Friday, December 28, 2007

Evolution Of A Fighter; Part Three



Here is the fight between Kimbo and Ray Mercer, a former WBA Heavyweight champ. Interestingly, Kimbo wins the fight with a choke hold and groundfighting skills -- something he was previously not known for. His training with Bass Rutten shows.
One thing I noted was he effectively used elbow and forearm smashes against Mercer's guard as he was covering up against the cage; a great tactic that would not be allowed in traditional boxing.
The MMA fighters interviewed in the ESPN documentary said Kimbo is still not ready for a top-level MMA fighter, I guess we will see...

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Evolution Of A Fighter; Part Two



Here in this second half of the ESPN documentary, we see Bass Rutten and some of Kimbo's training. After his only underground loss against ex-cop Sean Gannon, who won with superior conditioning in an extremely long fight, Kimbo has gotten very serious about his training. I mean, for a guy from the street to give up drinking, smoking and sex, well...
According to This Website, Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) is the cousin of US Olympic Judoka Rhadi Ferguson, and had a short stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he had an altercation with Warren Sapp and was forced off the team. Also noted is that Kimbo will be appearing on the BET network in a show called "Iron Ring", about mixed martial arts. And despite repeated rumors, there is no evidence he ever actually did any prison time, not that it would matter.
In a sense, Kimbo/Kevin Ferguson has lived a rags-to-riches rise up from backyard brawling to fame as a skilled match-fighter. Let's hope he makes the best of it, we all know it's a short career.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Evolution Of A Fighter; Part One



Today we take a look at an underground legend in his own time; Kimbo Slice. I normally don't post about UFC-type fighters, because I consider it "fightsport" and not "Martial Arts". But many of us have witnessed Kimbo (real name Kevin Furguson) smack the crap out of countless challengers in outlaw money fights on YouTube. The guy is big, scarey and extremely powerful. His challengers left the fight scene with serious injuries, but there was always an air of competitive sportsmanship about the way these fights were conducted. Until recently, Kimbo has been an undiciplined brawler. Now however, he has been trained by Bass Rutten and has won his first UFC-type fight. Here is part one of a well-produced ESPN documentary on Kimbo, part two to follow...

Sunday, December 23, 2007

White Crane Version Of Sticky Hands



This one is labeled "White Crane Sticky Hands". Are we seeing anything much different than Wing Chun chi sao here? Because it is White Crane does it have something unique? I could use opinions from some of you Wing Chun guys out there. I like the intensity, but it is still lacking in mobility. They stay in the "horse" stance, and there is no advancing or retreating, and no off-line evasion or circular movement. Unfortunately, the author of this video did not include analysis and the comments function is disabled so nobody else has been able to comment. Not bad action though...

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Shaolin Crane Form



Here is a very nice Shaolin Form called "Crane In Flight". I like the speed and flow of the form, and I see many movements found in my Yang Tai Chi Chuan form. Aside from the obvious White Crane posture, I see "golden rooster stands on one leg", "Jade, or Fair lady works shuttles", "draw the bow to shoot the tiger", and a few others...

Friday, December 21, 2007

Toisan White Crane Applications



Ah... back to White Crane again. As usual, the filming in this one lacks quality, and the "attacks" are staged badly, but there is a gem or two in this video. One of the first throws is an application of Tai Chi Chuan's "White Crane Spreads Wings". It is also called "Kaiten-nage" or "Rotary Throw" in Aikido. One arm is leveraged upward while the opponent's head is struck or tucked down (the crane spreading wings) and a rotary roll-out occurs. I use this one myself. Another Aikido-like throw occurs when, like Irimi-nage, you pull one of the opponent's arms down and drive straight through him with your forearm or bicep smashing through his face and neck, forcing him back and down. Very Steven Segal. It's also a version of "Split" in the Tai Chi Chuan San-Shou fighting form. a few other nice touches of chin-na joing locking.
It's too bad the attacks weren't simulated more realisticly, it looks like the instructor, Master Zhu would be capeable of more dynamic movement.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

What Got "Lost" In Cheney's Office ???


