I am Dong Mu Yao's Senior Student. Ask me anything.

[Randy Lin]

Hello all. This is to begin an authentic discussion of Master Dong Mu Yao's Fujian White Crane.
I realize the title is a bit loaded, but I am Master's Dong's senior student. If you look at the French martial arts magazine article, I am in the picture behind him. But i will offer many more pics. I am not someone who visited taiwan for a couple of lessons. I was his student for nearly ten years until his passing. Please note the following:
1. I am the one who Romanized his name.
2. I will offer many pics of us, including my wedding where Sifu was my guest.
3. I interpreted for him at the very important martial arts news conference in Taipei.
4. I learned all six kata /tao lu
5. Sifu told my upper classmate that he hoped for me to "face the west" regarding Dong Family White Crane.
6. I have not earned one dime or any clout off my teacher's name. But some have. So I'm coming out.
7.My specialty kata is Sleeping Crane. I hope to hold seminars for blackbelts who are interested.
Thank you.
Randy

 

[HighKick]

Hello all. This is to begin an authentic discussion of Master Dong Mu Yao's Fujian White Crane.
I realize the title is a bit loaded, but I am Master's Dong's senior student. If you look at the French martial arts magazine article, I am in the picture behind him. But i will offer many more pics. I am not someone who visited taiwan for a couple of lessons. I was his student for nearly ten years until his passing. Please note the following:
1. I am the one who Romanized his name.
2. I will offer many pics of us, including my wedding where Sifu was my guest.
3. I interpreted for him at the very important martial arts news conference in Taipei.
4. I learned all six kata /tao lu
5. Sifu told my upper classmate that he hoped for me to "face the west" regarding Dong Family White Crane.
6. I have not earned one dime or any clout off my teacher's name. But some have. So I'm coming out.
7.My specialty kata is Sleeping Crane. I hope to hold seminars for blackbelts who are interested.
Thank you.
Randy

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Randy Lin]

Welcome to the forum.

Happy to be here. Thank you.

 

[hoshin160022 1]

Hello Randy.
I have a question, who was the upper class mate you mention? As I was under the assumption he only had one remaining student in his later years.

 

[Randy Lin]

Hi hoshin. So the timeline is a little complex. I need to say this first.
1. Song Tien Chi is my upper classmate and the SOLE(non genetic family) SUCCESSOR TO MASTER DONG MU YAO. I take that to the bank and will never claim that position.
2. Without trying to start a net war, there were visitors to Sifu who studied with him a short time, some as short as a single day. These individuals then claimed to have "studied with him". A little semantics hair splitting on my part, and i hope im not gatekeeping.
3.My intense training time with Sifu was about 3 years, then i moved to south Taiwan.i was only able to see him about once a month during that time. I continued for at least 4 years that way but not always every month. Sometimes i might see him twice in one month and then not for three months.
4. MOST of my training was under Song Tien Chi. You all must know this: Sifu had trouble walking especially the last part. He also had cataract surgery. Sifu told Song what to teach me and would watch me. Every class he would tell me what i need to work on. He did the kata with us EVERY CLASS.
5. Song and I estimate Sifu's age when he passed to be 94 years old but there's no guarantee because its rumored he wrote a younger age on his immigration form to taiwan in 1949.
6. I canot say anything about a 'final student" as i was down south. I suspect this person is a french man ive seen on the net. i DISLIKE the use of the term "last student" if he is claiming that because i was still his student and also its cheap marketing. So youre last. youre lucky,not special.
7. It is universally known amongst his students that his prime teaching was done in his 50s and 60s at the Maritime College.
8. The lady in the national geographic video was his girlfriend, not his sister. they had a common law relationship until his death.
I'm rambling. help me out with some questions. I'll do my best to answer.

 

[Randy Lin]

Another thing. during the time sifu couldn't really walk anymore, i was training at his house. We would sit in chairs facing each other and work on defense. Those were really special times for me.

 

[Randy Lin]

Here is the picture from the French magazine article. I am the westerner right behind Sifu. Song is behind me on the right.The writer of the article is an awesome guy. He is a Judo champion in France. i really enjoyed my time with him.

 

[Randy Lin]

Also, have mercy on me if i get dates, years,and time spans wrong. I was 37 or 38 years old in that picture and will be 60 this year. The years are starting to blur together.

 

[Randy Lin]

i was just looking at something on some deep "aspects" of white crane. Sifu never cared about this stuff. His philosophy was " dou lian" (practice more).He never discussed esoterics. I personally think he didnt beleive in it. He respected practice not talk. When he explained things it was in clear terms. Nothing esoteric.

