The Tai Chi Notebook

My guest this episode is Rob Poyton a veteran of the UK Tai Chi and martial arts scene. These days Rob is a teacher of the Russian martial art of Systema, which he has been teaching in the UK since the early 2000s and has run workshops and seminars all over Europe. 

Rob is also a prolific author of Systema books and videos which you can get via his website Cutting Edge Systema which is found at systemauk.com

In this wide-ranging discussion we talk about what the UK Tai Chi scene was like back in the 80s and 90s, and the similarities and differences between Tai Chi and Systema. We even get into a bit of politics, and talk about Rob’s experiences as a professional musician and his sideline as a horror fiction writer.

So, sit back and enjoy as we get under the skin of Tai Chi and Systema.

Hello and welcome to a special bonus edition of the Tai Chi Notebook. This time I’m interviewing Joe and Brad from The Fight Bible, a popular YouTube martial arts channel.

I used to train jiujitsu with Brad back in the day, before he went on to become a UFC fighter, so I’ve known him for years. Brad is retired from the UFC now, but he recently accepted a fight offer from the famous D.K. Yoo, who teaches martial arts seminars all over the world. The fight is scheduled to happen on December 4th on pay-per-view here: https://www.fite.tv/watch/dk-yoo-vs-xu-xiaodong/2pa2e/

Brad and Joe are flying off to South Korea in just a few days for a boxing match that looks set to make a huge impression on the martial arts scene. 

So, let’s find out how it all happened, how Brad's training is going and what the boys think is going to happen on December 4th.

The Fight Bible: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFightBibleofficial

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

In this episode  Tai Chi Notebook podcast my guest is Ken Gullette, a native of Illinois, USA, where he trains in all three of the main internal arts - Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi. Ken also runs a website called internalfightingarts.com where he trains students from around the world in the three internal arts using a combination of recorded and live classes. 

Ken is quite famous for his focus on body mechanics, internal power and getting to the root of these arts in a non-mystical and no-nonsense way.  In fact, he’s written an excellent book that’s available on Amazon - it’s called ‘Internal body mechanics for Tai Chi, Bagua and Xing Yi’, and I’d recommend you get a copy.

In this episode we discuss the internal body mechanics of Tai Chi, training with disciples in the Chen family linage and there’s also a few stories of the times Ken has had to use his arts in real situations.

Visit Ken’s website at: www.internalfightingarts.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/internalfightingarts

Blog: www.internalfightingartsblog.com

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

My guest in this episode is my first from the world of Brazilian Jiujitsu. He’s Estonian Jiujitsu coach Priit Mihkelson. 

For over 15 years now Priit has been pioneering an innovative, logical and defensive style of jiujitsu that has been taking the BJJ world by storm. 

He’s just back from running a training camp held in a castle in Italy and his seminars are sold out until mid June next year, so it was great to grab some of his precious time and catch up with him before he jetted off for his next training camp. 

In this podcast we talk about defensive BJJ, training methods and technical innovations. 

Show Notes:

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Priit’s talk at BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp in 2020

“Want to get better at Jiu Jitsu?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Wv7A2Hdf0

Priit’s online coaching website:

www.DefensiveBJJ.com

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more about this podcast visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

What is Shamanism? And how does it relate to martial arts? In this episode I catch up with my old, friend and teacher Damon Smith to answer some of these questions. 

Damon is an incredibly experienced martial artist with a background in various Japanese and Chinese arts including Karate, Kempo, Xing Yi, Baji and Choy Lee Fut. And those are just a few of the arts he’s pursued to a very high level.

But despite being a great martial artist Damon’s true love has always been Shamanism. 

And while he’s no stranger to banging a drum, Damon’s shamanism is not the hippy dippy sort of practice you might associate shamans with, instead it’s a very down to earth and practical art, much like the martial arts he does.

In this episode we talk about the link between martial arts and shamanism, and where the crossovers lie.

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Paul Bowman is a professor of cultural studies at Cardiff University. He’s the author of multiple books on martial arts, including several about Bruce Lee, and most recently, “The invention of martial arts: popular culture between Asia and America”, which was published by Oxford University press in 2020.

Paul also helped establish the academic journal Marital Arts Studies, and organised conferences for the Martial Arts Studies Research Network.

In this chat we reminisce about our times training together, talk about paul’s recent discovery of Brazilian jiujutsu and discuss the emergent field of martial arts studies.

Show notes:

10.15: The Bruce Lee period

Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theorizing-Bruce-Lee-Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy-Contemporary/dp/9042027770/ref=sr_1_1

Beyond Bruce Lee: Chasing the Dragon Through Film, Philosophy, and Popular Culture 1 Mar. 2013

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Bruce-Lee-Chasing-Philosophy/dp/0231165293/ref=sr_1_1

16.00: I am Bruce Lee, the movie

https://vimeo.com/96517261

17.30: Marital Arts Studies

https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/

22.40: Understanding Identity Through Martial Arts, with Prof Adam Frank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZb3WjosTs

23.53: On How to Talk about Taekwondo, with Professor Paul Bowman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cALt0O3Y5_s

31.05: The invention of martial arts

On The Invention of Martial Arts with Prof Paul Bowman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOyAllbfYsM

The Invention of Martial Arts: Popular Culture Between Asia and America 24 Feb. 2021

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-Martial-Arts-Popular-Culture/dp/0197540341/ref=sr_1_1

44.50: David Carradine - No Limitations Be Anything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q85cV3GOMw

55.00: Comedy and honour around martial arts styles

Are Filipino Martial Arts Realistic? | Master Ken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiuTGP-jnT8

Sensei Seth: If Every Martial Arts Style Taught Each Other

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGo2_f50GLo

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Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more about this podcast please visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Byron Jacobs is a teacher of Xing Yi and Bagua based in Beijing, China. He’s a student of the famous Shifu Di Guoyong and is heavily involved in the martial arts scene in Beijing. As well as training traditional martial arts he’s also a BJJ practitioner and competitor. 

