North Star Martial Arts
In depth discussions of internal martial arts, theatricality, and Daoist ritual emptiness. Original martial arts ideas and Daoist education with a sense of humor and intelligence.
Books: TAI CHI, BAGUAZHANG AND THE GOLDEN ELIXIR, Internal Martial Arts Before the Boxer Uprising. By Scott Park Phillips. Paper ($30.00), Digital ($9.99)
Possible Origins, A Cultural History of Chinese Martial Arts, Theater and Religion, (2016) By Scott Park Phillips. Paper ($18.95), Digital ($9.99)
Watch Video: A Cultural History of Tai Chi
New Eastover Workshop, in Eastern Massachusetts, Italy, and France are in the works.
Daodejing Online - Learn Daoist Meditation through studying Daoism’s most sacred text Laozi’s Daodejing. You can join from anywhere in the world, $50. Email me if you are interesting in joining!
I do product reviews a few times a year when I find something good. Martial artist's need good shoes.
I require shoes to have these two qualities:
A subject I've been wanting to address is one of the universal problems humans have. The two biggest problems humans have are that we walk on two feet and we use our arms to carry things. These two problems lead to walking on "sticks" and "disconnecting" the arms from the liquid mass of the torso, respectively. The problem I want to address today is a smaller threat to human de-evolution, yet it is no less universal.
Read MoreCheck out these amazing paintings from around 1590 in the Boxer Codex. They are in the public domain so let's share them a lot. I've been studying this period and the commercial, smuggling, and pirate culture of the South China Sea for my forthcoming book on Tai Chi. Douglas Wile in his book The Lost Tai Chi Classics, pointed to the literati (shi) influence of that era, but the merchant influence appears to be equally important. The combination of these two groups shaped the way theater, and thus martial arts, was produced and disseminated. The 1590s saw an explosion in travel related books
Read MoreHere is some amazing fieldwork by Steven Frost, who hopefully will be presenting the whole film at this year's International Daoist Studies Conference in Paris (May 17-19, 2017). His website has a few articles and some images too. http://stevenqfrost.net/main.html
This intimate 80-minute portrait film explores the life of eighth-generation household Daoist Li Manshan (b.1946), leader of a group of ritual specialists in the poor countryside of Yanggao county in north Shanxi, China.
A film by Stephen Jones; edited by Michele Banal, with funding from the ANR Shifu project (Paris Nanterre).
The film complements Stephen Jones' new book "Daoist priests of the Li family: ritual life in village China" (Three Pines, 2016).
Obviously they don't allow embedding, perhaps that is so that they can monitor comments. But you can click the link to watch it on Vimeo. Very cool, neat music, can't wait to read the book and meet the author in Paris at the next Daoist Studies International Conference.
Wonderful and insightful interview with Kristopher Schipper, who is one of the most respected experts on Daoism in the world.
You can order his book below, a classic.
Sweet article on Kungfu Opera Master Angela Mao in the NYT.
I just got a nice review of my book Possible Origins. It was done by Edward Hines over at i-Bagua, check it out! And then, of course, buy the book and write your own review...
If martial arts is defined broadly as "combat skill," it goes back to single celled organisms. If it is defined by written discourse about hunting or battle, it is one of the first things ever written down. If it is written stories about sword dueling masters in China, it is about 2300 year old. If it is court documents about wrestlers, acrobats, or martial rituals done by people wearing animal masks, it is about 2100 years old. If it is written documents describing martial displays of acrobatic skill by the military, or plays with fighting scenes, it is somewhere around 1300 to 1000 years old. If it is written descriptions of forms (taolu) at Shaolin Temple it is five, maybe six hundred years old. If it is written discussion about lineage transmissions it is even more recent.
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Here is a wonderful quote about who Daoists and Buddhists fought each other in totally radical dance offs!!! Feel the LOVE.
Read MoreI want to let people in California know that my friend Alex Boyd from the UK is teaching in Oakland and Los Angeles. His partner work is definitely worth experiencing, lots of practices that improve spatial perception in games, and a unique Daoist lineage.
DAVIS www.lishi.org/davis 4th - 6th Nov
OAKLAND www.lishi.org/oakland 5th Nov
LOS ANGELES contact alex@lishi.org 9th - 12th Nov
CALGARY www.lishi.org/calgary - 13th-15th Nov
A place to train and learn about traditional Chinese martial arts, which are a form of religious theater combined with martial skills.
