Returning to the dojo means breathing with a mask, and some of us find that difficult. What can happen is a feeling of breathlessness, of not being able to breathe enough. This feeling is called dyspnea by scientists and clinicians, and dyspnea comes from the brain rather than not getting enough air. The feeling is [...]
When I asked Ms Macey what I should talk about for last Thursday’s meditation talk, she said “kindness”. She said lately she’s been asking herself every day how she can be more kind. I found this funny because Ms Macey is one of the kindest people I’ve met. I presume she’s gotten that way partly [...]
If you come into the dojo over the next few weeks, you’ll get to see two of my favorite people, Doug and Stephanie. Many of our adult students have had the privilege of practicing with them when they visit, especially on retreat. Now, you’ll get a chance to see them much more often because they’ve moved [...]
Jeremiah Savage is testing with my teacher Sifu Brown for black sash. It’s a very rare and special occasion, so some of the staff at our dojo and I are flying to Michigan to take part in the ceremony. Jeremiah and I began practicing with Sifu Brown at around the same time, so I have known him [...]
This year on retreat we did a few exercises designed to help our kung fu and tai chi students experience mushin, or a state of no-mind. One of these drills was something that we’ve never done before: zen archery. To be fair, this was a very quick approximation of zen archery. But we took the [...]
The internal Chinese martial arts are steeped in mystery. The most widely practiced of these styles is Tai Chi (also known as Taiji or Tai Chi Chuan). Stories of the men who developed their family styles of Tai Chi have become legend. Here are some of them. Zhang Sanfeng Zhang Sanfeng (also known as [...]
Normal class schedule, see you on the mats!
Legends of Kung Fu According to legend, Kung Fu was invented at Shaolin temple in China by an Indian monk named Bodhidharma (Da Mo), who also is the founder of Zen. This is his story: Bodhidharma was born the son of the king of a region in southern India. At a young age he realized [...]
Open today for normal classes. Happy Veteran's Day and a special thanks to all our vets at the School of Martial Arts for your service!
So I helped everyone out with a bit of advice on strategy. “Instead of randomly looking around,” I said, “choose a specific part of the dojo each day and focus your attention there.” Just like in our martial arts practice, it’s very helpful to break things down into manageable chunks. If we look at an [...]
