Internal Fighting Arts | Learn Real-World Martial Arts Insights from Top Instructors of Tai Chi - Xingyi - Bagua and Qiqong

Ken Gullette talks with Raphael Smith, an instructor of Song style Xingyiquan, Chen style Practical Method Taijiquan, and combat-related arts in the Sacramento, California area. He goes by Ralph and he is a disciple of Song style Xingyiquan master Li Yujie. Ralph's website is www.jingwupai.org. In this interview, Ralph talks about why he went to China at age 22, the difficulty of working long hours in China and finding time for training, and what it was like to train there. Ken teaches through online classes, videos and personal coaching sessions via his online school at www.internalfightingarts.com. 

Ken Gullette talks with instructor Gerald A. Sharp, who Ken first became aware of in the 1990s when he bought Gerald's "Five Fists of Power" VHS instructional tape. Gerald A. Sharp began studying martial arts at age 12. Later, he studied with several internal arts teachers, notably Wu Taiji with Master Ma Yueh Liang, and he studied Pa-Kua Chang, Hsing-I Chuan and Nei Jia Kung Fu with Zou Shuxian, who was the Top Disciple and adopted daughter of Jiang Rong Qiao. He has won numerous medals in tournaments in the United States and China. In this wide-ranging interview, Ken and Gerald talk about Gerald's history in the internal arts, studying with Ma Yueh Liang, and his experience acting on the set of "Highway to Heaven" and meeting Michael Landon, along with his appearances on soap operas such as "The Young and the Restless." Gerald A. Sharp's website is at www.chiflow.com. He lives and teaches Tai Chi, Hsing-I, Pa-Kua, Nei Jia, Chi Kung, and Liangong in Granada Hills, California. Ken Gullette teaches through his online school at www.internalfightingarts.com. 

Byron Jacobs published an excellent Xingyi Quan book in 2023 titled "Dragon Body, Tiger Spirit." In this book, Byron translates a collection of Xingyi Quan classics and provides commentary that will help anyone who studies and practices this powerful martial art. Byron lives in Beijing and has an extensive martial arts history. He has been a guest previously. Byron is a disciple of Master Di Guoyong. In this interview, Ken Gullette and Byron talk about the book, how it came to be, and details on some of the training tips and methods described in the pages. Running time is one hour and nine minutes. Byron's website is www.mushinmartialculture.com. He also teaches online through Patreon at patreon.com/mushinmartialculture. Ken teaches through his online school at www.internalfightingarts.com.

This podcast features some of Ken Gullette's favorite clips from the first couple of years the Internal Fighting Arts podcast. It's a Greatest Hits featuring fascinating interviews with great internal martial artists including Michael Chritton, Stefan Berwick, Marin Spivack, Kimberly Ivy, Kent Howard, Byron Jacobs, and Jeet Kune Do instructor Tim Tackett. You'll hear what it's like to meet and train with top Chinese masters, the difficult training -- "eating bitter" -- that real skill requires. You will be as fired up as Ken is listening to personal stories about what it's like to be a disciple, whether Chinese masters actually take it easy on Westerners, and other experiences by people who have spent years, a lot of sweat and a lot of money seeking out great masters and training with them in Taiji, Xingyi and Bagua. Total running time is an hour and 10 minutes. This podcast also features a giveaway of 10 digital codes to win a digital copy of "Enter the Dragon" in its new 4K/Ultra HD format, given to Ken by Warner Brothers as prizes for listening and commenting on Ken's blog -- www.internalfightingarts.com/blog. Comment on the post about the Giveaway and you'll have a chance to win a digital code to own your own digital copy of "Enter the Dragon." The drawing will be held Sunday, August 27, 2023 at Noon Chicago time on Ken's Internal Fighting Arts Facebook page. After August 27, 2023, you can ignore that part of the podcast. :) 

Ken Gullette interviews instructor Tony Wong. His birth name was Wong Wai Yi and he grew up in Hong Kong before moving to the United States. He lives and teaches in the San Francisco area. Tony has trained with some outstanding teachers. He studied Wing Chun with Kenneth Chung, Wuji Qigong with Cai Song Fang, and he studied Chen Taijiquan with Zhang Xue Xin, Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Qingzhou. He also studied Yiquan with Chen Zhengzhong. In this interview, Ken talks with Tony, who has interesting stories to tell about his teachers and other experiences, including what it was like to train for push hands competition in China. Tony's website is www.chenfamilytaiji.com. Ken teaches through his own website at www.InternalFightingArts.com.  

