"I'm giving you every opportunity to make a better decision here." -Kevin Wikse "Wrath makes a poor king, but an exceptional guardian." -Kevin Wikse I started my journey in martial arts over 40 years ago in Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, under the tutelage of initiated members of the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association. Amused—and perhaps a little annoyed—by the endless questions I asked about Kung Fu after watching countless martial arts films, I imagine they eventually decided it would be easier to teach me and give me something constructive to do than to continue answering, explaining, or ignoring my relentless curiosity. Before the Hop Sing Tong established itself in the United States around 1875 in San Francisco, California , many of its future members had spent years battling for control of the streets of Hong Kong. From them, I learned the modernized elements of Hung Gar—namely the Tiger and Crane Combined Set and the Cat, Snake, and Crane Combined...

A grizzly bear erupting from its cave, representing Xing Yi Quan’s Bear Form and close-range authority, featured on the Martial Arts Repository by Kevin Wikse. I’ll be leaving Portland, Oregon in the next couple of days. Southern California is technically on the horizon, but the foreseeable future belongs to Idaho. For those paying attention, my time in Portland was productive—though not without its curiosities. Which brings me to a necessary travel advisory. During my stay, I observed a number of strange, glittery frogs crushed deep into the cracks of the asphalt, as though they’d been run over by an 18-wheeler with a personal vendetta. The highest concentration appeared near the ICE deportation center—an objectively bizarre location for amphibian activity, unless the city has recently revised its zoning laws to include ritual mishaps. Portland might want to revisit its cleaning and sanitation policies. Those streets are slick, and not in a charming, rain-soaked, noir sort of way. ...