It’s easy to be lazy, to scroll endlessly. But think about how good it feels after a focused session—the energy, confidence, and clarity you gain. Don’t rob yourself of that.

When I first moved to Hong Kong, I was ready to put my entire life, energy, and passion into Kung Fu. What I didn’t realize was how much I would have to sacrifice along the way.

1. Kung Fu It doesn’t just mean “martial arts” — literally it’s “skill achieved through hard work.” So yes, binge-watching Kung Fu Panda...

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I had no idea that shrimp would play a part in my Hung Gar journey. I was there to train — full focus,...

Many kung fu online courses out there look great on the surface — fancy videos, promises of results — but when you dig deeper, they often offer little to no interaction or personal support.

A cycle is a focused phase of training that comes back around — but always at a higher level. Think of it not as a flat circle, but a spiral staircase. You're moving in a loop, yes, but every time you come back to a topic, you're standing a little higher.

Many people train the way they were taught — and in many schools, repetition was the only method. But training smarter doesn’t mean you’re being less traditional or less dedicated. It just means you’re actually getting better. There’s a time and place for going through the whole form. But if that’s all you ever do, it’s like playing the same song on an instrument without ever practicing the notes. You’ll never become a master musician that way.

So I began experimenting. I broke down the forms. Studied them piece by piece. I made tons of tones, several notebookes filled with scribbling in three languages and lots of pictures, too. I started using tools from modern sports: resistance bands, video analysis, slow-motion breakdowns.

Unlike Brazilian jiu-jitsu or Muay Thai, where you get tapped out or kicked in the liver regularly enough to know what works, kung fu often dances in a different realm. One without much testing. We don’t spar every class. Sometimes not even every month. So how do we know what’s “good”?

Gratitude grounds you in the present moment. And there are only two places where I have felt that kind of radical presence in my life: In very deep meditation. And in a fight.

Tension and relaxation—how kung fu teaches you to move between those two states with awareness and precision.

Hong Kong: old masters discussing how to break an arm better, kung fu statues and shops, closed-door kung fu schools and training in parks.

A form or a routine is a typical training method of kung fu and other traditional martial arts. Are they practical or useless?

I am grateful that in my life I got to experience and work with all sorts of coaches: from modern styles such as BJJ or wrestling to...

Let me give you some updates on what is happening here, in a training camp in Thailand, where you almost won’t notice, that everywhere...

10 things I love about training kung fu

Here are two tips on how to practically handle training sessions in a busy week

Oh, hello! I can vividly imagine the types of people now reading this blog post.  One group has popcorn ready and is about to jump into a...

This is why I have problem with kung fu, even though I love it

The truth about tiger claws: why do we use so much tiger claws in kung fu?