Dick Cheney Cleans House

Yes, I know I am supposed to be deep into a White Crane Kung Fu series, but this shit makes me crazy. I mean, really... count on your fingers the number of days before we get the sad news that certain documents were lost in Dick Cheney's latest barbecue:

White House confirms the following records destroyed in the 3rd floor fire: New UPDATES
by Reality Bites Back
Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 11:54:17 AM PST

This afternoon, the White House confirmed that a quickly contained blaze isolated to a storage room utility closet on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office building destroyed the following records:

* Reality Bites Back's diary :: ::
*

all records pertaining to:

All Executive Branch internal correspondence since January, 2001
All RNC computer servers, back-up servers, and archival back-ups
The original Downing Street Memo and associated notes
Valerie Plame and the White House investigation of the leak (W.H. UPDATE: no records of Valerie Plame investigation destroyed as there was no investigation)
Bandar Bush
God’s personal correspondence with President Bush including those related to the invasion of Iraq
No-bid Halliburton contracts
War crimes committed by U.S. contractors in Iraq
Troop body armor tests and procurement orders
Jessica Lynch
The pulling down of the Saddam statue by non-Iraqis
All unaccounted for money in Iraq
The "troops" fault to not guard the weapons stockpile in Iraq
Abu Ghraib
Scuttling of the original Abramoff investigation, by the President
Federal court appointees and their qualifications and records
Extraordinary rendition
Negroponte’s activities in Iraq
Judith Miller’s embedded reporting and using her influence to override generals
Bombing Al-Jazeera television
"Mission Accomplished"
Bribing and threatening of journalists and planting of stories in the U.S and Iraq
Stopping the NY Times from revealing White House secret spying on Americans
Jeff Gannon/Guckert
De-baathification and the breakup of the Iraqi army
Swift Boat vets
Terror alerts
Bumper sticker and T-shirt slogan monitoring
Florida 2000 voter suppression
Florida 2000 election over-votes
Bush v. Gore court papers
Richard Clark’s warnings about abandoning anti-terror and a returning to the military-industrial profiteering of the cold war
Pre 9/11 domestic spying
The Vice Presidents Energy Task Force and all meetings dividing up Iraq’s oil fields pre 9/11
Bush’s vacation records
Enron and all related activities during California’s "energy crisis"
The accompanying Gray Davis recall and Ken Lay meetings
The Congressional records relating to passing legislation with last second changes, midnight votes, and the minority excluded from committee meetings.
The Missile defense shield
The U.S. national debt and holders of the debt
The Healthy Forest legislation and associated crop yields
The Clear Skies legislation and new acceptable levels of toxic emissions
Able Danger and the post-it notes hiding Mohammad Atta
The "Bin Laden determined to Strike in U.S." PDB
All copies of "My Pet Goat"
Extrication of Saudis after 9/11, especially Saudis named "Bin Laden"
The 9/11 commission
All confiscated video tapes from 9/11 showing impact with Pentagon
Bush and Cheney’s joint un-sworn "conversation" with the 9/11 commission
Library checkout and Amazon shopping records of every American
Bin Laden’s actual location after he "escaped" from Tora Bora
Yellowcake documents from Niger
Curveball
Colin Powell’s United Nations speech
Ahmad Chalabi
Attempts to dismantle PBS
Using FCC’s fines to quash dissent
The IRS collection of political affiliations
Using American troops as speech props for Presidential speeches
Diebold
Ohio voter suppression
Terri Schiavo and the emergency session of Congress
Questioning the full faith and credit of the United States to scare people into dismantling Social Security
Payola related to the Medicare bill
Targeting and surveillance of peace lovers as terrorists
Hurricane Katrina
Oil profits and tens of billions of dollars of general fund giveaways to oil companies
Multiple consecutive tours of combat for National Guardsmen
The $200 million bridges to nowhere
New Orleans levies
Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court
Bill Frist and the FEC and insider trading
Alito and the Vanguard Fund
Bob Ney of Ohio and Coingate
Duke Cunningham of San Diego and related bribes and treason
The U.S. Attorney firings of the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Duke Cunningham and who was pursuing the investigation to the White House.
Tom Delay’s redistricting in TX and using anti-terror assets to track down legislators
Tom Delay’s ethics violations
Jack Abramoff
NSA wiretapping without warrants
The failing grade from the 9/11 commission
Data mining and reading your mail
The 5 million missing emails

also destroyed were all records related to:

