Our illustrious and accomplished colleague and friend in Sacramento, Sifu Robert Nakashima, has generously created and shared his daily Neigong routine.
Running about 20 minutes, even just watching this video provides calm and comfort, although getting up and trying it yourself is highly recommended. The setting, the presentation, even the light chirping of birds in the background—along with, of course, Robert’s smooth and beautiful performance—all contribute to a real gift.
Our first video for you at home utilizes a training tool called the Rattan Ring. Actually, there are several alternatives you can substitute if you don’t have one of these hanging around!
Please stay safe, and keep in touch!
Ted, Linda and Debbie
Since we are not able to hold in-person classes at our studio, we are creating some online training for our dear students. May all be well and healthy.
The rattan ring is an unusual training device originally geared for martial artists. Its possibilities are almost unlimited; the ring entices participation, rolling defensively, uncovering tremendously tactile information. The ring can dissolve an attack, neutralizing it on contact; it can trap and catch an opponent’s limbs, or smother an attack by simply shifting it away. This is a tool that reflects a lot of the trainee, moving until it balances, edging through a cat’s cradle of possible actions.
Now, in this time of confusion and doubt, we thought that handling and training with the rattan ring might be good medicine. It’s not going to cure anyone, but an intriguing and even distracting martial instrument can be relaxing and involving. After a little work with the ring, the interactions between muscle and wood start to blend, the rotational actions fold outward and sketch out shapes of physical prowess and mental sharpness. If you need us, here we are:
Our studio: Academy of Martial & Internal Arts, https://www.reelingsilk.com Our Chinese martial arts website (articles, DVDs, books, tutorials): https://www.plumpub.com
Next session, Sunday, March 21, at 10am PDT, on Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/953395301
Our friend and colleague, Sally Chang, sent this to us this morning…
With news in a nosedive, I decided to offer this Qigong class FREE for EVERYBODY. No experience necessary, I’ll guide you the whole way.
Invite a friend, and show up with whoever you’re holed up with. I think it’s important to have a spirit of generosity in these times.
(don’t ask me for toilet paper though..) 😉 It’s a stretch for me, for this introvert, to be so public. But my feeling is, if someone joins in and feels even a little bit more grounded and sane, then it’s worth opening the doors wide.
Let’s hold each other in a safe, coronavirus-free space, move and breathe and have a laugh together, and feel more balanced in a changing situation. It’ll be my first time doing a livestream so please be patient and forgiving if there are any bumps; hopefully the interweb tech spirits will be with us 🙂
Join Me and Invite a Friend Today, Thursday @ 5pm-6pm (PDT)
https://m.facebook.com/SallyChangAcupuncture.EvergreenTaijiAcademy/
This is maybe not entirely martial, but is a beautiful demonstration of Intent.
I think it will also take your mind off of your worries for a few minutes! Enjoy.
Update, March 26:
Hello dear friends,
Dearest Students,
We hope this finds you and yours well. We have spent some time considering what is best for the health of both our students and instructors, and late last night decided that, out of an abundance of caution, we should suspend classes for the suggested period of two weeks, starting today, Saturday March 14. Although things could change, we would look forward to reopening on Saturday, March 28.
We encourage you to keep an eye on this site for any changes to the reopening date. We will also be posting some articles to read and training exercises you can do to keep up your practice, starting with this beautiful 3- minute Qigong For Healthy Lungs, from colleague (and longtime student) Sally Chang.
Feel free to keep in touch and, above all, stay safe. We miss you already, and look forward to seeing you soon.
Best, Ted and Debbie
• Learn a complete form in just three months
• Traditional, fluid, moving meditation
• Small Class, detailed instruction
• Emphasis on correct posture and form for health, balance, and vitality
• Authentic martial structure for strength and flexibility
• Move like you’ve never moved before!
Wednesdays 6-7 pm
New Class starting: January 8, 2020
$65 per month, or $165 if paying for full three month 
course in advance
Academy of Martial Arts
1570 Soquel Dr. (Across from Dominican Hospital)
Taught by Narrye Caldwell, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with 30 years Tai Chi experience. Narrye is a Licensed Acupuncturist with over 20 years of clinical and teaching experience. She has a private practice in Santa Cruz and is on the faculty at Five Branches University.
Hoping for this class to return in January!
For the first time, the Academy adds an 8 week Tai Chi Straight Sword class to our revolving workshop menu.
If you are intrigued, in general, by the straight sword—it being one of the 4 grandparent weapons—or have been specifically wowed by the elegant yet effective Tai Shi Sword routine and usage, this series will introduce you to the basics, and of course teach you an authentic routine.
