Underneath my yellow skin

Category Archives: Bagua

Refining (and redefining) my martial arts (weapon forms/goals)

Several posts ago,  I was talking about my goals in martial arts. Here’s the last post I wrote in that series. That post was about how martial arts have changed me for the better, which is not what I want to talk about here. I mean, it is part of the deeper meaning, but it’s… Continue Reading

How martial arts have changed my life, part three

I want to talk more about martial arts because it’s such an important part of my life. Putting living beings aside, I would say it’s the most important. It has changed my life in so many ways, it’s hard to count them. I honestly don’t think I would be alive today without Taiji. That’s not hyperbole. I… Continue Reading

My re-birthday and my mental health

I’ve been writing posts about my medical crisis, my re-birthday, and my goals for the upcoming year. I have written one goal per post (as is my wont to talk endlessly about the smallest minutiae), and we’ll see if I continue that in this post. Yesterday, I talked about learning new weapons forms in Taiji… Continue Reading

Taiji and how it’s changed my life, part six

I’m continuing to muse about Taiji and me for the sixth post. In the last post, I talked about how I learned to trust my Taiji teacher over time beacuse she was consistent, transparent, and steady in her response to my barrage of questions. It’s one of her best qualities in my eyes. I could… Continue Reading

Bagua brings out the beast in me

I am AFAB and a part of two different cultures that put a heavy emphasis on performing femininity. That would  be American and Taiwanese. It’s insidious in both cultures, though in differing ways. Taiwanese culture, at least through my parents, is regressive, stifling, and has rigid gender expectations. Every time I’ve been there, I have… Continue Reading

Bagua is life

I had a private lesson today. Bagua, not Taiji. There is so much I want to leran; it’s hard to focus on just one thing. There are All. The. Weapons. But, for now, I have been captivated by the Swimming Dragon Form (Bagua), and I have asked my teacher to teach me. Before we got… Continue Reading