Bush’s cocaine use and failure to take the ANG drug test
Bush’s drunk driving
Bush’s Texas Air National Guard service
Bush’s Arbusto stock sale, Saudi bailout, and lack of SEC follow-up
Bush’s insider trading at Harken and Bush 41’s quashing of the investigation
Bush’s stealing of a public stadium from the taxpayers of Texas
Cheney's Wyoming residency papers
Police response to Cheney shooting a man in the face after drinking
Push-polling smear on John McCain during the 2000 Republican primary
All original video masters of Steven Colbert’s Press Corps dinner roast

Countless other records and computer systems were apparently stored in the 3 foot by 3 foot utility closet, the content of which shall be revealed as destroyed as necessary pending any future investigations.

BREAKING: word that the Constitution of the United States was inexplicably consumed by flames in its nuclear blast-proof storage case by a glowing ember that apparently drifted from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and into a thermal exhaust port that lead directly to the Constitution. No plans to reconstruct the document are pending.

: : :

UPDATE:

Also confirmed destroyed:

All records of clients of the DC Madame
All IMs and emails between Republican congressmen and underage Congressional staffers
Secret Service records of all people having meetings with the President and Vice President since January 2001
All recorded promises, affirmations, and statements by Democratic Congressional leaders to hold the Administration accountable

: : :

UPDATE 2

Continuing reports of records stored in the third floor closet and subsequently destroyed also include all records pertaining to:

Pat Tillman
Free Speech zones
Iranian Nuclear Program National Intelligence Estimate
Guantanamo
FEMA staged news conferences
New Orleans reconstruction contracts
and
Administration banning of U.S. meat companies from inspecting all of their meat

: : :

UPDATE 3

Still more records reported completely destroyed include all items relating to:

Alberto Gonzales’ memory (and "meeting" with Ashcroft in hospital)
De-listed superfund toxic waste dump sites
The original Nixon Tapes
"Missing" Weapons of Mass Destruction from Iraq
Bernard Kerik’s Homeland Security application form
and tragically
Joe Lieberman’s Democratic Party membership card

: : :

UPDATE 4

Apparently the quantity of records destroyed was a result of a broken water pipe that has been scheduled for repair since 2001. As the sprinkler system was not functioning, the Blackwater employees hired to guard the records could only throw more records onto the flames in an attempt to contain them.

Additional records from a neighboring closet presently unaccounted for that are believed to have been destroyed in the fire now include items related to:

All subpoenas issued by the U.S. Congress to White House employees
Walter Reed facility maintenance
NASA’s evidence of global warming (redacted and sealed by the administration)
Looting of the Native American Trust Fund
Forensic reports from 2001 anthrax attacks against key Democrats and media
Dubai Ports deal
Under-funding of Russian loose nuclear materials security programs
Guidelines for putting American citizens on no-fly and terror watch lists
The Vice President’s red phone that directly connects the Vice-President’s office to the on-air Fox news desk (possibly salvageable)

More details of the devastating fire to come...

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

From The Front Lines Of The War On Christmas


Bad Santa !

Ok, I know... I have been pretty grumpy about Christmas, more so every year. In fact, I am a foot-soldier in fake newsman Bill O'Riley's "War On Christmas".
But sometimes things happen that bring me that psuedo-seasonal cheer, and here is a great example:

