In my live online Taiji classes this week, I focused on the first two or three movements of the Laojia Yilu form and focused on what it takes to avoid "leaking energy."

You can leak energy throughout the form. When you step, or when you shift your weight, it's very common to see even people who call themselves "master" leaking energy and going "outside the frame."

When you leak energy during your movement, you have a break in your structure, and you put yourself in a vulnerable position, making it easier for an opponent to control your center.

Let's look at the very first movement in a form -- the Opening movement when you start with feet together, then you relax, sink, and step your left foot to the right. Then you shift your weight to the center before your hands rise.

Here is a Taiji instructor who will remain unidentified (this is about principle, not shaming). There are many instructors I could have chosen. In Image 1, he is preparing to step out. Notice the angle of his right leg.

Now, look at Image 2. When he steps his left foot to the side, his hip shifts to the right, breaking his structure immediately. It doesn't even have to be very much of a shift.

I see a lot of people doing this. When their left foot steps to the left, their hip moves to the right. When this happens, they are automatically losing their center from the very beginning of the form.

And it doesn't have to be much of a movement. When your left foot steps to the side, if your right hip moves to the right, you are breaking your structure in the very first movement.

Take a look at the next two images. When I step out with the left foot in Image 4, I try to stay "in the frame" and not let my structure break.

Watch yourself doing this part of the movement in a mirror. You are probably doing the hip shift unless your teacher has already corrected you on it. If you are doing the shift, here's how to fix this problem: 

First, have a partner push into your left side as you step the left foot out in the Opening movement. The first time your partner pushes in as you step out, allow your hip to move slightly to the right. It will not take much of a push to take you off-balance because your center is moving, you are breaking structure, and you allow your partner to control the center.

Now, the next time your partner pushes, using the same amount of force, ground from the right foot to the left side of your hip. Use peng jin in the hips, connected to the ground through the right foot. Drop your weight straight into the ground through the right foot and don't let your hip move to the right as you step the left foot out. As your partner pushes, you will feel the difference -- and so will your partner -- if you have knowledge of the ground path and peng jin.

It also helps if you "close" your right leg internally when you step the left foot out.

Throughout the form, it's easy to leak energy. You can break structure and leak energy several times in just one movement. We focused in my Wednesday early class on leaking energy in the movement "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar." One of my students renamed it, "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Takes a Leak." I thought that was pretty funny.

One of the "secrets" in movement is in the proper use of the kua. But it's not really a secret. Plenty of people know it. The problem is that movements are a lot more physically challenging when they are done properly. Maintaining your center while even stepping out in the Opening movement is more demanding on the right leg than simply stepping out without giving body mechanics any thought. 

Leaking energy also happens in movements such as Yang style's "Part the Wild Horse's Mane." When you are doing the main action of the movement, when your left arm is moving out over the left leg, you'll see the left leg moving a bit to the left as the arm comes out. The left leg shouldn't move outward. It should be closing in, providing an "immoveable object" to knock your opponent over. If you are trying to knock someone over your leg, and your leg is moving outward, you are leaking energy and will not be as strong or as rooted.

The same is true in Chen style with a movement like "Lazy About Tying the Coat." As the right hand moves across in the final part of the move, your right leg should not have its energy moving to the right. It should be closing, providing a base to split your opponent's energy and take him down.

These principles also apply to Bagua Zhang and Xingyi Quan.

If you have not been told to avoid shifting your hip or if you have not been taught how to close the leg, or how to avoid leaking energy, the next time you see your teacher, give him/her a roundhouse kick to the head. Then watch them do the movement and correct your teacher's form. It will impress the teacher. :)

--by Ken Gullette

I first heard of Gerald A. Sharp when I bought his Xingyi instructional VHS tape, "Five Fists of Power," back in the 1990s. For years, I have wondered what happened to him, and recently decided to track him down. I found him online. He is living and still teaching in Granada Hills, California.

In my latest podcast -- the 72nd episode -- I talk with Gerald about his long history in martial arts. Among the teachers he has trained with are Wu style Taiji Master Ma Yueh Liang, and he studied Chen and Yang style Taiji with Zhou Yuan Long. He studied Chi Kung (Qigong) with Ju Beng Yi (a top disciple of Guo-Ling), and Gerald studied Bagua, Xingyi, and Nei Jia Kung Fu with Zou Shuxian, the top disciple and adopted daughter of Jian Rong Qiao.

