My Jhong

[Ranger28634]

I recently began studying My Jhong and absolutely love the art. Over the past few years due to relocation and the closing of a school. I really like My Jhong as it seems to be a well rounded and versitle art.

I have not met many who practice the art or are familiar with it. Does anyone here practice My Jhong?

 

[kuniggety]

There's so many ways to transliterated Chinese. Is it the same as Mizongyi? Where do you study? There's not a lot of places that teach Mizongyi so it's pretty cool if you're getting a chance to study it. I studied Bak Sil Lum which is another longfist style and learned a form from Luohanquan which is often taught with Mizongyi.

Sifu Kisu, the guy who did the fight choreography for Avatar: The Last Airbender used Mizongyi when doing the choreography for Azula, Zuko's sister, instead of the mix of Bak Sil Lum and Northern Praying Mantis he did for the rest of the fire nation.

 

[Ranger28634]

There's so many ways to transliterated Chinese. Is it the same as Mizongyi? Where do you study? There's not a lot of places that teach Mizongyi so it's pretty cool if you're getting a chance to study it. I studied Bak Sil Lum which is another longfist style and learned a form from Luohanquan which is often taught with Mizongyi.

Sifu Kisu, the guy who did the fight choreography for Avatar: The Last Airbender used Mizongyi when doing the choreography for Azula, Zuko's sister, instead of the mix of Bak Sil Lum and Northern Praying Mantis he did for the rest of the fire nation.

Yes, that is another spelling of the same art. Frankly, I am very confused by all the Chinese arts - not only are there tons of them, the same art can have different spellings. I thought Longfist was a style...boy was I ignorant! I am fascinated by the history and learning the similarities/contrast of the various styles. I train in North Carolina. My sifu studied under Grandmaster Lee in Louisiana.

That is pretty interesting!

 

[mograph]

My old Yiquan Sifu in Toronto, William Chau, studied Mizongyi at Jingwu. He attempted to teach some of it to us, but it was quite athletic and we couldn't keep up, not being as young as we were. There don't seem to be a lot of youngsters looking to study that art any more, but he did teach some forms to one of us who was very dedicated and younger.
A photo of Master Chau can be found under the Dachengquan entry in the book "Kung Fu Elements" by Shou-Yu Liang & Wen-Ching Wu.

 

[clfsean]

Yes, that is another spelling of the same art. Frankly, I am very confused by all the Chinese arts - not only are there tons of them, the same art can have different spellings. I thought Longfist was a style...boy was I ignorant! I am fascinated by the history and learning the similarities/contrast of the various styles. I train in North Carolina. My sifu studied under Grandmaster Lee in Louisiana.

That is pretty interesting!

A lot of it here in the states comes from him or his classmates CH Marr & Alex Kwok. There's a My Jhong Law Horn teacher here in Atl. Good stuff but my body says "Oh Hell no"

 

[Ranger28634]

It certainly requires flexibility and athleticism. I can tell my strength, especially core and leg strength, and flexibility has improved greatly. My striking seems to be stronger I assume it is from the grounding and improved core strength.

They also offer Tai Chi (Wu style I believe) I might try it after Christmas, I was told it would improve my My Jhong.

 

[clfsean]

It certainly requires flexibility and athleticism. I can tell my strength, especially core and leg strength, and flexibility has improved greatly. My striking seems to be stronger I assume it is from the grounding and improved core strength.

All TCMAs do that in their own way. Some focus on "this" way, others "that" way but the nifty thing is they ALL end up in the same place.

They also offer Tai Chi (Wu style I believe) I might try it after Christmas, I was told it would improve my My Jhong.

It definitely can, but the thing to remember on taiji is not to let it change what you do in MJLH & the other way around. Compliment & round out, but carefully. I'd say get a good couple of years in MJLH before changing the way you move right now. But that's just me.

So will your school be going to the Queen City Cup tournament in March in Charlotte?

 

[Ranger28634]

Thanks for the in put. I wondered if training in both would cause issues. I have been in My Jhong about six months, so I might hold off a while longer.

I am not sure but I would assume so. The school goes to many large tournaments and travels to most of the large ones on the east coast.

 

[mograph]

One's mileage may vary, but I've found that different styles can mix if I can see their core as similar, but the forms outside the core as different.

