March April 2010

[GeneChing]

The issue has already been sent out to subscribers (http://www.martialartsmart.com/magazinesubscription.html). Our newsstand date is next week, Feb 2, 2010.

Dr. Yang Featured in Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine (http://www.ymaa.com/news_events)
January 20, 2010
Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming is featured on the cover of the March 2010 issue of Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine, on newsstands Feb 2nd. The Chinese New Year issue has an emphasis on preserving traditional Kung Fu and an article about increasing your speed. The magazine has been a great supporter of the YMAA Retreat Center, featuring several articles about the Center and others written by the Retreat Center disciples. Big thanks to Gene Ching, Gigi Oh, and everyone at Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine.

[kfson]

I would like to see more articles on M.A. schools in mainland China and Taiwan.

[@PLUGO]

Well have a look at the table of contents (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=877) for our latest issue. Available at newsstands or for purchase online (http://www.martialartsmart.com/kf-200157.html).

[GeneChing]

It's basically the same message as above but with an added ^_^ (http://ymaa-retreatcenter.org/news_events/2010/02/02/dr-yang-featured-kung-fu-tai-chi-magazine)

[Lucas]

all i have to say in regards to that is

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH


:D

see article in back of current issue to understand.

[solo1]

havent seen it yet, wheres my mag? im gonna be snowed this weekend I need something to read!!!

[Lucas]

I got mine just yesterday, I live in oregon you'll probably get yours today or the next day or something like that. good luck with that snow. :o

[Skip J.]

I got mine just yesterday, I live in oregon you'll probably get yours today or the next day or something like that. good luck with that snow. :o

not here yet.....

[solo1]

thanks for the heads up. didnt arrive for the snowed in weekend but since we have more coming tonight i may be stuck at the house tuesday. Cincinnati really freaks out with the snow. A 30 minute commute can turn into 2+ hours real fast. Any body else notice when the snow falls everything you ever thought you knew about driving is thrown out the window? like turn signals, brakes, lane changes, stop signs and signals mean nothing!?

[Lucas]

Ouch, I hope you guys get your issues soon!

its all sunny and bright and warm over here :D

:o

seriously, back of the mag, small article SOOO funny. at least to me it is. the deal with kungfu vs karate...had my cracking up

[Skip J.]

Thanks Lucas....

But it didn't come today tho....

[Lucas]

ouch.

there is a good article on standing post you will probably enjoy

[Skip J.]

You do know me well my friend...

Still not today tho....

[solo1]

Not today....WHA???????

[GeneChing]

We could ship at a faster rate, but then we'd have to increase the subscription rate. I'll make it up to you with the next issue, which will have a very special treat for subscribers.

[Skip J.]

We could ship at a faster rate, but then we'd have to increase the subscription rate. I'll make it up to you with the next issue, which will have a very special treat for subscribers.

Got mine today, and no Gene, do not raise the rate for me...!!!!

No complaints here...

Lucas was right - the standing post article by Bosco Seung-Chul Baek - of the method of his Master Chen Bing is first class! I'll be back to say more after reading it several times over the next few days...

[solo1]

Ill pass on the rate increase. Looking forward to reading the issue. Have you ever noticed how that "other" Kung Fu mag is a piece of crap?

Have a great weekend, Gene!

[GeneChing]

And I meant what I said.

Subscribers will get a special treat with our next issue. That'll be our May June 2010. You're all going to want to be subscribed (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html) for this one, even if the issue comes a little later than newsstand. ;)

[Skip J.]

you're welcome Gene...

Looking forward to it based on your recent issues

[solo1]

Gene, mine arrived yesterday . dont know if you had anything to do with it but 2 issues arrived. Now one stays at the house the other in my brief case, thanks!!

[jdhowland]

Just got mine today. Nice balance of subjects. I particularly liked "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly." Still have a couple of articles left to read, though. Dr. Yang still appears to be in denial about hair loss. Doesn't he know that bald is beautiful?

[GeneChing]

Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy them.

[Skip J.]

I really like the pictures in the standing post article... you know how much a picture is worth... vs. the alternative.... and the drawings of the spine are really cool. Maybe the author would allow us to show these to new students???? I remember that first year or two really struggling with the spine issues.... but after spending 2 years of all day long in the "correct" posture, including walking up to 6 miles in it, now I can just think about it anytime during the day and my hands will flush as if I was in class doing standing post!

