Among the visual people, both the fine arts and design communities, there’s a lot of fuss about the development of Artificial Intelligence image generators. Personally, I care less about the debate around authorship and creative accomplishments of humans using tools like MidJourney or Dalle2, and more about the philosophical implications of it. In particular: when … Continue reading Death, in the Style of Dr. Seuss (or the rise of Artificial Creativity)
China
Dummy Rant
The #wingchun #woodendummy is a trunk with arms. But it’s the trunk, not the arms! A tool created to help us visualize the centerline, fundamental principle of this art. To help us learn to pressure the centerline. Attack the centerline. Move around the arms and the legs... to attack the centerline. Yet, most people I … Continue reading Dummy Rant
Kung Fu vs Artificial Intelligence
Finishing a novel about #martialarts and #artificialIntelligence - follow to show the world that fans of #fighting like books too (You won’t believe how many times I heard people asking if martial arts people like to read) #mma #taichi #wudang #mixedmartialarts #boxing #karate #kungfu #wingchun #martialartist #muaithai #bjj #judo #taekwondo #femalefighter
Hashtagananza
I learn so much when I start a new book. What other activity would allow me to have, on the same month, a conversation about 1) soul alchemy in daoism, another on 2) thought suppression on the brain’s neocortex, one about 3) antagonist algorithms in artificial intelligence, one on 4) the differences between playing and … Continue reading Hashtagananza
My name is Tigress
Girls should be at home this late. Especially little Asian chicks like me. Never running, alone, in the dark streets of Oakland. Except that when dudes see you so comfortable and confident by yourself, they think you are either crazy or are hiding something.I am both. Crazy and hiding. From a fence ahead, I hear … Continue reading My name is Tigress
Black Warrior to the North
Wudang is a UNESCO world heritage site because of extraordinary places like the Black Warrior Palace, a temple dedicated to Xuanwu, the daoist Turtoise/Snake god of the north. I was just writing about it in a chapter of the book and stopped by to post a picture too. #wudang #daoism #taoism #kungfu
Trip to Wudang
The last few weeks have been an amazing journey to the core of the book. A trip to China -- Wudang and Shanghai -- to study Daoism and Taichi. Lots of photos and videos coming soon. For now, enjoy the new TaiChi form the officials at Wudang have been preparing to roll out next year.
The meaning of Kung Fu
Let's go Wikipedia so you Westerners understand: "In China, it refers to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete." That's right, the term actually refers not to martial arts but to extreme skills adquired through very hard work. Which is the kind of work ethics the old fighting masters … Continue reading The meaning of Kung Fu
A dancing mantis
Fighting is a form of expression. Doesn’t surprise me that so many fighters end up incorporating dance on their training. Legend says Bruce Lee did it. Maybe I should too. To bring more yin to my yang, release the beast in a different way. Like this: This dance reminds me of a story, though. A … Continue reading A dancing mantis
Taichi for real fights?
I grew up doing Taichi under the shadow of Wudang. Shifu never explained why or how, but he would make us perform the slow forms with precision and power, then when we had to fight, he pushed us away from trying to use the moves and positions. “No fantasy,” he would say. It infuriated me. … Continue reading Taichi for real fights?
The Girl from Wudang 