Fine Tuning

When we start working in Kung Fu the adjustments are large. It could be breathing, fist position,spinal alignment, transitional movement, or many other things but all are large. As students improve in skill the adjustments are finer and finer. The difficulty in the beginning is that humans don't have the self awareness that we think we do. It is like Donald Rumsfeld said, "there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. " Terrific double speak that exactly describes the situation that many students and teachers alike are in. Once we start realizing the large changes we need to make and make them we move onto the fine tuning. Living mindfully is a huge part in this. If you want to be able to make the finite adjustments that make the difference between good kung fu and great kung fu, you have to be able to keep yourself present. The adjustment necessary in your shoulders might only be an inch or less. This slight adjustment is easily missed if your mind wanders away from the objective. Stay present, focused, and keep fine tuning.

Please note that though these adjustments are "fine", in effect physically and physiologically they are "vast". These again are the things that will truly change you in ways that are much more dynamic than original large adjustments.

End Babble

Mok Yee Pai (wooden ear plates) are an exercise tool specific to the Hop Gar system of kung fu. This ear plate is used to develop the entire body and puts intense concentration on tendon strength. If used properly the mok yee pai is an excellent way to help rehab shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand injuries. In addition, the core strength that is gained from the mok yee pai gong is incredible. Mok yee pai gong can be beneficial to any martial system. It will not only benefit those who practice long fist systems, it will benefit anyone interested in developing the unity of body. Unlike the key locks and kettle bells that many people use, practitioners can execute techniques of the system just as they would empty handed. Though people can try to do this with these other tools, the length and shape of the mok yee pai change the way the weight works on the body. Because of this design difference, the mok yee pai works much more affectively for the martial artist. If you are looking for a way to dynamically increase strength, stamina, balance, and body unity, the mok yee pai may be exactly what you are looking for.

Many Systems - One Mind

1/28/09

The martial artist must use the martial arts and not rely on the martial art to bail himself out of a situation. Many people fall prey to the idea that their art of choice is so good that it will save them in a time of need. This is simply not the case. The individual is the operator and the kung fu system or martial system of any kind is the bike. Like Sifu Chin likes to say, "it doesn't matter if the bike is red or blue, you have to ride it just the same." This means that the individual is responsible and not the bike. This is not to say that a certain tool from a certain martial art might work better in one situation more than another. Not at all. It simply means that at one moment I might be Tai Chi Chris Heintzman and another moment I might be Hop Gar Chris Heintzman. In the end, it is best to use whatever is necessary to survive the situation most efficiently.

A Beginning

Curious about some of the original Mixed Martial Arts? Hopefully this will help. Martial arts have been "mixed" since the beginning of time. Even when family styles were protected with peoples lives, styles were stolen. One of the most popular -Gracie Jujitsu- was borrowed from Japan. The roots of Japanese jujitsu can be traced partly to China and China's legendary Shaolin martial arts was historically brought to China by the Indian buddhist patriarch Ta Mo. His martial practices were developed in India and China so let the mixing begin. This is undoubtedly not the beginnings of the mix and anyone that would presume to know where and when it exactly started are truly naive. I most certainly do not know. What I do know is that the mixing has been going on for centuries and will continue to do so. I will generally be writing about the mixing that I have experienced and what I continue to do now. My teacher, David Chin, has a saying, "sometimes I am Hop Gar David Chin and sometimes I am Tai Chi David Chin." Basically what this means is that the individual makes the kung fu, the kung fu does not make the individual. Many people have the idea that they will rely on the kung fu to bail them out of a situation, when in reality that individual must save themselves using kung fu as a tool.

more later