[GeneChing]

You can share the mag with your new students, your friends, your postal worker, anyone. Better yet, get them to subscribe (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html). The issues might come a little late, but they'll save a a few bucks on the newsstand price, plus as you know, all subscribers get a 10% discount at MartialArtsMart. (http://www.martialartsmart.com/index.html) And like I said, there will be a special DVD insert, free for subscribers, in our next issue. ;)

[Skip J.]

While there are not a lot of taijiquan articles in each issue; each article is of such high quality that it becomes a "classic" instructional piece on it's own merits.

For instance - I don't watch cma vids by anybody. Sometimes I take them home from class, but a few weeks later I bring'em back without ever opening them. However, because of the Taiji 13 Postures article, I am actually considering buying Master Liang's DVD as a permanent part - and the only vid - of my cma library.

And, of course, there are many more e-zine taijiquan articles than make the print mag. That e-zine article on Master Liang's water boxing experience has me considering adding water boxing instruction to my capabilities one future day.

With your words in mind, I am thinking about removing the appropriate articles and gluing their pages up into an instructional manual for beginners. That is, folks with less than 3 years instruction. You can say the words 'til the cows come home.... but - without pictures, good pictures actually - many of the important "internal" concepts are hard for non-cma folks to absorb.... particularly those in their 70's and 80's. On the other hand, those are the same ones who need it the most.

Keep on keepin' on!!!!!!!

[GeneChing]

I try to squeeze at least one tai chi article in every issue. That's really tricky for our Shaolin Specials, but I still try to manage it. I try to put add more articles on internal too, which doesn't quite count as tai chi - water boxing is an excellent example of this.

That being said, we love it when schools showcase our articles. Thanks for that, Skip J.

[Skip J.]

I try to squeeze at least one tai chi article in every issue. That's really tricky for our Shaolin Specials, but I still try to manage it. I try to put add more articles on internal too, which doesn't quite count as tai chi - water boxing is an excellent example of this.

That being said, we love it when schools showcase our articles. Thanks for that, Skip J.
Well - my instructor might completely disagree with me, you just never know. About 1/2 the time when I bring in a cma book or article she just loves it, and wants to share with all.. but the other 1/2 of the time the subject will be too much about another style; and/or the subject will be too well advanced and she has a serious concern about showing beginners stuff they will try and hurt themselves...

After 4 plus years I still can't guess how she will react.. So I'll make up my book and take it in and see what she says.. you just never know. They are all her students, and sometimes I get a bit carried away trying to be helpful... I'm another one of those internal true believers at heart I guess.

Do you mind if I call it the KF Tai Chi Resource Book????

Beginner old folks will run from the words "Kung Fu" like they were shot out of a cannon. You have to kind of ease them into the idea that taijiquan is a martial art over the first year, and if they stick around, you can instruct them a little bit in the martial apps the second year. Soooooo, the 13 Postures and the standing post articles would definitely be good in a beginners book..... the water boxing is strictly an advanced style and articles about it would not be in a beginner's book. Hmm... maybe I need to start a more advanced book for that someday when some of the intermediates decide to stay and progress on... That's why they call it a library...

[TaichiMantis]

And I meant what I said.

Subscribers will get a special treat with our next issue. That'll be our May June 2010. You're all going to want to be subscribed (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html) for this one, even if the issue comes a little later than newsstand. ;)

Well Gene, you finally hooked me in for 2 years + shirt + dvd (I hope);)

[GeneChing]

You can call that book whatever you like, Skip J. Thanks for doing that. I hope your instructor approves.

The Kung Fu versus Tai Chi issue has always been with us. Tai Chi is more of a new age/spirituality market on the newsstands. During 2000 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/mlist.php?magyr=2000), we made a serious effort to penetrate that market, but like you said, most were put off by Kung Fu in front of our title. We debated how to present it. There was even a lot of debate about whether our website should be KungFuMagazine.com or KungFuTaiChiMagazine.com. The latter just got to be too big of a mouthful. It's always been problematic, but what can you do?

[GeneChing]

Here's the unabridged version of our cover story, The Commitment to Preserving the Art (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=887), complete with video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5RRccIaE_U). The March April issue will be on the newsstand until the end of March.

And don't forget, our next issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56631) comes with an exclusive DVD insert. Subscribe now! (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html)

[MightyB]

Yesterday I woke up and went to work. Roughly 8am. I worked all day and into the night. I went home at roughly 10pm and went to bed. Today- I woke up and went to work...

