Learn Kung Fu

[JELLOS83]

Hi all

Next year I will be studying Chinese in China (still haven't figured out where).

I practice Kung Fu in Ghent, Belgium and I would like to keep on doing this while studying in China.

Does anyone know if it's easy for a foreigner to learn KF (also tai chi and qi gong) from a good teacher? I know this question sounds a bit dumb since I don't know yet where I will be studying but maybe some people could give me an idea how easy it is to find kung fu clubs (no matter where in China, the more locations I know of, the better).

Tnx in advance

[renzhe]

I would ask your instructor about which style specifically you are learning now, which lineage, etc, because there are many things that fall under the umbrella name "kung fu". Even if you don't find exactly the same thing in China, it will be easier to find something similar, and/or to explain what exactly you've learned to the teacher in China.

In any case, you should be prepared for the likely event that the teacher doesn't speak any English and that you have to communicate with him/her in Chinese or sign language. I don't know how many schools catering to foreigners there are (and they might be ripoffs).

Finding a Taijiquan teacher should not be too difficult (I've seen many elderly people practicing in parks, you could ask them), and finding a Wushu school should also be doable. If you're looking for something more exotic, it could be more difficult, especially if you don't speak the language.

I haven't studied kung fu in China, but I'd imagine that these would be some of the issues. There are definitely schools around the Shaolin Temple, but you probably won't be studying there

[woliveri]

Kung fu is a broad term.

I would look for Internal systems (Taiji, Bagua, Xingyi).

In General, Beijing has more Bagua, Shanghai has more Xingyi (xingyi liuhe) but, in Shanghai there is also our Bagua lineage (Wang ZhuangFei).

You can go here: http://www.emptyflower.com/phpBB3/

And get a better idea of what you want. There are also many ppl on that board who are, were, or know someone studying in China now.

If you're interested in our Bagua in Shanghai, I can introduce you to my teacher. He doesn't speak English though and his mandarin is heavily influenced with his local dialect. But, he's a great man.

There are many other players in Shanghai too.

See: Double Dragon Alliance Masters in China

Search "Roseinchina" on youtube.

Here's one of her clips:

Ok, hope this helps.

Bill

[volga_volga]

I think, in China, as anywhere in the world, there are good teachers and there are not so good teachers. As long as you are dedicated and earnest student, and are prepared to communicate with your teacher through a sign language (initailly) and Chinese, you should not have a problem from being a foreigner. I learnt most of my spoken Chinese through learning kung fu from a non-English speaking teacher!

if you want to learn modern wushu and are at a good level already, you may consider Beijing or Shanghai as your base - both have good phisical culture universities with a solid kung fu programme. If you are interested in traditional CMA, you may find a teacher or a school near a place where you live just by askign people around, or going to a park very early in the morning.

last point, be prepared to a different cultural experience when learning traditional kung fu in China, eg teacher-student relationship, respect for the teacher, family structure etc.

[JELLOS83]

Thank you volga volga!

I am not so much interested in modern wushu. I have high respect for the acrobatic part of kung fu but what I want to do is practicing to cultivate a strong body (basic traditional kung fu) and strong mind (qi gong, chan maybe if that's possible) on a daily basis. I don't really want to go to a university where I can learn kung fu as well. I prefer finding a teacher myself I think it will be a better option to find a genuine teacher. I will not go to Shanghai nor Beijing because there are too many westerners there and I don't want to end up spending my time in China drinking beers with Americans I am thinking of Kunming or Xiamen but I still have many doubts because there are so many places and it is very difficult to find good comments on the more than 200 universities open to foreigners. I am curious what time will bring me.

tnx

[woliveri]

I will not go to Shanghai nor Beijing because there are too many westerners there and I don't want to end up spending my time in China drinking beers with Americans

Life in China, or anywhere for that matter, is what YOU make of it. I lived in Shanghai for nearly 2 years and never went into a bar once. I don't drink. I lived in an area with few westerners and I spent most of my time with my Bagua teacher in the park and with my girlfriend who is now my wife.

[JELLOS83]

Of course you are right. Determination and will are key factors to my plan to combine learning the Chinese language and kung fu. If I am honest to you I would have to say that I am quite a party-animal and that I think it would be better to distance myself from this kind of living. And of course the reply again is that people can make this choice:People can be in Ibiza and still live a balanced life. I just know for myself when I would meet party-people who I would like that it would be more difficult to keep on training.

thanks anyway for reminding me that it is all up to ME.

[volga_volga]

I am thinking, why don't you go to a place in China where your style is from? just ask your teacher about the lineage and get a reference from him to a teacher in China from the same system. IMHO this is the quickest way to find a good teacher - through people you know already and who know you - this method works best in China

[JELLOS83]

Thank you Volga Volga for your thoughtful comment.

