Hello all, Lately I have been researching temples in China, as I want to go 6 months to year to a temple in China to learn. But I hear very mixed opinions, as many say they are tourist traps and that it's hard to find authentic temples with masters that take Westerners seriously. In your opinion, is it worth spending time at a temple to further training? If yes, can anyone recommend one that takes teaching and training seriously? There are so many available and it's hard finding information on which ones are legit. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Eric
What are you looking to achieve from your training in general and how do you see a temple assisting you in that path?
Unless it's for actual religious reasons (being a Buddhist) I wouldn't bother. You can find better camps elsewhere. Thailand is full of them. Japan has the Yokoshin Aikido riot police course which is a year long (I assume. I only read the book). I could probably think of more...
Thank you so much for your response. What I'm looking to achieve is two fold... I want to learn Kung Fu from a more traditional standpoint in terms of training. Almost every school I attend here is trapping trapping trapping, no sparring, and no forms. I want to learn all aspects of the art, not just a watered down form. That means forms, sparring (trapping too), kicks, flexibility, core strength, and practical use. Secondly, the mental discipline and inner discovery is just as important. Traditional temples have an extremely difficult training regime of 6 hours a day training, but also focus on meditation and inner peace. If I can find a temple where I can achieve both, I would gladly save and pay the money. But I don't want to be conned into going somewhere and being treated as "just another Westerner" that will be satisfied with high kicks and acrobatics. I want to learn in the purest traditional way possible that strengths me both physically and mentally.
So the next question is: why kung fu? If you're looking for a class with a different emphasis on trapping vs. sparring vs. traditional forms, it maybe that checking out a few of the other martial arts joints around you might be a better idea. I'm very skeptical of any organization in which you pay to learn meditation and inner peace. I think the very purest tradition is one of functionality. That may be found in a temple in China, or a college campus with some mats to practice judo on.
Sounds like you'd be better served finding a place that actually exists to teach martial arts. Be that in China, Thailand, Japan, or dare I say, your own country.
Thank you all for your responses. I'm an America that's been living in Germany for 15 years, and the problem here is that all the schools I have visited, whether kung fu (my favorite), or Jeet Kune do in the end are more self defense classes where what's taught is done in a way for emphasis on faster learning for self defense. What I want, is also a mental transformation as well, and I just thought that a traditional temple where all aspects are taught could help me on that journey.
I'd like you to describe for us specifically what outcomes you want in this area and how you would concretely measure and determine their change.
I'm not a kung fu guy myself so this may be way off, but from time to time I hear about a Shaolin monk in New York City who teaches (so he claims) both the religious side of kung fu (it's Chan Buddhism), including meditation, and the physical martial art side. Again, I can't vouch for the legitimacy of what he's doing, but you said that you're an American, so maybe it'd be easier for you to live in New York than in China. :dunno:
I definitely would. China doesn't really teach Sholing Kung Fu man. It's a farce. Thailand though, you can train Muay Thai all day three times a day. Believe me though you'll get sick of it within a month if you've never done any training though. You also have a few places that teach Muay Boran and their ancient weapon arts, but I don't have a claim to their legitimacy.
He doesn't have to travel to Thailand to learn Muay Thai, any more than he has to learn Shaolin kung fu in China. Wherever you go, there you are
WelL I assume he wants to travel. Also, another big difference is that in Thailand they actually have Muay Thai camps where you can stay and eat. None of that in China.
There are literally 100's across China, that offer training, accommodation and food - Though, as the OP stated, knowing which of these are worth the coin, and which are nothing more than tourist traps, is the real issue. A former member of my club spent 3 months training at such a camp last year, and by all accounts, had a real positive experience there. (no clue what he paid though, as the prices do seem considerably higher than that of their Thailand counterparts!) Travess
The outcome Im looking for is both a spiritual and physical one. I dont want to simply train Kung Fu, I want to live it. As cliche as it sounds, Im looking at this as a spiritual journey that also allows me to completely surround myself full time in the culture of the art itself. Its very hard for me to put into words. I want to learn from a master and improve my skills from someone with deep knowledge that can teach, but I also want to push myself to the max, and I think in a temple/camp where I can train for 6 hours a day and be surrounded by nothing but the art that I can effectively do that. I really would like to travel to Asia. Ive never been there, and its the birthplace of where it all started. I know there are lots of other places to learn, but I would really like to go there. Thats what Im trying to find out. Sure! Which places do you know of? Were you there or know someone who was? If yes, how was there experience? Hmm...I actually have found quite an interesting looking camp in Thailand, but its very expensive. I ll share a link at the bottom of this post. True, but I would like to travel and be surrounded as much as possible in the buddhist culture as much as possible while learning kung fu. Yes i do want to travel, but I have also found temples in China where you can stay and eat. Prices range from 300 euros a month up to 1000. Yes for sure. In China I was quite surprised at how expensive some of them are. This camp is actually, from appearance, along the lines of what Im looking for (i dont need "comfortable" living conditions though): www.kungfuretreat.com [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aC5hWINe5c"]Shaolin Kung Fu Retreat, Thailand. - YouTube[/ame] The reason I say this, is because (in the video at least) I see a philosophical respect, weapons training, physical training, form training, full contact sparring, trapping, mediation...the whole nine. But at 1000 dollars a month, it could very well be a tourist trap as well.
I can only speak for my self, but nothing I saw in the video would make me want to train there. I am turned off by the things like the cinderblock break with the head, the guy breaking the piece of wood by jamming it into his chest/collarbone/whatever. In America there are a lot of good Kung Fu schools, and I bet it would be pretty easy to find a great one in an big city. If you want to live some Kung Fu, perhaps you could find a really good school, that is highly recommended with a lot of classes. Then move to an apartment near it, get a part time job, and make training Kung Fu your full time job. Go to the school every day for ever hour they are open. To me this is a better strategy that a one or two month camp deal - you could be in it for a longer haul, and would get a lot better I think. Reading Aaradia's posts in the training logs, she seems to be on a mini Kung Fu training camp as a permanent thing while working a regular job. I think she is putting in 15 hrs or so a week at it, and I wonder if the camp in the video would give you even 30 hrs of solid instruction a week? To me it makes more since to lead a normal life, and just pick a standard martial arts school where you can train a lot if you want to train that much. Just be one of those people that is always at the school - in the times between class they are practicing or exercising, waiting on the next class.
I've heard nothing but good things about Nam Yang and Iain Armstrong, if you can go to his retreat I'm sure you'll find its top notch training.
Well I guess that will boil down to personal preference (head through bricks), but for me its also a part of the art that fascinates me. Not saying I "need" to learn how to do it :-D Yes from the researching I have done it seems to be really great. The price is certainly steep though.