About me - Joanna Zorya
I have been studying Chinese Martial Arts since 1996, primarily from Taiwanese lineages. Practitioners from these lineages consider their arts to be especially authentic and true to their original combative principles. I have been a student of Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Praying Mantis Kung Fu and the South-East Asian styles of Silat and Escrima.
This approach allows me to teach precisely what I do, rather than having to teach Taiji OR Bagua OR Xingyi with 3 different heads on. I don't have to think solely in Taiji terms for Taiji, Bagua terms for Bagua etc. If I'm demonstrating combat techniques or principles, I don't have to restrict myself to the arsenal of a single art, I can draw from everything I've learned, concerning myself solely with the most effective technique for the job. Instead of thinking "what would a Bagua practitioner do here?", I can think "what would I do here, if my life depended on it?"
If this sort of mixing and matching, cross-training approach is done badly, you end up with nothing more than a confusing mess. If it is done well, the fighter develops a good sense of the principles common to all successful fighting arts. I happen to think we have arrived at an enlightening and coherent whole. My first teacher's words "it's the same thing" are ringing true.
Let's face it, the mix and match approach never did Bruce Lee's martial skills any harm. I firmly believe that tradition should serve the martial artist rather than the martial artist having to adhere to, serve and preserve tradition for its own sake. To quote a Hindu saying “there is only one truth but the wise speak of it in many different ways”. I think we do well to remember the purpose of martial training is to preserve lives and with such a weighty responsibility, it makes no sense to prioritise specific abstract cultural loyalties to martial styles.
Now don't get me the wrong - UMT is not an "anything goes" approach. We still have strict movement rules that have been tried and tested to provide optimum results, but after the basics have been learned, an individual's expression of the martial science can be flexible without the student having to switch styles and learn a new martial language. They can simply try an aggressive and direct Xingyi-inspired approach for a while, or a more mobile and evasive Bagua-inspired approach, if we both think that their doing so would improve their overall martial abilities.
Making Progress
With regard to what training consists of, again I take a mixed approach. Each level of UMT introduces a set of martial concepts, such as evading and counterattacking from a given advantageous angle or how to size up / measure oncoming force. Students learn to express each concept by use of some flexible, core entry methods - often expressed both responsively and as initiating manoeuvres. Concepts are always explored in a hands on manner, but they can be performed as semi-improvisational solo forms if the student or I think they would benefit from honing their movements in such a way. Solo work can be a useful supplement to hands-on class training, especially for those who can’t attend several classes per week.
These core methods can be expressed in any number of individual ways: in this sense, training rather resembles Silat’s “buah and pecahan” approach - “buah” means “fruit” and “pecahan” means “the breaking open of the fruit”.
Supplementary strikes and kicks, stepping drills and solo “Martial Biomechanics™” exercises are also taught at each level to improve the generic quality and power of martial movement. Additionally, each level introduces some freer-form, semi-co-operative and / or competitive partner drills, but students are graded only on how well they can get their core concepts to work versus actual attacks. (Trainee instructors are required to be able to demonstrate the whole system during additional teacher gradings).
After grading at each level, before learning a new set of concepts, a student will spend time developing what they already have. This can be seen as a further “breaking open of the fruit”. The student has to learn how to fight using his or her off-side and how to apply the techniques against different kinds of attacks and angles, how to adapt to changing circumstances when things don’t go according to plan, how to deal with multiple attackers, and so on.
Such considerations may draw from Taijiquan’s emphasis on sensitivity and responsiveness, Escrima’s emphasis on delivering a steady flow of unbroken attacks, Xingyi’s emphasis on relentless aggression and Bagua’s emphasis on peripheral awareness. When a student can demonstrate that they can competently and flexibly apply the concepts they learned for a given UMT level in a variety of circumstances they move on to learn a new set of six concepts and progress continues as above.
Each level covers a fairly broad range of practical martial skills which can later be expanded upon, whether the student chooses to focus on one of the Kung Fu styles for a while or to keep with the broad UMT approach and explore its full range of martial concepts in their own right. It entirely depends on the needs and preferences of the student. We each have our own individual areas of weakness and strength and therefore can benefit from taking a personalised approach. As quickly as possible, students are encouraged to take charge of their own training and ascertain for themselves the aspects they most need to develop, training to overcome weaknesses rather than just playing to existing strengths.
