I sat down at my computer on October 15, 2006 to create a blog about the internal arts of Taijiquan, Xingyiquan Baguazhang, Qigong, and philosophy. Today, my Internal Fighting Arts blog is old enough to vote -- 18 years old -- legally an adult. 

I am writing this at home after spending the past two nights at a hospital across the river in Davenport, Iowa. My oxygen levels suddenly crashed on Saturday morning, leaving me gasping for each breath like a catfish that has been thrown into a boat. Between gasps, I told Nancy, "I'm in trouble." Off to the hospital we went. Apparently, chest congestion last week triggered deep coughing for days, and finally the lungs said, "We're dealing with this by throwing a severe asthma tantrum." 

What a journey the past 18 years has been in my life, going from a strong 53-year-old to a 71-year-old martial artist who is still studying, practicing, learning and teaching, but not physically as strong as I was the day this blog was born, and with fewer lungs.

If you scroll back through the archives, you'll see some useful and educational posts. Along the way, I have shared my philosophy of life, and many people have read the posts as I have gone through my health struggles and test what aging does to a guy with a warrior spirit. When you are young and healthy, you assume you will always be that way. But life teaches us one thing -- always expect the unexpected, and try to remain centered when the unexpected happens. It is not an easy thing to do, but when a blog turns 18 years old, another lesson is involved. That lesson is the value of persistence. Those two concepts -- persisting through the unexpected, is the key of life and the key to making progress in martial arts.

On the day this blog was born, I had a bricks-and-mortar school. Four years later, I began teaching online, at a time when a lot of Taiji folks said, "You can't teach that way." But I eventually created nearly one thousand video lessons, taking students step-by-step from basic to more advanced learning in the internal arts.

Then 2020 came along and Covid gave everyone a lesson in the unexpected. Suddenly, everyone learned that actually, you can teach online, and you can learn online, especially when you include live Zoom classes that enable you to see and coach your students. The main thing that's missing is the hands-on element, and the ability to do applications together, push hands, sparring, etc. That's very important, but you can still learn, and you can improve your internal mechanics.

In 2014, I launched my Internal Fighting Arts podcast, interviewing great English-speaking martial arts instructors. My aim was to promote good teachers, help them receive publicity, and also to further my own reputation as a provider of good information. It has been downloaded or listened to nearly 700,000 times. And I'm very proud that it inspired several other internal arts teachers to do their own podcasts.

I don't think a blog or a podcast should be about me. I see myself as a teacher and a student, and if you see my experience and knowledge through the stories I tell, the philosophy I share, the journey I am taking, and the educational videos and photos I post, my goal is for you to walk away with information you didn't know, or an idea of something to work on in your own training. Perhaps, you'll also see a new way of looking at the world, and a better way of connecting to others.

Last month, I celebrated my 51st anniversary in martial arts. One lesson I have learned in that time is to not wall yourself off and become trapped inside ONE way of doing things. Open yourself up to other information, because it just might be the key to unlock a higher-level gongfu.

And, of course, that thing about being persistent. Keep walking, keep learning and practicing.

There's a third lesson, too. Never check your brains at the door of a martial arts school. Now, more than ever, con artists are flooding the internet and social media with videos showing students hopping and falling at the slightest touch. In reality, it requires real force to deal with a motivated adult who wants to attack you. You can neutralize an opponent's force to put him off-balance, and at that point, it doesn't take as much power to deal with him, but it still takes power and leverage and strength. When you see fake videos by these "masters" whose students hop and drop with a slight touch, please just have pity on their lack of integrity (the teacher and the student) and just scroll on.

Just like in our politics, if you can't tell the difference between the people telling the truth and the people telling you lies, shame on you. The ones telling you the lies have no shame. You have to be able to educate yourself and see through the bullshit. If you can't, no one can help you, and the "no-touch" or "slight touch" knockdown con artists will continue to thrive. The people who want you to believe it's all about mysticism and mysterious energy flow will continue to thrive. They will anyway, I suppose. There are always people willing to pay money to someone who makes them believe they can gain special powers.  

You learn a lot of things by the time you pass the age of 70, but this age thing can play with your head. Within three months, I'll be turning 72. At this point, all the training and learning seems to have new meaning. You start looking down the road and realize there isn't as much time to live as there used to be. I've already been persisting for 15 years with only one lung and with atrial fibrillation. Now, it seems that 80 is not that far away. Should I slow down? Should I ease up a bit more?

Oh, screw it. I have more videos to make, and more books to write. There is more to learn, and even if I can't breathe as well as I did 18 years ago, I'm still learning. And even if I can't do the same things physically that I could do 18 years ago, like doing a flying sidekick against a six-feet-tall opponent, my insights into these arts and the philosophy have grown and developed. I have more to teach. Maybe it's true -- you might lose a bit of strength as you get older, but what you lose in strength you gain in wisdom. You hope. That's one reason I wrote my most recent book, "A Handful of Nothing."

Even if it all ended tomorrow, and I became One with the Tao, I would want you to know that I love you for reading this blog and for caring about the internal arts. 

But it's not going to end tomorrow. I don't think.

It's kind of funny now, but around 2012, my cardiologist said, "Ken, your heart is so weak right now, you could literally drop dead with no warning."

Talk about something that plays with your head. I went home and walked down the hall, looking at photos on the wall and thinking, "Is this the last thing I'm going to see? Am I just going to keel over, lights out, end of story?"

I decided to practice. If everything ended suddenly, I would be the last to know, so I decided not to worry about it.

My heart got stronger again during the next year or two, and here I am. 

And I have to throw out a huge "thank you" to my wife and devoted supporter, Nancy. She has been at my side the entire way. I started the blog three years after we were married. I couldn't have accomplished any of this without her support and encouragement.

So let's keep going and see if this blog can add another 18 years to it's life. I hope you'll stay along for the ride.

If you have any questions about topics you'd like to see me write about, email them to me at [email protected]. 

The most important thing I've learned during the past 51 years, and I've written about it on this blog many times, is this:

Remain centered at all times.

And don't forget to have fun while you're learning, training, practicing, and teaching. 

Happy birthday, Internal Fighting Arts Blog. And many more!

--by Ken Gullette