Today, we are blessed with many good books about Chinese martial arts in English, but it wasn’t always so. For practitioners of my generation, we remember a time when there was a dearth of English language resources. Most of the books that were available up until the turn of the millennium were little more than expanded magazine articles. They usually included some cursory history about their style, a somewhat boastful description of their lineage, and then launched into a photo essay of a form or some assorted techniques. My generation predates video – and by that, I mean VHS – free access YouTube videos were beyond our imagination. We just had magazines and a few mediocre books.

Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming was one of the first to publish substantial Chinese martial arts books in English. They helped to establish a new level of scholarship, raising the bar for all books to follow. In many ways, his books inspired me to start writing. They made me realize that there was much more to be said than what was being published back in those days. I was inspired to dip my pen into freelance writing for various magazines (there were many newsstand magazines back before the internet), and that was a major steppingstone for my career as a martial arts writer.

Today, many of Dr. Yang’s books have become venerated classics – I still keep a copy of his Ancient Chinese Weapons—A Martial Artist's Guide by my work desk. It’s a dog-eared first edition, first published in 1985 (I have the new edition now too). Dr. Yang’s books and videos grew to a point where he established his own publishing company, YMAA Publication Center, which has expanded to encompass all styles of martial arts and more.

Full disclosure: when our print magazine Kung Fu Tai Chi folded, I had to pivot. I am still the publisher here at KungFuMagazine.com obviously, but now that’s only a part-time job. My current full-time job is now with YMAA as their Staff Writer and Publicist. And although I’ve never been a student of Dr. Yang, as I just said I do credit him as an inspirational master for my own martial journey. So, I must confess that this eliminates an unbiased interview.  However, longtime readers of my KungFuMagazine offerings know that the piper must be paid, or in this case, the writer, so much of my work is dedicated to promoting KungFuMagazine’s primary sponsor, MartialArtSmart. We must keep the lights on here somehow.

Coincidentally, I interviewed Dr. Yang for the last Year of the Tiger. That was for the cover story in our March+April 2010 issue and it remains one of the easiest interviews I’ve ever done. I only asked a few questions, and his answers were so extensive, all that I had to do was transcribe them. Since then, he has closed his Retreat Center and relocated to McKinleyville, which is near to Eureka, California.

GC: When you began writing your first book, did you imagine that you would write as many as you have?

YJM: Honestly, no. I just wanted to keep my promise to my White Crane master to preserve the arts he had passed down to me. I came to the United States in 1974 for my Ph.D. study at Purdue University. Right before I left, I promised my White Crane master that, after I finished my study, I would return and continue my learning from him. Sadly, he passed away in 1976. When I returned to Taiwan in 1979, I felt so sad and lost. I have never learned, nor did my classmates, even half of his knowledge. I swore in front of his tomb that I would find a way to pass down what I had learned from him and never allow it to die.

Since then, I began to write what I knew with my poor Chinglish. After writing a few books I realized that by collecting information, compiling, studying, researching, and writing, I was learning so much from the process. I began to realize that even if I could not find a good teacher in America, I could still learn and gain knowledge from writing. Since then, writing has become my way of learning, especially the knowledge part. After knowing the theory, then I was able to apply it into practice myself and through teaching. How true it is, the saying: ‘teaching is the best way of learning.’

Later, I began to expand my writing to Qigong and Taijiquan, two other topics that interested me greatly. Since then, I have kept writing and learning and feel that my life has been fulfilling.

GC: Although I've never been your direct student, your books were a great influence on my career as I'm sure they have been for many others. How does it feel to have had such an impact on the martial arts?

YJM: As I said, the purpose of my writing is for learning. In order to teach myself to a good level, I have put so much effort and my heart into writing. I never expected that my effort in writing would have influenced so many people around the world. It has been very rewarding. My books and videos have been translated into 11 languages. It is a good feeling that I have not wasted my life.

GC: When you first started writing about martial arts, you were one of the first to bring much of this material to English readers. Now that there's a lot more translators, and even scholarly works, on the topic, has that changed your perspective at all?

YJM: Chinese culture has had the knowledge about martial arts and Qigong that has been accumulated in four thousand years of history. Unfortunately, most of this knowledge had been kept secret in all styles. When I began to reveal these hidden secrets to western society in the 1980’s, many Chinese masters were angry with me and blamed me for revealing Chinese secrets to western foreigners. However, I believe that in order to keep these precious arts alive, this knowledge must be released to the general public.          

