A Newbie's Intro

[Dronak]

Hi all. I recently found out about this message board and it looked like a pretty good place for all sorts of areas, so I decided to give it a try. I'm a little disappointed to see that the area I've just started studying has so few posts (compared to some others), but oh well. Maybe things will pick up. I don't have too much to say, but felt like getting my first post out of the way, so I figured I'd go for a general introduction.

I'm a graduate student and just this semester learned about a Chinese martial arts club on campus. Actually the club has been non-existent for about five years which is why I didn't know about it before. I've been interested in martial arts for a while, just in general, nothing real specific, and so I thought I'd give this a try. I've only been doing this for about a month, so I'm still super-new, but I am enjoying it.

The club found an instructor to teach us the northern long fist style of shaolin kung fu. He apparently has a long term, four year, plan for us because we got a general syllabus (so to speak) for that long. I'm planning to graduate after two more years though, so I'll see how far I get through his plan. We also have one with the schedule for this semester. As you'd imagine, we're doing a lot of basic stuff now, stances, kicks, gestures, stretching, etc. The first form we're learning got translated as "six closing fist/boxing" (don't know the Chinese name), we're scheduled to do a few of the ten tan-tuie routines for the style, and we're also learning some self defense applications called grabbing hands (things like if an attacker grabs your wrist). The future appears to hold more forms and such as well as some weapon training (I think he said staff would likely be first). I think he said there are grabbing knives and grabbing guns applications that we may get to later on. I don't really understand most of the stuff on the long term syllabus to explain what is included. But the instructor also said that he may teach us other things according to our individual potentials as well. The list of things there included Yang tai chi (and sword) and Mantis fist among others.

We're hoping to have some training sessions during the winter break and the summer instead of just the fall and spring school semesters. I think the instructor wants to make these a bit more intensive, too; e.g., more days a week and/or more time each day. He also said that if we all practice regularly and hard, trying to get everything just right every time, we just might be able to start with weapons come summer.

So there you have it, a basic intro to me and the class I just started taking. And that takes care of my first post. I hope intros like this are OK. I'm hoping it will get some conversation going because I love to talk about my favorite activities.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Welcome.

The more the merrier here. We're about 3 months old, and still spreading the word. If a forum is a little quiet now, just give it some time...and tell everyone you know who's got an interest in MA.

I've looked at some of the Tai Chi sword styles, and someday, hope to have the balance and flexibility to try them. I've done some Wing Chung, and am currently skimming a book on Northern Shaolin KF. Names similar to what your studying, but different too. ??? Another name listed on the book is Pek Sil Lum. Wonder if its the same thing.

 

[Icepick]

Dronak -

I've done a tiny bit of Wing Chun as well, so I'm not very fluent in Kung Fu discussion. Great that you found a college program though! I wish I had started before I graduated!

 

[Dronak]

I'm glad to be here. I didn't realize the board was so new. In that case I'm sure things will pick up all over as more people find out about it. I put a link to here on my web personal web site so that might get a couple more people here.

I'm too new to be able to tell you if the book you have, Kaith, covers the same stuff I'm being taught. I think I've heard of that book and from the little I saw, it appeared to be the same style. Maybe I'll get it later. For now though I bought a book that specifically said it was long fist style because I figured I couldn't really go wrong with that. I think it has what we're learning, but since the form we're currently doing isn't in the book it's a little hard to tell. The long term syllabus lists other forms that look like they are in the book (names translated a bit differently though) so I think this was a good first choice. I like having books for reference and to put notes in, so I'll probably get some others, like that Pek Sil Lum one, later.

Icepick, I'm glad I found the program here, too. Perhaps more appropriately, I'm glad some people started up the club again. And I'm new to this, so I'm not fluent in any sort of martial arts discussion yet, but that won't stop me from sharing the little I do know. One of the initial information sheets we were given said that this style was chosen for us because traditionally it was the first style students in ancient China learned. It's suppposed to be a good preparation for anything else because it requires a lot of flexibility, power, and speed. I guess the idea is that if you can do this style correctly, other styles that aren't quite as demanding will be easier to handle. Of course, the trick is learning how to do everything in this style correctly and it's not simple.

 

[GouRonin]

Just curious as to where you are studying (school) if you don't mind telling us.

 

[Dronak]

I didn't think anyone would care which particular school I was at which is why I didn't mention it in the first place. But since you asked, I'm at the University of Maryland.

 

[GouRonin]

Just curious. It always helps to be in the know in case someone else asks something and you can connect the two up. Let us know how your training goes. That and give us good training tips from your art.
:asian:

 

[Dronak]

That's true, GouRonin. It can help to know where people are so that you can direct people who want location specific information to others who have it or can get it fairly easily.

The training is going pretty well, but it does seems to move rather quickly. I take notes on what we've learned and make notes in that book I bought so that I won't forget everything. Exactly what we're taught in each class varies a bit, but there's usually a fair amount of new stuff. We always get a couple more moves (about four) of the six closing fist form, usually there's a new stance or kick or two or a new tan tuie routine or something, and sometimes we get a new grabbing hands self defense application. And naturally we practice stuff we've already learned; it's not *only* new stuff. With that much new stuff each week though, there's a lot to remember. That's why I take notes.