DANBURY -- A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.
Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.
Two messages seeking comment were left on Lamy's answering machine.
Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy.
"I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter, referring all other questions about the incident to Cherry Hill Photo, the company that runs the Danbury Fair mall Santa photo setup.
Cherry Hill Photo did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
According to information provided by the Danbury Police Department, officers were dispatched to the mall Saturday at 8:45 p.m.
The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.
"The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Michael said.
Lamy was also charged with breach of peace.
"She must have caused a commotion over there," Michael said.
Lamy was released on a promise to appear Jan. 3 in Danbury Superior Court.
Danbury Fair mall spokeswoman Melissa Eigen called the alleged groping "an isolated incident."
"The safety of our guests and employees is a top priority, and we strive to create a safe and enjoyable shopping environment at all our facilities and Danbury Fair specifically,"
Eigen said.
2007 has not been a great year for mall Santas.
Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie.
Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho."
His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi."
"Santa Tim" Connaghan is the president of RealSantas.com and teaches hundreds of people a year how to be Santas.
He said the Danbury Fair mall incident, if true, is one of kind.
Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.
"I have been doing this 40 years, and I've never heard of charges being lodged either way -- by a guest against a Santa or a Santa against a guest," Connaghan said.
It isn't unusual for an adult to sit and pose with a picture with a mall Santa.
"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.
A harmless flirtation isn't out of the norm.
"Once in a while they'll say 'I hope Mrs. Claus isn't going to be upset.' You have to be discreet and kind and say 'Oh no, she'll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo.'"

(D.R.)--Back to White Crane Tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

White Crane Series #2


Dr. Yang In '92

Dr. Yang at 60

Here is one of Dojo Rat's favorite masters, Dr. Yang Jwing Ming. Probably nobody in the United States has done more for decoding the mysteries of Chinese arts than Dr. Yang. I must have at least six of his books, and value his Taiji applications and chin na as the best reference material available on the subject. Here he is performing a short form called "Yao Gu", which I believe means "shaking the drum", and here is the author's commentary:
"Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming performs the White Crane sequence Yao Gu. The sequence is meant to train short jing and mixes White Crane with Tiger Claw, a style in which Dr.Yang's master was proficient".
(D.R.) --We'll have to have a follow-up on Dr. Yang in a future post...

Monday, December 17, 2007

White Crane Series


White Crane Hakatsuru

Well, you probably saw this one coming; how can we have last week's Snake series without a Crane series this week?
We open this series with Grahm Moughton demonstrating an Okinawan Crane form. I really like this one, most White Crane stuff is a little more "flowery" and this one has a distinct Okinawan feel. Here is what he says about it:

"Matayoshi ryu is an old school of To-de. Dated to the Crane master Go Ken Ki. What must be remembered there is pre 1940 and post 1940 karate. Post 1900 is the ancient precursor of the modern traditions like the Shitoryu schools, however the modern schools are intrinsincly linked through karate geneology, but the focus on Kata, technique and applications have been re-designed. Many Thanks. Glad you like the form. This form has historical links to Fujihan Ba He (Southern Chinese White Crane)".
(D.R.) --Hence the historical cultural connection between Okinawa and Southern China... Also, the Tai Chi Chuan people out there will notice "Needle to Sea-bottom" in this form.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Those Voices In Your Head...



(D.R.)--There have long been rumors about technology that puts thoughts into peoples heads. This skulldugery is suspected of creating "Manchurian Candidates" as assassins, or for creating a mass psychosis among a large group of people. This could be in the form of a supposed alien invasion, the return of Christ or other strange events designed for social control. Well, now it has hit mainstream advertising:

Voice to Skull Technology in New York
December 12th, 2007

Via: AdAge:

New Yorker Alison Wilson was walking down Prince Street in SoHo last week when she heard a woman’s voice right in her ear asking, “Who’s there? Who’s there?” She looked around to find no one in her immediate surroundings. Then the voice said, “It’s not your imagination.”
Indeed it isn’t. It’s an ad for “Paranormal State,” a ghost-themed series premiering on A&E this week. The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an “audio spotlight” from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium. The technology, ideal for museums and libraries or environments that require a quiet atmosphere for isolated audio slideshows, has rarely been used on such a scale before. For random passersby and residents who have to walk unwittingly through the area where the voice will penetrate their inner peace, it’s another story.
Ms. Wilson, a New York-based stylist, said she expected the voice inside her head to be some type of creative project but could see how others might perceive it differently, particularly on a late-night stroll home. “I might be a little freaked out, and I wouldn’t necessarily think it’s coming from that billboard,” she said.
Joe Pompei, president and founder of Holosonics, said the creepy approach is key to drawing attention to A&E’s show. But, he noted, the technology was designed to avoid adding to noise pollution. “If you really want to annoy a lot of people, a loudspeaker is the best way to do it,” he said. “If you set up a loudspeaker on the top of a building, everybody’s going to hear that noise. But if you’re only directing that sound to a specific viewer, you’re never going to hear a neighbor complaint from street vendors or pedestrians. The whole idea is to spare other people.”
Holosonics has partnered with a cable network once before, when Court TV implemented the technology to promote its “Mystery Whisperer” in the mystery sections of select bookstores. Mr. Pompei said the company also has tested retail deployments in grocery stores with Procter & Gamble and Kraft for customized audio messaging. So a customer, for example, looking to buy laundry detergent could suddenly hear the sound of gurgling water and thus feel compelled to buy Tide as a result of the sonic experience.
Mr. Pompei contends that the technology will take time for consumers to get used to, much like the lights on digital signage and illuminated billboards did when they were first used. The website Gawker posted an item about the billboard last week with the headline “Schizophrenia is the new ad gimmick,” and asked “How soon will it be until in addition to the do-not-call list, we’ll have a ‘do not beam commercial messages into my head’ list?”
“There’s going to be a certain population sensitive to it. But once people see what it does and hear for themselves, they’ll see it’s effective for getting attention,” Mr. Pompei said.

http://cryptogon.com/?p=1713

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Snake Style #6 -- Sam Masich



Another favorite practitioner and hell-of-a nice guy is Sam Masich. Sam has a varied background in Internal Arts but is primarily known for his Yang Tai Chi Chuan. Here he is at work in an Aikido Dojo, demonstrating Changjin, which he calls "long energy", but this is manifested through spiral motions used in Tai Chi Chuan and Bagua. Both arts emulate Snake movements, as you see in his coiling techniques.
The Aikido guys should love this one..

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Snake Style #5 -- Snake On A Mat!



In today's episode of Snake Style, BJJ Black Belt Randy Bloom demonstrates his "Snake Movement Drill". This looks like a good drill to get back to a fighting position when you find yourself in the unfortunate position of flat-on-your-back with some dude pounding on you. One more reason never to take a fight to the ground intentionaly...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Snake Style #4 --Takedowns



This is one of my favorites; it's the late Dr. Xie Peiqi demonstrating Snake chin-na with some really cool takedowns. This clearly comes from a Bagua background. The Judo and Aikido guys out there will see the similarities and differences between the techniques of said arts. Also note he is striking pressure points on the side of the neck in one technique.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Snake Style #3 -- Coiling



This may look kinda' odd, but what a great drill! This exercize will be great for learning to aquire locks on the wrist, elbow, shoulder and neck. Wrapping and coiling around the opponent's limbs, much like the snake...
This is from the Tallahasse Shaolin school, maybe some of you Florida Dojo Rats know who they are, Thanks for the drill!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Snake Style #2



In the second installment of our Snake Style series, we see this un-named practitioner in what is called a "Snake fist form, family style". I think it's not a bad form, but this poor guy just gets hammered by armchair pundits on YouTube. Everybody's an expert...
Aside from the obvious finger strikes, there is the coiling motion of the arms, useful in setting up traps and locks. Also, note the "whole arm" swinging in striking/blocking actions. I saw this also in Mike Martello's mantis techniques at the seminar in Seattle. I never realized how much unified body power this motion develops until Martello demonstrated it. The next posts will move beyond forms and will sample specific techniques...

Friday, December 7, 2007

Snake Style #1


Snake preparing to strike


Xiao Yang at Chinese Nationals

Today we begin a study of the movements of the snake as used in martial arts techniques. A powerful figure in mythology, the snake has been widely imitated in it's coiling and fast strikes. The legendary Chang Seng Feng is said to have witnessed a fight between a snake and a crane, and created Tai Chi Chuan from that experiance. There will be another teaser over the weekend, but the really cool stuff will start Monday..

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Temple Guards


Warrior God


Dojo Rat Warrior God

Our fierce Warrior Totem, (A.K.A. Punkin'head) guarding over Rat Land...

