Gongfu Crew Daniel Barth

This episode features the fascinating style of Wuzuquan, or Five Ancestors Boxing. Itself an amalgamation of different martial arts traditions, it is also one of the more famous southern styles of Kungfu. Our guest, Russ Smith, shares insights from his long martial arts journey, which began with Okinawan Karate and later led him to Five Ancestors Boxing. We dive deep into the varied training methods and the intricate philosophy of this southern style.

This episode will focus on the training methods of Yiquan (Mind Boxing). My guest is UK-based Paul Rogers, who has been practicing and teaching Yiquan for decades. He shares his understanding of the method, its theory and practice, and his collected insights based on a long journey in Chinese martial arts.

More info on Paul on his website: https://internalfightingarts.eu/

This episode will feature another staple of Southern Kungfu: Southern Praying Mantis. Specifically, we will be talking about the Kwong Sai Jook Lum variant. My guest, Phillip Le, has a very broad background in martial arts, but specializes in this form of Chinese gongfu. He describes the training methodology, the progression, and what makes Southern Praying Mantis so special.

Check out his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/fighters_root/

More info on Phillip himself also here: https://www.jooklumprayingmantis.com/phillip-le.html

This episode dives into Xinyi Liuhequan, a style stemming from the Muslim communities of Henan province. Derek Notman from Massachusetts shares his insights into the training method, and how it changed his understanding of (internal) martial arts through the specific shapes and movement methods of the style.

More about Derek and his teaching (both online and on-site) here on his website:

https://www.islandphysicalculture.com/

In this episode we talk about Tongbeiquan, a Chinese martial art that has been around for a long time. My interview partner is Rosa Mei, who is currently residing and teaching in Prague. She has a wealth of experience, not only in Tongbeiquan but in many forms and methods of martial arts, and was more than willing to share her wisdom. We talk about her own learning journey as well as her unique approach at teaching traditional martial arts.

For more info on Rosa and her teaching, check her various channels:

https://www.bionickungfu.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@Bionickungfu

https://www.instagram.com/bionickungfu/

In this episode we dive into the practice of Bajiquan within the Wutan tradition, founded by Liu Yunqiao in Taiwan. Vincent Mei, who learned the art in Taiwan and is now teaching it in NYC, shared his insights with me. We talk about the approach of training with Wutan, focusing on the specifics of Bajiquan power generation and partner training, as well as the differences between Chinese martial arts and other martial traditions.

For more info on Vincent, including his online teaching efforts, go to https://bajishu.com/

You can also check out his channel wutanusa on Instagram.