Yee Chuan Tao

[Ninway J]

http://www.unitedmartialartists.org/vendrell/

I was wondering if anyone here practices or has even heard of Yee Chuan Tao Kung Fu? Is it the same as Yee Chuan Kung Fu? The above site is the only Kung Fu school in my area, and I was wondering if it's a legit art to take up.

 

[arnisador]

Sifu Mike Vendrell is the 88th generation master of Yee Chuan Tao Kung Fu, an internal/external system developed by Taoist monks, which gets its power from chi. He is also one of the few classically trained practioners of Chi Gung, a highly effective Chinese healing art. Sifu Rob Moses is a certified Northern Shaolin/Tai Chi Praying Mantis instructor, and founded Tai Shan Mantis, a complete martial fitness system based on neo-classical Kung Fu.

Sifu Michael Vendrell is the last remaining master of Yee Chuan Tao in the world. He was taught the art by Grandmaster Leong beginning at the age of three. By the Sifu Michael Vendrellage of 16 Michael had passed a very rigorous 48-hour trial to become the next and only master of the system in the world. For the next three years he fought in underground no-fules cage-fighting, never losing a match.

Yee Chuan Tao Kung Fu is an internal/external system which uses chi (sometimes spelled qi or chee) as its primary source of power. Originated by Taoist monks, the system predates the Shaolin Temple by 3,000 years.

I'm guessing this is meant as parody--no one would actually write such nonsense as though they believed it, would they?

If anyone thinks he's the 88th generation grandmaster--figure at least 20 years/generation, on average--I'd like to make them a very speciall offer on the City of Beijing, China, which I happen to own but am looking to unload.

Mind you, he may be teaching good kung fu--but the backstory is pure BS.

 

[7starmantis]

(Remember, too, that Yee Chuan only "hurts" when someone comes at you; there are only defensive moves: it is not violent).

I think it sounds as if he likes to talk about himself a bit. I couldn't comment about his skill, but it sounds a little hoky to me.

7sm

 

[Ninway J]

Yeah, I did a search on the web, and he's the only person that came up in the search results as teaching "Yee Chuan Tao", but there are quite a few that teach "Yee Chuan", so I am a little suspect because they both seem different, and Yee Chuan seems to be the more legit one.

 

[arnisador]

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9589

 

[aNadia]

I practice and have heard of Yee Chuan Tao. I go to the kung fu school you're talking about, vendrell martial arts, or "the welcome mat". It's definitely a legit art, it isn't the same as yee chuan.
Sifu Mike is amazing, he's qualified to teach 23 different martial arts, and I don't want to waste my time trying to convince you guys to change your minds about him but it set me back to see how some of you commented him on his background being BS and "hoky". Like I said, he's amazing, he's extremely talented, a great teacher, very intellegent and experienced. He's so kind and humorous too I love him to death. Sifu Rob as well is so amazing, he makes class very fun, he's incredibly talented and intelligent, and he usually teaches the kicking class. I've been going for 6 months and I'm excited for every class still yet I couldn't be happier i joined, it's such a unique school with the most absolutely unbelievably mind blowing teachers !!!

 

[7starmantis]

My only problem is that a reasonable time to go from beginner to instructor in a legit art would be what, 4 years at the lowest? Lets say 3 years just for argueing.....23 arts?....that would be 69 years of training, and thats consecutive. If at 4 years he would have to have spent 92 consecutive years training. Thats a long time.

7sm

 

[RHD]

I practice and have heard of Yee Chuan Tao. I go to the kung fu school you're talking about, vendrell martial arts, or "the welcome mat". It's definitely a legit art, it isn't the same as yee chuan.
Sifu Mike is amazing, he's qualified to teach 23 different martial arts, and I don't want to waste my time trying to convince you guys to change your minds about him but it set me back to see how some of you commented him on his background being BS and "hoky". Like I said, he's amazing, he's extremely talented, a great teacher, very intellegent and experienced. He's so kind and humorous too I love him to death. Sifu Rob as well is so amazing, he makes class very fun, he's incredibly talented and intelligent, and he usually teaches the kicking class. I've been going for 6 months and I'm excited for every class still yet I couldn't be happier i joined, it's such a unique school with the most absolutely unbelievably mind blowing teachers !!!

Well...
Nice of you to come to your teacher's defense.
I'm inclined to say that the guy is not legit. My reasoning for this is:

1)I've been in Chinese martial arts since 1990 and I've researched them extensively, but never heard of yee chuan tao. Is that name in Mandarin or Cantonese? If I knew, maybe one of my Chinese speaking friends could translate it for me. A system's name can speak volumes as to its origins.
2) The video clips on the website show what could be any number of system's, slightly tweaked, altered, or jumbled together.
3)The guy claims to be a master, but there's no one else teaching his system...in other words no one else to back up his claims. He could claim to teach almost anything as long as there's no one else alive to verify it...the general public would have no clue.
4)In the video clips there's not a good visible root in his stances and footwork, a clear marker for skill and understanding in any Chinese system.