 

[Gyakuto114 123]

i was just looking at something on some deep "aspects" of white crane. Sifu never cared about this stuff. His philosophy was " dou lian" (practice more).He never discussed esoterics. I personally think he didnt beleive in it. He respected practice not talk. When he explained things it was in clear terms. Nothing esoteric.

Oh that’s a shame. ‘Esoterics’ and talking about an art can be extremely informative, provided, that is, those doing the talking are sufficiently articulate and experienced.

We have two styles of Iai teachers here in the UK, the ‘silent demonstration and lots of reps’ types and the ‘narrated demonstration and discuss’ types. In my experience, the latter produces more accomplished, well-rounded practitioners. The human ability to intellectually dissect and reconstruct concepts and thus make lucid what is going on, is the pinnacle in our evolution.

You can probably tell I favour ‘no-speaking-and-lots-of-reps-until-near-death’

 

[Randy Lin]

Oh that’s a shame. ‘Esoterics’ and talking about an art can be extremely informative, provided, that is, those doing the talking are sufficiently articulate and experienced.

We have two styles of Iai teachers here in the UK, the ‘silent demonstration and lots of reps’ types and the ‘narrated demonstration and discuss’ types. In my experience, the latter produces more accomplished, well-rounded practitioners. The human ability to intellectually dissect and reconstruct concepts and thus make lucid what is going on, is the pinnacle in our evolution.

You can probably tell I favour ‘no-speaking-and-lots-of-reps-until-near-death’

As i said, Sifu didnt care about words so much. He did answer any questions I had sufficiently though.

 

[Randy Lin]

Hello Randy.
I have a question, who was the upper class mate you mention? As I was under the assumption he only had one remaining student in his later years.

That student only visited Sifu for lessons. My upper classmate Song taught him if at all. Most of the pics i saw on his site were not from his supposed time but were photoed off the dojo wall and from magazines.

 

[Gyakuto114 123]

My impression is that most of the people attracted to combat-based divertissements tend not to be ‘ruminators’ or at least to be able to articulate the products of their musings. When they do, they become incredible teachers, like Martin Watts!

 

[Randy Lin]

My impression is that most of the people attracted to combat-based divertissements tend not to be ‘ruminators’ or at least to be able to articulate the products of their musings. When they do, they become incredible teachers, like Martin Watts!

Most Asian teachers are not like that. in fact most Asians aren't like that.

 

[Gyakuto114 123]

Most Asian teachers are not like that. in fact most Asians aren't like that.

I be Asian, I be not spoke the good England.

You probably mean the Asian teachers you have had close contact with aren’t ‘explainers’.

 

[Randy Lin]

I be Asian, I be not spoke the good England.

You probably mean the Asian teachers you have had close contact with aren’t ‘explainers’.

no, i mean the thousands of asian people i've met in 30 years of living in Taiwan and Japan.

 

[Randy Lin]

no, i mean the thousands of asian people i've met in 30 years of living in Taiwan and Japan. and ive met many sensei and sifu over the years. its a trait. A good one too.Westerners talk too much.

 

[Xue Sheng107 24]

@Randy Lin - your post "no, i mean the thousands of asian people i've met in 30 years of living in Taiwan and Japan. and ive met many sensei and sifu over the years. its a trait. A good one too.Westerners talk too much."

Speaking strickly from a Chinese perspective, (I'm not, my wife, many friends, and MA teachers are, mostly mainland) that is a regional thing. Northerners tend to not talk much, Southerners tend to talk more.

Quote from my wife, (Běijīng rén 北京人), after meeting a good friend of mine and his family (Guǎngdōng rén 广东人)

"I forgot how much Southerners like to talk"

A quote from a woman I use to know who was a Guǎngdōng rén 广东人 talking about her time in College in Beijing.

"I had an argument with another girl ans she tried to hit me, I forgot Northerners don't talk much, they hit... Southerners argue, Northerners hit"

But over all, I agree with what you are saying.


Note to not break MT rules, Translations of the Mandarin (not for Randy Lin, I am sure he understands)

Guǎngdōng rén 广东人 is a person from Guangzhou, a Cantonese Speaker, they are in Southern China
Běijīng rén 北京人 is a person from Beijing, they are in North China and Mandarin Speakers

Cantonese 广东话 Guǎngdōng huà
Mandarin 普通话 Pǔtōnghuà









a regional things