"To find and to understand the principles means to find the heart." - Hilmar Fuchs.
Uli and I have been practicing various forms of martial arts for over 25 years. We learned Karate, Kobudo and Tai Chi from our teacher Hilmar Fuchs. We studied Aikido for a while with a friend. We explored Jodo with one of the leading experts in North America. We spent some time learning the Yang family style teachings in the school of a direct decedent of the Yang family and current leader of the style. We learned how defensive shooting techniques and empty hand fighting can be combined into a coherent system.
Most of the principles and thoughts in this book come from what we have learned over the years from our teacher Hilmar Fuchs. Some were inspired by other leaders in martial arts and outside of that realm. And yet another set was driven and inspired by questions from students in our classes. Occasionally we had some insights on our own.
My spirit animal is the horse, which, together with the love of Uli and our daughter for horses, inspired the name of our school, Kicking Horse Tai Chi (Keru Uma Budo). It also reflects my need for freedom and finding my own way, which you can probably spot in a few of the thoughts and recommendations we’re giving. We truly believe that you need to develop strong roots but then find your own way.
Uli’s spirit animal is the mouse. Like a mouse, she is curious and looks into all corners of a problem to come back up with an unexpected insight that she found. Like a mouse, she also likes to be grounded and stay out of the limelight. Uli is a passionate artist and art teacher at our kid’s school. Being a visual person, she loves using imagination and pictures to support her teaching. Look for her thoughts on visualization and imagination throughout this book.
With that, we hope you will enjoy the book, find a few things that make sense to you and maybe enrich your own practice. We cannot teach universal truths, but we aim to offer ideas for your own explorations.
Alfons has been practicing Tai Chi, Karate, Kobudo and other martial arts since 1992 and holds a 4th-degree black belt in Karate (awarded in 2005; he received his 1st-degree black belt 1996). He has been giving classes for all age groups since 1993 with a special focus on self-defense as well as health aspects.
Alfons received his Karate instructor and examiner licenses from the German Olympic Sports Confederation in 2004 and his Tai Chi instructor license for Komatsu-Ha 2009 in Florida.
Professionally Alfons is a senior technology manager at Fortune 500 companies (including Amazon and Microsoft) and passionate people coach.
Uli started Tai Chi, Karate, and Kobudo in 1993 and holds a 3rd-degree black belt in Karate (awarded in 2006; she received her 1st-degree black belt 1999). She has been giving classes for all age groups since 1997. Uli has a strong interest in holistic health and well being, combining exercise, nutrition, and the arts.
She received her Karate instructor and examiner licenses from the German Olympic Sports Confederation in 2004 and her Tai Chi instructor license for Komatsu-Ha 2009 in Florida. In 2016 she was awarded a Yonkyu Shihan teacher diploma by the Sogetsu School in Tokyo, Japan.
Uli is a Tai Chi and Ikebana teacher and art docent at her kid's school. She was a Medical Doctor in Germany, practicing at the University of Aachen and others, before focusing on raising her two kids. These days she is also busy as the lead art docent at her children's school.
