Bruce Kumar Frantzis - Opinions?

Hi all,
I've been reading "The Power of Internal Martial Arts" by B.K. Frantzis, and I have been impressed with some of the things he has written about.

I was wondering what the opinions of the MAP IMA community are regarding Mr. Frantzis, in regards to his writings, and if you have any opinions on his martial skill, I'd be interested to hear these too.

Many regards,

BT

 

I have not trained with him personally,
But people I respect have and said he really does know his stuff. He is a pretty darn proficient MAist and very knowledgable in many fields of MA. I was told he likes to "knock people around" and give some very good training sessions.

The downs I have heard is that he can come off a "bit rough" or "uncaring" he sometimes tends to teach "old style". In the ways of giving people 1-2 things to work on and expects it perfect before moving on, he also tends to be "traditional" in training.

By all accounts a very good teacher, but also very hard to work with.

 

I have met him. I didn't train martial arts with him but I did a day workshop on Daoist breathing with him and have done some qigong with some of his students. I found him to be very thorough and skilled and I found the workshop very helpful but I felt he lacked certain qualities I would want in a teacher (despite his obvious knowledge). He could do some great tricks though such as moving the plates of his skull and individually rotating his vertebrae, moving one back and forward, side to side etc. One of his students who teaches in the London area taught some Qigong at my college when I was training in acupuncture and I was not so impressed. He was demonstrating his ability to ground a push and getting every one in the class to push him to demonstrate his skill. With about three years training behind me I pushed him away successfully each time only to be told that I was pushing "wrong". It seemed pretty right to me since he couldn't deal with it! Still, that is just one of his students but he has been approved personally by Frantzis to teach.

 

There are some old threads that discuss BK Frantzis at length. Generally the opinions are very polarized (as they are with most non-chinese Taiji "masters"). If I get a chance later, I'll dig them up and link them here.

 

"Nice bloke. Nice and Fat"

Seriously though........

I've only heard good things about him from his students.

Ask amongst the Chinese IMA community and they say "who???"

I've read the book you mention and thought it was interesting.

He's a bit like alex kozma. All his students think he is some sort of demi-god.

Although Alex Kozma writes better books, and has I think a lot more credibility.

Frantzis certifies hundreds of people to teach his own versions of things.
This is NOT a good thing.

Even if he is very good himself, so many low level teachers under him damages his credibility.

 

Actually one of my instructors is/was one of his top guys.(Tho' he was quite advanced before he studied w/Bruce).Another old friend/non formal student studies w/him.

Neither of these, at least, consider him a demi-god.

Those who say " Who ? " in the US' Chinese IMA community must have been living under rocks for at least the last 20 years or so.LIke him or not.

 

I'm quite impressed with BKF's writings, and having trained with A. Kozma myself, I can attest to his high level of skill.

Definately agree here.

 

interview with BK I recently came across ..

http://fightmonks.com/Bruce_K._Frantzis_Interview.html

 

hahahah ... brilliant!! although knowing alot of his students and being a mate of his ... i am sure he finds that statement just as funny as me!

Skilled .... alex is ... a demi god ... he aint ....

I do like a good chuckle!!

;D

as for BKF, no doubt he was a great fighter in his day, now he is a Chi Gung Guy who is focusing on his health ... fair enough for someone his age with a passion for food ...

Cheers
Chris

 

There is a world outside of the USA.
Have a look on a map, you keep bombing most of it.

 

Maybe it's just the couple of guys i've met.

As with most skilled kung fu people, those that have only met them once or twice seem to put them on a pedestal.

Then you get to know the person and realise they are human too. warts an all.

haha! I have a passion for food but once your belly is bigger than your chest you've lost it!

 

Herbie baby- I am aware of the world outside the US.That's why I noted " US' Chinese IMA community ".

And I haven't bombed anyone.Rather rude thing to say to me.

What country are you in? I'm sure I could come up with lots of less than nice things perpetrated by your friends and ancestors.

However, let's instead keep it on topic.Rather than make snide remarks at someone who's geo-socio-political views you know squat about.

 

Sorry, but every time I go to the states, I seem to meet people that really do think the edge of the world if the US border.

I apologise if I insulted you.

 

Oh, like when people outside my state ask me if my town is a suburb of New York City.

OK, no harm done.Thanks.

 

Similarly, when I tell people I live in Vermont, I often get the response "oh, what state is that in?"

 

Unbelievable.Well, that beats my suburb thing.

 

haha!

I like those.

I come from Scotland originally, and have been asked:
"Scotland.....which part of Englaaannnnd is that in?"

All friends again??

 

Sure.

Which part of England?!?

I guess you need to explain of the "parcel o' rogues in a nation " to such folks!

 

Hi all,

I've trained with a number of teachers in the internal martial arts, including Bruce Frantzis. He has been around for a long time and there are many opinions about him. Some good, some bad. Personally, I am on a quest for information. Teachings that can help me get the most out of my training. Honestly, the Ba Gua, Xing Yi and Nei Gung training I've done with Bruce were hella sweet. I learned a lot from them. His perspective is that you need to go deeply within yourself and really uncover all of what you are made of- meat, energy, mind and spirit. He has some very specific step by step techniques for doing so. They are hard, but they work. And they have helped my two person freestyle practice quite a bit. I'm not a bad ass fighter, but when I spar I am much more relaxed, alive and aware rather than fearful, tense and upset.

His Nei Gung is also quite good for softening the body in a way that also strengthens it. The waist twisting and limb spiraling have allowed me to take shots that I couldn't have braced for. And his unique "dissolving" method has helped me accept, absorb and let go of the force that hits me. It's weird but in a wayI can let go of the pain faster, and not freak out. This type of training has helped me stay in the moment and enter that "time stands still" kind of flow, which is awesome in two person work.

Staying Awake is a big part of his teaching. Not projecting what is about to happen, not worrying bout what already did. But by paying attention to the now you can really stay grounded and take advantage of your opponent's mistakes.

Anyways, there's a lot to it. It's a complete system of Chinese energy work, as well as martial arts. So I could go on and on. In any case, Kumar's approach is different from many out there, but I personally like it. I like others too. But it's not everyone's cup of tea.

One last thing, if you ask around in Beijing and Taipei, Kumar's name is known among the older guys who were around in the 1970's and 80's. He spent quite a bit of time going around meeting teachers, and was a very memorable westerner at a time when few were around.

Take care,

Jess O'Brien

 

Damn. I thought Vermont was a drink.