"Block Head Cannon" - Qi Jiguang and Chen Style Taiji
In Ming Dynasty General Qi Jiguang's Essential of the Fist manual, Stance #30 is the 當頭砲 (dang tou pao) "Block Head Cannon" stance. The...
Mystery Solved: "Bury Head" and "Enter Cave" stances of the Chinese Long Saber
The Chinese Long Saber manual was the 1st manual that I translated and interpreted when I started this website 9 years ago. The one thing...
WWII Dadao in Wushu Competition
Recently I came across this video (although it was posted back in 2013) where a girl performed the WWII Dadao form at a modern Wushu...
Why was the WWII Dadao efficient against the Rifle with Bayonet?
WWII was probably the last major warfare when we saw melee combat between China and Japan. The weapon of choice for the Chinese side is...
3rd Most Valuable Skill in Sword Fighting
What is (in my opinion) the 3rd most valuable and difficult skill to achieve in sword fighting? How do you differentiate between a...
Sword Sparring: Fast Attacks But No Brute Force
In sword sparring or free-play, safety is a constant debate. Some people want more safety, others want to reduce safety in order to increase
Over-violent In Sparring + My Injury Photo
On 6th March 2018, a HEMA practitioner by the name of "Ramon Santos" posted a video here: https://www.facebook.com/ramon.santos.35513/vid...
Recap of Year 2017, Looking Forward To 2018
Happy New Year 2018! In Chinese, the number "8" is associated with prosperity and wealth. So here's wishing you abundance & great strides...
Triangulating Chinese, Korean, Japanese Martial Arts
In order to full understand ancient Eastern martial arts manuals, we need to triangulate information from the 3 major sources: Chinese, Kore
General Yamashita's Sword Returns To Singapore After 72 Years
During the WWII period, Singapore was a crown jewel of the British Empire in South-East Asia and considered to be an impenetrable...
