I was listening to a podcast last week when I heard a well-known Tai Chi teacher say there are chi masters in Asia who we have seen ignite paper with their Qi. Some other fantastic claims were made on the interview. 

Here is the truth: noboby can ignite paper with their Qi. 

Some charlatans pretend they can ignite paper with their Qi. But it's a trick.

When an adult goes to a magic show, and a magician saws a women in half, and you see the woman's body being separated, and then in a moment the body is reconnected and the woman is walking off the stage, no rational adult walks away telling everyone, "Did you know you can be sawed in half and then you can be reconnected? I saw it happen!" 

If you tell them, "Hey, man, that's just a trick," the believer will say, "You just don't understand. You have to open your mind!"

Nobody with an ounce of intelligence says that after seeing a magic show. What they actually say is, "I'd like to know that trick."

However, demonstrate a magic trick and call it "Qi powers" (or Chi Powers) and you will have millions of people believing it. 

When I heard this Tai Chi teacher talk about igniting paper with Qi as if it were true, I decided to show you how it is done. Here is my video. Enjoy and please share this with those unfortunate souls who have lost their critical thinking skills. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Let me show you how to focus your chi energy, and then I will teach you step-by-step how you, TOO can be a chi master.

I'm on the ground with Chris, getting an education.

I love it when martial artists of different styles come to my practices. I like to compare notes, concepts and body mechanics with other martial artists. It's also fun to see how Taiji, for example, handles someone from other arts.

Yesterday, my friend and former student Chris Lorenzen came to practice with me, Justin and Colin. Chris is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has been training the art with intensity for the past three years, including some success at BJJ tournaments. He was 16 when he was my student (around 2001 and 2022). He was a natural, and won first-place trophies in almost every competition he entered at regional tournaments. And he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

Before he arrived, we were working on escapes from joint locks. In a self-defense situation, you don't go in with a plan to use chin-na against an opponent, but you should be ready to apply a joint lock when the opportunity arises. 

Equally important is to become "sensitive" enough to realize when an opponent is putting you into a joint lock.

Justin and Chris working it out on the floor.

Our philosophy is to "spiral out of that s#!t." It's one of our primary goals of self-defense. When someone is trying to lock you, spiral out of it.

We showed Chris some of this, but when a guest comes to our practices, we also want to "feel" his art.

My favorite thing against a ground-fighter is to see how Taiji concepts can keep him from taking me down. Can I apply the ground, peng and use sensitivity well enough to feel where he's applying pressure? Can I empty at the right time to put him off-balance, and can I feel where his center is moving so I can keep him from taking me down? That's a lot of fun when you try it against someone who is skilled, but who doesn't know what to expect like your own students do. And it's also fun because I don't know what to expect from him like his regular training partners do.

But we also want to experience what it's like to be on the ground with a Jiu Jitsu fighter. Chris showed us one-by-one what happens, and if you aren't a ground-fighter, it's interesting to see how he can use the feet, the legs, and roll into positions that makes his opponent vulnerable to a painful lock or a choke.

I love it. Even at 70, with one lung and a-fib, I enjoyed getting on the ground with Chris even though I don't have the lung capacity to work in that situation for more than two or three minutes. It's still a great education.

You can have a lot of fun and learn interesting things about yourself and your art if you try not to pee on trees when someone from a different

Chris says to Colin, "This is how I do an ankle lock."

martial art is around. Put the tribalism aside and empty your cup. Some of your assumptions about the effectiveness of your own art can be wrong, or, with a minor adjustment, can be right.

It was the second time Chris has visited our practices. I invite martial artists of all styles to come by. Nothing is ever lost except self-delusion. I think a lot is gained by comparing notes and concepts with good martial artists who can also rise above one-upmanship. We all learn and improve our skills as a result.

--by Ken Gullette 

The 70th edition of the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast is a collection of some of my favorite interview clips from the first two years of the podcast, covering from 2014 to 2016.

I love talking with martial artists who have gone to great pains, both physical and financial, to seek out great internal martial arts masters, and then work very hard to attain skill.

This editon of the podcast is called "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" and it includes great comments with important martial arts teachers such as Michael Chritton (my first guest and husband of Chen Huixian), Kimberly Ivy, Stephan Berwick, Byron Jacobs, Kent Howard, Tim Tackett and Marin Spivack.