Oh, and sometimes he talks to us for a bit about the culture and traditions and such. As he told us, a martial art is more than just the moves, so we need to be made aware of all the other stuff that goes with it, too. That can be a nice little break from practicing when you're getting sore/tired. They're generally good things to know as far as I can tell. Sometimes it just indicates the sort of expectations he has for us -- e.g., he said that next year for his birthday he wants a demonstration from us. So he's already got us scheduled for performances even though we're only a bit over a month into our training. He seems to really like teaching us though. He has a few other classes, but he said they're almost all young children and senior citizens. That kind of limits what he can do with them. With a bunch of undergrad/grad students in their 20s (that's the majority of the class anyway), there's more he can do with us and I think he's glad to have a class like us with people he can really train the way he wants to.

Anyway, I'm not so sure I'd recognize good training tips if I got them. Being new, I'm just building the foundation now, I have nothing to compare to, so I'm likely to think that what we're learning is semi-standard stuff. But if something sticks out as particularly interesting to me, I'll try to remember to pass it along.

 

[GouRonin]

When I started I think I wrote everything down in a book. I still write stuff down but not nearly as much as I used to. Now I write down interesting stuff. Sometimes it's better for me to just do rather than think.

Looking back on my old books I laugh sometimes, other times I think hard about what I wrote. In any case, notebooks are fun. Keep them.

 

[Karl_Skewes]

I've been studying Winc Chun for about 3months now.

Being a small guy, 70kg - 5'8", I find it really suits my build.
As its very efficient, compared to the little bits of TKD and Karate anyways. The instructor (Sifu Tony) is always happy and his attitude is infectious.
He walks around the room helping everyone individually as well as of course giving general ideas. Tony sometimes talks at the end of training, on different ideas, mostly morals. This is a nice reminder.

Anyhow, I'm rambling.... but I'm rapt, hope others are enjoying whatever they're doing and more ppl start posting ;D

 

[Dronak]

I figured I might as well append this to the original thread I started. For anyone who's curious, we've finished off our first semester of long fist training and have now moved into a winter training session. This one is more intense than the fall, partly because I think our master wants to get in as much as possible and partly because I think he just wants to push us and hopefully get us to improve more quickly. We're now up to 3 hours a day, 3 days a week, nearly double what we did in the fall. From the first few classes it looks like the new stuff will be some applications of the Six Closing Fist form we learned last semester and the teaching of a new form called Power Fist. As I recall, our master said that normally Power Fist would be learned after Linking Step Fist, but Power Fist uses more of the harder basic stances that he felt we needed more practice with, so he's doing that with us first. Naturally there's practice of old stuff, stances, kicks, etc. Part of this seems to include increasing the number of repetitions of some of the basic stance training exercises, I'd guess in order to build stamina. I think the general plan is to complete Power Fist before the spring semester and probably get those repetitions up to some high number. I'm not sure what the exact plan for the spring is, but I think it's supposed to involve the teaching of two forms in some manner. I think he still plans to split us into groups for form teaching later, but I'm not sure. I'm more worried about getting back into shape for the winter; I didn't practice as much as I should have over the winter. Well, it is kind of nice to be back to regular training, even if it is harder this time around. I just thought I'd post a little update for anyone who was wondering how things were going over here.

 

[Cthulhu]

Sounds like you're having a good time and getting some good training in as well. I'm not familiar with those forms, so I can't offer anything in that respect.

I think the fact that the instructor is willing to spend that increased amount of time on your group shows that you all are worthy of his extra attention.

Keep at it!

Cthulhu

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Cthulhu
I think the fact that the instructor is willing to spend that increased amount of time on your group shows that you all are worthy of his extra attention.

Yes. It sounds like a great situation--being given three hours per day of training in a legitimate and interesting martial art.

 

[Dronak]

Yes, we certainly have a very good opportunity being the first group he's teaching. As I wrote earlier, we're the first group of students he can really train the way he wants to; the other classes he teachers are mainly filled with senior citizens or young children. He's also said that when next school year starts and we have a completely new batch of students, that those of us who have been here for a year already will be expected to help them with their basic training. I think that's partly why he's pushing us now, too. He wants to make sure we know our basics well enough to be able to help new students with them next year. Being the very first group, we're lucky enough to get all the time with the instructor; future groups won't get his undivided attention all the time like we are so we are fortunate to have come in when we did. It is a pain sometimes, but if I really didn't like it, I wouldn't stay with it. Oh, at class yesterday we got our belts, too. Black ones. Since there's no belt ranking system in Chinese martial arts and color doesn't matter, our instructor decided that we should all have black belts because they don't get as obviously dirty as quickly as light colored belts.

