Author Archives: John Murray

Fake Humility and Feigned Enlightenment: How Relentless Positivity Blinds Us to Growth

This bears reading, especially for “esoteric” type martial artists. Yes. I’m looking at you, Taijiquan, Aikido, and all self titled “internal” stylists. A vast portion of the community has an overrun with new age style thinking in the last few decades. People who read modern spirituality texts, and frequent their local yoga studios in searchContinue reading “Fake Humility and Feigned Enlightenment: How Relentless Positivity Blinds Us to Growth”

Traditional Movement, Modern Mindset

Borrowing a comment I saw on Martial Arts Nerds! today. Why were punches ever chambered? My thoughts are, like wing chuns patty cake drills, they got too obsessed with one small aspect of combat training and then everyone started fighting weird. Like “hey if we use this aspect of yoga to build str in theContinue reading “Traditional Movement, Modern Mindset”

Sparring. Touching Hands as a conversational piece

A lot of us enjoy doing forms. They are interesting, and while performing them it gives us a feeling of awe. They help keep us in shape and teach important concepts about our art. But beyond forms, there is much more out there that we may neglect. For example, a lot of practitioners place anContinue reading “Sparring. Touching Hands as a conversational piece”

Radical Energetics: Qi(æ°”), Taiji Body Mechanics and the Power of Rice…

æ°£ Part 1: Radical Energetics So, let’s get into the idea of Qi ( æ°”). One of the most important things, in my opinion, to keep in mind when talking about Qi, is that the idea of Qi as a life sustaining force doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an actual invisible energy that surrounds andContinue reading “Radical Energetics: Qi(æ°”), Taiji Body Mechanics and the Power of Rice…”

Many Paths Up the Mountain, Here’s Mine.

Hi everyone, and thanks for joining me on my first ever web page and blog. Here I’ll be discussing my martial arts journey with you, discussing theory, taking advice, and occasionally stirring the pot within the community (though, hopefully not too much). This first article is just a quick introduction to who I am andContinue reading “Many Paths Up the Mountain, Here’s Mine.”