This podcast also features a giveaway. If you listen to it and follow the directions, you can enter to win one of 10 digital codes for your digital copy of the new 4K/Ultra HD version of "Enter the Dragon," but you have to listen and enter before August 27, 2023. 

Here is the podcast. Listen online or download the file.

The cover of a recent catalog for Century Martial Arts

"Hey Four Eyes!"

I didn't even have to turn around to know a bully was targeting me.

I turned.

He was obviously older, taller and heavier. Two smaller young tough guys were behind him.

"Yeah, you, pussy."

His two toadies glared at me with looks that said, "You're about to get your butt kicked."

My two younger and smaller cousins, Bobby and Mike (ages 11 and 10) were with me in front of the drugstore in downtown Wilmore, Kentucky. We had just enjoyed a vanilla Coke at the drugstore's fountain and looked at some of the comic books on the spinning wire racks.

The bully saw us when we walked out onto the sidewalk that ran up Main Street. Now he was taunting and following a little too close. "I'm gonna kick your ass."

We walked behind the drugstore and the bully and his buddies followed, his insults growing louder. We found ourselves on a gravel parking lot behind the building.

"Kenny, that's the sheriff's son," my cousin Mike whispered. "He's the town bully. He's 17 YEARS OLD!"

As usual, being a bit scrawny and friendly, always looking to smile and make jokes, I had been targeted again. If I stood in a crowd of 20 guys and a bully walked up, his eyes would focus on me like the radar on a guided missile. Every time. You could take it to the bank.

On the small gravel parking area I turned to face him, realizing there was a chance I was going to encounter some serious violence. Four years is a big age difference when you're 13. But I did have one thing going for me.

I didn't want to fight. I tried to avoid the fight. But once the fight began, I loved it. A fight was the ultimate one-on-one challenge. When the first punch was thrown, I always calmed down. I had some kind of inner confidence in myself. Where it came from, I'm not sure. I recognized the possibility of losing, but I couldn't visualize defeat. And I didn't really believe it would happen. I did not have a mental image of myself that included the option of being beaten up. I knew I would somehow find a way to win.

But I still didn't want to fight. I wasn't stupid. There was always a chance I could be hurt by a bully.

It was a tough position to be in.

I took off my glasses and handed them to Bobby. My mom would be pissed if I broke my glasses.

Jimmy was bouncing as he approached quickly and pushed me. He danced away, laughing and calling me names worse than "pussy." He bounced back up and slapped me across the face, then danced away laughing. He came up again and pushed me down. I caught myself as I crashed to the ground. The gravel scraped my palms. I got back up and picked a piece of gravel off my palm where it had been embedded. My hand was bleeding.

This went on for what seemed to be 45 minutes. The new scratches on my face were stinging. But I really didn't want to fight a 17-year-old.

He danced up again maybe the twelfth time and punched me on the side of the head as I ducked. I had to face facts. If I did nothing, I really was going to take a beating.

We have a story we tell ourselves in situations like this. "If I defend myself, if I take action, it will really make him angry. I'll really be in trouble. So maybe if I do nothing, he won't hurt me."

That is a myth, of course. 

The big guy was bouncing and laughing, feeling like he was going to have an easy victory.

Alright, here goes, I thought to myself. I have to do something.

Jimmy came dancing up again, laughing like a maniac, and when he got in range, I unleashed my right fist and it caught him right in the nose.

CRACK!

He staggered back, stunned. His eyes were watering and he looked terrified. His hands went to his face.

"YOU HIT ME!" he shouted in pain. "YOU HIT ME!"

He began scrambling to back away, but I was walking toward him, feeling pretty determined.

"No! No!" he shouted, tears running down his face. "Don't hit me again! Don't hit me again! You win! I'm leaving!"

I was surprised, standing there with Bobby and Mike behind me, watching Jimmy, now the Former Town Bully, run away with his two toadies following after him, glancing behind them to make sure I wasn't coming for revenge.

My cousins were jumping up and down like they had bet money on me to win.

The mean streets of Wilmore, Kentucky, population 2,300, were safe again.

Why do I tie this story into a post about toxic masculinity?

Because the voices of guys like Jimmy make a lot of noise on social media, particularly on martial arts sites and pages. They are keyboard bullies and they criticize videos, accuse other martial artists of being weak, belittle you with "laugh" emojis, and they use the same common language like, "Try that against an MMA fighter," or "Take that into a cage and you'll be killed."

