Internal Arts in London?

Discussion in 'Internal Martial Arts' started by londoner2001, Feb 3, 2014.

  1. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Decided to get down to some internal training and hopefully bit of meditation too after several years away from martial arts due to injury. Has anyone heard of a place in Golders Green called Tang Long? http://www.tang-long.co.uk/home/golders-green/

    Looks a bit like the place in Tufnell Park but is nearer to me, anyone know of the sifu and if they have good reputation?
     
  2. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

    Are you looking for some specific style?

    I’ve never heard of that place you linked, looks like they have a nice, dedicated space though and I guess it’s probably conveniently located for you.

    However, with “IMA”, Tai Chi more so, the number of people teaching is quite vast, whereas the quality and applicability of the teaching is very disparate.

    If you have your mind set on Tai Chi, I’d probably be asking for specific recommendations for Tai Chi schools. If you want “IMA” in general, there are only a handful of schools/teachers in the UK who have a deep understanding and can use their stuff. The rest, while not all bad, will likely teach you some generic run of the mill stuff, which may make you feel pretty nice or not, and may or may not set up some bad habits.

    Ideally, I’d make a list of several reputable schools/ teachers and go check out each one and see which you find suitable. You seem to have been around for a while (since 2004 on MAP) so I would guess you have some decent MA experience. Be critical with what you look at and don’t buy in to the mystical, magical nonsense, if the teacher can’t show you anything you think is valuable right from the outset (first class) and explain it in real world terms, but instead tells you tales of great warriors, legends and all manner of fantastical statements, then it’s probably a place to steer clear of. Likewise, pay attention to how the students move too, even some good teachers repeatedly produce poor students because even though they can do what they say, they can’t teach it to save their lives and can’t pass on their skills.
     
  3. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Thanks for the reply, ideally I'm looking for it to help with stress and calming me down overall. I did kung fu for a few years then muay thai and eventually amateur boxing until I was finished off by knee injury but only did tiny amount of internal training along the way, looking back I should of done more back then and might not of ended up how I did!

    The location of the school is excellent for me and the fact they train on a Sunday. I'm not interested in the McDojo Tai Chi places I've seen where they seem to have instructor courses and 50 teachers per section of the country!

    Is it worth me putting a message in the kung fu section in case some guys there have heard of the instructor?
     
  4. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    I liked the video's on their TCC. Looked like Chen style to me.

    Sorry, can't say for sure it is good quality as I practice Yang style. However, I didn't see obvious warning signs to stay away.

    Their meet the team part didn't list any qualifications of the isntructors. Maybe it is on another part of the website. I have to get ready for work so I can't finish looking until later.

    I would say check it out, but ask about the experience of the TCC/ Internal arts instructors specifically. The school seems to teach a few different styles - including Krav Maga. You need to specifically ask about the style you want to learn. The Sifu may be well qualified, but if he is teaching the Shaolin Kung Fu and someone else is teaching the TCC, that isn't helpful.

    And make sure they train the combat aspect of TCC-resistant style push hands and expalining the combat application of the moves- including drills. Even if that isn't the aspect you are most intersted in, it is my belief you need to understand this to get the health benefits. Knowing the application means you align yourself correctly.

    Let us know how it goes.
     
  5. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

    No worries Londoner.

    I guess maybe just go and have a look, see what the Tang Long folk are like. If you don’t like it, I’m sure the London people on MAP could recommend some places to check out. I have a few to throw in there as well, though Kentish Town is the closest one to Golders Green area on my list, plus my list is biased to our own group :)

    Also, if you are still carrying that knee injury, do mention it to the instructor and see how/if they adjust the training to accommodate that.

    Yeah, maybe the Kung Fu section might be worth a shot too, as Tang Long is not exclusively Tai Chi, maybe some of the other folks trained the other styles they offer there.

    But hey, if your main interest is in the more meditative aspects, it may be worth just checking out some meditation type stuff on its own. In essence, the more calming stuff you would be getting from IMA is as a result of the meditative aspects, but you don’t need to have all the other stuff with it as well, unless you want it of course.
     
  6. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Thanks for both your replies, will pop along on Sunday and do a trial lesson.
     
  7. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Didn't make it on Sunday unfortunately but should definitely be able to visit this Sunday....what recommendations do people have for internal arts in London if I was to travel a bit further for training?
     
  8. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

  9. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Thank you for that will look through. Has anyone experience with Michael Tse? I have a book of his but never really heard if people recommend him.
     
  10. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

    No worries.

    I've heard of Michael Tse before, but have never met him nor know anyone who has.

    Here is his YouTube channel:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/TseQigongCentre/videos

    I don’t really have time to look at this stuff now, but I assume you could probably gage a bit from the vids.
     
  11. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Went along on Sunday to the class with Shifu Heng Wei, very impressed will continue to go.
     
  12. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

    Good stuff man! Keep us updated on your progress and might be worth checking out the other schools at some point to get a wider frame of reference. Happy training!
     
  13. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

    Also for relaxation and breathing, try Qi Gong. Quicker to learn than Tai Chi/Bagua/HsingI and very beneifical for health, particularly respiratory health and posture.
     
  14. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Agree with you totally, the qi gong I can feel helping very quickly and I find easier to do, I can see the tai chi form we are learning will take me a long time to truly learn and understand, the qi gong is brilliant for quick ten minute practises at home! I like the teacher he has that Shaolin mentality of train with a lot of effort even with qi gong.
     
  15. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

  16. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Does anyone know about lineages of the monks and when these guys were in temple?
     
  17. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

  18. londoner2001

    londoner2001 Valued Member

    Thanks for that, that's different school to my one though. Wondered if anyone knew about lineages of the two guys running my one.
     

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