Review of Shaolin Monastery

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Review of Shaolin Monastery

Paul Katz wrote one of the most informed and thoughtful reviews of Meir Shahar's book, Shaolin Monastery. I'm posting it here because I think it should be read more widely.

Review: Shaolin Monastery, by Meir Shahar --Paul Katz.

My simple contribution to it was that I had a 15 minute conversation about the book with Paul in his office before he wrote it. Paul has written so much since that conversation, I haven't kept up, but he is one of the most broad thinkers in the realm of Chinese religious studies. As you can see by the diversity of topics in his list of publications.

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How to Live Long and Get Rich in the Fire Rooster Year

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How to Live Long and Get Rich in the Fire Rooster Year

Many people have asked me for my predictions of the coming Chinese New Year.  Probably more than usual because my teacher Liu Ming died about a year ago and he had been giving predictions for the new year to packed houses in the San Francisco Bay Area for about the last ten years.  

As my regular readers know, I’m more of a strategist than I am a prognosticator, but I’ll try to split the difference.

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Sichuan Theater Interview

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I enjoyed this article and the pictures from Time Out Hong Kong. Behind the scenes: A look at the Sichuan art of face-changing.

It is about Bian Lian (Changing Face), which is the actual title of the film The King of Masks. This trailer has some lame sentimental narration and music, but it's a great movie and you can watch the whole thing on Youtube.

Nearing the end of his life, Wang -- a locally renowned street performer and wizard of the venerable art of mask magic -- yearns to pass on his technique. But custom decrees that he can only hand down his craft to a male successor.

Ergonomics Update

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Ergonomics Update

I wrote a book and I'm working on the next two books now. This work involves a lot of reading. It also involves a lot of working on my laptop computer. How do I do all this and still have the greatest Kung Fu on earth? The answer is I practice all the time, even in my sleep. 

To help you get there, I'm recommending these two awesome products. One of them is new and unusual, the other is very common. 

This thing below is fantastic.

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New Book Review Category

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I added a new book review category called Chinese Religion in Practice--Defining the Subject. If you haven't bought books from my recommended reading list yet, you are missing out!  Read my entire list and you will be one of the top ten most informed Chinese martial arts history and culture experts in the world. I've decided to embrace my identity as the greatest salesman of all time. Also my book recommendations are awesome.

Modern Chinese Opera Shoe Review

/ North Star Martial Arts/
Modern Chinese Opera Shoe Review

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:

  • Zero-drop. That means they are level, they don't have any raised heal. I don't want a heal messing with my balance or my structure.
  • Large Toe Box. Space for my toes to spread or curl. 
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Re-Evolution and the Action of Biting

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Re-Evolution and the Action of Biting

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. 

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Seventy-Five Paintings from 1590

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Seventy-Five Paintings from 1590

Check 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

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