Taijiquan biomechanics? I’m sure the mere mention of those words would draw blank stares from most people, especially tai chi practitioners. We’ve all had the experience in life when we’re out shopping, where we know in our minds what we want, but we have no idea what the thing we want is called, making it almost impossible to find. Well, a tai chi biomechanics workshop is one of those things. Hearing the name alone might not create an association with ...  read more

WǔDé (武德) – Martial Morality, should be the first thing we focus on as martial arts practitioners and should be the benchmark of what we consider a great practitioner to be. If we don’t understand the philosophy behind what we are trying to accomplish, and focus purely on the physical act of martial mechanics, then all we learn as students of the art is empty of meaning. WǔDé is a combination of actions and thoughts. We have looked at the ...  read more

We are now looking at the last of the 5 Important Actions of WǔDé (武德) – Martial Morality, which defines a Truly Great Martial Arts Practitioner, and this is Trust. Trust (信 – Xìn) Who do you trust? Do people trust you? Trust works on the basis that a person is of good character and one who will seek to fulfil promises, uphold ethical values and be law abiding. When you encounter a fellow martial arts practitioner do you trust ...  read more

As wushu practitioners, hopefully you made the most of last year’s Dog Year, and can now reap the rewards in this Earth Pig Year. The Year of the Pig commences on 5th February this year, so make sure you have everything in order before then. The Pig is the last of the zodiac animals. According to mythology, the Jade Emperor sent a notice inviting animals to compete for a position in the zodiac. The Pig had stopped to eat and ...  read more

So far, in The Definition of a Truly Great Martial Arts Practitioner we have looked at Humility, Loyalty and Respect. We now continue with the fourth of the 5 Important Actions, Morality. Morality (义 – Yì) The Oxford dictionary defines “morality” as “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour”, and so too, should we apply the same definition to the martial arts and WǔDé. The life of a wushu practitioner is not one lived ...  read more

The definition of a true martial arts practitioner continues in this segment as we look at the third of the five Important Actions; Respect. Respect (礼 – Lǐ)Respect is defined as having due regard for the feelings, wishes and rights of others and of ourselves. In living a respectful life we must balance our own needs with those of the people around us, and in so doing, every individual will have a sense of place and self-worth. Respect starts from ...  read more

We continue our understanding of what WǔDé (Martial Morality) is and why it is so fundamental to differentiating truly great martial arts practitioners from the not-so-great. Our first instalment looked at the first of the 5 Important Actions, being Humility. Here we look at the next one, Loyalty: Loyalty (忠 - Zhōng)This is a very traditional concept both in Eastern and Western culture, but for some, it is seen as almost obsolete thinking in the 21st Century. However, loyalty still ...  read more

We all spend an enormous amount of time looking at videos, demonstrations and competitive performances of Chinese Martial Arts practitioners. We think we see whether they are “good” or not; whether they display the correct techniques, whether we can see “quality in their movements”, “power and harmony”, “coordination”, “spirit, rhythm and style” but the fundamental thing we are not seeing and what truly defines whether they are masters of their craft or not is WǔDé (武德) – Martial Morality. WǔDé ...  read more

JinLi was extremely proud and honoured to see a special member of the JinLi family, Glenn Bermingham, receive a Bronze Medal at the recent 2018 Oceania Kung Fu Wushu Championships, held in Melbourne, Australia.   The Oceania Championships are held biennially in one of the International Wushu Federation’s Oceanic member countries. Currently, the countries represented are Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa, American Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Norfolk Island, Fiji, Guam, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Tonga, Tokelau, Cook Islands ...  read more

JinLi Wushu-Tai Chi was recently approached by the producers of the Channel 10 television program, The Living Room, who were preparing a segment called “Mood Moves”, looking at fun activities that promote both mental and physical health. They wanted to know whether we would be interested in sharing the benefits of Tai Chi with their 1-million plus Australian viewership. Of course, we jumped at the chance. So a group of JinLi’ers braved the winter cold with TV presenter Tiffany Hall, ...  read more