A Thousand Exits

Episode 5 is live!

This Episode was a special treat for us. We had David Wallace as a guest, a truly fascinating Martial Artist. David is a  Doctor of Physical Therapy, Graduate of New York Medical College, and a New York State licensed Physical Therapist.
David has a very rich background in Martial Arts which ranges from Karate, Boxing and Thai Boxing to Wing Chun (including Chu Shong Tin Wing Chun) , Xing Yi, Zhong Xin Dao/I Liq Chuan and others.
(Please see a more detailed bio below)

David took us deep into the deep meaning of Internal Martial Arts, how Martial Arts are connected to Healing (of oneself as well as others) and insights into many valuable principles of how the human body works.

We agreed that when the quarantine is behind us David is invited to come up to Irstad Recordings to train with us and have another episode in which we can talk about insights from training together. Stay tuned!

Here are some of the Teachers and Schools mentioned during this Episode for our Listeners who want to learn more:
Chu Shong Tin – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_Shong-tin
John Kaufman – Chu Shong Tin ‘Internal’ Wing Chun – https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Coach/Wing-Chun-Hong-Kong-School-253282574688192/
Zhong Xin Dao / I Liq Chuan –  https://iliqchuan.com/
Steve Arboleda – Xing Yi and Bagua – http://www.chinatowninternalarts.com/
Nima King – Chu Shong Tin ‘Mindful’ Wing Chun – https://www.mindfulwingchun.online/p/nimaking
Iain Abernethy Podcasts – https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/audio
Tim Cartmell – http://shenwu.com/

David’s more detailed Bio:
David is a  Doctor of Physical Therapy, Graduate of New York Medical College, and a New York State licensed Physical Therapist. He is also preparing for his board certification as an orthopedic certified specialist.  Being well versed in martial arts, weight training, and Pilates, David treats patients in a holistic manner; taking patient preference, presentation and personality into consideration.  David has a well rounded background working surgical and non surgical orthopedic cases, and particularly enjoys working with martial artists in the rehab setting.  Having graduated from the University of Vermont with a BA in Asian Studies, David is also conversant in Mandarin.
David Martial Arts’ experience ranges from Karate, Boxing and Thai Boxing to Wing Chun, Xing Yi, Zhong Xin Dao/I Liq Chuan and others.
To be in touch with David, please follow his business Instagram page and his website https://stillnessinmotionpt.wordpress.com/about/

Don’t forget to send us questions, comments, feedback, suggestions at [email protected]! 

We could not be happier and more honored to have met and recorded a Podcast Episode with the great Sensei Jaredd Wilson, who is the host of The Martial Thoughts Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/martialthoughts and https://thinkingmartial.blogspot.com/). This is one of the longest running and best established Martial Arts Podcasts in existence today, and its host is extremely knowledgeable in Aikido, History of the Martial Arts, Silat, Kenjutsu, and many other aspects of this fascinating endeavor. We talked about Martial Arts History, the ‘key’ to understanding Aikido, Wing Chun, the historical and social context of the various Martial Arts, Self-Defense, skill acquisition, advice on how to keep training through the quarantine and many many other topics!

Dan is hard at work with sound editing and the Episode will be out soon! Stay tuned!

We are beyond excited to have recently met with David Wallace, one of the most fascinating Martial Artists I have met. David, who is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a New York State licensed Physical Therapist, took us deep into the meaning of Internal Martial Arts, how Martial Arts are connected to Healing (of oneself as well as others) and insights into many valuable principles of how the human body works. David has a very rich background in Martial Arts which ranges from Karate, Boxing and Thai Boxing to Wing Chun, Xing Yi, Zhong Xin Dao/I Liq Chuan and others. The depth of his knowledge is mind blowing and this was a real treat. This episode will be out soon, but in the meantime, here are some shots from our recent (remote) meeting to record! We agreed that when the quarantine is behind us David is invited to come up to Irstad Recordings to train with us and have another episode in which we can talk about insights from training together. Stay tuned!