I have always joked with my friends that I am a naughty boy who threw a big rock in a deep pond. Now, all the big fish have emerged to the surface.          

I am so glad that through my writing, many good masters or professionals have decided to share with the public what they know. This is the way to keep the arts alive and continuing to develop. There are so many Chinese masters who blamed me for revealing secrets who have since stepped forward and praised my work in the past. In fact, many of them have changed their mind and also shared what they know.

YJM:  I’ve always believed that arts which are developed from feeling should not kept secret. Arts should be shared, and further development encouraged.

GC: You've already written extensively on Qigong. What does Qigong Grand Circulation bring that's fresh?

YJM: Actually, I was hesitant to publish this book since I have not had deep practical experience in this topic. It was the same with my Dao De Jing Qigong Interpretation, the book that took me nearly twenty years of pondering, studying, and experiencing before I decided to finish it.

Similar case with this Grand Circulation book. It has taken me more than 10 years of collecting documents, studying them, compiling them, and practicing them. Now, finally I have decided to publish it. I am almost 76 years old now. I just want to share with the general public what I have learned so far about this topic before I am gone.

This book is the final application or manifestation of all the other books I have written. This book will help the reader to understand more about traditional Chinese spiritual cultivation. It can not only bring people to have a healthy physical body, but also offer them a chance to feel the spirit and find the way of life’s fulfillment.

GC: Will readers of Qigong Grand Circulation need to have read the previous books?

YJM: Yes. To have a good level of understanding, it is recommended to read the other four books first. These four books are: 1. The Root of Chinese Qigong; 2. Qigong – The Secret of Youth; 3. Qigong Meditation – Small Circulation; and also 4. Qigong Meditation – Embryonic Breathing. Without these four books as foundations, it will be difficult to comprehend the essence of this in-depth Grand Circulation practice.

I also recommend, for those who do not have too much time to read, that they can acquire the same knowledge foundation from watching the six videos: Understanding Qigong, 1-6. These books and videos are available from YMAA Publication Center (www.ymaa.com).

GC: You're re-editing your past Qigong books. What is entailed with that and how is it going?

YJM: There are a few reasons for this new edition:

Many readers were confused about how to proceed with their learning since there are so many Qigong books I have written. The other four books will help readers build a foundation of Qigong understanding. Together with Grand Circulation, they will have become a complete series of Qigong study and will help any beginner to understand the entire Qigong concept from the most basic to advanced levels. Without the four past books, it will be much harder to comprehend the new book, Qigong Grand Circulation – Spiritual Enlightenment.

Re-issuing these four past in-depth books will allow me to check if the meanings described in the books are still accurate. Some of the books were written 30 years ago. Now I have a better understanding, more experience, and more information. This has given me a chance to update the information.

Since the Chinese Pinyin system has become very popular in the last 30 years, I have added the tones of each Chinese word for those who are interested to learn how to pronounce Chinese.

GC: Do you have plans for future books?

YJM: Yes. After so many years, a lifetime, learning, studying, and practicing Qigong, I am at a stage now that I am more interested in Qigong spiritual cultivation. This will also keep me busy for the rest of my life. I plan to write a book: Exploring the Mystery of Spirituality. I believe that through the writing process I will be able to find more clues how to cultivate my spirit.

As is well-known, spirituality is a very confusing topic and has not been understood by any culture yet. I would like to use the rest of my life to study — to collect the ancient practices, compile, understand, and then verify and experience them.

There are now so many available documents that used to be hidden in Buddhist and Daoist monasteries. These documents may provide me with some guidelines to reach the final goal of my life’s pursuit.

GC: The Retreat Center was a grand experiment. Now that you're closing it, do you feel it was a success?

YJM: Well! It could be better. However, I feel that I did not waste my time. I did pass down most of my knowledge to around 12 people. Now, I just hope these seeds will grow and produce more seeds.

There are not too many young people today who are willing to commit to spending so many years on the mountain just for training. That implies the most difficult part of this program was finding committed students who were able to take on the challenge of training and discipline.

Now, I’ll just wait and see how the planted seeds will grow. I just hope the art continues to survive with high quality from my books, videos, and teaching. [Note: Since this interview, Dr. Yang has relocated to a new smaller location in McKinleyville, California and plans to hold retreats there later this year].