The Tiger Crane Blog
Back to China (2016)
This summer my main focus has been my preparation for the 2016 International South Shaolin Wu Chu Chuan and Traditional Martial Arts Competition in China. I attended the same competition three years ago in Quanzhou, and I won a Gold Medal for my...
Life Imitates Art
Time for a moment of self-reflection. When was the last time you did something new? Came out of your comfort zone? If you think about it, are you doing the same old thing, day in, day out? Has it come to the point of just comfortably killing time until you die? You...
A Sheet of Paper Every Day
You finish your first ever day of training, and a sheet of paper magically appears from thin air. It floats gently down to lie on the floor and remains there. Your second day the same thing happens. A second sheet of paper appears and floats gently down and lands...
Empty Your Cup
Ever felt like you’re not making any progress? You’re turning up to class, but instead of racing ahead learning new moves, it feels like you’re doing the same thing over and over. You want to improve, but you don’t know where to start. Your instructor seems to be...
I Can’t
One of the most frustrating things I can hear from a student in class is “I can’t…” I hear it again and again, from the youngest children to the most mature adults, and often in a situation when they really, actually, can. It puts an immediate stop to the mental...
Twisting Punches
Why twist your punch? The majority of traditional Eastern martial arts use the straight punch which starts at the side of the body, palm up, and finishes with the arm extended, palm down. This requires a corkscrew-like twisting of the fist, which is the hallmark of...
Looking After Your Knees
When everyone starts learning Kung Fu, they have images of themselves moving like masters, doing perfect jumps and kicks, battling several opponents, and generally wowing everyone with their Kung Fu awesomeness. Most people are also aware that there will be a lot of...
Newton’s Third Law (Again)
Just to quickly remind you, here’s what Newton’s Third Law says again. “When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.” In my last post I mentioned that...
The Science of Impact
Power is a much-misused word in martial arts, and its usage has lead to quite a lot of misunderstanding about what is important in technique and training methods. Think of a bullet. It weighs comparatively little, but is capable of doing a huge amount of damage when...
How I got Beaten Up at School
A few weeks ago I was listening to a conversation on LBC radio about children starting school a year early, or a year late, and the effects that this might have on their academic performance. LBC is one of my favorite channels when I’m driving. I do quite a lot of...
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