Now, if I found that the core of the arts were different, I'd probably drop one of them.

 

[clfsean]

One's mileage may vary, but I've found that different styles can mix if I can see their core as similar, but the forms outside the core as different.

Now, if I found that the core of the arts were different, I'd probably drop one of them.

Can't disagree with that. But for the OP I was more about the time in training vs the what.

FWIW ... I've found that if things are dissimilar, (for me) I have an easier time keeping them separate since they don't run into each other. I practice Lama Pai & Choy Li Fut ... really similar to each other. With directed focus, I don't blend the two. I also do a little (very little) Hakka stuff & there's no issues there since it's not even ball park to those two others. Taiji falls into the same category for me.

 

[kuniggety]

When I was doing Kung fu I was doing both Bak Sil Lum and Northern Praying Mantis (7* with some Taiji). They were different enough that I didn't confuse the two. Although there is a 7* form called Spearhand that is basically a longfist form with mantis hands.

 

[mograph]

No worries -- as long as we choose the approach that suits the way we think. Some of us prefer distinctions, some prefer similarities.

 

[Flying Crane]

It can go both ways. If the foundational principles are different, time training the one can be detrimental to the other, and vice-versa. You split your training focus into two different fundamental approaches and it takes twice as long to get half as good in each.

If the foundational methods are similar but not the same, they blur together and each one is almost good, but not quite right, and that can mean they are both simply wrong. Subtle differences can make a huge difference.

That's why I prefer to stick with one method, after you have experimented and gotten the breadth of experience to find a method that makes sense to you, taught by a good teacher. Consistency in your methodology is much more important than collecting techniques or collecting forms or collecting methodologies. You don't need five different methods of generating power in your punches. When the rubber hits the road, which method will you use, and how good will it be? You need one method, well trained, for consistency and reliability. That gives you far more mileage, with less material.

But you probably need to try out several different methods befor you can understand this and make a good choice.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Interesting thread….actually the first on in a long time that I actually found interesting enough to read all the posts in it

Yes, that is another spelling of the same art. Frankly, I am very confused by all the Chinese arts - not only are there tons of them, the same art can have different spellings. I thought Longfist was a style...boy was I ignorant! I am fascinated by the history and learning the similarities/contrast of the various styles. I train in North Carolina. My sifu studied under Grandmaster Lee in Louisiana.

That is pretty interesting!

Spellings can be simply dialect. Look at Chinese as a family of languages and not so much as a language by itself. Add to that various approaches at Romanization of the Chinese language (Wade-Giles, Yale, Pinyin) and it gets even more confusing.

Pinyin > Xingyiquan

Wade Giles > Hsing I Ch'üan

Add to that the pronunciation of it in some Southern dialects is yinyi…. And it gets confusing. But all that aside it is written the same in all Chinese dialects 形意拳

And long fist is a style...... Changquan 長拳

 

[Xue Sheng]

Can't disagree with that. But for the OP I was more about the time in training vs the what.

FWIW ... I've found that if things are dissimilar, (for me) I have an easier time keeping them separate since they don't run into each other. I practice Lama Pai & Choy Li Fut ... really similar to each other. With directed focus, I don't blend the two. I also do a little (very little) Hakka stuff & there's no issues there since it's not even ball park to those two others. Taiji falls into the same category for me.

I find I can’t do that in very dissimilar styles, part of why I stopped training Baguazhang, it is just, to me, so vastly different in its approach to SD than anything else I was training at the time (Taijiquan and Xingyiquan) it was just to hard to follow as it applies to application. To actually understand it would take (at least for me) complete dedication to the style and more years than I wanted to dedicate to it. It is just, IMHO, way too complicated to go mixing it with anything else, at least in the early stages of training it.

 

[Xue Sheng]

It can go both ways. If the foundational principles are different, time training the one can be detrimental to the other, and vice-versa. You split your training focus into two different fundamental approaches and it takes twice as long to get half as good in each.

If the foundational methods are similar but not the same, they blur together and each one is almost good, but not quite right, and that can mean they are both simply wrong. Subtle differences can make a huge difference.