I also run regular seminars and courses covering specific arts or specific themes which students can further supplement their training with, as they see fit. From time to time our regular classes also zone-in on specific concepts for extra-curricular study, as and when needs arise or specific topical issues present themselves.
Although I adhere strictly to the movement principles I learned from my Chinese arts, this combination of styles has lent a very practical and versatile S.E. Asian Kuntao flavour to my work.
I have been interested in martial arts and military strategy for much of my life and have had a lot of experience of real-life violence, having had to deal with a number of serious assaults to myself, my friends and family. To be frank, violence - often extremely serious, has been a fact of life for me.
Along with instructor Julie Hinder, I am the co-founder of the MTA - a cross-style governing body for martial teachers who focus 100% on the development of effective, real-life fighting skills, rather than teaching for artistic performance, sports, health or spirituality. Our motto makes our position clear - “Emphasise Practicality, Renounce Embellishment, Shun Superstition”. We place martial purpose above all else, stressing logic and practicality. Movements are understood and taught purely in terms of martial tactics and body mechanics.
For further details see the MTA website --->
or alternatively, you can
Martial Biomechanics™
From the start I've been testing all the different approaches I encounter alongside each other. My emphasis has always been on discovering optimal martial movement, that is the kind of movement that will generate the most power at the fastest speed with the least effort, while at the same time allowing the fighter to remain balanced, mobile and in a tactically advantageous position. Isn't that what every fighter wants?
In the process of finding optimal movement, I've also had to be prepared to abandon less than optimal movements and in this respect I've had to be ruthless. Simply collecting martial techniques from a number of different disciplines is not the way - you can't afford for your body to get confused between different stylistic approaches in the midst of a fight. Ultimately there is only one way to generate the maximum possible physical power and that method needs to drive every move you make.
Aside from some informal sparring with medieval weapons and armour during my teenage years, my first real martial art was Baguazhang - 8 Diagram Palm. This art taught me how to generate whole-body-connected power, whilst constantly moving and evading, to obtain a tactically superior position. At more or less the same time, I studied Escrima (Filipino stick & knife fighting + kick-boxing) and found that by importing some of the ruthless rapid fire hitting and tactical angle analysis from that art into my Bagua, I was able to get the edge over people from both disciplines, and from other arts too, during sparring. Both arts taught movement flow and mobility. My body was starting to think not just in terms of circles but also triangles - the two strongest shapes, one linear, the other circular. The combination of structural integrity and directness along with unbroken, flowing, circular movement worked together in a way that seemed to benefit both.
Whereas the Bagua taught me something about stickiness during paired sensitivity drills, the Escrima taught me how to exploit gaps and find opportunities for strikes.
My next art was Xingyiquan (Form and Intention Boxing) and from this I learned more about linearity, explosive power and direct aggression. Like the Bagua, it had a strong emphasis on twisting movement - every action being a drilling or rolling movement, limbs rotating constantly around their long axis at the same time as carving out lines and arcs through the air. Wheels within wheels.
Martial Synergy
Martial Power™
Maximise Your Firepower
Minimise Your Foe’s
Powerful Self-Defence
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I think of my approach as a kind of martial synergy. From the start of my training in Sino-Taiwanese combat arts, I have been consolidating every martially useful concept I have encountered in my practice of other systems, whether those systems were Chinese or South East Asian in origin. Virtually all of my training stems from the various countries dotted around the South China Sea - China itself, Taiwan to the East, the Phillipines to the South East and Malaysia to the South.
Next I studied Silat, which taught me a lot about natural, cross-lateral movement. There was a great deal of compatibility with my Bagua here - the emphasis on multi-purpose twisting movements was present again, along with the idea of striking on the move. For really the first time, I was also starting to learn about softness and retreating rather than just ploughing forwards or evasively ploughing forwards. The other thing I gained a great deal from was the practical, tough, hands-on approach to training. We did a lot of throwing as well as striking - it was a very well rounded style.
Finally, I learned Taijiquan (Greatest Extremes Boxing) from several teachers. Often seen as the softest of the arts, here I learned a lot about developing a very relaxed muscle state which increased my speed and my power tremendously. It also taught me about differentiation - the words "tai ji" literally mean "greatest extremes" or "supremely polarised" so I was able to explore movement from the fastest to the slowest, from the hardest to the softest, from the most switched on aggression to the most passive states of receptivity and adaptability. It was like everything else I'd done, but more so, in every direction. Again the idea of constant twisting was paramount and Taiji really introduced the idea of sphericity to me for the first time in a complete way.
