In the photo below, my first Sifu, Grandmaster Kuo Lien Ying, demonstrates the standing meditation stance Zhan Zhuang, Universal Post.

There are multitudes of "Grandmasters" milling about these days; precious few merit the title.  Kuo Lien Ying was the genuine a/… Read full post »

April’s moon
                  has toppled the Lords of Misrule,
     making rutting Fools of them.

The night breeze
               &n… Read full post »

 Tai Chi Ch’uan means “Supreme Ultimate Fist.”

While there’s some disagreement as to whether the double modifier refers to the supremacy of the fighting system, the philosophy that spawned it, or the dynamic, primordial harmony of yin and yang that brought the universe int… Read full post »

My mind rebels,
My heart groans,
My limbs ache;
My stance stinks.

Lizards rustle from hiding,
Slithering about their business
Heedless of the human sapling
Looming over them.

Chuffing squirrels return,
Scampering to reclaim the oaks.
One dines careless at my feet,
Content in my leafless shade.

No sign of trust s… Read full post »

Breathing in the yellow of the acacia's blooms

Breathing in the damp scent of the old oak's moss

Breathing in Spring's cool caress

Breathing in the sweet morning 

Breathing in the songbird's trill

Rooted in the green and yielding ground

Rooted in the cloud-daubed cornflower sky

&n… Read full post »

This blog was born when my recent life-decision to up the ante on my kung fu collided with my inability to resist a blank page.  Yes, fair cop.  I’m a writer – but that doesn’t mean I’m a blogger.  Though my preferred mode of expression is through my fingers and… Read full post »

At the core of every artistic effort lies the essential and essentially indefinable interplay of intention and energy, of Yi and Qi.  No matter the art (knitting, writing, love-making, acting, cooking, archery), the manifestation of its practice (the sweater, novel, pleasure, performance, feast,/… Read full post »

I spent most of last month Standing in the Stream.

Searching on-line for an image to illustrate, I came across this descriptive guide to the practice:

 Imagine that you are standing in a stream, with the current flowing toward you. Two balls float on the surface. You remain motionle… Read full post »