I can't comment on the Mantis guy much. His stuff is slower than most Mantis I've seen, and Tai Mantis is rarer than say...Seven Star. Maybe someone else (7*?) could comment on this.

aNadia, I'd like to ask you what your background in Chinese martial arts is.
Is this your first experience with them? And please, don't be angry from my post, I'm only relating what I can from my experience.
Mike

 

[7starmantis]

I can't comment on the Mantis guy much. His stuff is slower than most Mantis I've seen, and Tai Mantis is rarer than say...Seven Star. Maybe someone else (7*?) could comment on this.

I want to do this objectivly and not offend.

There were a few things that struck me as odd.
"[font=Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif]Students learn concepts, and train their ballistic reflexes in order to create an art suited to their individual needs." [/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif]As far as kung fu goes, that is very strongly against the norm for CMA systems.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif]I watched the mantis video. The only thing I can say about it is that he lacks a rooted stance in any of the forms. There seems to be a lack of application in the techniques. I see alot of flashy pretty stuff, but its high unbalanced stances. He is very smooth but his kicks and punches are not extended as to give more fluidity. None of the kicks had application behind them. I don't think he has no skill, it just doesn't look to be applicable as far as fighting. Very pretty, and nicly performed, but I see no application in it.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif]Let me say, I'm no expert. I have studied CMA since I was a kid, and mantis for the last few years. I'm in the lineage of masters such as Raymond Fogg, Henry Chung, Lee Kam Wing, Chan Poi, Chu Leun. Having sat under most of them for seminars and such, I can see a huge difference in thier forms from what I saw on the video. Again though, my expertise is in 7* mainly and I'm not extremely familure with Tai Mantis, especially his system he created.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif]7sm[/font]

 

[Keaka o Kanaka]

I too am a fellow student of Sifu Mike Vendrell. I can't really expect you all to believe me, but I will still do what I can to defend Sifu Mike's background. He truly is an awesome teacher. The 23 martial arts that he has learned and is qualified to teach he learned in a short period of time. Sifu Mike mastered the system of Yee Chuan Tao at the age of 17 because he started at the age of 3. His master played games with him and he said he didn't even know he was learning kung fu until he was about 11 or 12. After he mastered Yee Chuan Tao he wanted to learn more. He learned and became a 3rd degree blackbelt in Taekwondo in a year and a half. I asked him how he did this and he simply replied, "A lot of these martial arts are like kung fu, just done badly." I was very skeptical at first. Sifu mike isn't slim, but he is fast. He makes forms up in his head. He worked as a stunt man for so long. We've seen him in shots of several movies. In a matter of fact David Carradine called the studio a month ago asking if sifu mike would like to help choreograph in Kill Bill 2. He is leaving island in May to go to canada and do a movie called "Hitman."

Sifu does several kung fu animal forms. When he does forms he doesn't do it from memory. He fights as if he were really in one. He imagines several people attacking him and he fights them all until he wishes to stop. His forms are different because they are his own. The techniques are the same though. Sifu Rob as well. Sifu Rob stays light on his feet when doing forms because he pretends that he's actually fighting. His kicks are dynamic. So quick and so effortless. He is very amazing. Type Mike Vendrell in any search engine and his name pops up everywhere. I feel very lucky to train with him.

One of our fellow students won 3 gold medals at the Taiji Legacy 2003 competition for her fan form. Sifu mike taught her everything she knows about kung fu. She's training to be a sifu as well and should be by the end of next year.

As I've already said...I can't really convince any of you by writing this. The only way you can see how "legit" he is, is by going to our school and trying it out yourself.

Thanks...

Kala

 

[aNadia]

And to the slow forms of Sifu Rob's mantis form, what he's doing in the videos are clips of some free-styling with "dancing hands". He's making different spirals with his hands that he uses in his philosophy of teaching, 'dancing hands' was originally founded by Sifu Mike. A lot of Sifu Rob's teachings has come from learning or experiencing what Sifu mike has taught him.

Sifu Rob used to be hard core on shaolin mantis and founded his own style of Taishan mantis and 9 psalms...

This is the first time I've done kung fu, I've done kyudo before this.

Also, Sifu Rob has a much rooted stance, if you were to see him in real life, he's beautifully centered.

Of course, I can only give you so much information about him, you could write him an email, I'm pretty sure he is the one who looks at it.
information@vendrellmartialarts.com
he's really laid back, won't take offense to any questions you might have, so you haven't much to lose if youre interested in knowing about his history and Yee Chuan Tao. There is also a phone number, but that might seem a bit to much since long distance cost money, but you could do that too.

 

[RHD]

The 23 martial arts that he has learned and is qualified to teach he learned in a short period of time. Sifu Mike mastered the system of Yee Chuan Tao at the age of 17 because he started at the age of 3. His master played games with him and he said he didn't even know he was learning kung fu until he was about 11 or 12. After he mastered Yee Chuan Tao he wanted to learn more. He learned and became a 3rd degree blackbelt in Taekwondo in a year and a half.

