Author Archives: Shifu Read

About Shifu Read

Primary instructor of the school. Training in martial arts since he was 5. He started in kickboxing, then moved to XingYi at 18. At 32 he began training in BaGua. At 36 he began training in TaiJi. At 40, he began in BJJ. He loves to share his knowledge with his students and help them along in their own martial journey.

6 Things to control in any fight

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Shifu Read

Not that you will control all of them all the time, but the more of them you do control, the better off you are.  Here I am, having one of my occasional bouts with insomnia.  I have learned that when … Continue reading →

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Why do we slow the sparring down?

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Shifu Read

When new people come to class and they participate in sparring for the first time, they’re often surprised at the fact that I won’t let them spar at full speed initially. I almost always have to explain that if they … Continue reading →

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School Updates

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Shifu Read

Laoshi Justin (first degree) tested his first white sash student this summer.  This makes my 5th grand student.  The other 4 are not active, they have moved on in life to other things.  He also started his first class at … Continue reading →

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How do I get calm?

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Shifu Read

Recently I was able to visit some kung fu family on the other side of the country.  While we were all sitting around and visiting, a question from a younger belt was raised.  “How do I get calm?”  Such a … Continue reading →

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Teaching Titles in Chinese Kung Fu

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Shifu Read

When I first started in Chinese Kung Fu, I didn’t really understand the titles used for the teachers.  Like many people, I only knew the Japanese title Sensei (teacher).  This is where the Chinese and the Japanese titles start and … Continue reading →

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Updates

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Shifu Read

Jan. 2020 I saw my first student test for 2nd degree black sash, Logan Urbeck.  Then in the summer of 2021 he achieved Shifu title (also my first student to reach this level). Jan 2020 also saw a first degree … Continue reading →

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Evolution of the Tang Shou Dao (Tao)

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Shifu Read

When I started in the internal arts, I began in the Shen Long TST lineage. I didn’t really know a lot of the unique history of the lineage, and I was curious. I asked my teacher questions, his teacher questions, … Continue reading →

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Recent Promotions and Upcoming Tests

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Shifu Read

Not exactly recent, but thought I would post it anyway, Justin Elliston, passed his 4 hr long black sash test!! (Jan 4, 2017 I know, not recent) Both Andrew and Daniel Wilson are prepping for their brown sash tests in … Continue reading →

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Self-Defense and Technique Efficacy

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Shifu Read

An ongoing debate in the martial arts world, that has probably been going on for its entire existence and probably will continue to go on for its continued existence is about technique efficacy.  Does it work?  That is the question, … Continue reading →

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Successful Sparring Strategies

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Shifu Read

This post is going to be somewhat random, so I apologize in advance for jumping all over the place.  I was browsing a discussion online when I ran across a question about sparring strategies from a new student asking for … Continue reading →

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