb

In all forms of self defense and the Martial Arts, the first rule of thumb is — use your brain!