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Review: Cheng Hsin- The Principles Of Effortless Power


Peter Ralston of Cheng Hsin

Several months back, Dave from “Formosa Neijia” wrote about Peter Ralston, founder of the “Cheng Hsin” martial art system. Cheng Hsin refers to “The true nature of being”. The description was very interesting and I checked out Ralston’s website. Along with Ralston’s description of his martial philosophy, there were several clips of him performing various internal martial arts techniques. Ralston is no slouch, he has a varied background and has successfully competed internationally.
With that in mind, I ordered two of his books: “The Principles Of Effortless Power” and “Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou; The Art Of Effortless Power”.
“The Principles Of Effortless Power” is Ralston’s first book, so I started there. It begins with his martial history, and his journeys in spiritual awakening. These were steeped in the self-realization and encounter-group sessions of the 1970’s. These sessions branded Ralston’s first book with the stigma of new-age thought and explanation.
Ralston seems to be attempting to explain Internal Art principles without using any of the Chinese or Japanese terms and thought patterns. In some cases, he re-labels them. I am no stranger to alternative views and esoteric thinking, but in my opinion, Ralston is trying to re-invent the wheel. While westerners sometimes have difficulty with vague terms such as “Peng” in Tai Chi Chuan for example, there is no real need to eliminate the term or replace it.
I see where he is going with his philosophy, and understand much of it, but I have to say I find him explaining things in a circular fashion at times. For example, I book-marked this paragraph on page 90:
Ralston writes:
“ Since we already give BEING to the perception of what IS (in other words, we acknowledge it’s “beingness”), and to interpretation itself, it is necessary to move our cognition-attention and life force into a position of Being in which this can be recognized as already and actually the case. We can then give being to what is not at present occurring”.
--Whew!… this passage is not an isolated case, and I have to admit that twenty pages later I simply set the book down and moved on to his next one, which I’ve just started. That book, “Cheng Hsin T’iu Shou” shows a greater degree of maturity in his writing. While his sometimes-frustrating philosophy is present in the first part of the book, the second half is all applications that demonstrate what he has been prattling on about philosophically. While I have been on the search for concept books, Ralston’s first attempt is pretzel logic to me. I feel I will get much more out of his application book, which demonstrates many internal art principles. I came away from these books feeling that Ralston may be better as a Guru demonstrating direct transmission of knowledge to students in a Dojo format. His knowledge is deep and he is a skilled martial artist. I’ll be interested if anyone else has read his material, and any comments they have

Saturday, December 1, 2007

December: Cute Hippie Chick Of The Month: (and other thoughts)



Ah yes, It's the first of December, it's snowing outside Dojo Rat's shack, and you know what that means--- Cute Hippie Chick Of The Month!
This young lady, third eye bead and all, is the living image of the hippie chick theme. Listen to her idealism, her compassion for humanity and hope for the future. There is no doubt that in this hopelessly screwed up world, we need more people like her. Listen to what she says about "planting the seed" and "cultivating". As I've said before, I believe that as we approach "Peak Oil", there will be a return to an agrarian society. It will probably involve co-op farming built around small communities. During the FIRST great depression, the farmers never went hungry.
***
I had a young guy come to the Tai Chi Chuan class this week for his first class. He followed us through the form and then watched as we did some push-hands. I saw him the next day and asked him what he thought. He said he loved the push hands, but didn't think he had the patience to learn the form. I said I would never teach anyone push hands if they wouldn't learn the form, so he may as well quit now. This is interesting; some students only want to do the form, usually women or older folks, and some just want to get physical and learn a little self defense. I come from a hard style background, and always integrate self defense into our Tai Chi class. But I have no interest in teaching just one portion of an art like Tai Chi Chuan. I don't think a practitioner can be well-rounded without both form training and self defense. I suggested he find a Karate school instead. If this guy comes back, I'll probably make him just do form training until he can at least demonstrate the first set of the Yang form, and then have a talk with him about push hands.
***
Bob over at "Striking Thoughts" has given me a sort of sideways challenge: He wants to see me develop a one-handed lock-flow drill while holding a Beer in the other hand...
Bob; I'm already working on it, give me a couple of weeks to set up the video!