Jimmy's voice is also prominent now in politics, with guys who have a misguided idea of masculinity. They make fun of men who have replaced camo with compassion, braggadocio with humility, and racism with respect. If you are concerned about the hardships others face, you are accused of being less than a "real" man.

The bullies who call themselves "real" men want to say what they want, about anyone they want, when they want, and if you don't like it you are nothing but a woke pussy. 

What does it take to be a real man? Does the young, normal kid on the cover of the Century Martial Arts catalog a couple of years ago (pictured above) really want to become the hulking, bearded, slightly menacing guy with the black belt in the mirror?

I saw an ad for a men's workout program on Facebook last week and the guy selling the program posed with a gun, dressed in camo, with bulging muscles that looked to be straight out of a steroid injection, and a German Shepherd by his side.

Is that what it means to be a man? Is that what it means to be fit?

Does strength come from the size of your muscles or the quality of your character? What is the meaning of "Internal Strength" in this context?

In the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 67 has been interpreted as suggesting that true stength and leadership come from kindness, humility, and generosity.

When you are good to people, empathetic with people whose color or religious beliefs are different from yours, and when you are aware of how words can hurt, it takes strength to decide to move through this world and leave something positive in your wake. Each day, everywhere I go, I look for ways to be kind to people.

Can you be a "real" man as you do good and be kind?

Josh Hawley is a U.S. Senator who has a new book out called "Manhood." You might remember Josh. He is the one who raised his fist to salute the mob on January 6 that tried to violently overturn our democracy. Josh raised his fist to salute the mob and not long afterwards was seen running for his life to get away from the mob. It was captured on video.

But there are a lot of people Josh doesn't like. Gay people, trans people, non-Christians, immigrants trying to find a better life, poor people -- the list of people Josh Hawley doesn't like is a long one. If you have empathy for some of the people Josh doesn't like, he thinks you're a woke pussy. 

He saluted the violent mob and then ran for his life.

I don't think Josh has very much he can teach me about manhood.

That's why I have my own definition of manhood. And it's the definition I try to live by. 

It is "quiet confidence."

As I grew up, I tried to develop the qualities in myself to greet everyone with a sense of humor, with politeness, kindness, and fairness. I worked on making myself more empathetic to the problems and needs of people who are different than I. If I made a mistake, I owned up to it. When I was a "boss," I tried to treat people fairly and help them succeed in their careers. I'm still working on myself. We are all works in progress.

A general manager who hired me to run the newsroom in his TV station told me, "One thing I like about you is that you are as nice as you can be, and you are as tough as you have to be."

I've tried to behave that way as a martial arts teacher, too.

In my day-to-day life, I try to be aware of what is going on around me, and I know that if someone is in physical danger, or being emotionally mistreated in my presence, I will take action. 

When someone is with me they are safe. I don't announce it. I don't have to announce it. They might not even be aware of it. But they are safe when they are with me. 

I don't have the need to look tougher than you or act tougher than you. You might be tougher than I am. That isn't even a concern. You're training for a full-contact cage match? Good luck. It doesn't change who I am. And your self-esteem shouldn't be affected by what I'm working on in the arts.

I cry at movies. Hell, I'm so sentimental, I cry when they show the "Turn Off Your Cell Phone" announcement at movies.

I raised my daughters to have a sense of humor, to understand they are loved, and they turned into women who feel compassion for others.

I treat my wife with love and try to help her live a fulfilled life, like she does me.

I seek to feel the pain felt by people who have suffered from racism. I hurt when I know people are up against the wall and can't afford to meet basic living expenses.

In the classic story by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is cruel, stingy, and critical of people who are poor. But through a series of ghostly visitors who make him look at the past, the present and the future, Scrooge "awakens" to the true meaning of life. At the end of the movie he is "woke" and he helps ease the suffering of others. He becomes a good man by the end of the story.

There is a reason Scrooge's story is so popular. The message resonates with people. We want to be better people, more kind and generous. The bad guys are the ones who are cruel and stingy. The bad guys are the ones who are not woke.

