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!
The number of times I've been asked by Chinese Americans whether or not I'm "Chinese" is a badge of pride for me. Which is why I'm posting these fun loving links below. There is an on going debate about whether or not Mainland China is a threat to the United States. One argument is that China is a growing economic power and that means the US is in decline. I don't understand this argument, we are both getting richer, why would it matter if China got out in front? A related argument is that with economic superiority, China could build a bigger, scarier military than we have. That's possible. So then the question becomes why would the Chinese see it in their interest to compete with us militarily? To this there are two answers. The first is that the militaries of large powerful countries maintain an order which allows commerce to thrive. That's probably true, but it doesn't matter much to the commercial world which nation is maintaining that order, we all still get rich. Of course a rich country with a large powerful military could decide to pick winners and losers, and in so doing tightly restrict the flow of natural and other resources. Which leads us to the other answer. The Chinese could wish to challenge the US militarily because of past grudges, a feeling of superiority, or because they believe war is fun."The United States has entered a long period of decline," wrote economist Xia Bin, who advises China's Cabinet and central bank, on his blog.
Me with Bamboo
Well, what if you watch TV and smoke at the same time? Do they cancel each other out since smoking is an appetite suppressant? Oh dear, what about horror movies, good for blood circulation no doubt, but could too many lead to loss of sleep. And what about the various theories of intensity? A fast beating heart for a short period of time each day makes the heart beat slower for the rest of the day. Texting? Does it shorten your life? What about Sexting? Does muting the commercials help? The article says that watching TV for an hour takes twenty minutes off of your life. Now I only watch TV on the computer and I didn't watch any TV between age 12 and 34 so I'm probably going to live forever. However, what would happen if people visualized the process. You know, sort of like a giant game of hang man! You could put your life span up on the wall. Paint in just a little bit more of that giant hang man every time you turn on the tube. You could paint in a little bit every time you stay up late or drink single malt whiskey. The more demonstrably visible this giant hang man was, the more talismanic it's effects would be. Here is another idea, you could have a watch that counts down to your demise. It could have a "bit-o-life-lost" button which you would have to push every time you got in a stressful argument. Heck, they should bust out an app for that! How many minutes do you have left?A place to train and learn about traditional Chinese martial arts, which are a form of religious theater combined with martial skills.