Enjoy the interview!

The Monkey Mind

Some people believe you should "empty your mind" when practicing or performing Taijiquan. Some also believe that Qigong and Zen meditation is about "emptying" your mind.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

These practices are mindful, not mindless. You don't empty your mind, you focus your attention.

If I am practicing a form and empty my mind, I'm thinking of nothing, including the movements I'm performing. That is an empty practice and your movement will reflect it.

However, if I calm my mind -- if I replace thoughts of my schedule, my bills, and other daily activities with thoughts of the movement I am performing and the body mechanics and jin that give my movements their internal strength -- that is when my practice benefits the most.

Mindfulness is simply paying attention to what you are doing in the present moment. If you are in a business meeting, that means paying attention to whoever is speaking and focusing on the item at hand. If you are talking with anyone, including your significant other, being mindful means paying attention to what they are saying, not letting your mind roam to other things. When doing Qigong, mindfulness means paying attention to your breath or to mental visualizations of energy. In Zen meditation, it means focusing on the present moment, being aware of everything around you without judgment.

Chen Xiaowang, at the beginning of a form or standing practice would say, "Calm down." Then he said, "Listen behind you." That meant that you should be aware in all directions.

This mindfulness should stay with you all day, being aware of everything around you, and the task in front of you. Someone who practices mindfulness will not be seen walking across a street absorbed in their phone. 

Most of us have a Monkey Mind. It jumps from one thing to another, in frantic motion. To become mindful in any activity, the first priority is to calm the Monkey Mind so you can focus on the task at hand.

My new book, "A Handful of Nothing," contains 88 short Zen stories. Some people mistakenly believe it is about emptying the mind. It is not. Zen is about being aware of this moment and remaining mindful.

Some people even watch TV with their phone in their hands. "I can multitask," some people will brag, but they are mistaken. Multitasking is a myth. It causes students to get lower grades. Adults who multitask perform less efficiently.

Have you ever done something, working on a project or writing something, and you get in the zone, focus on what you are doing, and suddenly you realize a lot of time passed and you didn't notice because you were focused? That's being mindful. And that is the focus you should strive for in everything you do, including any martial art.

--by Ken Gullette

Dan Djurdjevic, a martial artist and author in Australia, wrote this review of my new book, "A Handful of Nothing." Here is Dan's review:

I have just read an electronic preview copy of Ken Gullette's absolutely brilliant book “A Handful of Nothing”.

This collection of 88 vignettes/stories explores the fundamental tenets of Zen (Chan) Buddhist philosophy, with particular emphasis on the concept of “nothingness” or “emptiness”. Karate practitioners will be familiar with this from the expression “mushin” (“empty mind”) or just the character for “kara” - “空” (“empty [as the sky]”).

This collection is easily the most accessible and insightful treatment of its subject matter I have ever encountered - by far.

The engaging, simple-yet-profound, soothing-yet-powerful stories flick past with the pages - just like ephemeral moments of life. However, each of these “moments” floods you with insight and inspiration.

This is a book you might pick up off a coffee table or bookshelf out of idle curiosity. It’s also a book you’ll end up reading for the next hour or more. It’s that accessible, relatable, absorbing and enlightening. All in equal measure.

I rarely buy books of wisdom/philosophy. Indeed, I have only bought half a dozen in my life. My soon-to-be-acquired physical copy (hopefully, one signed by the author) will take its rightful place on my shelf next to my copies of “The Prophet”, “Hagakure” and “The Dao of Pooh”.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough - for martial artists seeking more than just a physical “way”, and anyone else who seeks to walk the difficult path to wisdom. If anyone can help you, it would be Mr Gullette - a true master of The Way (who also happens to have a way with words!).

--------------------------------------------

Check out more about "A Handful of Nothing" on Amazon through this link or by searching Amazon in your country.

