Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

10/08/2026

I'm having two live Taiji classes today for website members. We will go over qualities that make your body look "alive" while doing Chen Taiji.

10/05/2026

When I first started in Chen Taiji, I heard that someone who knows good Taiji can tell your skill level after watching three or four movements. I think it's true.

You can see it because the pattern recognition has been developed by your experience, if you have had quality instruction. After enough years, you aren't watching the choreography anymore. You start seeing how the person produces the choreography because within a few movements, the same underlying habits repeat themselves.

For example, you notice if the arms are moving independently, or are there consequences of movement through the torso. Is the weight transfer drives anything except the hips. Is it just hip turning, hips moving in space, or in the kua involved? Does the body open and close, and is there a structural connection to the ground?

And if the knees wobble in space or collapse, that is an indication of either low-quality instruction or lack of experience. Also, during "transitions," does the whole-body connection endure?

A beginner might watch a teacher do three movements and think, "Ooh, he really knows Tai Chi. It's beautiful."

But an experienced person may see the same three movements and think, "His shoulders are driving his hands, his center isn't doing anything, his arms move but the torso doesn't, and there's a limpness that doesn't have peng or a full-body connection to the ground."

Or, the experienced person might think, "He looks like he has some skill."

In 1987, I would have looked at someone with 6 months more experience than I had and thought, "Ooh, I can't wait to be that good."

Now, I see some folks whose skill I admire, and I'll watch others, even some who have been teaching for decades, and I think, "Their teacher needs a tap of Dim Mak."

Beautiful doesn't mean there is a good body method. Experience without quality guidance doesn't mean quality movement.

It took me a while to understand that there is a huge difference between choreography and a good, internal body method. After 39 years of Taiji (the first 10 in Yang style), I'm still working on it so when I do three movements in front of a master, they don't roll their eyes.

09/29/2026

Is Chen Taiji headed the way of Yang style? I guess this blog post could be controversial. Hopefully, it stimulates some introspection.

Chen Xiaoxing is quoted as saying about internal movement, "If I can see it, it's too much." Is that threatening to make Chen style look too much like Yang?

09/23/2026

Somebody put together a video on "The Legend of Yang LuChan's Tai Chi" and at 8:50 into the video, they drop in me and Colin Frye doing some board-breaking. Uhh, that was from Laojia Yilu, a Chen form. :) But, I'm glad they like it.

Did you know? Among every 10 Tai Chi practitioners worldwide, 8 pra...

09/22/2026

Don't just practice the form. Use the form to practice the body mechanics. Visualize the applications as you do the form and feel them in your body.

09/10/2026

I was reading through a book by Yang Jwing-Ming on tai chi from 1982. On page 24, it discusses, with no evidence, how you can use "cavity press" to pe*****te your power into acupuncture points to "pass the destructive power into the meridian. From the meridian, the power goes into a particular internal organ. In addition, the stylist may also send his power directly into an internal organ causing it to literally explode."

He goes on to write that these strikes produce no external bruises because the power went beyond the surface skin and muscle.

This is the kind of stuff I was told in my first Tai Chi classes in the 80s. It's pure mythology, presented as fact with no evidence or legitimate medical sources that back it up. Grown-up humans should be able to tell the difference between fact and fantasy. Unfortunately, some still believe it.

08/31/2026

The latest edition of the Internal Fighting Arts podcast features an interview with veteran martial arts teacher Russ Smith. We talk about his book, "Principle-Driven Skill Development: Teaching 101."

Ken Gullette talks teaching with Russ Smith, a veteran teacher and author of "Principle-Driven Skill Development: Teaching 101." Russ is a teacher of Goju-ryu Karate, Matayoshi Kobudo, White Eyebrown kung-fu, Dragon Style kung-fu, and Five Ancestor Boxing. The art of teaching requires different skil...

08/19/2026

"Enter the Dragon" hit U.S. movie theaters 53 years ago today. I saw it a couple of days later, and my life suddenly took a new direction. After watching Bruce Lee move, I walked out of the theater very excited to get started in martial arts.

08/18/2026

I'm working to flesh out curriculum information for students and website members. It's one thing to list the material students need to learn -- exercises, forms, etc. -- but what specific skills should they be learning at each step? What should they know, and be able to demonstrate and explain, at each step? Of course, they wouldn't be perfect by any means, but I want them to at least understand what they are working to achieve over time.

It would provide a much clearer roadmap. This idea came from Russ Smith, who discusses his book, "Principle-Driven Skill Development: Teaching 101" on my next podcast. I'm editing it now.

08/10/2026

Heads up! If you are anywhere near the Kansas City area, I highly recommend Chen Huixian. She is the only Chen family member living and teaching in the U.S. and she's a great teacher. A new beginner class begins August 31st. She has other regular classes, too. Check it out.

Join authentic Chen-style Tai Chi classes in Kansas City or train online. Beginner Taijiquan, silk reeling, Laojia, weapons, private lessons, schedules, and pricing.