Ken Gullette talks with Nabil Ranne almost three years after Nabil's first appearance on the podcast. Nabil is a disciple of Chen Yu (the son of Chen Zhaokui and grandson of Chen Fake). After he interviewed Nabil in 2020, Ken began studying with him. In this interview, Ken tries to get "into the weeds" with Nabil and discuss details that you don't often hear in martial arts interviews -- details about body method and other principles that are taught with a different emphasis by Chen Yu. Nabil lives in Berlin with students in Germany and internationally. He has a website at https://ctnd.de and he also has an online "school" at https://ctn.academy. The interview runs one hour six minutes. Ken also teaches through his website, offering lessons on video and live Zoom classes. His website is www.internalfightingarts.com. 

Ken Gullette talks with Michael Dorgan, a disciple of the late Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang. Among Michael's other teachers are the late Master Zhang Xue Xin and his gongfu brother, Chen Xiang. Michael has a wonderful new book about his life in martial arts and in journalism. It's titled No Fight No Blame: A Journalist's Life in Martial Arts. The book is available on Amazon and Ken recommends it highly. In this interview, Michael talks about the book, training with teachers including Grandmaster Feng, and how his Taijiquan has helped as he has attempted to overcome cancer in recent years. Michael's lives in the San Jose, California area and his website is www.taichisanjose.com. Ken teaches through his website, featuring videos and live online training at www.internalfightingarts.com. The interview runs one hour and 10 minutes.

Ken Gullette talks with Scott M. Rodell, a Yang style Taijiquan instructor who is known for his swordsmanship. He is the founding director of the Great River Taoist Center in Annandale, Virginia. Scott's principal teacher was Wang Yen-Nien. From Wang, Scott learned the entire Yangjia Michuan Taijiquan system. Scott is known for his swordsmanship and teaches in-person at the center and also online through his website www.grtc.org. Ken has studied martial arts nearly 50 years and has worked with the jian (straight sword) and dao (broadsword or saber) for 35 years, winning many tournament weapons forms competitions. He does not consider himself a swordsman but Scott Rodell is, so they discuss how Scott became interested in martial arts and some fascinating details about the design and use of this great weapon. Ken teaches Chen style Taiji, Xingyiquan and Bagua Zhang through his website at www.internalfightingarts.com. Running time of this program is 1 hour 15 minutes.

If you are like a lot of martial artists, you dream about having your own bricks-and-mortar martial arts school. In this episode, Ken Gullette talks with Kimberly Ivy, who has had a Taijiquan school in Seattle for 30 years, and Michael Celeste, who has owned a school for six years teaching Yang Taiji and Wing Chun in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey. Martial arts skill is not the only thing you need to operate a school. Regardless of your martial arts style, it takes very hard physical work, a little business savvy and a commitment to be there. It's also expensive. This is episode 65 in the podcast. Total running time is 1 hr. 14 minutes.

In a different kind of episode, Ken Gullette does a joint podcast with Graham Barlow, the martial artist behind "The Tai Chi Notebook" podcast. Graham is a former guest on Ken's podcast, and as friends, they realized they both are asked the same type of questions by people who are interested in the internal arts -- questions on subjects such as the meaning of "spirit" in Taiji and whether it's okay to do weight training when studying Taiji. Ken and Graham sometimes see these issues differently, so they decided to discuss the questions and release the conversation on both of their podcasts. Graham's podcast is called "The Tai Chi Notebook" and his blog is at www.thetaichinotebook.com. This podcast runs 45 minutes.

Ken Gullette talks with Taoist Monk Yun Rou about applying philosophy to the sobering reality of death. Everyone will die, but for those who are diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, as both Ken and Monk Yun Rou have experienced, the question arises: how do you apply your philosophy or religion to give you peace at the time you are standing at the edge of eternity? This conversation looks at it from the perspective of philosophy. Yun Rou teaches Taoist philosophy and Taiji. He is also a writer, with many books available through Amazon. His website is www.monkyunrou.com. Ken teaches the internal arts through his website at www.internalfightingarts.com. Total running time of this program is 1 hour 22 minutes.

Ken Gullette talks with Ryan Craig, an instructor of Chen style Taijiquan in Philadelphia, PA. Ryan is a student of Nabil Ranne, who is a disciple of Chen Yu and lives in Berlin. Ken has also studied with Nabil for the past two years, so this is a conversation between two Taiji guys geeking out over the art and having fun talking about starting in the Chen Village line, then making a transition to the Chen Zhaokui line of Chen style. Ken met Ryan in May 2022 when Ryan hosted Nabil for a four-day workshop in Philadelphia. Ryan's website is www.phillychentaiji.com. Ken's website is www.internalfightingarts.com.

Ken Gullette interviews the last surviving star from the original "Kung Fu" TV show, Radames Pera, who played young Caine, the student monk who learned the ancient art of kung-fu at the Shaolin Temple and learned philosophy from Master Kan, played by Phillip Ahn, and Master Po, played by Keye Luke. Radames, who also appeared on "Little House on the Prairie," "The Waltons," "The Six Million Dollar Man" and many more shows and movies, takes us behind the scenes for an interesting discussion about the show that imprinted his image as "Grassshopper" in the minds of almost all martial artists. Running time is 1 hour 55 minutes.

