Martial Arts Articles by Gene Ching

Gene Ching is the Associate Publisher of Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine and KungFuMagazine.com, the largest English language magazine and website devoted exclusively to Chinese martial arts.  He has authored hundreds of martial arts articles on and has been publishing his research since 1992.  Additionally, he has written well over a hundred scripts for martial arts instructional videos.  He has published articles in several major martial arts magazines beyond Kung Fu Tai Chi, as well as magazines about film, Asian culture and even a few adult magazines. (Biography)

I feel awkward taking credit for this story for two reasons. The first has to do with the subject matter. As a martial arts writer myself, I have long found in Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming's work a tremendous source of personal inspiration. When I was a fledgling freelance writer, intelligently-written books on Chinese martial arts were few and far between. Back then, most books made scant offerings: a few pages of introduction, typically a recounting of apocryphal Shaolin legends, followed by a short discussion of the author's lineage and style. The rest were "how to" photos and captions. Dr. Yang's books were thick and informative. Not only did they expand upon those stereotypical introductions, they provided some serious background research and insight on the topic. I feel awkward taking credit for this story for two reasons. The first has to do with the subject matter. As a martial arts writer myself, I have long found in Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming's work a tremendous source of personal inspiration. When I was a fledgling freelance writer, intelligently-written books on Chinese martial arts were few and far between. (Read Article)

As the winter solstice of 2009 approaches, Cung Le faces a two-front war. On one front stands Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith, a seasoned MMA fighter boasting a 16-6 record. On December 19, 2009, STRIKEFORCE: EVOLUTIONS will be held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. It marks Cung's first return to the cage after taking the Middleweight Champion belt off Frank Shamrock's broken body in March of 2008. But a lot happened between then and now. Cung went off to make five films, two of which have been released in American already, FIGHTING and PANDORUM. In the interim, he wasn't able to defend the belt, so he vacated it to Jake Shields. (Read Article)

On October 22nd, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado detected a large sunspot ten times larger than the earth. A sunspot (or solar flare) generates geomagnetic disturbances, akin to an electromagnetic pulse from nuclear fallout. It can disrupt electronics, wireless systems and satellites. This is just the kind of thing we like to hear around here at magazine submission deadline time. After all, this is the 21st century and everything is done digitally, especially magazine printing.
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As martial artists, we are unique in that we create ourselves. Through long years of rigorous training, sacrifice, denial, pain, we forge our bodies in the fire of our will. But a simple twist of fate can destroy our hard-earned bodies. All things, especially the flesh, are impermanent. Disaster can strike any of us at any time. For Great Grandmaster Al Novak, it came as a car accident. (Read Article)

by Gene Ching with Gigi Oh, Photos by Justin Guariglia
Shi Dechao exemplifies the big warrior monk. At 5' 11" and weighing in at over 220 pounds, Dechao may not be as gargantuan as many MMA fighters, but in person he's big, thick and solid, towering above the average Chinese citizen. With such an imposing physique, he doesn't really need martial arts to defend himself. Add in his bushy beard and gentle demeanor and Dechao looks like he just walked out of the pages of Shaolin legend. He is the quintessential Shaolin monk.
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NINJA ASSASSIN is the first major R-rated martial arts film to open on a pivotal premiere date in America in a very long time. For Thanksgiving weekend 2009, NINJA ASSASSIN revitalizes the ninja genre with bloody action-packed vengeance, redeeming the ninja from their post-'80s fate as comic relief or heroes in a half shell. NINJA ASSASSIN features the greatest ninja actor of all time, Sho Kosugi as the ninja master, and introduces an unlikely Korean actor named Rain in the lead role.
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This Saturday, August 15th, 2009, Gina Carano will make history when she faces Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in Strikeforce's unprecedented CARANO VS. CYBORG, the first ever major female MMA main card in America. The fight will be held at San Jose's HP Pavilion where the women will battle for the first Strikeforce 145-pound Female Championship. The fight will be broadcast live on Showtime, further establishing Strikeforce as a major contender amongst MMA leagues.
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Watch Fight on FightCon.com

On July 27, 2008, just prior to the Beijing Olympics, Jackie Chan took his first disciple. Jack Tu bowed before Jackie on top of the Great Wall of China in the finale episode of Jackie Chan's DISCIPLE, a popular reality T.V. show based on Jackie's worldwide search for a successor.
We first met Jack Tu several years ago when he was an aspiring teenager, peeking out from the shadow of his father, Grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng. Grandmaster Tu was featured on the cover of our March April 2003 issue. He is most famous as a master of the arcane art of iron crotch. (Read Article)

Grandmaster John Leong doesn't look like a man approaching seventy. He certainly doesn't act like one. Every morning he gets up at 5:00 AM for a forty-minute jog. Then he practices Hung Gar kung fu for an hour and a half. After that, he grabs a quick bite and does his morning stretching. Once this morning ritual is complete, Leong is ready to face the day. His wife shrugs at her husband's discipline. She recalls the prior week; they were in Singapore, simmering in sweltering tropical heat, and her husband still had to go out jogging. "It was so hot," adds Leong, smiling back at his wife. "I just get out there and I just sweat. I love it. I like to sweat. (Read Article)

It was the shot heard around the world. Late in the third round of the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship title bout, Cung Le delivered a punishing sanshou kick to Frank Shamrock, cracking his forearm bone. After the bell, Shamrock collapsed to his knees, giving up the coveted belt to Le. Televised live on Showtime, it was one of the most thrilling MMA bouts ever, especially for fans of Chinese martial arts. Cung Le. No sanshou champion has a fight record that can even compare. Although this was only his fifth Mixed Martial Arts fight, Le has been mixing it up since he was in high school. In 1988, he was the national champion in sambo. The following year, he added Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling to his sambo national champion titles. By 1990, he was a two-time All-American and the California State Wrestling Champion. Then Le discovered sanshou, China's then newly-developed full contact fight sport. (Read Article)

