Scott Park Phillips's Blog, page 7
July 29, 2019
Tai Chi Balancing Miracles
While I was away in the mountains I did some thinking about balance illusions. There are two kinds.
1) The opponent believes/feels they are balanced when in fact they are off-balance. This allows you to freely hit them, even in slow motion.
2) The opponent believes/feels they are off-balance when in fact they are balanced. This allows you to move them around as if tipping a cardboard box or a styrofoam castle.
These two illusions are opposites or reversals of each other, something they have...
July 16, 2019
Mime and Power
July 15, 2019
July 11, 2019
Pacifying Demons
Scott Park Phillips explains the importance of theatrical literature for understanding martial arts. If you know Xuanwu's epic Beiyouji your idea about what you are doing with your Martial Arts will flip. China was conquered from within after the Boxer Uprising by the idea of Tragic Religion. After that, the Comic Religions of Zhang Sanfeng and Nezha that inspired the creation of Internal Martial Arts were suppressed.
July 8, 2019
The Zhang Sanfeng Conundrum--Taijiquan and Ritual Theater
My latest academic paper, The Zhang Sanfeng Conundrum--Taijiquan and Ritual Theater, published in the Journal of Daoist Studies v.12 is now available for Free Download at academia.edu
If you want a paperback copy it is still available from Three Pines Press.
More free downloads to come. Feel free to help me market my books by sharing these free articles.
EVERY DAY IS GLUTE DAY
I just love this simple blog/business Cirque Physio:
As some of you know, I recently returned to San Francisco from China, where I had been working as a physio for the Chinese Olympic teams in prep for Rio. In China, the cultural standard of beauty for women is to be small and thin- no curves, no muscles, and definitely NO butt. As a result of this, it was nearly impossible to convince ANY female athlete to do their glute/hip strengthening exercises. “But I don’t want to get a big butt! Big bu...
July 1, 2019
Feet
I recently wrote an article on Re-Enchanting the Stick/Staff in Chinese martial arts. I’ll announce it when it is published.
This Re-Enchanting idea is my answer to a question I got a lot after my first book. The question is, how do I apply this new knowledge about the history-origins of martial arts in my daily practice? Basically, what difference does it make to me? Good question.
The answer is that Re-Enchanting your art form is the single most valuable thing you can do.
Let’s take a simple...
June 24, 2019
Daoist Conference in Los Angeles Report
I had a great time at the Daoist Conference in LA. Sold a good number of books and got to have long conversations with over 30 scholars.
Particularly excited about Sogdian Dance during the Tang Dynasty (600~900 BCE)—updates will follow.
Had great conversations about Chinese University Indoctrination. It is not “brainwashing” because the scholars that go through it are aware of it. It is a series of techniques for making sure that scholarship does not go outside the bounds of current Communist...