You can order "A Handful of Nothing" through bookstores worldwide with this ISBN number: 979-8-218-36685-8

I began reading, studying, and contemplating Zen Buddhism and philosophical Taoism in the 1970s. It wasn't easy to figure out how to use Zen in my daily life, even with wonderful books such as "Zen Buddhism," by Christmas Humphreys. But I worked on it.

I could find no good Zen books that made it as easy to understand Zen Buddhism as the old Kung Fu TV series did back in the 70s. The writers of that show had the actors portray living versions of Zen koans, stories of a young monk being guided by old masters who imparted their wisdom. I started watching the show for the fight scenes (hey, I was only 19), but became fascinated by the philosophy. After growing up in the racist South in a conservative Christian church that told us we were sinners from the day we were born, the TV series introduced me to an entirely new and peaceful way to look at the world. I wanted to find a book that told me how to use Zen in daily life.

Most of the books I read on Zen Buddhism were abstract, focusing on the paradoxical statements that are designed to shock you out of linear thinking, freeing your mind to see the reality that lies between the lines of logic, statements such as, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" But that did not help me use Zen in the real world.

I waited fifty years to read a book that makes Zen Buddhism simple, accessible, understandable, and useful in daily life -- a book that is about people facing the problems and challenges of life, religion, ethics, and morality.

So I decided to write it. "A Handful of Nothing" is now available on Amazon. It includes 88 short Zen stories about a young monk in a monastery asking an old master about the questions on his mind -- questions involving Zen, religion, morality, racism, honesty, and more. Through the old master's answers, it provides instruction for all of us. I hope readers take one chapter a day and think about it, then try to adopt the message into their daily lives.

I tend to write books that I want to read. A few years ago, I wrote "Internal Body Mechanics for Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi" because nobody had written a book that explained, in plain English, the body mechanics that make Tai Chi "iron wrapped in cotton." Most books are abstract or focus on Qi instead of the how and why of internal movement.

"A Handful of Nothing" is the book I have wanted to read on Zen Buddhism. If you are interested in this way of seeing the world -- as it is, with no supernatural spin -- I believe you will find this book helpful. With Zen Buddhism, you seek a clear view of reality, with mindfulness, and you treat everyone you meet with compassion, empathy, and kindness. You seek the path to enlightenment with an understanding that our expectations and attachments lead to suffering. You can't live a full life without some suffering, but the goal of Zen is to eliminate as much suffering as possible.

Here is the link to the U.S. Amazon book page:

https://www.amazon.com/Handful-Nothing-Stories-Pointing-Way/dp/B0CTQMNG1B

If you live outside of the United States, you can find it by searching "A Handful of Nothing Ken Gullette" on Amazon in your country.

If you read the book, let me know what you think.

If you are unable to find it on Amazon, you can order it through any bookstore in the world with the book's ISBN number: 979-8-218-36685-8.

--by Ken Gullette

Part of the letter Bruce Lee wrote to himself.

In 1969, Bruce Lee wrote a letter to himself, promising to be world-famous by 1970 and by 1980, he would have $10 million. He wrote that he would do this by giving "electrifying" performances.

We all know what happened. He did not live to see his greatest fame, but more than 50 years after he died, we're still talking about him and wearing his t-shirts. Okay, maybe you aren't, but all the cool kids are wearing them. :)

The great comic actor Jim Carrey must have heard this about Bruce Lee, because in 1985, Jim wrote himself a check dated 10 years in the future -- 1995 -- and he wrote the check for $10 million.

Both of these guys could SEE themselves successful. They believed it. And they took steps to achieve it.

I don't have $10 million, but I know the power of setting a goal, writing down the steps to achieve that goal, and then taking those steps, one by one, until the goal is reached.

In 2008, a week after being diagnosed with a heart condition, I was fired from a six-figure job in Tampa, Florida. For a couple of days, I was knocked back a step, wondering what to do, feeling a lot of uncertainty about my heart and the future.

Three days after being fired, I came up with the idea for an online internal gongfu school. I imagined what it would look like and the content I would create for it. I told my wife, Nancy, who was also shocked that we were in Tampa and I was suddenly unemployed, and she didn't say it, but she had no idea how I was going to do it.