If you’d like to be taught by Byron in the arts of Xing Yi and Bagua, then he has an online learning platform available at https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture - find out what’s available on the platform here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRjNAhP91nI&t=1s

In this wide ranging discussion we talk about training Xing Yi, Bagua and Tai Chi and whether Wu Shu will ever get into in the Olympics. We also find out what it was like to train martial arts in Beijing during the Corona virus pandemic, and what the Chinese BJJ and MMA scene is like.

Show notes:

(9.45) 

Byron’s Hua Jin Online learning platform

https://www.patreon.com/mushinmartialculture

(15.22)

Byron’s Mu Shin Martial Culture YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg_V6eznSvYOFz2naGlgRpg

(47.05)

DQ'd for Kicking TOO HARD? - Doctor Reacts to Olympic Karate Controversy and Knockout Science

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFxxM3QOws

(1.05.30)

Speed passing by Rafa Mendes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu_9Lcdrh_w

(1.18.11)

Ku Yu Chang (Guruzhang’s) Yang style Taijiquan:

A STUDY OF TAIJI BOXING 龍子祥 by Long Zixiang

https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-taiji-manual-of-long-zixiang/

(1.23.00)

Stand Still Be Fit by Master Lam Kam Chuen

https://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

To find out more visit www.thetaichinotebook.com

Ep 1: Daniel Mroz on defining Chinese martial arts.

What is the relationship between Chinese martial arts and Chinese theatre, religion, mime, serious leisure activities, fighting and military tactics? How do all these factors intermingle and produce the arts we have today? In this wide-ranging discussion between Graham Barlow of The Tai Chi Notebook and Daniel Mroz, Professor of Theatre at the University of Ottawa we tackle all these subjects and more. As well as being a professor of theatre, Daniel is also a Choy Li Fut and Tai Chi Chuan practitioner, and has lectured at the Martial Arts Studies conference.  He writes books and contributes articles to various journals including the Martial Arts Studies journal. 

Podcast Notes and links

1) Daniel Mroz quote in full:

By ‘Chinese martial arts’, I refer to folkways that began to assume their present forms from the mid 19th to the early 20th centuries, at the end of the Imperial, and the beginning of the Republican periods of Chinese history. These arts train credible fighting abilities through exacting physical conditioning; through partnered, combative drills and games; and through the practice of prearranged movement patterns called tàolù  套路 (Mroz, 2017 & 2020). For millennia, up end of the Imperial period in 1912, China explicitly understood itself as a religious state (Lagerwey 2010). Communities across China not only used their martial arts to defend themselves, they performed them as theatrical acts of religious self-consecration, communal blessing, and entertainment in an annual calendar of sacred festivals (Ward, 1978; Sutton, 2003; Boretz, 2010; Amos, 2021). Modernization, and secularization at the end of the Imperial period removed the original context of these practices. The Chinese martial arts were transformed over the course of the 20th century by both their worldwide spread, and by their ideological appropriation by the Chinese Republic of 1912, and the Communist state that succeeded it in 1949 (Morris, 2004). Their religious heritage forgotten in many social, and cultural contexts within greater China, and internationally, the arts we practice today combine a legacy of pragmatic combat skill, religious enaction, participatory recreation, competitive athleticism, and performed entertainment.

2) THE STRENUOUS LIFE PODCAST WITH STEPHAN KESTING

334 - Ten Guru Warning Signs with Dr Dr Chris Kavanagh

https://kesting.libsyn.com/334-ten-guru-warning-signs-with-dr-dr-chris-kavanagh

3) Peter Johnsson

http://www.peterjohnsson.com/higher-understanding-and-deeper-reckoning/

Peter Johnsson - long video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6N3x_4gOtw&list=PLvIylNOaOkiZxaCtKkEVlVP3gQGXHpgSG

Peter Johnsson - short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiSoLMx3v0I

4) Cung Le Sao Choy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRQkV0DWjlE

5) Daniel Mroz

Tàolù – The Mastery of Space: https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/abstract/10.18573/mas.111/

Academic page: https://dmroz.academia.edu

6) China: A Religious State, John Lagerwey

You can stay in touch and support The Tai Chi Notebook by visiting our website www.thetaichinotebook.com and following our page on Facebook. 

Music by lesfm from Pixabay

Which came first in Xing Yi, the 5 elements or the 12 animals? This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/06/29/is-xing-yi-a-nature-based-martial-art-any-longer/

Dim mak, pressure points, high kicks and nerve strikes! This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/25/pressure-point-striking-is-back/