Empty Mind Films

Like most of rural China, Chen village suffered badly during the cultural revolution and even today, it is a poor village populated mostly by farm workers. The Chen family, standard bearers of the Chen style for four hundred years, continue to teach Tai Chi Chuan at the Tai chi school in the center of the village. The Chen style was at an all time low until fairly recently and although eighty percent of the village uphold its practice, outside China, this original style was little known. Hear the stories unfold of life living and training in the village from the foreign students and although they are not expected to farm or work in the fields, they are expected to live like a martial artist would in rural China ... very hard and tough!
As our journey unfolds, you will realize just how remarkable Chen village and its people really are.
Featuring Chen Xioawang, Chen Xiaoxing, Chen Bing, Chen Ziqiang and many more. Runtime is 80 minutes with 15 minutes of feature bonus footage of the Chen masters. Directed by Jon Braeley and assisted by Betty Yuan. Soundtrack by Vi An and other artists.

Travel with us from Beijing to Chen Village and to Tai Chi's spiritual home of Wudang Mountain. In Masters of Heaven and Earth we will take you where few people can go, to experience one of the worlds most misunderstood arts.
You will learn the history of Tai Chi Chuan, about yesterday and todays top masters and how Tai chi has spread and much more. Understand the internal health principles - the Chi and the Mind and Essence. Witness breathtaking demonstrations of Chen style and Wudang Tai chi with a soundtrack from China's top traditional and modern-fused musicians. Filmed in sharp High-Definition. Packed with interviews and demonstrations and Featuring: Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing. Priest Zhong Yun Long and Master Yuan. Master Cui Zhongsan. Small edited portions of this film are repeated in Warriors of China.
Written and directed by Jon Braeley. Run time 85 minutes. Ships worldwide and plays in all regions. Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Filmed in High definition with DVD in standard widescreen format.

We take you inside the Aikido Headquarters in Japan and to the JKA and the JKS Shotokan Karate Honbu Dojos. Sit ringside at the World Kendo Championships in the Budokan and witness the power of Bushido through a modern sport. Understand how China gave birth to martial arts and the connection to modern Japanese budo arts. Through interviews and intimate filming of their daily training, you will experience the philosophical and physical elements that unite all great masters of the martial arts. We show you why the mind-body connection plays such an important role not only in martial arts, but in your daily life. In this sense, The Empty Mind is not just for martial artists, but for anyone who wishes to improve themselves both spiritually and physically.
A fusion of martial arts, music and documentary storytelling that was two years in the making.
Featuring: Moriteru Ueshiba, Masahiko Tanaka, Masao Kagawa, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Teruyuki Okazaki, Monk Shi DeYang, Master Zhang Shengli, Master Yuan, Master Zhong, AJKF Kendo and the ANKF Kyudo Federations.
DVD includes bonus interviews and action.
Written and directed by Jon Braeley. Music by Richard Brookens (Yellowbell). Length: 80 mins. Includes bonus feature tracks with interviews.

Come and meet the top yoga teachers from both east and west to find the answers. Go beyond the physical asanas of yoga and deep into the mind and inner being of a yoga guru. Their words will guide you to become a better person in both mind and body. Developing perfect posture and balance is just the first step for the teachers. The physical yoga practice of the body is the beginning of the journey into the depths of the inner soul. We take you to the ancient source of yoga, where Himalayan yogis, saints and holy men spend a lifetime of meditation and austere yoga practice to find enlightenment or self realization. Understanding who you are without any external gratification is the ultimate goal of a yogi and will lead to a lifetime of happiness.
Listen to the words of wisdom from teachers of Ashtanga and Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Jivamukti and the yoga of devotion - Bhakti Yoga. If that's not enough we introduce you to India's most revered spiritual saint and yoga guru, Pujya Swamiji.
Take your yoga practice to a higher level and enrich your life forever!
Filmed in India. Runtime is 75 minutes. Beautiful uplifting soundtrack by some of Indias best musicians. Thank you to Shyamdas for some nice music tracks.

In Japan the cloistered lifestyle of the zen monk may be in decline but zen meditation is everywhere from the cities to the countryside. The Zen Mind is full of contrasts as we travel across the width and breadth of Japan from the dogen sangha in Tokyo to remote mountain zen monasteries. We join the formal ceremonies of Kyoto’s largest zen temple and witness the rituals that survive a thousand years. In the Kyoto countryside we visit a zen center that is carrying on the simple lifestyle that many temples have abandoned.
This contrast heightens as we enter Japan’s largest soto zen monastery and film unrestricted as we join the monks in their everyday workplace, cooking, cleaning and in zazen practice. The goal of which is to rid the mind of all ego and self doubt and to reach self-realization and enlightenment or satori.
Written and directed by Jon Braeley. Music by Christopher Yohmei and K. Uehara. Length: 60 mins.

You will be mesmerized by the way in which martial arts masters of China run their schools - some of which number 18,000 students!! We will take you from the largest Kungfu schools at Shaolin to the smallest inner sanctums of a Mind-fist center. The major styles of China - Kungfu, Wudangquan, Tai Chi, Bagua, Xingyi and Yiquan are all featured in this sweeping documentary filmed across the breadth of China. Highlights include a full contact showdown between Shaolin's two largest Kungfu schools - A look at how and why top masters teach in the public parks and a rare visit to a Yiquan training centre deep in a remote province - where the mind is the weapon! Throughout our journey you will hear from China's top masters who discuss their life in martial arts.
Featuring these masters: Shaolin Monk Shi De Yang and Shi Xingkai - Cui Zhongsan - Chen Xiaowang - Chen Xiaoxing - Yongan Jia - Master Yuan - Priest Zhong Yun Long - He Jinbao and master Cui Rui Bin.
Runtime: 90 minutes. Plays worldwide in all regions. 5.1 Dolby surround sound. Written and directed by Jon Braeley.