February 28, 2024
British author Munawar Ali Karim chats about his new book Wing Chun In-Depth
February 7, 2024
YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching chats with Dr. Hermann Bayer, author of two books: Analysis of Genuine Karate: Misconceptions, Origins, Development, and True Purpose and Analysis of Genuine Karate 2: Sociocultural Development, Commercialization, and Loss of Essential Knowledge
January 29, 2024
Twenty-twenty-four marks the Year of the Wood Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching, who was born under the sign of the Dragon and bears the Buddhist Shaolin name ‘dragon,’ shares some insights on the mythology behind Chinese dragons and the element of wood.
Reading Time 8 minutes.
November 27, 2023
Translator and martial artist Christopher Bates talks with Gene Ching about Taiwan history, and the oppression and poverty experienced there post-World War Two. This is also where YMAA founder Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming was born and lived until college. They discuss various Taiwanese martial arts styles and their overlap, including Shaolin White Crane (Bai He), Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and others.
November 18, 2023
Augustus John Roe is an author, linguist and instructor of traditional Vietnamese martial arts of the Bửu Sơn Phật Môn Quyền lineage. Since the mid-2000s, he has lived and trained in Asia. During this time, Augustus has worked on numerous television shows, books, magazines and academic projects documenting local cultures and martial arts practices.
The commercialization of the practice of medicine is driving up the cost of health care in America. While many drugs, devices, and procedures available are truly miraculous, study after study has shown that commonsense approaches increase quality and length of life to a greater degree than do expensive technologies. These commonsense approaches are not new: regular exercise, not smoking, getting enough sleep, stress management, and an unprocessed diet that is rich in beneficial fats. These modifications increase healthy life expectancy by many, many years by preventing the onset of chronic illnesses. The Chinese have advocated similar strategies for thousands of years: inexpensive lifestyle changes are the cornerstone of Eastern medicine.
The diet in the United States is very out of balance for the majority of the population. People eat too much meat, too many sweets, too much dairy, and too-large quantities of food. Junk food is very common in many households. Row upon row of processed foods line our supermarket aisles.
Other non-pharmacologic methods of treating chronic headaches have been recommended by the American Academy of Neurology. These include relaxation training, thermal biofeedback combined with relaxation training, or cognitive-behavioral training. All of these methods strive to decrease muscle tension that may contribute to the onset of the headache. This tension is usually found in the upper back and neck.
Twenty-three years ago, when Louise was pregnant for the first time, her truck was broadsided and jettisoned over an embankment. The force of the crash caused a severe neck injury and sent Louise into preterm labor. Her daughter was born eight weeks early, but grew from a sweet baby into a beautiful young woman, as though the accident had never happened.
When people think of Chinese medicine, they most commonly think of acupuncture. When they think of acupuncture, they instantly think of back pain. It is true that back pain is the first ailment for which Western countries accepted Eastern solutions. However, there is a vast array of different conditions for which all components of Eastern medicine can be used.
We live in a very complex world. Many of us are overloaded with information, technology, apps, consumer goods, foods, clothing, stuff, activities, and events. Because of this, many of us feel overwhelmed, and don’t remember how to breathe anymore. Others may even feel they need to acquire more.
There is an amazing array of research studies supporting the benefits of tai chi and related exercises for a wide range of conditions. Metarobic theory explains how and why from a medical perspective, but there still remains the question of why some studies show conflicting results particularly in the field of cancer.
Being a holistic doctor for so many years, I have seen many patients suffering with depression. How do I help them recover from depression? It is all about Qi and Dao: balancing their energy with “Qi,” and restoring their beautiful minds with the “Dao”.
This winter, every day we hear that some people suffer from flu or even die from the flu. This has caused major fear in the public. It is a big thing that we need to address, but how to prevent it is more important. Flu shots only work for some people. Tama-Flu also only works on some people. What we need to do is to learn to prevent getting sick by strengthening our immune system with daily qi practice. "qi" is vital energy in the body; "gong" is practice to gain the skill.
The Chinese year 4716 begins on February 16, 2018. According to the Chinese zodiac it will be the Year of the Dog (狗年 - "dog year"; pinyin: gǒunián).
We cannot stop our physical degeneration, but we can slow this degenerating process down by providing proper care to our body. According to Chinese qigong, to slow down our aging process, we must maintain the strength of our physical body (yang) and also learn how to increase the storage of inner energy in our qi body (yin).
Many holistic health practitioners use their knowledge and experience with the brain, mind, and awareness to guide patients to heal themselves in their healing work. In my practice with natural healing and natural medicine, I have seen many miracles; it is as if anything is possible if you put enough effort, intent, and energy into the work. The many cases of healing from cancer are especially important examples of the power of this mind-body approach.
Common sense means "common knowledge everyone should have." But unfortunately, many people today don't seem to have it. Why is this? We live in a dynamic world. Modern people are dynamic, and the flow of information is dynamic. We all assume we are smart and do things in a smart way. But we often lose our common sense to distraction, stress, illness or physical ailments, and emotional distress. Our focus is often on others—their successes, problems, and points of view. We often forget to pay attention to ourselves.
A healthy diet can play an important role in preventing and healing depression. A vegetarian or partial vegetarian diet is more effective in the healing process because of the avoidance of animal products.
The Chinese year 4715 begins on January 28, 2017. According to the Chinese zodiac it will be the Year of the Rooster (雞年 - "rooster year"; pinyin: jīnián). The Chinese calendar is lunisolar (not purely lunar). Months begin with the new moon (when it is darkest.) New Year's Day usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice.
The days leading up to biggest Chinese holiday are palpable with excitement. Traditionally, Chinese New Year is marked with feasts, new clothes, red envelopes, performances, games, and lighting firecrackers late into the night. The two-week long celebration is the time to visit loved ones, welcome the spring, and wish for luck and prosperity in the New Year.
We live with different life styles, have different personalities, have different occupations, and come from different cultures. We are all different, but we can also be happy with who we are, what we do, how much we have, and with whom we associate with.
It was heart-breaking news to hear that we lost one of our favorite entertainers, Robin Williams. Thankfully his humor will stay with us forever. After learning how he passed, I wanted to address the danger of depression and offer some healing guidance.
Your internal organs are the foundation of your health. Most deaths are due to the malfunction or failure of the internal organs. In order to be healthy and avoid degeneration, your organs need to have the correct amount of Qi circulating smoothly through them.
In the United States, May is “National Arthritis Awareness Month.” There are two major types of arthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation, osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis, which is the most common chronic condition of the joints affecting approximately 27 million older Americans. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease of the immune system and attacks the synovium (a thin membrane that lines the joints) causing inflammation and pain. (RA) affects approximately 1.5 million Americans.