Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Makes List of Top Martial Arts Podcasts

My podcast -- Internal Fighting Arts -- has made a couple of lists on Feedspot that I consider quite an honor.

Earlier this year, Internal Fighting Arts was listed as the #1 Tai Chi podcast. 

Now, Feedspot has listed it as number 30 on the list of Top 70 Martial Arts podcasts, which is a much more crowded field and includes all martial arts, including MMA.

I launched my podcast in 2014. My goal each time is to have a good teacher as a guest -- someone with ties to a top master. Occasionally, I go off-topic if the guest appeals to me like the lastest one -- Aaron Leisinger, who is a martial artist and a police officer. He had information I found very interesting about martial arts and the job of keeping the peace. You can browse through the list of podcasts and guests by following this link. You can also find the podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

Martial Arts and Police Work -- the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Sgt. Aaron Leisinger

(L-R) Aaron Leisinger, Ken Gullette and Dan Gray around 2003

Two weeks ago, I met with two friends to talk martial arts and compare notes -- Aaron Leisinger and John Morrow.

I have competed against both of them in tournaments.

We compared martial notes and I wanted to see and hear what Aaron has discovered is effective as a police officer facing real-world violence. He trains fellow officers in defensive and combative techniques and strategies to resolve situations as quickly and peacefully as possible.

I was so interested in our discussion and his work, I thought it would make a great podcast interview. I was right.

Here is the 79th edition of my Internal Fighting Arts podcast. You can listen to it here or download it. You can also find it on Spotify and other podcast distributors.

 

A Shuai Jiao Champion: the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Lindsay Lambert

Shifu Lindsay Lambert is the owner and head instructor at Wu Dao Kung Fu & Tai Chi in Watertown, Massachusetts, in the greater Boston area. She is a dedicated martial artist and has won some Shuai Jiao (Chinese wrestling) championships. 

I talked with her last week about her career in martial arts, her approach to Shuai Jiao and other issues, including any obstacles she faces being a female martial arts instructor. This is the 78th edition of my Internal Fighting Arts podcast. Listen here or download the podcast to your computer. You can also find it on Spotify, Google Play and other podcast distributors.

 

Passing a Martial Art To Future Generations - The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Hai Yang

Hai Yang has become well known among internal martial artists because of his scholarly and educational YouTube videos. He is the guest on the 10th anniversary of my Internal Fighting Arts podcast.

The first podcast, an interview with Michael Chritton, went online on December 2, 2014. 

In the latest podcast, Hai Yang talks about growing up in Tianjin, China, which was a hotbed of martial arts activity and the home of many internal arts masters. He also talks about training starting at age eight, and why he is working to pass along the Hue Dian style of Xingyiquan to future generations.

You can listen here, on the player below, or download the podcast to your computer. You can also listen through Spotify and other podcast distributors. Enjoy!

A Great Contribution to the Internal Chinese Martial Arts: The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with the Publisher of the Pa Kua Chang Journal -- Dan Miller

Dan Miller

From 1990 to early 1997, Dan Miller published the Pa Kua Chang Journal. In my opinion, it provided the best information on Ba Gua Zhang of any martial arts publication. In the 76th edition of the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast, I interview Dan about publishing the Journal. We also talk about other issues related to Bagua, including the moving root, why Bagua practitioners walk the circle, the training concept of practicing techniques, why he likes Sun style Bagua and Taiji, created by Sun LuTang. I enjoy the story Dan tells about one of his favorite memories, meeting one of the old traditional Bagua teachers by knocking on the master's door, carrying a letter from a childhood friend.

Dan attended the United States Naval Academy and served 10 years as an officer in the Marine Corps. Besides teaching martial arts, Dan is a musician. He lives in the Columbia, Missouri area and holds workshops hosting various martial artists including Tom Bisio, Tim Cartmell and others.

The podcast runs one hour and 12 minutes. You can listen here or download the file.

 

From Xingyi and Bagua to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Tim Cartmell.

