This October, Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming celebrates the 40^th anniversary of the founding of YMAA (Yang's Martial Arts Association). As I’ve said before, while I’m not a direct student of Dr. Yang, however he had an immense impact upon my career. He was one of the first to write substantial books and articles on Chinese martial arts in English back in the day, and his example inspired me to approach writing like a research paper instead of a pop newsstand feature.

Dr. Yang was also tremendously influential upon the creation of Kung Fu Tai Chi and the perpetuation of KungFuMagazine.com. When the magazine was just starting out, he supported it by contributing a series of articles on Chin Na to four of the earliest issues, including the very first one. It’s difficult to launch a magazine and his support lent credibility to our then fledgling publication.

Dr. Yang continued to support our publications whenever he could. When he launched his disciple program at his Retreat Center in Miranda, California, he tasked his disciples to submit articles to our magazine as part of their training. It seemed only logical that pupils of Dr. Yang be well versed in the art of writing, and it was wonderful while it lasted. However, it’s a daunting task to master the martial arts. To master writing on top of that is doubly challenging. Only very few can truly balance the pen and the sword. A few continued with their writing but through other outlets like their personal blogs.

Dr. Yang was also an avid supporter of our Tiger Claw Elite Championships. He would contribute his time to serve as a judge as well as his skills to demonstrate during our showcases. And he brought his students with him to compete, making the four-to-five-hour drive down from Miranda to San Jose. Dr. Yang has since closed his Retreat Center and relocated farther north up the California coast in McKinleyville. If TCEC returns, that adds another hour plus to his journey, plus his disciples no longer live with him, so who knows what the future might hold?

When the pandemic struck, our print magazine Kung Fu Tai Chi folded, and we struggled to keep our web publication alive. Dr. Yang was one of the first to contribute some article for us to republish to help KungFuMagazine.com stay afloat. He shared a two-part article: The Scientific Foundation of the Ancient Chinese Secret of Youth and How to Boost Your Immune System.

And as loyal KungFuMagazine.com readers know, without the print mag, I am only part-time here at KungFuMagazine.com. My fulltime gig now is working as a Staff Writer and Publicist for YMAA Publication Center. So, despite not being his student, I am time and time again in the wake of Dr. Yang’s contribution to the martial world.

You might think that this would put me in regular contact with Dr. Yang, but it doesn’t. While the Publication Center is under the YMAA umbrella, apart from publishing new books and videos through the publication center, Dr. Yang isn’t directly involved. In fact, the last time I corresponded with Dr. Yang prior to the anniversary was for an article here on KungFuMagazine.com where we discussed his most recent book (see Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and Grand Qigong Circulation). I also did a video interview with him for the anniversary for YMAA (Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming Interview w Gene Ching about the YMAA 40 Year Anniversary). But other than that, our correspondence is limited. We’re both extremely busy fulfilling our duties to the martial world, so it was a pleasure to take some time out to chat with the good doctor and get his perspective on the 40-year milestone of YMAA.

GC: What do you think is the biggest challenge for martial arts now and how does that compare to what you experienced when YMAA first began?

YJM:  Overall, we have been in a time of relative peace since the 1960s. More and more people have lost interest in learning self-defense, which is quite different than the 1970s and 1980s when YMAA first began. Relying on teaching martial arts as a means of living has become harder. In the 1980s, I could find students easily and at the time, the market was continuing to expand. However, I believe that health and spiritual development are at the forefront now. Fields such as Taijiquan and Qigong for health and well-being will become even more popular than martial arts over the next few decades.

GC: You’ve been doing Kung Fu for more than sixty years now. What is your secret for maintaining your practice for so long?

YJM:  First, you must be really interested in martial arts. It cannot just be a passing thought. Second, you must be sincerely and seriously committed. Third, you need to conquer your emotional laziness and be patient. Finally, most importantly you must have good and qualified teachers.

GC: How much time do you spending practicing martial arts and qigong nowadays and how does that compare to your schedule when you started?

YJM:  I practice with a couple students at my current home, the Yang Family Heights, at least one hour per day from Monday through Friday. I also meditate about 2-3 hours per day and in the early morning, practice wake-up Qigong exercise by myself for another hour. The main purpose of my training now is to slow down my aging process and to keep myself healthy. Teaching the few students I have is how I keep on schedule and stay disciplined.

GC: How much time do you spending writing nowadays and how does that compare to your schedule when you started? 

YJM:  Since I began experiencing eye discomfort last year, I have been having trouble focusing my mind on reading or writing. If the eye doctor can find an acceptable way to fix the problem, then I may return to my writing. When I started writing originally, my main motivations were to share my knowledge with the West and to earn a living. The pressure of surviving was extremely high since I had to support my family. I wrote as much as I could whenever I was not teaching, a minimum of three hours per day average.

GC: What has been the biggest challenge for you to practice martial arts into your seventies and how do you surmount it?

YJM:  Physically, I am an old machine and can be broken at any time. I love martial arts but at this stage of my life, I am more concerned about my health and capability. I purposefully transitioned my practice from external to internal arts gradually beginning about 20 years ago.

I have found that I constantly need a “whip” behind me to keep going in my daily practice. Teaching students is one of my whips. The other is thinking of my last day coming soon.

GC: What advice might you give to someone who is burnt out from their practice and thinking of quitting?

YJM:  Think about your health and future. When we are young, it is the ideal time to build up our foundation, both mentally and physically. Health and mental well-being are long-term investments, so the earlier we start, the better. However, no matter the age, it is never too late to begin. Even in your 50s, you can likely gain a few more years of better, happier, and healthier living. In the end, we are all responsible for our own destinies.

GC: I imagine that you have a lot of martial arts weapons in your home. If you ever did have a home invader, which one would you grab and why?

YJM: If the opponent had a gun, I would not be foolish enough to grab an old traditional weapon to defend myself. I would just comply with the invader’s demands, within reason. I do not believe there is much in my home to go after anyway. I like keeping my life simple. If the invader did not have a gun or any modern weapons, I would use what is practical around me and not go through the unnecessary trouble of retrieving any specific items.

GC: If you had the chance to do it all over again, what might you change?

YJM: First, in terms of publishing, I would have focused more on video productions instead of writing books. It took less effort and a shorter amount of time to produce videos than to write books. Many people these days do not read as much anymore as well and instead prefer to watch videos. I would have still written books, but at least without the additional overhead and stress of trying to keep the business afloat with each publication.

Second, if my current knowledge and access to research, data, and articles were available to me when I was younger, my practice, habits, and lifestyle would have certainly been very different. Particularly, I would have had a better head start on my meditation and internal practice, with a more capable physical body. When I was younger, I had a fit physical body but a lack of knowledge. Now, I am older with more knowledge but less physical strength. Unfortunately, a lot of knowledge today was just not easy to acquire 40 years ago. We are in a knowledge exploration era today. I wish I had these opportunities to learn when I was growing up, but I still try to make the best of what I can now.

Finally, if I did not have to teach and write to make a living, I probably would have just chosen a few committed students to train in the traditional way. I would have been able to spend a lot of time, energy, and resources working towards refining quality instead of constantly worrying about earning enough money to survive. However, as I found with the Retreat Center, it is very difficult in this day and age to find capable students who can remain committed and sincere. It is hard to know whether this would have been a better or worse approach to me passing down the art in my lifetime.