From the article: "People you see today, for example, in the industrial life, you get up in the morning, you go to work, you go to sleep - ain't got no life. This only happened in modern life, in modern times. It actually started in the last century. Now this has become a big problem. The big problem is this art was developed in ancient times by people who had time and had patience."

[No_Know]

There was a story (perhaps in Kung-fu Tai-Chi (Or Kung-Fu Qigong magazine) or a movie where a guy went to Tai Chi School, but the people who were students before him were also excelling. He could not ever advance as they were advancing as he did, keeping the same distance. He was told something or got the notion to practice in the night when they slept. He was gaining half days of practice. He became a leader and could no longer be pushed around to the surprise of his Schoolmates.

No_Know

This relates to the previous mentions of work sleep work sleep being modern and they had time in the Passed. While some had time like your the student stand there all day...I think one part of Kung Fu has been practicing while maintaining solid labor-intensive work or diligent merchant.

No_Know

[GeneChing]

Remember the article History and Design of Butterfly Swords By Jeffrey D. Modell? Check out these bad boys:

Integral Wing Chun Butterfly Swords - Ultimate Drop Forged Chopper (http://www.everythingwingchun.com/Wing-Chun-Butterfly-Swords-Ultimate-Drop-Forged-p/ewc-bjd01-12in.htm)
(Wing Chun Butterfly Knives, Bart Jarm Do, Hudiedao)

These professional-grade butterfly knives, from Everything Wing Chun and Modell Design LLC, are of the fat-bladed chopper design preferred by modern Wing Chun stylists. They are built to a hybrid style that permits stabbing as well as chopping. These swords are the best on the market today, period. They have the look and feel of an expensive pair of custom-made swords and are the result of more than 9 months of very hard work. We are proud to finally offer them for sale. These swords are part of a limited edition run of only 50 pairs.

In making these swords, we did not want to outsource the design and production to a cheap factory in China, Vietnam or elsewhere. We wanted the best, so we worked with professional weapon and knife designer Jeffrey Modell, of Modell Design LLC. You might know Jeffrey's name from his article in Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine (April 2010) entitled, 'History and Design of Butterfly Swords'. Most of the swords on the market are very cheaply made in China with little care for balance, function, use, or Wing Chun-specific needs. We wanted our swords to blow the competition out of the water, and this is what Jeffrey delivered.

In addition to adding Jeffrey to our team, we had to take a detailed look at what the current lineages in the Wing Chun world use and are looking for in a sword. There are at least 8 variations of swords being used in Wing Chun today, so we had to make some decisions as to which version we were going to make first. Our decisions were based on history, use, what is currently being used and what is in demand.

These are the characteristics of the swords and why we chose them:

Sword Style: We chose a hybrid of a pure chopper and a stabber - with an emphasis on the chopper. We felt that even though most lineages use the modern chopper version, you still need to be able to stab effectively, so we made the blade in a manner that allows it to effectively chop and stab. This allows all lineages to use the swords. We believe that this is probably a first in the Wing Chun world. Most chopping versions of the swords are too blunt to rounded at the tip to stab effectively, while most stabbing versions are too thin and not rounded enough to chop. This version allows you to use the swords in all methods of attack: chopping, stabbing, slicing and slashing.

Blade: The blade has a wide, attractive hollow grind, with a deep functional fuller - labor intensive design elements normally found only on expensive, custom made swords. Though the tip is pointed, the final edge-sharpening stage of the knife production process has been omitted to reduce the chances of injury during practice.

We chose the 12" blade length as opposed to the 14” length because many lineages flip the swords to the inside of their arms in the Guan Sao and Quan Sao movements. With longer blades they would either cut their opposite arm or have to open their elbows too much, thus give up valuable time and power generation in the movements. This 12" blade length is actually close to the longest traditional length for Wing Chun. This shorter version of the blade is rooted in the Red Boat days, when the swords had to be tucked into a boot for concealment. (The 14" blades are mostly from the pre-Wing Chun era and are used in other Southern Shaolin styles. They can only be used on the outside of the forearm and go all the way past the elbow on most people under 6 feet tall. They also prevent many common Wing Chun techniques from being properly executed). For those that use the longer blades in their lineage, we plan to offer a limited run of 14" blades in 2011.