Tim Cartmell

I've known of Tim Cartmell since the 1990s, when he wrote some articles for the Pa Kua Chang Journal. I've never talked with him until now.

Tim moved to Taiwan at the age of 22 to search for internal arts masters. He found some. He didn't just train in Xingyi and Bagua, he fought in a full-contact tournament (his Xingyi teacher signed him up for it). Later, he got into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and now, he teaches BJJ and is a coach to MMA fighters.

This is the 75th edition of my Internal Fighting Arts podcast. One of the things we talk about in this interview is the subject of Qi, and how much his teachers in Taiwan and China talked about "cultivating Qi" or using it to give you special abilities. Tim says "people who talk about it in a mysterious way -- the less martial ability they have, the more they talk like that. The guys who could actually fight, hardly ever mentioned anything like that."

Tim teaches at Ace Jiu Jitsu in Fountain Valley, California. His martial arts website is www.shenwu.com. 

Listen to the interview here, or you can download the file. 

 

 

 

 

Internal Arts Teacher and DAOI Podcast Host William Bentley is Guest on the 74th Internal Fighting Arts Podcast

I met Bill Bentley when he hosted me on the DAOI Talks podcast. He is involved with the Daoist Arts Organization International (hence the name DAOI Talks). Bill is a good man who teaches Xingyi through daoistgatecenter.org, and privately he teaches Xingyi, Bagua, Wudang style sword, and self-defense. He began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in a Shaolin-based family style of kung-fu (the same school I started in way back in 1973), and since then, Bill has studied Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do concepts (including Filipino martial arts), and the Kendo and Aikido. Later, after a serious injury, Bill practiced qigong and developed an interest in the Wudang arts. He now studies with Master Zhou Xuan Yun, training with him in the arts of Xingyi Quan and Taiyi Xuan Men Jian sword practice, as well as Taiji and Bagua. He has also studied the Wudang Taiji 108 with Rosie Segil and Qigong with Anita Eredics. He also lives in my hometown, Lexington, Kentucky. The podcast runs an hour and four minutes. You can listen through the player below or you can download the podcast. Enjoy!

 

Song Style Xingyiquan and the Chen Taijiquan Practical Method -- the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Raphael Smith

In the 73rd edition of my Internal Fighting Arts podcast, I interview Raphael Smith. He is a disciple of Song Style Xingyquan Master Li Yujie and he teaches Xingyiquan and Chen Taijiquan Practical Method, among other combat-related arts, in Sacramento, California.

Check out the interview or download it here.

The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Martial Arts Instructor Gerald A. Sharp

I first heard of Gerald A. Sharp when I bought his Xingyi instructional VHS tape, "Five Fists of Power," back in the 1990s. For years, I have wondered what happened to him, and recently decided to track him down. I found him online. He is living and still teaching in Granada Hills, California.

In my latest podcast -- the 72nd episode -- I talk with Gerald about his long history in martial arts. Among the teachers he has trained with are Wu style Taiji Master Ma Yueh Liang, and he studied Chen and Yang style Taiji with Zhou Yuan Long. He studied Chi Kung (Qigong) with Ju Beng Yi (a top disciple of Guo-Ling), and Gerald studied Bagua, Xingyi, and Nei Jia Kung Fu with Zou Shuxian, the top disciple and adopted daughter of Jian Rong Qiao.

Enjoy the interview!

 

 

Having Kung Fu Conversations with Podcast Hosts Owen Schilling and Randel Davis

I was honored to be a guest on the "Kung Fu Conversations" podcast with Owen Schilling and Randel Davis. They are two very nice guys and dedicated martial artists. 

I have been interviewed on several podcasts, so I am tired of hearing my own stories, but they try to plow some new ground and I think it turned out very well.

Click this link to listen to the podcast on YouTube.

Click this link to listen to the podcast on Spotify.

Click this link to listen to the podcast on YouTube.

My thanks to Owen and Randel for having me on the program.