This was in April, 2008. Some Taiji people I talked with said it couldn't be done. "You can't teach Taiji online," they said. On July 4th, 2008, I launched my "online school" - www.InternalFightingArts.com -- to the world. I've been working it and building on it ever since, and I have seen a lot of students improve their skills through the videos and the live classes. 

Around 2013, I decided to begin writing e-books. In the next few years, I wrote several, plus a paperback book on Internal Body Mechanics. 

A few months ago, I thought of writing a book that I have wanted to read for 50 years but couldn't find one like it -- a book with a young Zen Buddhist monk receiving guidance on a variety of issues and ethical topics from his old Zen master. I decided if I wrote two or three small Zen stories, sometimes called koans (not the paradoxical statements) each day I could finish the book by my birthday, which is next week.

I'm going to achieve that goal. The book is almost done with 88 short Zen parables.

No matter what you have been hoping to do, whether it's achieve skill in Taiji, Xingyi or Bagua, earn a black belt in another martial art, achieve success in your career, or write a book, this works. You need to visualize your success. What does it look like? What does it feel like? 

Let's say you want a black belt in a martial art. You write it down as your goal. Then, you list the steps to take and write down a deadline for each step. Write it down by hand, not on a computer.

For example, if you want to learn Chen Taiji, you can see the steps to take on the Curriculum section of my website. Step-by-Step, I can help set your goals. But YOU are the one who has to believe it, see your success in your mind, and then take those steps one by one. Set a deadline for each step.

Don't make a general goal. See yourself achieving it and feel what that success would feel like. Then set dates -- hard deadlines. Write down the steps and set a deadline for each step. Then start taking those steps. It's a simple formula, but it's easier for people to not believe they can do something. Setting a goal and achieving it is work. But your goal is out there, ready for you.

You really can do it. If you can believe it, you can achieve it. The only question now is, do you believe it?

--by Ken Gullette

From the upcoming book, "A Handful of Nothing."

The day after the young monk visited the village during the Spring Festival, he was sweeping the hallway near the monastery’s kitchen, trying to remain mindful of his chore, but his mind kept turning to the new year approaching. He knew that people looked ahead to the new year and set goals for personal achievements, but this was not something he had ever done.

The old master emerged from the kitchen with a cup of tea.

“Master,” the monk said, leaning his broom against the wall, “is it wrong to set goals for a new year?”

“What goals would you like to set?”

After thinking a moment, the young monk said, “Success. Enlightenment. Those would be my goals for the new year.”

The master took a sip of tea. “As long as the goals are set mindfully, I would encourage you to align them with your values. The goals should not be pursued with attachment or ego-driven desires.”

“Is a goal of success ego-driven?”

“I would answer your question with a question. What are your daily activities now?”

The monk said, “I meditate, eat, help maintain the monastery, and seek to develop my compassion and kindness, living in the moment, realizing my connection to all things, experiencing life as it unfolds.”

“And what will you do when you find success?”

The monk’s eyes widened. Slowly, he said, “I will meditate, eat, help maintain the monastery, and seek to develop my compassion and kindness, realizing my connection to all things and experiencing life as it unfolds.”

The old master’s face widened in a smile and the young monk was enlightened.

"And now, I am going to work on the only goal I have set," said the master.

"If I may ask, what is your goal?"

"To enjoy this cup of tea," the master said with a smile as he walked toward the garden.

--by Ken Gullette

In a serene Zen Buddhist monastery nestled among mist-covered mountains, a young monk approached the master, his heart heavy with defeat.

He had striven for years to understand the nature of the mind, yet enlightenment eluded him, and recent personal tragedies had further clouded his path.

The elderly master led the young monk to a garden where a single tree stood. This tree, once vibrant and full of life, had been struck by lightning, leaving it scarred and half-destroyed.

The master pointed to the tree and asked, "What do you see?"

"A broken tree, master, damaged by misfortune," the young monk said.

"Look closer," said the master.

The monk stepped closer to the tree and examined the trunk. He noticed new shoots emerging from the scars, reaching delicately toward the sky.

"This tree, struck by lightning, faced its own form of tragedy," said the master. "Yet, it persists, finding a way to grow anew amidst its scars. Its branches may be fewer, but each leaf now basks in the sun's embrace with greater strength."