"The Buddha" is a name that means "one who has awakened." The Buddha was born into a rich family and he was shocked and horrified when he became aware of the suffering of others. He became woke and devoted the rest of his life to teaching people how to achieve enlightenment and ease their own suffering.

Our society is in a defining moment, when some "leaders" are trying to tell us that if we become awakened to the pain and needs of others, and we do something about it, we are "woke" and that means we are their enemies. Ron DeSantis is waging a "War on Woke." To him, to Josh Hawley and many other guys like them, I am not a real man.

Tonight, coming home from dinner with a brutal heat index of 110 degrees, a mentally ill woman was sitting outside on a sidewalk on one of the busiest streets in town, talking to herself. I spotted her as we drove by. I stopped and bought a cold bottle of Gatorade at a nearby store and took it to her. She was sitting in the grass next to the sidewalk, babbling incoherently about finding her lighter. She took the Gatorade and poured it on her head. I called 9-1-1 and police were sending a patrolman to see that she is alright.

It would have haunted me to pass on by to leave her sitting in the heat. How many cars passed her by? How many people saw her and were thinking critical thoughts about a poor homeless woman talking to herself?

Am I less of a man? 

Live your philosophy. If you are a Christian, love your neighbor. If you are a Buddhist, ease people's suffering. I lean toward Eastern philosophy, so I want to remain centered and do good and be kind. There is no other meaning of life greater than this, in my opinion.

Chapter eight of the Tao Te Ching says, "The highest form of goodness is like water. Water knows how to benefit all things without striving with them."

As a great man once said, "Be water, my friends."

I would much rather have a drink and joke around with guys like Jimmy, the town bully, rather than fight.

But if Jimmy decides he's a real man and tells me I'm not because I don't behave like he does, or because I don't do his martial art, or because I look weaker, or he says I'm a "pussy" for caring about others, or because I try not to say things that hurt other people, he's not being a real man. He's not being a "true martial artist." He's a bully, plain and simple.

And you know what happens to bullies. Here's a secret: They aren't really very strong inside. Right, Jimmy?

--by Ken Gullette

Tony Wong is a long-time instructor in San Francisco, but I had never met him until we spoke a week ago for my Internal Fighting Arts podcast.

His birth name is Wong Wai Yi, but he goes by Tony. He grew up in Hong Kong before moving to the United States. Tony has trained with some outstanding teachers. He studied Wing Chun with Kenneth Chung, Wuji Qigong with Cai Song Fang, and he studied Chen Taijiquan with Zhang Xue Xin, Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Qingzhou. He also studied Yiquan with Chen Zhengzhong.

In this interview, Tony has interesting stories to tell about his teachers and other experiences, including what it was like to train for push hands competition in the Chen Village. 

Listen to the podcast online or download the episode by following this link.

You can also listen or download the podcast here:

Dr. Harriet Hall, known as the "SkepDoc" and a former guest on my Internal Fighting Arts podcast, died unexpectedly on January 11, 2023 at the age of 77. She had been in poor health including heart issues for the past three or more years. I was very sorry to hear the news. She was an intelligent person with integrity.

Dr. Hall was a critic of "alternative" medicine that so many people involved in Taijiquan seem to believe in. She did a lot of good work bringing critical thinking skills to the discussion of science and medicine. As Dr. Steven Novella wrote about her:

"....Harriet has been tireless in her efforts to help educate the public about how science should inform the practice of medicine, and how medicine, and even common sense, can go horribly wrong when we abandon good science as our guide. Among her many contributions, Harriet is remembered for coining the phrase, Tooth Fairy Science, which nicely crystalized and communicated one of the many core problems with alternative science. To paraphrase, you can study in detail all of the aspects of the Tooth Fairy phenomenon without ever getting to the core question – the only question that really matters – does the Tooth Fairy actually exist?"

Dr. Hall was a family physician and a former Air Force Flight Surgeon who retired at the rank of Colonel.

I have been a skeptic about alternative medicine since I studied acupuncture in the late 1980s and early 90s, and attempted to learn how to read someone's "aura" and other bogus things as part of my Traditional Chinese Medicine studies with a former kung-fu teacher. I opened my mind and gave it a shot, studying acupuncture for two years. In the end, I came to the conclusion that the traditional "science" behind acupuncture is superstitious fantasy. If acupuncture works in some cases for minor pain or nausea relief, it is not for the reasons explained in TCM.

