Learning from a great Kung-fu Si-fu...

geezer

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This weekend my wife talked me into attending a seminar with a great kung-fu sifu. I learned some great techniques, and a good deal more about Chinese culture...especially the appreciation of tea! And a fresh perspective, punctuated with gentle humor and a good many old proverbs, that is inspiring me to train more diligently. The Sifu is Master Ah Leon. He is from Taiwan, though his technique is revered worldwide. If you are interested, check him out on google... but there's a catch. His kung-fu is great, but (at least as far as I know) he's not a martial artist. He works with clay.

"Work is what I do when I'm not enjoying tea." --Ah Leon
 

Omar B

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Give us some more details man. After a weekend with a great master we expect more than a single paragraph. What did he cover? What concepts did he expand upon? How did he change your perception of what you have been doing all this time? How has it helped/changed your tech? Did he provide you with any supplementary materials (books, training manuals, videos? Any pictures?
 

clfsean

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This weekend my wife talked me into attending a seminar with a great kung-fu sifu. I learned some great techniques, and a good deal more about Chinese culture...especially the appreciation of tea! And a fresh perspective, punctuated with gentle humor and a good many old proverbs, that is inspiring me to train more diligently. The Sifu is Master Ah Leon. He is from Taiwan, though his technique is revered worldwide. If you are interested, check him out on google... but there's a catch. His kung-fu is great, but (at least as far as I know) he's not a martial artist. He works with clay.

"Work is what I do when I'm not enjoying tea." --Ah Leon

Never heard of him...
 

Tames D

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I admire anyone who is a Master of their trade or hobby regardless what that might be. Sounds like this guy is a true Master.
 
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geezer

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I admire anyone who is a Master of their trade or hobby regardless what that might be. Sounds like this guy is a true Master.

You know, I believe you can learn a lot by watching anyone who is really a "master" do their thing. A master carpenter, potter, painter... or martial artist. They all express with that same confidence, fluidity and ease with their craft. It's like the old proverb, "You can tell a kung-fu man by the way he moves." That's how I felt watching this artist. It made me think about how I should be appraching my Wing Tsun... even though this man is a visual artist, not a martial artist.... or then again, who knows???
 

Omar B

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Give us some more details man. After a weekend with a great master we expect more than a single paragraph. What did he cover? What concepts did he expand upon? How did he change your perception of what you have been doing all this time? How has it helped/changed your tech? Did he provide you with any supplementary materials (books, training manuals, videos?) Any pictures?

Gotta quote myself because still there's nary a detail about this weekend.
 
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geezer

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what's the technique of his?
how it could be revered worldwide?

OK -- You could have googled the name, but since you guys keep asking... In Taiwan, and also on the mainland, Ah Leon established his reputation among the lovers of "gong-fu cha" or the mastery and enjoyment ot tea for his exquisite little ceramic teapots influenced by the Yixing style ...but with inovations of his own. If you are lucky, you may be able to buy one of his small teapots for as little as $4,000 US dollars, although they often sell for much more. He has not been making any of these for a few years now. His current work focuses on larger, sculptural teapots in a trump l'oeil style that look like old tree stumps with peeling bark and protruding branches that double as handles and spouts. He is also renowned here in the States for his large scale trump l'oeil installations of ceramic sculpture that perfectly mimic objects of ancient, weathered wood, such as his sixty foot long work Bridge ('95) and current piece, Memories of Elementary School on display at the Phoenix Art Museum this week.

As a sculptor and potter myself, I've long been intrigued by the physical and spiritual parallels between Art and the Martial Arts. I have an old video of Taiwanese folk pottery masters called The Potters of Shuai-li. I was amazed at how much the movement and body language of the old master-potter in the video reminded me of my own Chinese Wing Tsun sifu. Now, many years later, I encountered the same parallel in observing this Taiwanese artist Ah Leon demonstrating his ceramic arts and discussing the "gong-fu" of tea. As I said before, I find that the experience inspired me to work harder, both at my art and at my martial training!
 

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