That's why I prefer to stick with one method, after you have experimented and gotten the breadth of experience to find a method that makes sense to you, taught by a good teacher. Consistency in your methodology is much more important than collecting techniques or collecting forms or collecting methodologies. You don't need five different methods of generating power in your punches. When the rubber hits the road, which method will you use, and how good will it be? You need one method, well trained, for consistency and reliability. That gives you far more mileage, with less material.

But you probably need to try out several different methods befor you can understand this and make a good choice.

Agreed, that is why I am a Taijiquan guy and only a Taijiquan guy these days. It takes time to get these things right and some simply do not want to take the time, which is ok, it is when they don’t take the time and then go about bad mouthing said style I get upset.

But with that said there are sometimes things are not as dissimilar as one may think....or wish they were... see Xingyiquan and JKD.....

Also within CMA you can find similar approaches within styles that are considered vastly different.... see Sanda and Taijiquan.

So a bit of cross training may help one understand things, kind of like getting a different POV a physics course that makes things more clear. But it is best, IMO, in those situation to have a real good base in a specific style, as well as being dedicated to that style, if one uses cross training for that purpose. One also has to be real careful with this approach because it is way too easy to start using things as it was shown in style B and allowing that it override what you were trying to figure out in style A.

Example: I can go train qinna that is used in Sanda that might help me get a better grasp on a qinna app in Taijiquan. And the Sanda app may “appear” easier, but in reality it uses way to much force for Taijiquan. It would then be my job to figure out how that is used in Taijiquan. Or if I am real lucky the Sanda approach clarifies what my taiji sifu was trying to teach me. That boot to the head, if you will, that I needed to make my brain work.

Or as I was doing recently, training with Wing Chun guys, not so much to learn Wing Chun as to get a better understating of how taiji would work in these situations. Some days I got pummeled and others I did ok and learned a few things. For one the Wing Chun approach to center is very different than Taijiquan...that I found very intresting.

 

[Flying Crane]

Agreed, that is why I am a Taijiquan guy and only a Taijiquan guy these days. It takes time to get these things right and some simply do not want to take the time, which is ok, it is when they don’t take the time and then go about bad mouthing said style I get upset.

But with that said there are sometimes things are not as dissimilar as one may think....or wish they were... see Xingyiquan and JKD.....

Also within CMA you can find similar approaches within styles that are considered vastly different.... see Sanda and Taijiquan.

So a bit of cross training may help one understand things, kind of like getting a different POV a physics course that makes things more clear. But it is best, IMO, in those situation to have a real good base in a specific style, as well as being dedicated to that style, if one uses cross training for that purpose. One also has to be real careful with this approach because it is way too easy to start using things as it was shown in style B and allowing that it override what you were trying to figure out in style A.

Example: I can go train qinna that is used in Sanda that might help me get a better grasp on a qinna app in Taijiquan. And the Sanda app may “appear” easier, but in reality it uses way to much force for Taijiquan. It would then be my job to figure out how that is used in Taijiquan. Or if I am real lucky the Sanda approach clarifies what my taiji sifu was trying to teach me. That boot to the head, if you will, that I needed to make my brain work.

Or as I was doing recently, training with Wing Chun guys, not so much to learn Wing Chun as to get a better understating of how taiji would work in these situations. Some days I got pummeled and others I did ok and learned a few things. For one the Wing Chun approach to center is very different than Taijiquan...that I found very intresting.

And I believe that a lot of people think they have that solid base in one system, when they really do not.

 

[Xue Sheng]

They also offer Tai Chi (Wu style I believe) I might try it after Christmas, I was told it would improve my My Jhong.

Simply curious: Which Wu style; Northern, Southern or Wu/Hao?

 

[Ranger28634]

I am honestly not sure. Once again, my ignorance shows, I did not realize there were multiple Wu styles. I would assume Northern given that My Jhong is a Northern style and I was told their are many similarities in the arts. My instructor studied Tai Chi under Grandmaster Lee also.

 

[clfsean]

I am honestly not sure. Once again, my ignorance shows, I did not realize there were multiple Wu styles. I would assume Northern given that My Jhong is a Northern style and I was told their are many similarities in the arts. My instructor studied Tai Chi under Grandmaster Lee also.

Not ignorance dude ... just inexperience. Nothing to worry about.

Xue ...Tai Chi - Lee's White Leopard Kung Fu School