Alarm bells...
How can a child master a fighting system? How can anyone learn 23 martial arts? This is the kind of thing that makes a person have to wonder...Perhaps the definition of learning and mastering is different from my own.
Mike

 

[7starmantis]

One of our fellow students won 3 gold medals at the Taiji Legacy 2003 competition for her fan form. Sifu mike taught her everything she knows about kung fu. She's training to be a sifu as well and should be by the end of next year.

As I've already said...I can't really convince any of you by writing this. The only way you can see how "legit" he is, is by going to our school and trying it out yourself.

Thanks...

Kala

This is good, I will be at the 2004 taiji legacy competition for san shou, I would love to look you guys up and see for myself. (that sounded rude, but I mean it seriously). My school competes in the Taiji Legacy Tournement every year, I'm trying to remember who your talking about. I'll be there this year, I'll try and look for you guys.

7sm

 

[Ninway J]

One of our fellow students won 3 gold medals at the Taiji Legacy 2003 competition for her fan form. Sifu mike taught her everything she knows about kung fu. She's training to be a sifu as well and should be by the end of next year.

Greetings Keaka o Kanaka,

Is that Chee, by any chance?

Also, would you, or anyone, be able to name all 23 arts that Sifu Mike has mastered? I'm not trying to attack you in any way. I'm just curious and I would like to know, and also give you an opportunity to name those arts.

Thanks.

 

[RHD]

Greetings Keaka o Kanaka,

Is that Chee, by any chance?

Also, would you, or anyone, be able to name all 23 arts that Sifu Mike has mastered? I'm not trying to attack you in any way. I'm just curious and I would like to know, and also give you an opportunity to name those arts.

Thanks.

No reply yet:
Must be looking up an encyclopeida of martial arts to figure out which one's to list... :idunno:
Mike

 

[InvisibleFist]

Did anybody check out the "hoop" form? What the heck is that thing? It looks like the Klingon sword from "Star Trek".

 

[Keaka o Kanaka]

I apologize for the not replying sooner. I don't check the forums everyday. I will ask sifu mike to give me the full list of all the martial arts he is qualified to teach. I also asked him about Yiquan. Yiquan means the intellectual martial art. It has been confused with Sifu Mike's martial art for years. Yee Chuan Tao means the way of one fist. It was a martial art developed supposedly by a one armed man. Yee Chuan Tao is supposed to be older than any other chinese martial art (even tai chi chuan). It wasn't originally developed as a defensive/offensive martial art, but as a healing art. Yee Chuan Tao is also a family martial art, so it has only recently been taught outside. Sifu Mike's sifu's son died and took in Sifu Mike as a student. Yiquan on the other hand was only recently developed a few decades ago, and is an open to anybody system.

As for the Taiji Legacy Competition. The top students from our school will be there. Chee was the one who had won the 3 gold medals from the competition last year with her fan form and her gim form.
I hope to see you there 7sm. I think it would be an excellent learning experience. I plan on competing with a broadsword form that sifu mike is helping me create.

I will get the list from sifu mike on the martial arts that he is certified to teach as soon as I can. But for those who still don't believe I quote sifu mike, "If I'm a con or a liar, then I have been for the last 30 years." The reason why his martial application looks so different is because it is his own. Nobody in the world fights like him. Thanks again

Kala

 

[Keaka o Kanaka]

As for the Kung fu la hoop...That's sifu rob's design. He does kung fu with everything. He has made a lot "wackier" weapons than the kung fu la hoop.

Kala

 

[7starmantis]

So this school isn't one based on fighting or self defense but rather on the performance of forms?

7sm

 

[RHD]

Yee Chuan Tao is supposed to be older than any other chinese martial art (even tai chi chuan)...Yee Chuan Tao is also a family martial art, so it has only recently been taught outside.
As for the Taiji Legacy Competition...I plan on competing with a broadsword form that sifu mike is helping me create....
I will get the list from sifu mike on the martial arts that he is certified to teach as soon as I can. But for those who still don't believe I quote sifu mike, "If I'm a con or a liar, then I have been for the last 30 years."
Kala

Older than any other CMA= unable to prove, probably B.S.

Family art, only recently taught "outside" the family= unable to prove, probably B.S.

Creating a broadsword set= Wushu? What about Yee Chuan Tao's broadsword sets? Or Preying Mantis? Aren't these any good?

Yes, lets see a list of the 23 martial arts that your sifu is certified to teach.

Sorry Keaka o Kanaka, I know you really like your sifu, but the credentials smell extremely fishy. Knowing David Carradine doesn't make someone a kung fu master. Realistically, its very difficult to learn and master even one system. Mastering and being certified to teach in 23 is a ridiculous claim. Maybe learning a form or two from 23 systems is possible, but not mastering them. Perhaps you should take some time out and visit some other kung fu schools and take a look at what they're doing to give yourself some reference.
Mike