Chinese martial arts have undergone tremendous transformation over the last half century. The Cultural Revolution is commonly cited as the most significant turning point. It caused nationwide oppression of all traditional arts throughout China. Refugees of the communist regime fled to Taiwan and Hong Kong and then to the rest of the world, so it was also a motivating factor for kung fu diaspora. However, contrary to popular belief, the Cultural Revolution did not entirely extinguish traditional fighting styles within China. Grandmaster Liang Shou-Yu is one of many traditional masters who survived that nefarious period - forced into combat on many occasions, both in challenge matches for honor and on the streets for his life; and he was nearly killed by the Red Guard.
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When the average American hears "tai chi," the image that springs to mind is of little elderly people practicing gently in the park. That doesn't describe Master Fu at all. Fu Xueli, or Jack as he likes to be called here, is a big man for a mainland Chinese. He has the kind of stout body that's well-suited for wrestling or mixed martial arts. And he's young. His disarming baby-face smile accentuates his youthfulness. That smile has served him well navigating the political hornet's nest of communist China and its continually changing attitude towards the martial arts.
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Historians commonly cite the infamous 1991 tour as the first time Shaolin monks set foot in the United States. On that tour was "top ten" master Liang Yiquan, encyclopedia author Shi Deqian, and five monks. It ended with Shi Guolin and Shi Yanming defecting to become the first "American" monks. However, there was an earlier delegation that has been long overlooked. In 1985, Hai Deng came to America to promote the documentary film based upon him. Originally produced by CCTV in 1983, the film was later re-edited into Abbot Hai Deng of Shaolin, which was released on video in America and featured an additional segment on Jet Li.
Hai Deng was controversial too. Even the dates of his life are unclear, ranging from 1902 to 1907 for his birth and 1988 or 1989 for his passing. He was born in Sichuan as Fan Qinghe; his mother died when he was five and his father was killed by bandits when he was twelve. He became a monk at a Buddhist Temple in Jiangyoushen in Sichuan, taking the name Hai Deng ("sea lamp").
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Talking to Ronny Yu, the director of FEARLESS, is just like talking to any film buff. He's quick to laugh, and he exudes his love for movies with every comment. Yu is one of a few maverick directors who broke into Hollywood in the late 90's when Hong Kong was returned to China. But unlike many other directors, Yu fell into filmmaking by happenstance. A friend asked him to direct a personal project titled THE SERVANT (1979), and it became a surprise hit - No.1 in the box office that summer.
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As martial artists go, there's no one like Jet Li. Most Americans know him as just another action star, but Li's background is outstanding. Before he reached puberty, he served as an international ambassador, a key figure in the parting of the bamboo curtain that separated China and America in the 1970s. His precocious repartee with President Nixon showed the world that this son of Mainland China was someone to watch.
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How do you know if your kung fu is real? Secret teachings, closed-door disciples, and special transmissions permeate kung fu legends. Feuding lineage branches frequently accuse each other of not receiving the true teachings. "Grandmaster never gave them the real stuff, only us!" or so the story goes. Do genuine masters really withhold their best techniques from their students? According to Grandmaster David Chin, they do. "The old traditional masters, they were so protective of themselves," comments Chin. "They made sure they could make a living. They didn't want the students to compete against them."
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Two locations figure prominently in the history of American martial arts. The first is Hawaii. Hawaii has the largest population of Asian Americans of any state in the union. Consequently, Asian immigrants have been bringing martial arts there for decades. Even today, it's common to see masters donning aloha shirts in honor this island heritage. The other place is San Francisco Bay. Another bastion of Asian immigrants, the Bay Area enjoys the highest density of martial arts schools of anywhere in the nation. It is a prime location for Tiger Claw and KungFuMagazine.com.
In October of 2006, we had the opportunity to pay our respects to four of the elder Grandmasters of American martial arts: Ralph Castro, Ming Lum, Al Novak and Wally Jay. All four have deep connections to Hawaii. Ralph Castro and Wally Jay were both from Honolulu originally.
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For a six-year-old boy, there's nothing like a day at the movies, especially when Grandpa treats you to ice cream. David Charng remembers the pure joy of just such a day. The Taiwan theater district was bustling. Colorful movie posters were everywhere. It was the best place in the world to be. But childhood innocence is a most fragile and precious treasure. It shatters in the blink of an eye. Thrilled and bedazzled, young David wasn't watching where he was going and BOOM! He ran smack into an advertising poster. Salty blood mixed with bitter tears, and his ice cream no longer tasted so sweet. (Read Article)

Redwood City's Fox Theater is still reverberating from the rock and roll pounding it took last November. During a stop on his latest tour, Lou Reed stripped his sound down to the bone and shook the very foundations of the 78-year-old Californian venue. The Godfather of Punk fronted a colossal power trio, framing himself with two of today's greatest living bass players. (Read Article)

In 1989 at the age of 44 I had abdominal surgery that left my lower back muscles weak, or should I say weaker. My back had been unstable off and on for years. Having surgery only made it more unreliable. I felt strongly that I had to try and rebuild my body. That same year my husband and I went to a chamber music concert at Skidmore College. After the main program the announcer said there was an add-on bonus, a tai chi demonstration. Then a slightly built young Chinese man came on stage dressed in a white silk outfit. As he performed, the loosely hung silk began to ripple and the limbs underneath went soft as though he were moving in a cloud. I thought him the most exquisite tai chi player I'd ever seen. Then it was over. We never caught his name. (Read Article)