There is a deep, functional fuller (aka 'blood groove') on the left side of each blade. A fuller helps impart rigidity to the blade, lighten it and make it easier for the target to bleed out. Contrary to popular belief, it is not to stop a vacuum from keeping the blade stuck in an opponent. Throughout history, swords have been made with no fuller, a fuller on one side, a fuller on both sides, or more than one fuller per side. They did not see much use on ordinary Chinese butterfly swords, but we think the feature adds to the aesthetic of the design and improves the blade.

Blade thickness starts at 6 mm and distal tapers to 3 mm.

Handle, D- Guard, and Quillion: The first thing you will notice is that the the handle is angled down to accommodate both versions of use - chopping and stabbing - as well as to facilitate use in the reverse grip effectively and comfortably. Again, this is pretty unique. We made the balance point about 2 inches into the blade from the handle, so they are balanced perfectly. These swords are also the absolute best we've testing in flipping ability. They just naturally flip back and forth smoothly, due to the balance and quillion design.

The 'D' guard has an integral design, meaning it is made out of the same piece of steel as the blade, for the strongest possible joints. The 'D' guard has been ergonomically designed with an 'S' curve, to allow for a solid reverse grip without interfering with the primary forward grip. The edges of the spine (the spine rests against the forearm during a reverse grip) are rounded to improve function.

The handle is made from stabilized wood and is pinned and glued to a full tang, so it will not crack or warp over time. Most inexpensive woods used for imported sword handles are affected by humidity-induced expansion and contraction. This stabilized wood product is far more resistant. The slimline style handle is ergonomically designed to be comfortable and reduce the odds of slippage. We chose to use a full handle instead of a half handle, because in this day and age having a better grip on the sword during training and/or combat is more important than slipping both swords into one sheath or holding both swords in one hand. The full handle feels better to use and causes less training accidents.

Blade Material: Since most people will not be sword fighting for real or in real combat, and will instead only be using the swords in a training environment, we chose a stainless steel to minimize the need for care. While a high-grade carbon steel (such as 1075 or 1095,) is best for combat, it requires constant maintenance, requiring careful cleaning and oiling after each use to prevent rusting. The maintenance issue is why professional martial artists who can afford them prefer high quality stainless steel training weapons and why these weapons have been made out of 440C.

There are many types of stainless steel and they are not all the same. The one we chose - 440C - is a steel used for making dies - for cutting metal, in other words - and is the material preferred by top custom knife makers. It is more expensive than lower-quality steels, and is tougher to work. Be advised that if an advertisement for another sword just says '440' or 'stainless steel' it is unlikely to be the expensive 440C.

Not only did we use a great steel, we had it hot drop forged. This is the same process used to make a hammer. Unlike every other sword in the market, our sword is one single piece of metal and super, super strong. There is no welding of metals - it is forged out of one solid piece. Making the 'D' guard out of the same piece of steel as the blade, thereby increasing strength, is one of the reasons forging is a preferred method of construction. The other is that hot drop forging helps align the crystalline structure of the steel, making the blade even stronger.

Finish: After being drop forged, the swords are hand-ground, tempered and polished to a glossy, limited production grade finish. Please note that there may be some small black marks remaining on the steel due to minor pitting from the drop forge process, but we still think the final product is far superior to anything on the market, shy of expensive custom swords. We did our best polish it out, but at this price point there is just no way to do this perfectly, since it is a very labor intensive process. This is normal and not a defect of the blades, and will in no way effect performance.

Sheath: Each unit consists of a pair of knives and a leather transport carry-all. Please note that over time, the chemicals used to treat the leather can tarnish a blade, so for long term storage it is best to re-wrap the blades in the paper they ship with before inserting them into the carry-all. Also, Modell Design LLC has asked us to note that the leather cases were outsourced by the forge and are a first effort. Buyers should use care when inserting the swords to avoid cutting the leather pockets, (yes, the tips are pointy even though the edge wasn't fully sharpened,) and the zippers can sometimes get stuck at the corners at first. The carryall is offered as a free extra and is not covered by any warranty.

Dimensions:

Total Length: 17 inches
Blade: Length is approx 12 inches along the spine. Blade thickness starts at 6 mm and distal tapers to 3 mm.
Weight: Approximately 1.1 Kilograms or 2.4 pounds per sword
Handle Material: Black Laminated Stabilized Wood

Blade Material: Heat Treated Drop Forged 440C Stainless Steel

[JamesC]

Holy crap I want those.

I don't even know how to use them and I want them. Those are awesome.