The young monk's eyes widened. 

The master continued, "In life, every one of us encounters moments of tragedy and defeat that scar us deeply. Yet, like this tree, our true nature is not in the tragedy, but in how we rise and grow from the damage of our experiences. What we seek, young monk, is not to avoid all damage. Instead, we seek to embrace each tragedy and defeat as a chance to rise stronger."

The young monk was enlightened. He thanked the master and walked from the garden, contemplating the root, the internal strength, that would allow him to grow anew.

I have known Byron Jacobs for several years now, and I have been a member of his Mushin Martial Culture site on Patreon. He is a truly authentic instructor of Xingyi Quan. He lives in Beijing and is a disciple of DI Guoyong. When Byron published his book this year, "Dragon Body, Tiger Spirit," I was expecting a good book because of his deep experience and clear-eyed view of Chinese martial arts. The result, however, is the best Xingyi Quan book in my martial arts library.

As Byron describes it, "Dragon Body, Tiger Spirit" is "a translation and explanation of the classic texts of Xingyi Quan." He has collected the main writings considered to be Xingyi Quan "classics." Each chapter focuses on a particular classic, including a brief overview of a section of text in traditional Chinese characters. This is followed by a translation of the text. And finally, Byron provides his own commentary on the text. A lot of very good information is obvious in the translations, but it's Byron's commentary that brings each section to life, providing context and the correct way to interpret the information in your Xingyi practice.

I have been practicing Xingyi for 36 years, and teaching for 26 of those. I have won numerous tournament competitions with Xingyi. But I am always open to information that helps in understanding the mechanics, body method and applications of the art. I approach Xingyi, just as I do Taiji and Bagua, as a fighting art. One of the concepts of Taiji as a fighting art is to "yield and overcome." I love Taiji as a fighting art, but I also love Xingyi because it doesn't yield, it simply overcomes. A Xingyi Quan fighter has the eye of the tiger, and when he pounces, he will not be defeated. It is not in his nature to be defeated. That is the mindset of the art. The Monkey form, for example, teaches techniques and movements that "surprise, shock and overwhelm an opponent," according to the book, and it's a perfect description.

The Xingyi that I was taught and have been teaching has a lot in common with the art Byron learned from Di Guoyong, but there are stylistic differences in almost all the various styles of Xingyi, Taiji and Bagua. I try not to focus on the stylistic differences but focus instead on the body mechanics, principles and body method. 

One way I judge a martial arts book is these two questions: did I walk away from the book with new information that can make me better at my art? Does it help me understand my art better? The answer for this book is yes. The writing is clear, the context is clear, and Byron's commentaries are straightforward and based in real-world experience. He illuminates the principles and methods of the art.

After reading the chapter on the Seven Fists, for example, two of my students and I had a great practice working on using the elbows in relation to the concepts of Splitting, Drilling, Crushing, Pounding and Crossing. The Seven Fists of Xingyi Quan include the head, shoulders, elbows, fists, hip, knees, and feet. 

Some of the classics translated and explained in the book, in addition to the "Seven Fists," include "The Five Element Poems," "Yue Fei's Nine Essential Requirements Treatise," "Cao Jiwu's Key Extracts of the Ten Methods," and the "Twelve Animal Poems," among others. I found each one interesting, and I wore out a yellow highlighter as I went through the book, because I didn't just read it. I studied it.

The book also includes biographies of noted Xingyi Quan instructors, starting with the semi-legendary Yue Fei and ending with Di Guoyong.  

I have read other translations of Xingyi Quan classics in the past. They all have something to offer. You can't expect to learn an art like this from a book, so this book won't teach you Xingyi Quan. But if you have or are currently studying Xingyi, "Dragon Body, Tiger Spirit" is a book that will increase your knowledge, inspire your practice, and I believe it will be a reference Xingyi practitioners like me will be consulting for a long time to come. 

Last week, I interviewed Byron about the book for the next edition of the Internal Fighting Arts podcast. I am in the process of editing and it will be online this week. I'll replace this paragraph with a link to the podcast when it is ready.

by Ken Gullette

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.