This Episode is another “AUA” Episode (“Ask Us Anything”) in which we delve deep into the topic of Martial Arts and self-exploration.
We talk about our own teacher, George Lee, and explain his take on this topic. For people who want to know more, please visit wingchunworkgroup.com/
And we also mentioned Sifu Li-Ping Chang, who was Dan’s first Teacher. For people who want to know more about this teacher, visit his website www.wingchunkungfuforselfdefense.com/ and his YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/wingchunkungfu4sd/

As we said in the show, we wanted to reproduce here Sifu Li-Ping Chang’s  complete response on the topic for your study:
“First of all, I must say it’s such an unusual question.  No one has ever asked me this question before. Frankly I don’t think most people think of martial arts as a path to personal enlightenment.  To them, it’s either about self-defense or becoming good fighters. So to even ask such a question shows depth.

It is not an easy question to answer, but I will try my best to give you one from my perspective.  When I began my training  in Wing Chun Kung-fu many years ago, the first thing my teacher showed me was a drawing of the Yin/Yang symbol.  He told me the only way to know the true meaning of being a martial artist is to understand and practice the philosophy of Yin/Yang.  I had no idea what he was talking about at the time.

In the beginning, it was a struggle trying to learn the drills which required a lot of coordination.  My teacher used to say in order to do these drills well, my body and my mind must merge into one,  just like the two halves of the same whole in the Yin/Yang symbol.  I have to admit it wasn’t easy to get the two to work together at first.  The mind wanted to do something, but the body did something else instead.

Once during our training, he asked me why I wanted to learn Wing Chun, I said I wanted to know how to fight.  He kind of smiled and said, “if you want to be a bad ass, just get a gun.”

That statement stuck with me.  Years later, I began to look seriously into the meaning of being a martial artist.  After much contemplating, I discovered a “mind-body-spirit” connection.  I mean, after years of dedicated training, we have finally reached the level of martial art fluency by blending the “Mind” and the “Body.” Which simply means at a moment’s notice, the body can do exactly what the mind wants without hesitations.

Training in one’s chosen art is like forging a sword.  After countless hours of pounding, bending, rolling over and quenching the metal, you finally came up with a perfect weapon.  It can cut through objects without breaking.  It is rigid yet flexible, just like the symbol — hard and soft at the same time.  You finally achieved your goal. Now what? This is where the “spiritual” part comes in.   What you do with this weapon is entirely up to you.  You want to be a bad ass or a nice guy? The journey is all about self-discovery.

The Yin/Yang symbol is composed of two opposing forces; however, they are not mutually exclusive.  They are two halves of the same whole. They co-exist and complement each other.  We see contrast.  We also see harmony. Sometimes, forces opposite in nature rely on each other to exist. Being a expert martial artist possessing the skills to kill and being a kind person are not mutually exclusive.  The key is maintaining “balance.”  That’s what the symbol ultimately represents. Perhaps that is what we should all strive to achieve in life. And perhaps that is the enlightenment?”

Bend your legs, plant your feet, relax, and let’s go!

Dan and Paco recently met (remotely – stay home and save lives!) to record our Episode 4! This Episode will be another “AUA” Episode (“Ask Us Anything”) and we took a great question from Juan from Madrid, Spain (thanks Juan!) for this. We bring you responses from our various Teachers as well as our take. Dan is now busy editing it to ensure the quality is top notch (and this is our first remote Podcast Episode not recorded inside Irstad Recordings).

The Topic Juan asked about, Martial Arts & Self Exploration, is super nuanced and it covers aspects such as the Martial Arts blueprint, violence, self awareness, ‘the now,’ self expression, meditation, insecurity, our comfort zone, and many others! Stay tuned, this episode will be out soon!

Episode 3 is live! With our guest Anthony Brito at Irstand Recordings to train and record! We were blown away both training and speaking with Anthony. He’s an incredible practitioner of Brazilian JiuJitsu and a wonderful human being. We exchanged core concepts, basic drills, training insights and tips both for BJJ and Wing Chun and we were delighted with the wisdom and warrior mindset coming from Anthony as applied to everyday daily life, which is our focus here at A Thousand Exits. We could not be more thrilled with our first guest!

We are so excited to have recently met with Anthony Brito at Irstad Recordings to train and record our Episode 3! Dan and Paco were blown away both training and speaking with Anthony. He’s an incredible practitioner of Brazilian JiuJitsu and a wonderful human being. We exchanged core concepts, basic drills, training insights and tips both for BJJ and Wing Chun and we were delighted with the wisdom and warrior mindset coming from Anthony as applied to everyday daily life, which is our focus here at A Thousand Exits! This episode will be out soon, but in the meantime, here are some shots from our recent meeting to train and record! Big thanks to Anthony Brito!

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