Ken Gullette talks with Steve Contes, a disciple of Grandmaster Zhu Tiancai, one of the "Four Tigers" of the Chen Village. Steve lives and teaches in the Tampa, Florida area. In this interview, Steve talks about his experience training in Chen Taiji, training with Zhu Tiancai, the relationship he has developed, and other people he has trained with. He tells an interesting story about touching hands with Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang. Running time is around one hour and 31 minutes. Ken Gullette's website is www.internalfightingarts.com.

What is the secret of achieving enlightennment, awakening, nirvana? Are we sleep-walking through our lives? How do we become better people? Zen Buddhist monk Douglas A. Gentile, an ordained monk with the Five Mountain Zen Order who is also a professor at Iowa State University with a Ph.D. in child psychology, talks with Ken about philosophy, which has been an important part of martial arts for many centuries and an important part of Ken's life and arts. But how is it used in modern life, when so many people are wanting more and more, and yet so many people are unhappy? This is a podcast with messages that should be pondered. Running time is two hours. Ken also lists the Top 10 Chen Taiji Movements to Practice in the Hospital. Ken's website is www.internalfightingarts.com.  

Ken Gullette talks with Byron Jacobs, a teacher of Xingyiquan and Bagua Zhang who lives in Beijing. His teacher is Di Guoyong. This is a wide-ranging interview that touches on topics ranging from training in China to a book he is writing about the Xingyiquan classics, and they talk about training in Xingyiquan, including the "spirit" of Xingyi, how the spear influenced training in the fist postures, and the proper amount of time to stand daily in the SanTi stance, among other topics. Byron uses the name Mushin Martial Culture for his videos on YouTube and Patreon. You can study with him through Patreon. Ken lives in Illinois and teaches both in-person and through his website at www.internalfightingarts.com.  

Louis Martin is the author of "The True Believers," the story of how he became involved in a martial arts school in Monterey, California that had a charismatic teacher and a cult-like atmosphere. Ken Gullette talks with Louis in a wide-ranging discussion of critical thinking skills, what kind of people are lured into martial arts cults, and how you can tell if you are showing signs of being a "True Believer" (it is not a good thing to be). Louis trained for years in Seibukan, which is a combination of Japanese jujutsu and Aikido. He now trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Ken teaches Chen Taiji, Bagua Zhang and Xingyi Quan and has an online learning site at www.internalfightingarts.com. 

J. Justin Meehan is an attorney in St. Louis and the senior U.S. disciple of Master Zhang Xue Xin, who lives in San Francisco and is a disciple of the late Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang. Sifu Justin, as his students call him, began studying Tai Chi Chuan in 1967. He also studied other arts, including Shaolin, Northern and Southern Praying Mantis, Hung Gar and Wing Tsun. In 1981, he met and trained with Feng Zhiqiang in China. Justin was the first person to teach the internal arts in St. Louis. He now teaches the Hunyuan style of Chen Taijiquan and Qigong. This is not as much an interview as it is a conversation between Ken and Justin, two guys who have been in the arts for more than a century between them. Now in his 70s, Justin mainly teaches private classes and workshops. His website is www.stltaiji.com.  Ken's website, offering video lessons and live classes, is at www.internalfightingarts.com. 

Ken Gullette talks Bagua Zhang with Dennis Mace, an instructor of Cheng style Bagua Zhang in Seattle, Washington and a disciple of the late Yang Guo Tai. Ken and Dennis met when Ken was 34 and Dennis was a teenager. Both were training in the internal arts in Omaha, Nebraska. They each went their own paths studying other traditional internal arts. In this interview, Dennis talks about his journey in the arts, including early training, meeting Yang Guo Tai, an interesting question, "What is the root of wude?" Dennis Mace's website is macemartialarts.com. 

John Scott is the Maryland State Representative for the Chen Pan Ling family and the Ling Yun Pai family. He is a successful instructor and tournament champion, with a school in Frederick, Maryland. John is completely devoted to the Chen Pan Ling Systems of martial and healing arts and is a senior disciple of Grandmaster Chen Yun Ching, Chen Pan Ling's son, and heir of the systems. John talks with Ken Gullette about his martial arts journey. His goal is to spread the true teachings of Shaolin, Chen Pan Ling Taiji Quan, Hsing-I, Ba-Gua, the health arts of Qigong and the Weapons arts that are contained in the vast curriculum of the Chen Pan Ling systems of martial arts. John Scott's website is www.chenpanlingworldfamilymaryland.com.