Ken Gullette- Xing Yi

[Mystery]

I have read one or two threads about his Tai Chi background but I also wanted to inform myself concerning the quality of his Xing Yi- teaching. I have experience in TCC and Wing Chun, therefore I think it might be possible to get some basic skills in Xing Yi by attending his online course combined with visiting one or two seminars a year.
Any expert here who might judge his videos- if they are at least
above- average I consider to take the online course.
I surely do not believe to become an advanced practitioner solely by wachting videos. In my surrounding there is unfortunately no Xing Yi- teaching at all. If anyone knows the exact price per month- I heard it would be 20$. Thanks a lot!

 

[southcraig]

He will give you about a two week trial peroid to try out his online school.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I don't know Ken Gullette but I seriously doubt you can learn xingyiquan via distance learning.

Question does he get into Santi Shi?

Try asking this over at Rum Soaked Fist to see what they think... but just in case be prepared to duck.

 

[blindsage]

I totally agree with Xue about distance learning. Wanting to learn a style doesn't make any method of learning quality.

Try asking this over at Rum Soaked Fist to see what they think... but just in case be prepared to duck.

LOL, seriously.

 

[Golden Harvest]

...... In my surrounding there is unfortunately no Xing Yi- teaching at all. .....


I feel your pain bro. Like you, my only option is videos. Instead of Xing Yi, I am seeking Bagua instruction. There isn't any in my area unless, I guess, you live in a big city with a Chinatown such as New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

 

[Xue Sheng]

To the whole subject of learning solely by DVD….good luck with that, you may want to check this out first

Sometimes we may just have to except the fact we are where we need to be.

 

[Golden Harvest]

To the whole subject of learning solely by DVD….good luck with that, you may want to check this out first

Sometimes we may just have to except the fact we are where we need to be.

Xue,

You are very blessed to have access to numerous great masters in your pursuit of Xing Yi, Yang Tai Chi, San Shou, and Chen Tai Chi. Many of us are not as fortunate and must resort to videos and reading about it in a forum such as this Martial Talk. I agree with you that video learning is not ideal. But for short term or until a teacher is found, videos can be beneficial. This is all I will say about videos. I said enough on my earlier posts. By the way, I enjoy reading your insights on Chinese martial arts and am amazed by your wealth of knowledge. Thanks.

Respectfully yours.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Xue,

You are very blessed to have access to numerous great masters in your pursuit of Xing Yi, Yang Tai Chi, San Shou, and Chen Tai Chi. Many of us are not as fortunate and must resort to videos and reading about it in a forum such as this Martial Talk. I agree with you that video learning is not ideal. But for short term or until a teacher is found, videos can be beneficial. This is all I will say about videos. I said enough on my earlier posts. By the way, I enjoy reading your insights on Chinese martial arts and am amazed by your wealth of knowledge. Thanks.

Respectfully yours.

I don't have access to any great Xingyiquan teacher at the moment and that is why I am stalled and considering giving it up. Chen is once a year so I do not train Chen any longer either, other than the Chan Su Jin that I was taught directly by Chen Sifu. My Sanshou Sifu is a personal friend who teaches no one, including me at the moment. The only person I have direct access to is my Yang style Sifu and I am very lucky to have that. So I decided to accept what I have and work with. If I wanted to continue in my Xingyi training that would mean traveling 3 to 6 hours (depending on who would teach me) or buying DVDs of 12 animals, I only officially learned tiger. And I bought some but after looking at them I decided that I would not be able to learn 12 Animals by DVD. Well I could, but it would be a sloppy mess that looked roughly like 12 animals. And driving 3 to 6 hours is just not possible at the moment. And for the record I did consider starting a training group but no one wants to learn Xingyi. It is boring and painful to learn and no one wants to do that these days except us Xingyi addict types.

And of course there is my first Sifu, who is still in the area teaching. However he no longer cares what he teachers and he only cares about how much money he makes and he now teaches, claims mastery of and false lineages to styles he learned from DVD. However he is not as good at it as he thinks.

It was after that I started to look around (I had no choice really due to injuries) and I found other schools, none that have impressed me so far, but I did not know they were there before. Actually I should not say none impressed me, one impressed me greatly. It was a Wing Chun school but it is way to far, and out of the way, from my new house for me to go there. Ironically it is only a few miles away from my old house.

But the question is can someone learn a style like Bagua or Xingyi or Taiji (Or any art for that matter) and do it well?

The answer may surprise many, but the answer is yes and no.

However it takes a rare talent to do that. It takes great powers of observation, patience and dedication to learn the forms properly. I have known one and spoke to another that had this talent. One was a good friend and one of the most talented MAists I have ever known. He picked up Bagua using Park Bok Nam DVDs. He later trained with a Sifu who wanted to know where he trained before, he was that good, and his response was that he just picked it up here and there. He did not want to explain the DVDs. Another I talked to had the same thing occur with Chen Zhanglei. He followed Chen Zhenglei's DVDs and he then decided to go to China and train with Chen Sifu. Chen Sifu told him his Chen style was very good and asked him who his teacher was. He told Chen Sifu, much to the surprise of Chen Sifu, that Chen Sifu was his teacher and he had followed his DVDs.

However both only learned form and neither knew applications all that well and they needed to work on power too. But they are not the norm, most people; myself included do not have that talent.


If DVD is what you choose I wish you the best.