“Boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. .”That’s impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth. Neo: What truth? Boy: There is no spoon. Neo: There is no spoon? Boy: Then you’ll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.” “男孩:不要試圖想彎曲湯匙。那是不可能的。 相反地只是試著去認識真相。Neo:這是什麼道理?男孩:沒有湯匙。Neo:沒有湯匙?男孩:那麼你會發現不是湯匙彎曲,只是你自己彎曲。” “To try and realize the truth.” […]
Author: morninglighttaiji
Master Sam Kakina
My first introduction into the world of taiji. Sam, as he liked to be called was in many ways ahead of his time. Having come from a hard style back ground his hands were gnarled not with age but with the training he did as a much younger man toughing them on coconut trees growing on […]
Shifu Mike Staples
Episode 147 A young teenager would walk into a small gym close to the famous Golden Gate park in San Francisco. Shifu Staples, greeting me in his warm yet quiet way, not understanding what I would find entering a world I would never leave. Mike offered a small history of the White Crane style and […]
Taiji
“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal name The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of myriad things. Thus, constantly free of desire. One observes its wonders. Constantly filled with desire One observes its manifestations […]
Shifu Maarten Spijker
Martial artist, adventure , photographer An interesting teacher, specializing in Chinese swordsmanship “Originally from Holland, Maarten (Maahrtun) Sebastiaan Franks Spijker arrived in China in 2005 at 18 years of age to study Gongfu. After struggling to find authentic traditional arts for many years (but studying Sanda and exploring the country in the meantime), he […]
Master Zhang Yongliang
張永良師傅
1920–2020
Master Zhang Youngliang, was born in 1920. He started his martial arts training at age of 5, until 14.
Shifu Michelle Gong
Shifu Michelle Gong, Followed her dream as a young girl growing up in a small rural village in China. She learned taiji as young teenager, traveling to the “temple of heaven” in Beijing to study under the taiji masters, and would later go on to win an international competition in 2009. Her dream would lead […]
Grandmaster Wang Yongquan
“Wang Yongquan, Chonglu’s son, was interested in martial arts since childhood and when seven started to study Buku (“wrestling” in Manchu language) and became very sturdy and his movements were strong and vigorous. At the age of eight he often accompanied father to Yang’s house. Mr.Jianhou liked Yongquan as he was a very bright kid […]
Taiji San Francisco
Taiji in Golden Gate park An old friend, his early morning practiced filmed by an on looker in Golden Gate park, posted on Utube. At the time alone in his practice he didn’t know someone was filming him.
A day in the park
Winter time, a local Xingyi teacher takes a nap. The others in Master Zhang’s group go about their practices while he sleeps. 在冬天練拳前,我們會掃雪,地面非常硬且寒冷。冬季的某一天,當地的形意拳師傅在打盹兒。 張師傅的學生們在他睡覺時仍進行他們的練習。 Master Zhang, training our group in the park. In his 90s at the time of the clip. 張師傅在公園裡教我們練拳。 在拍攝此影片時他已經九十幾歲了。 His style of training was very informal preferring to let the art […]