This episode I’m talking to the man, the legend, that is Stephan Kesting, Stephan has taught thousands of people martial arts through his famous website grapplarts.com which, back in the day, was one of the first sites to put out quality Brazilian jiujitsu instructional material and is still putting out top notch instructional material today Stephan is a fireman, he has competed in marital arts, he has trekked across the Canadian wilds with a canoe and recently he’s undergone a full hip replacem...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 2Ep. 9
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 ...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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...
Nov 22, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 w...
Nov 06, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 6
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...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 ...
Sep 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 ...
Sep 04, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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....
Aug 11, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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, D...
Jul 31, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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/
Jul 05, 2021•4 min
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/
May 25, 2021•3 min•Ep. 8
Does lineage reallt matter in Chinese marital arts? This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/18/does-it-work/
May 24, 2021•4 min•Ep. 7
One admonition from Yang Cheng Fu’s 10 important points , that has become something of a law in Tai Chi Chuan, is to ‘keep the head suspended, as if from above’. In the Tai Chi Classics it also states “ Stand like a perfectly balanced scale and move like a turning wheel ”, whilst also saying, “ Don’t lean in any direction; suddenly appear, suddenly disappear. ” This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/04/04/suspended-from-above-bringing-a-sense-of-lightnes...
May 23, 2021•6 min•Ep. 6
Some advice on how to stop trying so much in Tai Chi and learn to go with the flow. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2018/08/24/dont-put-power-into-the-form-let-it-naturally-arise-from-the-form/
May 20, 2021•4 min
Are you hydrated? How do you know? Should you be drinking a certain amount of water a day? Find out in this episode of The Tai Chi Notebook. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/19/how-much-water-should-you-drink-a-day/
May 19, 2021•2 min
I’m going to have a bit of a rant today about Tai Chi people who still think that their art is too deadly for the ring, so please bear with me. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/13/tai-chi-is-still-too-deadly-for-the-cage/
May 18, 2021•5 min•Ep. 3
A look at the concept of timing in martial arts and a way to practice it that comes from Xing Yi. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/01/03/the-real-secret-to-martial-arts-bruce-lee-and-the-concept-of-jeet/
May 18, 2021•4 min•Ep. 2
A review of Introduction to Baguazhang, by Kent Howard. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thetaichinotebook.com/2021/05/18/review-introduction-to-baguazhang-by-kent-howard-2/
May 18, 2021•2 min