Among the points Dr. Hall made in our podcast interview:

** Our ancestors, and people in China, evolved in an environment without books or, of course, the internet. They relied on personal experience and information from others to learn about the world. As a result, we are programmed to listen to stories and anecdotes more than scientific research.

** There is a lot of bad research coming out of China. In fact, you cannot trust medical studies on alternative medicine from China.

** Many studies of alternative medicine are financed and supported by organizations with a financial interest in the outcome of the studies.

** If alternative medicine was proven to be true, it would be called "medicine," not "alternative medicine."

** Skeptics are not closed-minded, they are completely open to evidence.

** Belief in something like alternative medicine can be similar to belief in a religion, where it causes the believer to reject evidence that suggests they believe in something that is not true.

** Medical doctors are not necessarily scientists, and many of them lack the rigorous training in scientific methods that help them evaluate the true validity of clinical studies. 

** If a medical treatment works in Beijing, it should also work in Dallas or it is not medicine.

** Alternative therapies such as "breathing in colors" and healing sounds are unfounded and their claims are ultimately false.

** Misinformation about TCM can cause harm if it leads to people rejecting legitimate treatments.

There were so many important points made by Dr. Hall in our interview that it is important for anyone interested in the internal arts or TCM to listen. You can listen online or download the podcast with Dr. Harriet Hall through this link.

Some people in the world of Taijiquan and TCM got angry with me after I released this podcast, and I can't help that. Evidence is evidence, and when someone makes a medical or scientific claim, it is our responsibility as intelligent creatures to demand valid, rigorous evidence before we believe. So as I can imagine Dr. Hall saying, "Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out." 

I am sorry she is gone. We need more people like her, not fewer.

--by Ken Gullette

I hit the big 7-0 last week.

They say age is just a number, but in my case, it's a BIG number.

I didn't even know how to spell septuagenarian and now I is one.

It's bad enough I've been dealing with the loss of one lung and a heart problem for the past 13 years, but now I have to be an old man, too? That's like adding insult to injury!

It's enough to make you throw sidekicks.

Okay, Ken. Stop and take a breath.

Center yourself.

Calm your mind and relax your rapidly withering, creaking body.

Worse things can happen to you than turning 70. For example, you could have died before you turned 70.

I had one grandfather who died at age 27, another who died at 69, and my dad died at age 61. I should be happy that I'm still studying, practicing, and teaching the internal arts. And I actually am very happy about that.

But it plays with your head. On the day after my birthday last week, I realized that I felt no different than I did the week before. I felt young. You know, like I was 65 again. But it still plays with your head.

I try to look ahead. In ten years I'll be 80. Just ten years. That passes pretty quickly. After all, it has been 23 years since Y2K. That went by pretty quickly, didn't it?

For most martial artists I know, after their sixties they were changing fast. Chen Fake died at age 70. Hu Yaozhen, the Taoist qigong master, passed away at age 76. One of Hu's students, Feng Zhiqiang, died at age 84, which is pretty good. He still had game in his 70s. Chen Xiaowang is 77 now. His younger brother Xiaoxing is my age. 

My wife Nancy retired from her job a month ago, just a few days after she turned 65. We have really enjoyed the past month. I have enjoyed seeing her free from the pressure of getting up at 5:40 a.m. and going to work for the Man. Suddenly, every day is Saturday and every night is Friday night. It's a wonderful thing.

But during the past month, as I thought about hitting 70, I wondered if I should begin to step back a little. I am either studying these arts or teaching these arts or practicing these arts seven days a week. Sometimes, I take a day off from practicing, but that's only to give my old body a rest, and even then I'm writing or reading or thinking of Taiji, Xingyi, Bagua, Qigong or philosophy. And I'm working with my students, maybe doing a live one-on-one session on Zoom.

It really helps to be doing what I love. Yes, my legs get very tired by the end of the day. I sit down at night on the couch with Nancy and we watch one of our favorite shows and enjoy a glass of wine, and after a while I'll stand up and my legs shout, "No! Don't make us do more work!"

The other night, I got up from the couch and Nancy said, "Ken, you're walking like an old man."

I said, "Well........" 

She laughed.