See my Youtube clips here: http://uk.youtube.com/user/martialtaichi
The martial techniques from those traditional styles are very useful to us because they provide us with additional examples and combinations of whole-body-power manifestation. UMT is the key we use to unlock those styles. We can expand on their techniques, combine them in whatever permutations combat demands and create new movements of our own, providing they obey the same principles. Really, the specific fighting techniques found in those traditional styles are only examples of how to move in a strategically effective way with whole body power - it doesn’t end there.
Now, something I haven't yet mentioned is that during the time I studied Bagua, I was also exposed to Taiji training methods. The class was split between Taiji students and Bagua students, and we'd share a number of training methods, including push hands sensitivity training. But I never really got the whole Taiji thing. Like many self-respecting martial artists, I thought of Taiji as way too passive and genteel for my liking, (not to mention the amount of new-age mystical baggage that has grown up around the style) so I was most disgruntled about the fact that our club T-shirts had Taijiquan as well as Baguazhang in the logo. "It's the same thing" my teacher would say when I voiced my disdain. "Yeah, right!" I thought. "Sure it is!" Inwardly, I'd be rolling my eyes. Probably a little arrogant of me, I know, but I'd met his Taiji students and knew they weren't really in it for the practical street-survival skills.
I also learned much of my Xingyi from teachers who taught Taiji as well, and again, although I knew we allegedly had some things in common, I always got the feeling that my grunting, puffing, stomping and stamping in straight lines like an angry steam train, was somehow lowering the tone of the class. Well, let's face it, most Taiji students in most Taiji classes in the world are really not very martially minded.
I also encountered Taiji people in my Silat, but again, I didn't really get it. I'd tried a few things, but really, I remained unconvinced. I also studied some Praying Mantis for a while, and again, Taiji was present in the classes, like a bad smell I just couldn't shake off. The Mantis didn’t really fit with the rest of my training though, as the emphasis was not always on whole-body power, so I stopped doing it.
Eventually I had to concede and start studying Taiji properly, if only for the sake of having something else to do that fitted with my Chinese / Taiwanese training. I focussed on the Zheng Manqing style and the very dynamic Xin jia Chen style, but I also dabbled with bits and pieces and learned forms and applications from other styles too, including the Sun style.
I found that Taiji did make sense after all and that it could be used for fighting, but I still found the classes to be a little lacking in practical fight training. It had improved my martial movement in a more abstract way though - no doubt about that - my speed and power had come on in leaps and bounds. The Chen style training had taught my body to blast through any remaining unwanted muscle tension, while the Zheng Manqing style had taught me about good practical stances and street-effective martial shapes, but I had to supplement my training with a lot more contact training to really get to grips with how to use it. Generic movement training is only as useful as the martial repertoire it informs.
Taiji also taught me a lot about how to recognise less than effective movements and helped me to jettison a good half of my movement arsenal and really focus on grounded, whole-body-power in every single action. It enabled me to think in detail about movement qualities, such as twisting and undulation. Taiji actually became the main style I taught for a number of years, though I made sure my classes were non-stop, contact-orientated fight training and made my publicity as clearly combat-focussed as possible to dissuade those who weren't looking for self defense skills. Sadly, the words “Tai Chi” have recently become so connected with new age nonsense and mystical baggage, that the classes just could not attract enough serious martial artists, so eventually, I decided to officially embrace everything I had learned and create a single, united methodology for it, using entirely English terms and plain physical concepts.
I consider my approach to be synergistic because the 3 arts we practice have now been consolidated into a single entity that is greater than the sum of its parts. We don't just have Xingyi + Bagua + Taiji, we also have Xingyi-Bagua, Xingyi-Taiji, Bagua-Taiji and ultimately Xingyi-Bagua-Taiji. 1 + 1 + 1 = 7.
And because a good idea is a good idea, many of the positive aspects I've learned from my other main fighting arts - Silat & Escrima - have also been integrated into the system too. The result is a potent and versatile blend of strikes, kicks and evasions; throws, sweeps, locks and escapes; weapon use and disarm techniques. This blending of styles makes you a better and more versatile fighter, which in turn makes your expression of each individual art better and more versatile, even if you ultimately decide to specialise in a single art.
