I'm creating an open site listing kung fu schools in China for foreigners to train at, so far I've published 25 schools and there are many more to come. The idea is that many people are looking for good quality schools to train at in China but some are good and some not so much. With open feedback from people that have trained at the kung fu schools, people can make wiser decisions. Also there are many kung fu masters in China that people may like to learn from, so people can list their own master or school on the site and in this way more people can benefit. So if you have trained at a kung fu school in China, you can either list your school or provide your feedback. But only list real schools not agencies please. www.greatkungfuofchina.com
I think this is the fellow who came to Edinburgh last November or so back, and recieved favourable reviews and comments. @Black41, its a worthy endaevour, but it may take some time to really establish the site. My advice would be to try to get quality in there backed by moderated comments of acknowledged experts. Not easy to do.
An important aspect to try to report on is a school's credibility of lineage, as several out there would appear to want to create heir own lineage :- 'Master X trained with master Y who trained with Master Z ... who trained with Yang Lu Chan' etc.
Thanks for your input! I like that approach, I think more established schools combined with reviews will help establish it and get it going. If nothing else, it could be used as a good directory for people to find places to train at in China, since many of the sites are terrible to navigate with poor English.
Yeah since you mentioned it, I've come across some sites that say such things like "2nd generation master of X kung fu". I realize some of these guys just try to attach to the label of being "traditional". I personally never really looked for it or paid much value to it, I was just looking more for substance, but I know many people are looking for the real traditional art and want to be certain that it is indeed real. mmmh "work expands as one begins"
Cloudz, IntheSpirit, El Medico and others may be able to help with this. The big problem that I see with all CMA, is being objective; due to a) the diversity of China and its populace and b) the undeniable contortions that went on in China with Communism and subsequent commercialisation as China adopts a market economy and opens outwards. I believe (but I dont have a lot of info on this right now), that there is a Martial Arts Festival at Wudang Mountain this september, to which a number of Europeans will be attending and competing. I know folk talking about this, but everyone is struggling with money right now.
That's another thing I would like to learn more about is the kung fu events that they have in China. I'm working on learning the language, it'll take me awhile, but I think if there is much more open access to kung fu in China, then there will be much higher quality of instruction and masters are available. When I was in the states it was pretty hard to find any decent masters. Also when poking around online, it's really hard to find good information, so me thinks, why not go to the heart of it? Cloudz, IntheSpirit, El Medico and the other guys, have they trained in China or what's their background?
As best I know:- Cloudz - Like myself, Cheng Tin Hing lineage 'Wudang' TCC (Wu derivative, not to be confused with www.wudanggongfu.com); and other ICMA. He has quite a few contacts around and does a fair bit of research in these matters. El Medico:- a lot of Cheng Man Ching TCC, some Chen TCC, some hard style Kung Fu (cant remember what though), some bagua. Sifu Ben - can probably help out as well - I think competitive San Shou. IntheSpirit:- I think he lived and trained in Malaysia for a while. However, these folks will chime in with their own words, not mine.
Here's a link to the page: Wudang-Daoist-Traditional-Internal-Kung-Fu-Academy I forgot to link it to the Wudang category so I got that fixed. I'd like to hear your experience, would you mind adding a few thoughts?
you could do worse than go to www.rumsoakedfist.org - a lot of folk there are experienced and have visisted China as well.
Osu, From my experience in China, everything Shaolin is the local Mc Dojo. Monks are 9-5 Government employees placed there to man the tourist shops, keep the picture taking gawkers flowing & separate them from their dollars. And why not? Shaolin is a great brand name, empty of any substance, but it sells! In any case, that's what the tourists are paying for... See: http://www.kyokushin4life.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14650&highlight=shaolin and http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/pictures/shaolin-temple-foreign-disciples-make-pilgrimage.html The lack of discernment is pathetic! Osu!
Training is good, four 1.5-2 hour sessions a day, it was predominantly basics and forms when I was there, but according to my friends there they've now got a very good push hands program and fight training (one of their western students won that CCTV best in the style competition). I went with my wife who'd never trained before, and she enjoyed it and did really well. Accomodation is basic, but clean meets western standards. Food is pretty good, but if you're there for a long time it can become a bit repetitive. Master is very approachable, and speaks very good English, although some of the coaches don't.
Hi. I'm in China right now, and here until February so hoping to find a decent enough club to keep some practise up. My only worry is finding anywhere that can communicate in English as my Mandarin is limited and in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu there are very few westerners. Anywhere you can recommend? (Also yes I will at one point travel to the Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou just cause I'm over here. Whether it's a tourist trap or not, I'd regret not going.)
Well...it looks limiting when searching for schools in English, my Chinese is also limited, I usually use Google translate bar and search in Chinese characters. I did find a couple of things that may be worth a shot. There is a university in Jiangsu that teaches kf http://admission.ujs.edu.cn/pub/eng/news/34.html and there is a guy on Linkedin that looks like he trained there. Maybe you could try contacting him http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-short/18/5/99b I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you are looking for, maybe more of live in school with full training. Other options would be posting announcements at nearby universities for a translator that can help you with your search, perhaps there are some kf associations or schools that they could point you to. If they don't speak English or have a translator at the schools, you can check if they can provide one or maybe you have to hire your own. It may not be that expensive either -- translator would cost about 1,500 - 2,000 rmb/month or 20 - 25 rmb/hour plus training, which at an all Chinese school tuition is cheaper. Many of the all Chinese kf schools accept foreign students. But the draw back may be that you won't be able to hang out with other foreigners and find communicating a bit frustrating. One other option is to go to parks early in the morning or the evening to find a master and go with a translator. Hope that helps...
