Parallel Opposites

Monday is my day for blogging, but I was on the road this week, so this is just a quick post with some cool videos and some updates.  I'll give a report of my amazing time in San Francisco next Monday.

Here is a sample of the kind of secret Italian martial-dance that is slowly becoming available.  This change in perceptions about the martial origins of dance, is a parallel-opposite of the transition happening in North Asian martial arts which are taking back their theatrical and religions roots.   

And this is a film from Iran I think. The spinning at the end is pretty great.  Again we are seeing the perfect overlap between dance and martial arts.

My book is written, but there is still a lot of stuff to finish.  I don't have a publication date yet. 

We are working on a full re-build of this website, hopefully by the New Year, and it will be mobile compliant...

I have been working on a video version of Cracking the Code: Taijiquan as Enlightenment Theater.  It is close to being finished but I may not release it until I know more about the publication of my book because it would be nice to put them out at the same time.  I have several more videos I'm dying to make, the next one will likely be Thunder Struck: Bagua Zhang's Obvious-Hidden Origins.

And I owe readers reviews of Ben Judkins The Creation of Wing Chun and Meir Shahar's The Oedipal God. They should happen over the Winter break.  

Check out this review of a one day Martial Arts Studies conference.  It is by my friend Abi Moriya in Israel.  He is a fascinating guy and a great martial artist. 

I wish I had been at the conference, especially for the Guan Yu paper.  I have a lot about him in my book.  There is so much to say about this.  But quickly, Guan Yu isn't exactly deified for his loyalty to Cao Cao, he is canonized as a valuable enemy leader.  His spirit is given a home after he is executed, and he is recognized for his righteousness and loyalty in general.  Cao Cao is the bad guy in the Three Kingdoms canonization epic, but historically he plays a very important part in the spread of Religious Daoism.  Zhang Lu, the grandson of Zhang Daoling (the founder of religious Daoism), road out to meet Cao Cao in the open field.  They negotiated a surrender that included spreading Daoist Priests all over the kingdom.  

And that isn't even the half of it!