Interested in joining the Academy?
Click HERE to watch a short video, and sign up for a FREE introductory class.-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Richard magen on
What you should know before you start a Tai Chi class
- Stuart Wright, N.D. on The Passing of Rod Oka
- Helen Lancaster on The Passing of Rod Oka
- karate school in Brighton on Spirit Training
- Joan Cross on Tea Time with Marcus McDonough
- Richard magen on
Reading Room
Categories
Author Archives: Ted Mancuso
Fifty
Today I celebrate fifty years in the martial arts. It has been long enough now to seem natural that it became my fate or, at least, a “way of life,” as everyone calls it. People ask me what could possibly … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Profiles
Leave a comment
Your Lineage or, Keep Practicing That Punch
We couldn’t resist posting this clip here for a number of reasons: Here, at the biggest Baji Quan (Baji style Kung Fu) convocation in the world, your great-grand teacher, Liu Yun Chiao, is honored with everyone in the hall doing … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Kung Fu, Videos
Leave a comment
Seven Experiences of Martial Training
Nowadays, everyone seems to want a practice. But the fact that martial arts practice has a path all its own may result in some disappointment to those seeking a casual gym-style experience. Such deep practice can render unexpected results. The … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Philosophy, Principles
Tagged combat, Forms, Kung Fu, Martial Arts, meditation, relaxation, Tai Chi
Leave a comment
Slow Learner
Next October, I will celebrate my 50th year in the martial arts. When I started studying, I had no idea or plan to make this a lifetime practice. I joined up for the same reason a lot of 16 year … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Philosophy, Principles, Training
Leave a comment
The Passing of Rod Oka
Rod Oka, long time student here at the Academy, passed away on the third of this month. He had been fighting pancreatic cancer for about a year. During his time with us he had studied Shaolin and Tai Chi. In … Continue reading
Taiwan Tales #4
The metro that links Taipei’s diverse neighborhoods rolls and wriggles many times a day, stuffed with people. There is an old Chinese saying that, “If I don’t know you, you don’t exist.” This allows a person to maneuver through the … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged Adam Hsu, Kung Fu, Kung Fu tradition, Kung Fu training, ted mancuso
Leave a comment
Taiwan Tales 3
Taiwan is a country on the precipice of its future, politically and culturally. If nothing else this makes for surprise moments. Our 9th floor room has a balcony; rather than waste space, it is overgrown with plants, Daoist rocks … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Leave a comment
Taiwan Tales 2
In Taipei you eat at a lot of restaurants. Rather than “fine dining” we often sit down to meals of local, humble and utterly delicious food. Where Sifu Hsu, also a confirmed foodie, escorts us you would never find otherwise. … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Leave a comment
Taiwan Tales 1
We’re here, safe and sound. And already working out. For those of you who we’ve made work hard in class you are vindicated. It’s already very warm here! The first move of Baji Quan about to explode. It wouldn’t be … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Leave a comment
Tai Chi Campfire Tales
The art of T’ai Chi is the art of consciousness. The slow, fluid movements of the art gradually blend with the flow of the mind and reveal things often buried in the silent forests of our minds. Most people associate … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Qigong, Tai Chi
Leave a comment
Tai Chi, A Marriage of Yin and Yang
People know Tai Chi as a slow, gentle and graceful dance. It’s only natural to assume that its famous health benefits arise from its meditative nature. But history tells another story. It is a story of a marriage made by … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Leave a comment
Spirit Training
Can martial arts be martial arts without a spiritual component? The answer is “probably not.” Those people who only have interest in how effective it is as self-protection or kick-ass, of course, have a right to their opinion. But I … Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged chinese martial arts, Kung Fu, martial spirit, martial training, taoist martial arts
1 Comment
What Do We Mean By “Martial”?
People get the wrong idea: when they hear “martial arts” they assume tournaments and grudge matches in caged environments. By the same token, they look quizzically at the ninety year old lady who proudly proclaims that she studies a martial … Continue reading
Warming Up the Martial Way
Due to the nature of Kung Fu the first thing to say about warm ups is that some people don’t believe in them. There are even some famous teachers who see no value at all in warm ups. Some of … Continue reading
Q & A: Kung Fu Returns to the Academy
Q: Tell me about the new Kung Fu class that you’ve started. A: It’s nice to be doing this again. We took a hiatus from teaching Kung Fu for a few years and now we’ve started an entirely new class … Continue reading
Posted in Articles, Classes, Interviews
Leave a comment