 

[Dronak]

You know, it just doesn't seem worth starting a new thread for the small bits I have to mention. At practice yesterday, our master told me that he wanted me to be part of the tai chi group in the spring. I think he plans to have three groups, one for tai chi and the other two to learn two different Shaolin forms. I also think the whole class will be learning Linking Step Fist, another basic Shaolin form. Anyway, if I heard and recall correctly, he told us that his grandmaster learned Yang style tai chi from Yang Cheng-Fu. If that's right, then when he teaches us we'll be learning from a line that goes back to one of the main names in the Yang family style of tai chi. Pretty cool, huh? I just thought I'd pass that along because I thought it was interesting.

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Dronak
If that's right, then when he teaches us we'll be learning from a line that goes back to one of the main names in the Yang family style of tai chi. Pretty cool, huh?

Yes it is!

What do you think of the effectiveness of what you've learned so far in kung fu--be it for self-defense, exercise, character development or what-have-you. And by forms do you mean that he is teaching various parts of Shaolin kung fu, or are these truly different styles (as Wing Chun and Praying Mantis are)?

 

[Dronak]

Let's see. I think what I've learned can be summed up as basic stances, basic kicks, exercises for practicing those, two forms (well, the second form will be completed this week), and a few grabbing hands self defense moves. As far as self defense goes, it's a bit hard to tell how effective this would be because we haven't practiced specificially for that very much. Our master does show us applications of moves so we have a picture in our head of why we do certain things the way we do. We haven't practiced much use of them though; we're mainly working on learning the forms and getting basics down better. I'd imagine that if you had practiced things often enough to make them basically second nature they would work for self defense. I think the grabbing hands stuff will work as we've been taught if you're quick enough to apply them. They're kind of like joint locking techniques and it seems like you have to be fast and accurate to get them to work properly.

It is certainly good exercise; my muscles frequently hurt after practice. The stances are pretty low which makes them tough. We're supposed to be getting into a position where our bones help support our weight, but it's hard to get that just right position and even if you do it doesn't 100% eliminate muscle use. Until we build up our stamina more it will probably continune to hurt. Character development, I'm not sure. Our master is really pushing to give us as much as he can, so he's moving faster than you would traditionally. He has told us about other aspects of the art, not just the moves, so we've had some exposure to that sort of thing. I think his current emphasis is more on teaching us forms and such than the more mental aspects of the art.

I thought "forms" was used the same way in general, but perhaps not. As a beginner I don't have much exposure to the whole area. The way I use "form" at least is to refer to a particular routine, an ordering of moves. So far we've done two forms, Six Closing Fist and Power Fist. I think the spring semester will include another one called Linking Step Fist. All of these are part of the shaolin kung fu style we're learning. They're just different routines containing different moves with often different purposes in mind (I think). I think our master has learned other styles besides the one he's teaching us, but we're just learning one style right now. Excluding the tai chi, that is, which he plans to start teaching some people in the spring; clearly tai chi isn't shaolin kung fu.

 

[Dronak]

Yes, replying to myself in my thread again. I just got an e-mail from our instructor. There were two notes in it. One is that he wants about 8 or so of us to help him out at a performance in a few weeks; we'd do our basic form as a group and he'd do a couple advanced forms himself. The other is that he's scheduled a little "exam" for us in about a month. He said that those of us who have learned both Six Closing Fist and Power Fist, the first two forms he taught us, can take part. If we pass, we can start learning a more advanced form, one of the Ambush Fist forms, a bit later in the semester. He's even bringing in two guest judges to assist him -- a two time world Taekwondo champion and another one of his master's students. Wow, public performances and in class exams and we've only been practicing for maybe 5 months, tops. Well, it's good experience I suppose.

Since I have learned both forms, I'm pretty sure I'll be expected to take part in this little exam. However, the teacher has told me that he wanted me to be in a tai chi group this semester and start learning that. I believe that means I'd do tai chi instead of an advanced Shaolin form, so I'm not sure he'd have me learning Ambush Fist even if I do pass the exam. I guess I'll just have to wait and see, huh? Well, I have about a month to get ready and try to get those forms down as accurately as possible. Wish me luck for my upcoming exam. Even if the teacher won't put me in an Ambush Fist group, I'd still like to pass the exam. I'll let you know more about it once it's over.

 

[Cthulhu]

Good luck! Just try to relax during the exam. Don't think of doing the forms as a performance for the judges. Just do them like you would when trying to perfect them on your own.

Most of all, have fun!

Cthulhu

 

[Dronak]

Thanks for the tip, Cthulhu. I'll try not to worry too much about the judges. One good thing is that our teacher will be one of the judges and he's seen us plenty of times before. I think that will lend a little moral support and make us feel a little more relaxed. Our teacher told us that "the exam criteria are base of martial art spirit, skills, attitude to your master and classmates" and that practice attendance would be factored in, too. He also said if we couldn't do the exam on the scheduled Saturday, we could do it at the following practice Tuesday, but then he would be the only judge and no mistakes would be allowed. I guess with the three judges they'll be a little more lenient considering that we've been pushing fast and probably haven't trained as long as necessary to really get down the forms. Well, I'll just keep practicing and do the best I can when the time comes.

[My Orange Belt post. Yeah! ]