Using the butt of the knife for grabbing and grappling is one of my favorite knife fighting techniques. Unfortunately, the knives used by the rebels in Burma were about twice as long as the Philippine bolo. So, when I was grabbing my opponent with one end of the knife, I had to be careful not […]
Master Hisam’s hands are huge and swollen, as hard as rocks. In demonstrations, he uses them to smash granite slabs to dust. One could only imagine what those hands would do to your skull, even through boxing gloves. The gym is a four story walkup, overlooking a highway in Tainan, the ancient capital of Taiwan. […]
They beat the Chinese, the French, the Americans, and even Genghis Khan in war, so I figured the Vietnamese could teach this Brooklyn Monk Something about fighting. Vovinam is taught everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The practitioners see it as a matter of national pride, similar to the way Koreans view Tae Kwan […]
This is the next in a series of 'Martial Arts Odyssey' episodes shot inside of Burma, at Loi Tailang, the headquarters of the Shan State Army. While the army fights to help the Shan people survive and gain independence, Master Kawn Wan struggles to keep his people's martial art alive, and to teach it to […]
"Your training is a lonely war." When you train, you battle yourself. You wrestle your internal demons forcing your mind and body to bend. We all know the story of the sculpture who was asked how he carved such a perfect warrior from stone. He answered, "The warrior as already there, I just removed the […]
"Ten in a row on each side." Said the coach. If he had been talking about punches I might have been OK. But it was the last few minutes of grueling, two-hour training session, and he was talking about kicks. I sweat about five liters of water during these workouts, and one reason I circle […]
Readers have written in from all over the world asking what is the difference between these two, ancient southeast Asian arts. What is Bokator: Bokator is the ancient Cambodian martial art, which was nearly whipped out duringt the Khmer Rouge genocide. Through the sacrifices of Grand Master San Kim Saen, the art was reborn. After […]
On my return to Shanland I met with another leading Lai Tai, Kung Fu student and filmed his art. As always, I met up with Kawn Wan, interviewed him about his views on martial arts and on the future of the Shan people. https://youtube.com/watch?v=cLzpgjSpA5A I need some help. My paramedic training is going well in […]
The Shan martial art of Lai Tai is nearly unknown outside of Shanland and is not that widely practiced inside of Shan State because of the SPDC prohibitions against Shan culture. Thank God, I met Kawn Wan, the Lai Tai teacher at Loi Tailang. Together, we did some videos and stories to help preserve the […]
“You can gain extra power on your kicks by throwing your kicking arm down, but you need to protect your face with a cross arm defense.” Explained Adjarn Ngern, at the national kick boxing stadium in Vientiane, Lao. In Tae Kwan Do and a lot of other kicking arts, the right hand comes down when […]