hello Guys, I was just wondering .... a few years ago I was trying to go to China to study traditional martial arts and this seemed more difficult than I thought. Most things i could find where modern routines for competition or sanda. No mean lean fighting systems. I must say that i found one in the end but it took me 4 years to find the right teacher and the right system for me. how did you guys find your teachers in China ? greetings
Actually I was very very lucky. I had to go through a bunch of training time with the wrong person (who was performing it completely incorrectly in every aspect) :bang: , then found the correct line and system in China. I was even lucky after that because Sifu had only just began to teach publicaly again.
well, it seems that it is the same everywhere In the beginning i thougt that every teacher was great untill i trained a few weeks with them. My sifu now is retired but teaches privat and abroad. I found it a great experience to be a part of his family for a few weeks. I could tell you stories ....... but i agree ... finding the right teacher is o so important !
after the communists took over they destroyed alot of their culture, heritage, history as the communist revolution. that included the temples, monks, and kung fu sifus (or monks). most of the temples that teach still that remaind are for show or are watered down or even wushu. there is one more traditional shaolin school that still teaches shaolin, animal forms, and like 30 weapons forms... but your better off elsewhere. alot of people fled china to teach elsewhere due to communist problems, even after the great revival were the communists wanted to save all the history and use it as propaganda or an income source for tourism. also communism puts alot of pressure on people and has caused others to flee. alot of sifus teach out of australia it seems.
Hello Guys It's a shame that things are so hard over in China, suppose it's the communist thing, I say it's hard as an old Sifu of mine found it a pain, lots of talking to the right officials, lots of back slappin, has this been the same for anyone else? I was looking to go to mainland China to find my teacher but was'nt so sure as how to go about it, i have seen some sites that profess to teach the true system (Shaolin in my case) but it narff seemed expensive ranging from anywhere from £3000 to £15,000 a year, i really cant for the life of me remember the schools but it all seemed a lot of cash and like as has already been said before about teachers, could take a while to find my Sifu, £15 grand down the line only to find it a total waste of time would be a tadd anoying ehh
has anyone checked out the web page www.shaolins.com ? It seems really authentic and I visit that webpage all the time, wanting to go there to train.
well Chapskins .... I was lucky in some way. I studied a couple of times in Cangzhou. Here I met a translator who was the daughter of a kung fu teacher and she knew the community over there. She is the one that introduced me to my teacher. If you know what you want to study you should go to the region where the style comes from. Over there you will find teachers who are very proud at there system and still teach the traditional ways. That's the way it went for me. I paid 50 usdollars a day, this included everything ... food, a room, lessons ( 6 hours a day ) even a sauna every couple of days ... and being part of a community who's obsesded with martial arts. aren't the martial arts great ... oh yeah ... everything was of course in signlanguage and a little Chinese ( I speak maybe 50 words )
In Wing Chun, my sifu introduced me to my sigung. In mantis, I am very fortunate to be in a family that has bright, educated people who have worked very hard to establish ties around the globe.
As jroe52 mentioned most of the prominent teachers fled to Hong Kong and Taiwan and other places from there, in the US there is a large concentration in the San Francisco bay area (my SiGung is there) and in New York. From what my SIFu tells me of his travels in China is that it tends to be more of luck than anything to find those that have real knowledge. This past summer while visiting a small Buddhist temple in Xian my SiFubcame across a Daoist priest who was performing sets for a few spare coins from the onlookers, after watching some of the stuff my SiFu taped I'll say this guy is the real deal. From what he was telling my SiFu though most people in China have no desire to retain the traditional arts, if anything the state sponsored Wu Shu is popular but the traditional material is seen as antiquated and the training too hard. For the OP Wudang is one of the few remaining places where there is a sizeale concentration of knowledgeable teachers. That's where my SiFu has gone to train in the past 3 years.
Hi, Ive trained in Hangzhou/Zheijang province...well that was back in 91 when I was a wushu player.In the late 90tys I got into traditional Kung Fu and with Hung Kuen I found the right style.Im in Germany and in my area isnt any Hung Gar school so I mainly trained by myself or I went to join seminars. A few months ago I got in touch with a Sifu who lives in Hongkong... Now im going to HK next year in february and I will stay there for a year to learn...Ive talked to him on the phone and he said he is very old fashioned and the training will be very hard...a lot of ppl came there to train and left after a few weeks cos it was too hard...well they came with the wrong attitude I guess...I really was lucky that I found someone willing to teach me...especially over there in HK..I also found a few schools in mainland china...same problem its mostly wushu or modern type of kung fu they teach...btw..my sifu is not even chinese
If you are interested in learning authentic Chinese kung fu there is an exceptionally skilled master in manila, Philippines. His name is Alex Co and though he is world renowned as a master of 5 ancestors fist, he is also very proficient in several other styles. He is definitely the real deal.
Hmmmmm . . . I had a scholarship to study Chinese in Jinan for two years. I already knew my teacher , as he had been to my city in Canada once. He didn't charge a single fen (chinese cent) in the entire two years, although I did make a USD$75 donation to help pay for a teacher to come from a rural area when he was busy. I'd already been practicing with one of his students for four years. The situation re: freeness might be different if someone shows up cold. I don't think martial arts were as suppressed by the commies nearly so much as some people make out, except for a few years during the Cultural Rebellion. Certain styles were actively promoted, such as Yangshi Taijiquan. You can always find a "teacher" who is willing to take your money in China. While I prefer certain Chinese styles, one might have better luck finding a good teacher "cold" in Japan than in China, as martial arts tend to be better organised. Someone either has a rank, or they don't. Look outside the biggest cities. I've heard that Akita has quite a few very good teachers who have the time & patience to teach foreigners. A friend of mine got his first dan in kendo in one year (he had practiced CMA for 15+ years already). Also, Japanese teachers are less money-grubbing in general. Don't get me wrong. There are also many extremely good teachers in China who are more interested in your progress than your money. (Which is one of the best clues of whether a teacher is good or not.) Cheers!
I have always prefered the CMA and it took me 8 years to find a good teacher. I think you should look first at the MA that's suits you best and then search for a good teacher. I tried several before I knew what was the best for me. For the traiing in China itself. I trained 6 hours a day, mostly for 2 weeks but once i stayed for 6. After those 6 weeks I was a wreck. 2 weeks is perfect for me. I can train at maximum intensity ( only 2 weeks ) and learn a great deal of new techniques. So If you would go for one year make sure that you have enough rest