But when I think about stepping back a little, there is a voice in my head that says, "Who are you kidding? You love this. You study with Nabil on Mondays and Tuesdays and then you're bouncing around like a toddler, excited about what you're practicing. You're teaching on Wednesdays and sometimes Friday and Saturday and you meet during the winter with your in-person students on Sundays. You feel like something is missing if you skip a practice. Who are you kidding?"

Yeah, the voice in my head is right. I couldn't step away if I tried. I want to make more memories with Nancy while we have time, so I have pledged to myself, and I have succeeded in the past month, to take more time during weekdays to do something with her instead of being devoted to gongfu all day long. After all, isn't "balance" one of the goals we're after in Taijiquan?

So age is just a number. A terrifying number, maybe, but let's just remain centered and push forward. There are skills, movements and mechanics I want to develop, a dragon body to pursue, and goals yet to achieve. I don't have the stamina I used to have. If I'm a student in a class or workshop, I take more breaks than the younger guys. But I'm still moving pretty well. I can still kick a 6-foot tall guy in the head. I want to do what seemed impossible when the lung went South when I was 57. I want to improve in my 70s and still be practicing and teaching at 80.

I have a goal that can be summed up in a true story. The legendary cellist Pablo Casals practiced his instrument for hours each day, and when he was 90 years old, someone asked, "Why are you continuing to practice at age 90?"

Casals said, "Because I think I'm making progress."

So the title of this blog post, What Happens When a Martial Artist Turns 70, can be answered this way:

He practices.

--by Ken Gullette

I present Colin Frye with his black sash as Kim Kruse looks on.

On Sunday, January 15, 2023, I awarded black sashes to two long-time students, Colin Frye and Justin Snow. It was an event that I have been looking forward to for several years.

Colin began studying with me when he was a student at Augustana College around 2004. Justin started not long after, when he was 16-years old. 

Our curriculum is so extensive, covering the basics of Xingyiquan, Chen style Taijiquan, and Baguazhang, it can take four or five years of heavy-duty, nearly nonstop practice to earn a black sash. It can take a lot longer if you are a normal human being. That's why since 1997, when I first began teaching, Colin and Justin possess only the fourth and fifth black sashes I have awarded. Colin and Justin now join the ranks of Rich Coulter, Chris Miller, Kim Kruse, and Marilyn Hackett (who was awarded an honorary black sash). Kim was at the presentation of the sashes to Colin and Justin.

Anyone who has seen my videos has seen Colin and Justin. I have depended on Colin since he was 22 to be the one who shows up when everyone else is busy, and when both of these guys are there, our practices are full of creativity and growth. Justin was the teenager who peppered me with questions during class like, "What if someone did this?" He has added a great deal to our practices due to his size and strength. As I continue to study and try to get better, I depend on them to help me, and they do. 

Justin Snow receives his black sash with Kim Kruse and Colin standing in support.

When I began teaching, I taught a system in which a student could earn a colored sash for each rank up to black sash. During the first three sash levels, students studied the basics of Xingyi. During the middle three levels, they learned the basics of Chen Taiji. During the final three levels before black sash, they learned the basics of Bagua. After they got through nine levels, they spent a couple of years practicing the entire curriculum.

When I earned my black sash almost 26 years ago, it was an important milestone. I worked my butt off to get there, but I didn't feel great about the system I was in, so I hit the tournament circuit to find out if I could compete with the best of other styles. I found out that I could, but I knew there were holes in my curriculum, so I sought out information, videos, and in 1998 I met my first Chen Taiji teacher, Jim Criscimagna, who taught along with his wife Angela in Rockford, Illinois.

So my black sash actually signalled the beginning of my real studies. A black sash is like achieving a Bachelor's Degree in college. It's an honorable achievement. It takes hard work and determination. But after you get a B.A. you are ready for higher levels of learning. Now, the real learning begins. We can help each other improve our skills.

We don't wear sashes to our practices. We only wear uniforms when shooting "official" videos. They are probably the last students I will take through a colored-sash curriculum. We have been evolving out of that and the evolution continues. But for this moment, we reward hard work, persistence, dependability and loyalty. In our thinking, after you reach black sash, you become known by what you know and what you can do. It's up to each person how they want to travel that path. Some stop when they reach black sash, some go forward very slowly, and for some of us, we couldn't stop if we wanted to. It's part of our DNA.

Congratulations, Colin and Justin. Your black sash is well-deserved. Insert a deep bow here. Now let's go!

--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