Teacher: Narrye Caldwell
Time: Wednesdays, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, 8 weeks,
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO CONTACT YOU WHEN THE NEXT SESSION BEGINS
Location: Academy of Martial & Internal Arts, 1570 Soquel Dr, S,C.
Fee: $120 for the full 8 week course
For more information on the class, and to register (recommended, as there is a 
good chance this class will fill)
Inexpensive Wooden swords will be available for purchase if you don’t have one of your own!
No experience necessary.
What? New T-Shirts? New Design?
They’re here! Click the image above and you can go to the order page, or pick one up at the studio when you come to class.
Yes, it’s true! A new book in English by Adam Hsu.
If this were Hollywood, Sifu Adam Hsu’s new book, “Life Is Too Short For Bad Kung Fu,” would be the tell-all on everyone’s reading list; not because it is gossipy—he names no names—but because it fulfills its promise to reveal the good, the bad, the ugly, the disappointing, the heartbreaking, and the inspirational. It’s all here.
In over 300 pages of aphorisms accompanied by short essays, Hsu Sifu examines the current state of Kung Fu and, true to his nature, honestly discusses both the ongoing challenges facing Chinese martial arts as well as some well-considered solutions. Just about anyone practicing traditional Kung Fu today has a sense that the body of Wushu is not as healthy as it once was. Sifu Hsu’s diagnosis is that of a thoughtful doctor with decades of experience, and an unwavering goal to bring the patient back to health.
We at Plum proudly announce this new publication; we are once again honored to produce and publish Hsu Sifu’s works. And for those in the know, this book is illustrated with 20 photos of Sifu Hsu demonstrating the rare Goose Feather Saber, as well as him practicing with the spear.
Order through November 15, and receive a 10% discount off of Plum’s regular price.
Here they are at the 2019 Tiger Claw tournament in San Jose, promoting Plumpub and our studio and style, Bak Sil Lum.
Waves of energy, kung fu style.
Great news!
We have just added a new 6 week class, starting April 25, to our very popular Tai Chi for Health Series.
This one’s for intermediate students, those who have completed the short Tai Chi set at the Academy (or the equivalent).
Co-taught by Narrye Caldwell, inestimable teacher of the Academy’s beginner Tai Chi For Health class, and Sifu Ted Mancuso, director of the Academy, it will focus on reviewing and refining the Yang Tai Chi short set, plus introduce simple push hand engagements and two-person loops.
For more info, CLICK HERE
Happy New Year to all of our dear students. We treasure and appreciate your continued study and community at the Academy. We would not be here without you.
We open this year with a small gift, a performance by Sifu Linda Darrigo. We filmed her performance during a class in Taiwan.
We all—Ted, Debbie and Linda— send our warmest wishes to you and yours, for great peace, health and happiness in the New Year.
Last Sunday, I got a double-treat: my teacher, Adam Hsu, is in town for a couple of weeks and I had the opportunity to not only see and spend time with him, but to make his Long Fist Kung Fu class available to my own students, most of whom had never met him. Of course, there is always a bit of trepidation presenting your students to your teacher: will they look good to another and more experienced eye? Will my teacher take me aside and, without sarcasm, ask what the hell I have been teaching them? Will my students look at my teacher’s instruction and wonder what the hell I have been teaching them? Will they like him more than me? OK, admittedly, not all of these are mature concerns, but, even after 50 years, it would be a lie to say they don’t exist.
I won’t keep you in suspense: my students filled me with pride as I watched them working out with vigor, trying new things while applying themselves even more intently to the familiar ones. They followed routines they had never seen, exercises they had never attempted, angles they had never considered and, of course, lots of training we practice weekly at our Academy. Each was beaming at the end of the two hours. Continue reading
We don’t get out much—certainly not as much as we would like—but this year we are showing up to celebrate Tiger Claw’s Anniversary, by attending the festivities, including the Grandmaster’s demo on Friday night, the Saturday and Sunday tournaments, and the 8th annual WildAid Tiger Claw Championship on Sunday. Plum’s entire crew (yes, all three of us!) will have a table with some of our exclusive books and DVDs, and we hope to meet face-to-face with you—our customers, readers and friends.
Of course, the weekend itself will bring its own excitement. Tiger Claw is well-known for their professionally-run events. Additionally, Kung Fu Tai Chi is pleased to announce its cooperation with the International Wushu Sanshou Dao Association (IWSD) as they are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. Finally, this year’s Friday night performances will highlight a special roster of traditional masters, many of whom do not perform regularly.
If you are in the area, or thinking of travelling to visit, drop by and see us.
FRIDAY
Grandmasters Exhibition and dinner
California Theatre
345 S 1st St, San Jose, CA 95113
SATURDAY
Kung Fu tournament and demonstrations
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Taekwondo and Tai Chi competition.
8th Annual WildAid Tiger Claw Championship
