Endurance Sports and Martial Arts

I really like this post at the blog Jonathan in the Distance. If you're in the rare intersection of martial artists and endurance athletes, it's a great read. This is the fifth post on the topic, so there's plenty there to read.

New Movie Based on Kung Fu TV Series

This is from a couple of months ago, but a news report says that producers are trying to make a movie based on the Kung Fu tv show from the 70s. I hope that they make an effort to cast a martial artist in the Kwai Chang Caine role. I like the series, but it's a tragedy that Bruce Lee was not cast in that role.

Style of the Week IV: Choy Li Fut

Choy Li Fut is a Chinese martial art derived from both Shaolin kung fu and styles of southern China. It was originated by Chan Heung, who gave the system its name in 1836. The name is a tribute to his three teachers. It is also incidentally the style i have trained in for the last five years.

Like many martial arts, the lineage of the style since Chan Heung has fragmented and diversified in the last couple of centuries, but regardless of the particular branch Choy Li Fut has retained certain distinctive characteristics. One is the set of circular "long-arm" strikes that are added to the normal repertoire of straight strikes. In practice, these can be incorporated into sparring at a range somewhat intermediate between boxing range and kicking range, and if you're careful with your footwork they can be surprisingly effective because of the unusual angles at which these strikes arrive. The second characteristic is the footwork. Though Choy Li Fut teaches fairly low, solid stances, the forms also emphasize quite a lot of angular movement and rapid advancement and retreat. In less stylized form, this footwork can also be applied to sparring as a way to transition to a throw, or to chamber a kick while appearing to retreat.

Choy Li Fut is a very comprehensive system, encompassing ground fighting, joint locking, sanda-style kickboxing, and a ridiculous number of forms, especially for traditional Chinese weapons. The school at which i train also teaches modern submission grappling, so it's a style that's evolving in some circles (our students and instructors participate in grappling and pankration tournaments). There's a lot of debate these days in the traditional martial arts world about the applicability of techniques, and that's especially true with CLF because it is a system with a heritage of combat. But it's also true that Choy Li Fut forms, done properly, look really cool. Here's a decent performance of a Choy Li Fut spear set:

Shaolin vs. Ninja

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be funny, but it is anyway:

http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnPEK269328.html