Martial Arts Magic

On Saturday, I attended “Carrie Ogawa-Wong Day” at the Martial Arts History Museum in Burbank. Master Carrie has been my sifu since I started training at White Lotus Kung Fu, and I couldn’t imagine a better teacher. I’ve studied kung fu, Tai Chi, and weapons with her for years. She’s an incredible martial artist — …

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Kung Fu Party

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: I had a fantastic time …

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Film: IP MAN

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 …

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Glorious Fall

I went to Tai Chi and weapons last night, despite not being over my sinus thing or my shoulder injury. Emotionally, I just needed to go. I tried to take it easy, and I stopped practicing weapons when my shoulder started to complain. But not before I had a surprising and unprecedented fall. Which I …

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Still Got Fear

I have not yet kicked fear to the curb. Tonight in weapons, I landed on my shoulder during the forward roll — exactly the same way I did last week. Because my bruise wasn’t fully healed, it hurt so much worse tonight. I actually yelled, dropped my weapon, and stopped my form. Fortunately, my Sifu …

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No-Fear Kung Fu

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when attempting to do a front roll while holding a sword, I will land on my shoulder, hard. [Please insert a stream of bad words here.] Rolling is a no-fear activity. You must fully commit to the roll. If you hesitate, you will hurt yourself, do the roll …

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Blue Cloud Sword

A few weeks ago, I got some heart-breaking news: my kung fu school is discontinuing its official weapons classes due to lack of interest. When kung fu classes are packed with 20-50 students a night, and when parkour/freerunning has 25-35, it’s hard to justify a class that takes up valuable studio space for just 1-5 …

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