Internal Fighting Arts | Learn Real-World Martial Arts Insights from Top Instructors of Tai Chi - Xingyi - Bagua and Qiqong

Ken Gullette talks with Dr. Ginevra Liptan, owner of the Frida Center for Fibromyalgia in Portland, Oregon . She is a doctor of internal medicine, but also believes in a holistic approach, combinine scientific medicine to a more wholistic approach that includes some "alternatie" medicines from China. Regardless, you will come away from this interview with new information on how to proect your fasc...

Ken Gullette interviews Keith Kernspecht, perhaps the most successful martial arts teacher in the world. Kernspecht is the founder and head of the European WingTsun Organization. His passion for martial arts began in the 1950s, and he studied wrestling, karate, jiu-jitsu, kempo, Shaolin kung-fu, and other arts. He began studying Wing Chun in 1970 and later became the highest ranking student under...

Are you an interal arts teacher or school owner who believes your marketing efforts could be improved? Do you have all the students you can hande? Probably not. In this edition of the Internal Fighting Arts podcast, Ken Gullette interviews marketing expert Dave Dee -- davedee.com -- and they explore some basic concepts you need to learn and some questions you need to answer if you want your teachi...

Ken Gullette talks with Jonathan Bluestein and Byron Jacobs about "Wude," pronounced "Woo-Duh" that means martial morality and ethics. All you have to do is go onto martial arts Facebook pages and you will see martial artists flaming each other, criticizing the movements and art of others, in a not-so-subtle effort to make themselves look like experts. Is this in the spirit of Wude or is it a viol...

Ken Gullette talks with Mark Chen, author of "Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan" and a formal, rumen disciple of the late Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou. Mark Chen is a certified senior instructor in the Chen Qingzhou Martial Arts Association. He has also trained under Master Guo Lianyin, Master Bill Gee, Master Chen Youze, and Master Zhang XueXin. In this 90-minute interview, Mark talks with Ken about h...

Ken Gullette talks with Dan Djurdjevic, an internal martial arts instructor who teaches in Perth, Australia. Dan is a student of Chen Yun Ching, the son of Chen Pan Ling. In this wide-ranging interview, Dan describes the teaching style of Chen Yun Ching, training in the "melee range," his self-defense advice as an attorney and prosecutor, and he offers a valuable self-defense lesson in his practic...

Ken Gullette talks with Rory Miller, the author of an influential book, "Meditations on Violence." As a martial artist and a former corrections officer, Miller has given traditional martial arts a slap of reality by outlining the ways that real-world violence is not something that martial arts classes prepare students for, and when it really happens, most people are overwhelmed and unprepared. You...

Ken Gullette interviews Jeet Kune Do instructor Tim Tackett, a veteran martial artist who became a senior instructor under Dan Inosanto in 1973. Tim first studied martial arts in Taiwan, where he learned Hsing-I and Tai Chi. He authored two books on Hsing-I for O'Hara Publications in the late 70s and early 80s, but his main art is JKD. At age 75, he still teaches a Wedneday night class in his gara...

Robert Allen Pittman is a Xingyi and Bagua teacher who has studied with Robert W. Smith, and in Taiwan Hung I-mien, and the sons of Chen Pan Ling. Allen is the author of "Walking the I Ching: The Linear Bagua of Gao Yi Sheng." He has co-authored books with his late teacher, Robert W. Smith, who was a pioneer in bringing knowledge of Chinese kung-fu to the United States due to his work in Taiwan fo...

Tai Chi is a martial art, but most people think of it as a slow-motion exercise for health and meditation. In this podcast, Ken Gullette interviews Peter Wayne, a Tai Chi instructor and author of the Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi. Peter Wayne is a researcher and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who is involved in clinical trials of the health benefits of Tai C...

People who believe in Traditional Chinese Medicine, including chi healing and acupuncture, say that there is a conspiracy by "Western" scientists and doctors to deny the effectiveness of TCM. But what does scientific research say about TCM? Is it science or is it nonsense? Ken Gullette interviews Dr. Harriet Hall, known as the "SkepDoc," a former family physician and Air Force flight surgeon who n...

Ken Gullette interviews Bosco Baek, a senior disciple of Chen Bing. Bosco is the chief instructor of the Chen Bing Taiji Academy USA in Los Angeles. In this interview, Bosco talks about growing up in South Korea, how he met Chen Bing, how he arrived at Chen Taiji after first studying Yoga, and how he became the first of Chen Bing's disciples who was given permission to have his own disciples.

