Yin-Yang Theory and Martial Applications of Taijiquan

December 2006 2 Comments

The fundamental concept behind Taijiquan and the basis for its martial applications is clearly represented by the yin-yang symbol for Taijiquan:

In Taijiquan, one almost never counters against an attacking force with an opposite frontal counter force with the purpose of overpowering that attacking force with a larger counter force.  Instead, the Taijiquan practitioner usually sidesteps to avoid the frontal attack either completely, or partially and at the same time uses a small side force to deflect the attacking force.  The Taijiquan practitioner basically allows the attacker to continue in the direction of his force, and utilizes that momentum to cause the opponent to lose his balance.  Once the opponent senses that he may lose his balance and moves in the opposite direction, the Taijiquan practitioner also changes direction and counterattacks along the momentum of the opponent’s new motion.

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No Man’s Land: A True Event from WWII

December 2006 1 Comment

An event occurred on December 24, 1941 in Hong Kong that almost shattered our family’s lives and had a bearing on my very existence.  It was a cold, chilly evening on that Christmas Eve.  The streets were dark and quiet after the sun had set.  Very few people were walking on the streets, not so much because it was cold and dark, but because Hong Kong all of a sudden had become a “no man’s land.”

Hong Kong was a British colony since 1842 as a result of the First Opium War between Great Britain and China.  The year 1941 was during World War II.  Although the U.S. did not enter WWII until after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, for China WWII essentially started in 1931 when Japanese troops entered and occupied Manchuria in northeastern China, although it was another six years until 1937 before the conflict erupted into a major war between China and Japan.  During the ten years of 1931-1941, Japan expanded its occupation to many other parts of China, including all the way to the city of Guangzhou (or Canton as it was called then) and the southern part of China that borders to Hong Kong.
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