I had an idea. Instead of demonstrating a form just showing the movements, how about doing the form from start to finish using fighting applications?

I have never seen this done, and since I love exploring the self-defense meaning and mechanics behind each movement I do, I figured I'm just the man for the job. The sword has been part of my practice since 1987, and I feel strongly that if you are going to learn a weapons form, your art is empty if you don't know how to use it.

So here is the Chen Tai Chi Straight Sword (Jian) form, shown through applications. If you know the form, you'll recognize the moves. If you don't know the form, you can learn it through my DVDs on the Chen Straight Sword Form, or you can become a member of my website and study it with me. In the meantime, I hope this video helps you understand the form better. My student Colin Frye is helping me, and since we are using metal swords, we are being careful. This is not a "cutting" video, but it should give you plenty of ideas to work with -- deflections, angles, and cuts, including a variety of targets, both thrusting and cutting.

--by Ken Gullette

The holiday season can be a stressful time. Beween buying gifts, going to work parties, and reuniting with family, it can knock you out of harmony with the universe.

In fact, compared with the summer months, statistics show that Tai Chi practitioners at this time of year are 37% more likely to rip out an irritating family member's heart and show it to them before they die.

That's why I recommend stopping for a few moments to breathe, calm your mind and center yourself by doing a short Tai Chi form designed to relieve your holiday stress and prevent your hand from striking out with five fingers of death.

Whether you're dealing with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, this form will help you remain One with the Universe during the hectic days between now and the first of the new year.

Here are the Top 10 Tai Chi Movements for the Holidays:

1. Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Egg Nog
2. Grasp the Elf’s Tail
3. Part the Wild Reindeer’s Mane
4. Hidden Spiked Punch
5. Fair Maiden Works in the Kitchen
6. White Ape Offers Cranberry Sauce
7. Lazy About Wrapping the Gift
8. Wave Gift Receipt Like Clouds
9. Golden Turkey Loses Two Legs
10. Step Back and Repulse the Fruitcake

Happy Holidays!

--by Ken (and Nancy, who came up with #7) Gullette

Kimberly Ivy in China at the Chen Village, the birthplace of Taijiquan.

On my latest edition of the podcast -- Number 65 -- I wanted to talk with a couple of different people who own bricks-and-mortar martial arts schools. It is the dream of a lot of martial artists -- to own your own school and teach martial arts for a living. It can be very satisfying, but there are challenges that everyone should realize, and skills you need to have to achieve success. The physical demands can be very great, at least early on, the expenses range from rent or building payments to utilities, mirrors and mats, marketing costs, including website, video and social media, martial arts equipment, and possibly costs for a staff. Other challenges arise when you feel as if you have to accept virtually everyone in order to pay your bills, even if non-serious students take up class time.

Kimberly Ivy, who teaches Chen Taijiquan and Qigong in Seattle, was one of the first who came to mind when I thought about this episode. She has been teaching in her school for three decades. Like everyone who has a school in a big city, she has faced challenges with rising rents and, of course, Covid. Kim has appeared in two earlier podcasts several years ago.

Michael Celeste demonstrating on World Tai Chi Day.

Michael Celeste works full time at Pfizer and teaches Yang Taijiquan and Wing Chun in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey. He has owned his school for six years.

My own teaching history involves renting space, buying a building, then selling the building because of a change in full-time jobs. For the past 15 years I have primarily taught in a park, but I clearly remember the challenges and pleasures of owning my own school.

In the current economy, and as we have come out of Covid, I think, I wondered if someone who is thinking about starting a school should do it or run from it. I hope you enjoy these conversations. Listen online or download the podcast through this link.

https://internalfightingarts.libsyn.com/website/internal-fighting-arts-65-running-your-own-school-with-kimberly-ivy-and-michael-celeste