Ken Gullette talks with Jan Silberstorff, the first Western indoor disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang and co-founder of the World Chen Xiaowang Taijiquan Association. Jan travels the world teaching Chen Taiji. From Germany to Chenjiagou, his story reflects the determination of a true martial artist. He explains why tears fell from Chen Xiaowang's eyes the first time he saw Jan perform, and he e...

Ken Gullette interviews Ken Cohen, whose website describes him as a health educator, Qigong Grandmaster, and practitioner of indigenous medicine. He is well-known for his books and audio courses on Qigong and Taoism. His websites are www.kennethcohen.com and www.qigonghealing.com. Ken Gullette practices qigong but takes a skeptical approach to traditional Chinese scientific explanations and theori...

Part Two of a 2-part interview between Ken Gullette and Chen Taiji instructor and Taoist Monk Yunrou, who lives and teaches in Pompano Beach/Boca Raton area of Florida. In this interview, Yunrou discusses Taoism, the need for more emphasis on fighting in Taijiquan, and he tells an enlightening story about a lesson he received in detaching from "a plan." His website is www.monkyunrou.com. Ken Gulle...

The Taoist Monk Yonrou, also known as Arthur Rosenfeld, discusses the events in his life that led him to study martial arts, Tai Chi, and to become an ordained Taoist monk. He lives in Pompano Beach, Florida, is a teacher and is a student of Yan Gaofei. Under his name Arthur Rosenfeld, he has written several books, including Tai Chi: The Perfect Exercise. His newest book, Yin, by Yunrou, is a Lao...

Separating fact from fantasy in Tai Chi and other martial arts. Stuart Shaw teaches Tai Chi and Sanda in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He has a Facebook page, The Fajin Project, that confronts the "BS" in martial arts, shining a light on people who claim supernatural powers and abilities such as the no-touch knockdown and the ability to send push hands partners hopping and jumping just with a...

Ken Gullette talks with Byron Jacobs, a South African who studies Xingyiquan with Master Di Guoyong in Beijing. Byron also works at the International Wushu Federation. In this interview, Ken talks with Byron about his decision to move to Beijing, cultural aspects of living and training there, sport wushu, and the internal art of Xingyiquan.

Ken Gullette interviews Neil Ripski, an instructor of Ma Family martial arts, including Drunken kung-fu, plus Xingyi, Chen Taiji and Bagua in British Columbia. His website is redjademartialarts.com. Sitting in for co-host Hung Lo is Ken's wife, Nancy.

Ken Gullette interviews Jonathan Bluestein, an Israeli student and instructor of Xingyiquan who has written a book called "Research of Martial Arts." Jonathan compiled and wrote the book over a number of years. It is a good addition to any martial arts library.

Chen Taiji instructor Jose Figueroa, a disciple of Ren Guangyi, teaches in St. Paul, Minnesota and is this week's guest. Also, Ken gets philosophical on the subject of fear. Has your personal philosophy freed you from fear? This podcast is longer than usual at about an hour and 43 minutes.

Ken Gullette explores the subject of Taoism with Bill Helm, an ordained Taoist priest and the Director of the Taoist Sanctuary in San Diego, which he runs with his wife, Allison Helm. Bill specializes in Taijiquan, Qigong, Tuina Chinese Bodywork and Herbal Medicine. Bill and Allison are disciples of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang. They travel periodically to the Chen Village to study with members of th...

Go inside the art of Baguazhang as Ken Gullette talks with Kent Howard, who has trained extensively in Taiwan in the Baguazhang style of Wang Shujin, as taught by Wang's disciple, Huang Jinsheng. After spending many years in Taiwan, Kent now lives in the Portland/Beaverton, Oregon area.

In Part 2 of her conversation with Ken Gullette, Kim Ivy describes training with Grandmasters Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing, the experience of being a disciple, and what it is like to train in the Chen Village, the birthplace of Taijiquan. Ken asks how she responds to statements made on an earlier podcast implying that the Taiji being taught in Chen Village is not as high quality as the Chen Tai...

Imagine having exclusive access to all of Bruce Lee's personal notes, letters, drawings, and photos? John Little found himself in that position and produced some of the best books documenting Bruce Lee's legacy to all martial arts. Ken Gullette talks with John about what attracted him to Bruce Lee and what it was like to become an important part of the legacy.