Offth3gr1d
White Belt
Hello!
Thanks so much for having me at your fourm! Many of you who are interested in studying or are studying cma (chinese martial arts) may or may not be aware of the situation in the PRC when it comes to studying traditional Gong-fu... (that is the old style gong-fu... shaolin, northern mantis, wing chun etc. vs. modern wushu)
Don't get me wrong, i'm not one of these wushu bashers... calling it nothing more than super sweet dance moves and the like. I think it is an amazing and beautiful art for moving meditation and is an incredible way to build strength, agility and flexibility. I also think however, that few (that have been in a real scrap) would argue that it is effective as a combat art...
That said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to study traditional gong fu in the PRC as the gov. "prefers" that only modern wushu be tought. Most schools, especially schools that train foreigners teach ONLY modern wushu. They may claim to offer shaolin or other forms of traditional training, but in truth only teach a few watered down basic forms.
I was ecstatic to find the school i am at now for many reasons, but mostly because i finally (after several bad experiences) found a school that teaches an effective, practical CMA. The master here Studied Shaolin for 20 years before being driven south, where he also trained southern styles in a temple in Fujian province before becoming disgusted with the political situation. He now teaches only a few foreigners at a small WUSHU academy in a very small town in shandong proviince (home of mantis for those interested in learning this style...) The chinese here DO NOT learn the traditional gong fu. They only train wushu. But between my master, his teacher and an old master who passes on his families liniage of gong fu, there is so much to be learned and preserved here. It's heartbreaking to see that the chinese take no interest in the old gong fu. The old masters eyes lit up when me and my friend arrived and only wanted to study old style gong fu.
There is one major reason why i come to you guys: My master is trying to make things better for the kids here. He is a very compassionate man trying to preserve and pass on the old ways while maintaining a school that obeys the laws of the PRC. In other words, he is trying to have a school that only teaches wushu to the chinese, but treats the kids like humans instead of animals. He is at odds with alot of the local administration. His ace in the hole is that he draws westerners... which means money (the same you would pay at any other school in china) which means growth for the school and more power for him to run the school the way he wants. So... the first thing, is if more westerners come, you can make a difference in the lives of the kids here! Better facilities, better food, etc. Also, if i get more westerners, my master will pay to have a full time northern mantis teacher work here
Please come visit us and help us to preserve these old styles of gongfu. In 20 years, when the last generation of REAL shaolin monks (xing generation) is too old to teach, these arts will be lost forever except in the few locals and many westerners who study them.
Please know that you are coming to a small school. There are no western toilets, there are no fancy accomodations. Don't expect monks flying around in the back yard in silk robes. These things only exist for show anymore, there is so much corruption and abuse of the shaolin image that it is almost a joke to be seen practicing seriously in monk clothing here. There is ample space for training though, a beautiful mountain behind the school that we run up and down
and plenty of amazing things to learn...
We train in street clothes because we fight in street clothes. There is no fancy show made where everyday people pretend to be monks for the benifit of westerners like there are at so many schools. We eat like the chinese, we train like the chinese, we learn to speak chinese. We also train traditional tai ji and internal and external qi gong.
If anyone out there wants to train sanda, there is also a Sanda Teacher here who has won many competitions. As a western boxer and thai boxer, he is one of the first sanda teachers here that i have taken seriously. He has amazing technique.
I'd love to answer any questions anyone has via PM. You can PM me for my email if you'd like and we can keep up that way.
Please Join us and keep old gong-fu alive!!
www.chanwugongfu.net
Much love and light,
-Rob
Thanks so much for having me at your fourm! Many of you who are interested in studying or are studying cma (chinese martial arts) may or may not be aware of the situation in the PRC when it comes to studying traditional Gong-fu... (that is the old style gong-fu... shaolin, northern mantis, wing chun etc. vs. modern wushu)
Don't get me wrong, i'm not one of these wushu bashers... calling it nothing more than super sweet dance moves and the like. I think it is an amazing and beautiful art for moving meditation and is an incredible way to build strength, agility and flexibility. I also think however, that few (that have been in a real scrap) would argue that it is effective as a combat art...
That said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to study traditional gong fu in the PRC as the gov. "prefers" that only modern wushu be tought. Most schools, especially schools that train foreigners teach ONLY modern wushu. They may claim to offer shaolin or other forms of traditional training, but in truth only teach a few watered down basic forms.
I was ecstatic to find the school i am at now for many reasons, but mostly because i finally (after several bad experiences) found a school that teaches an effective, practical CMA. The master here Studied Shaolin for 20 years before being driven south, where he also trained southern styles in a temple in Fujian province before becoming disgusted with the political situation. He now teaches only a few foreigners at a small WUSHU academy in a very small town in shandong proviince (home of mantis for those interested in learning this style...) The chinese here DO NOT learn the traditional gong fu. They only train wushu. But between my master, his teacher and an old master who passes on his families liniage of gong fu, there is so much to be learned and preserved here. It's heartbreaking to see that the chinese take no interest in the old gong fu. The old masters eyes lit up when me and my friend arrived and only wanted to study old style gong fu.
There is one major reason why i come to you guys: My master is trying to make things better for the kids here. He is a very compassionate man trying to preserve and pass on the old ways while maintaining a school that obeys the laws of the PRC. In other words, he is trying to have a school that only teaches wushu to the chinese, but treats the kids like humans instead of animals. He is at odds with alot of the local administration. His ace in the hole is that he draws westerners... which means money (the same you would pay at any other school in china) which means growth for the school and more power for him to run the school the way he wants. So... the first thing, is if more westerners come, you can make a difference in the lives of the kids here! Better facilities, better food, etc. Also, if i get more westerners, my master will pay to have a full time northern mantis teacher work here

Please come visit us and help us to preserve these old styles of gongfu. In 20 years, when the last generation of REAL shaolin monks (xing generation) is too old to teach, these arts will be lost forever except in the few locals and many westerners who study them.
Please know that you are coming to a small school. There are no western toilets, there are no fancy accomodations. Don't expect monks flying around in the back yard in silk robes. These things only exist for show anymore, there is so much corruption and abuse of the shaolin image that it is almost a joke to be seen practicing seriously in monk clothing here. There is ample space for training though, a beautiful mountain behind the school that we run up and down

We train in street clothes because we fight in street clothes. There is no fancy show made where everyday people pretend to be monks for the benifit of westerners like there are at so many schools. We eat like the chinese, we train like the chinese, we learn to speak chinese. We also train traditional tai ji and internal and external qi gong.
If anyone out there wants to train sanda, there is also a Sanda Teacher here who has won many competitions. As a western boxer and thai boxer, he is one of the first sanda teachers here that i have taken seriously. He has amazing technique.
I'd love to answer any questions anyone has via PM. You can PM me for my email if you'd like and we can keep up that way.
Please Join us and keep old gong-fu alive!!
www.chanwugongfu.net
Much love and light,
-Rob