My teacher learned Kung Fu inside the Shaolin Temple directly from the monks. He was the first westerner to receive the title of sifu at this temple. Hence, the style I am learning is Shaolin Kung Fu. Unfortunately of the 250 universities open to foreign students not one is located in the Henan Province. But even if this would be the case it would be quite impossible to combine the two studies. Students at the Shaoling Temple train at least 8 hours each day. Every morning running and streching is done between 5.30 and 7.30. Then 1 hour break and then the actual morning training: stances, etc. After lunch and 1 hour siesta there is a long afternoon training. This is a very intensive study which is not compatible with learning a language at a university. In Henan province in the city Dengfeng there are also tens of kung fu academies (8 hours training each day) but I will not go there because my priority is learning the language. What I am looking for is a Kung Fu club where evening courses are given and where I can train four or five times per week for two hours or so.

So now I am learning Shaolin Kung Fu two times per week. I started this training not long ago (two years) so my level is very basic. I can not say that I know Shaolin Kung Fu. I know the basic stances (which are used in every northern style of kung fu) and a few patterns. Since I haven't reached a high level it is not important for me which style I will be learning. I prefer finding a good teacher so I can learn a real Chinese tradition and feel a well-balanced person.

[woliveri]

Well, if you want to learn Shaolin I know someone in Shanghai who can hook you up. This guy is Chinese, was Shaolin temple trained, and worked as a bodyguard for many years. He knows his stuff. It's my older bagua classmate's friend.

I'm telling you, there's some d@mn good kung fu, IMA, in Shanghai. You can take classes there and have the best of all worlds. Hangzhou is also just an hour away.

In my opinion, you can't go wrong in Shanghai. Oh, btw, I trained in Northern Mantis for many years, first went to China in 1985 on a Kung fu related tour, and have experience in both internal (Bagua) and external (Mantis) systems.

I suggest you go to the link I gave you "emptyflower" if you haven't already and talk to the guys over there. There's some really knowledgeable people there who could help you out and give suggestions if you're dead set on not going to Shanghai or Beijing.

hth,

[volga_volga]

woliveri, you are very persuasive

did you know that bagua has more history in Beijing not Shanghai? (sh)

either way, the choice is usually better in big cities, including the choice of kung fu schools and instructors. And Henan accent (Dengfeng/Shaolin area) is really very different from the normative putonghua, and Beijing accent is really cool

[woliveri]

did you know that bagua has more history in Beijing not Shanghai?

Yes, as I wrote in my first response:

In General, Beijing has more Bagua, Shanghai has more Xingyi (xingyi liuhe) but, in Shanghai there is also our Bagua lineage (Wang ZhuangFei).

I was very suprised to find the quality of Bagua I did in Shanghai. There is very little Bagua in Shanghai but out of what there is there, the quality is very high.

[inguringu]

Hi,

I am learning Mandarin in Tianjin, and also attending gongfu classes here. I ended up in Tianjin because of my gongfu teacher here, whom I, funny enough, found through youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jingang

The teacher of course speaks only chinese, but as somebody mentioned, it is a good way how to improve your chinese.

The styles he can teach are Baji quan, Pigua, Jingangbashi, Xingyi, taiji. This is traditional gongfu as real as it can get, with the focus on practical applications, finding your gongfu. Summer or winter we practice outside. So far the teacher has had foreign students from Israel, Canada, Germany, UK, USA, Latvia (me), Kazahstan etc. some of whom have come a long way to China just to study with him.

Finally, Tianjin as a big city, not far from Beijing, still has noticeably less foreigners than Beijing or Shanghai. The good sides are that living expenses are cheaper than the other two cities, Tianjin-hua similarly to Beijing dialect is close to standard mandarin (as opposed to Shanghainese). The down side probably is that there is not so much going on entertainment-wise.

[volga_volga]

inguringu, thanks for sharing interesting info.

is that a long jian that I saw in the Weapons video, held with two hands? it looks steel and straight... what's the Chinese name? thanks

[woliveri]

Was that the Mei Dao?

[volga_volga]

you are right, it's miao dao 苗刀, I found on the wiki

used by piguaquan and xingyiquan

i have never seen it before, and thought it was jian （剑）, because it is straighter than normal dao (刀）

interesting weapon! sorry for the off-topic

[woliveri]

yes, I found it interesting too.

It looks like a good quality sword too, at least from what I can see from the video.

[volga_volga]

by the way, I forgot to mention, how I met my kung fu teachers.

My first kung fu teacher in Yunnan, China: I got to know a minority tour guide, I told him I wanted to learn kung fu, he said he knows a teacher who teachers foreigners. Ma Shifu doesn't speak English but knows how to count 1 to 10 in about 20 languages :-)

I found my current sifu in Hong Kong via Lonely Planet forum. I just did a search on kung fu Hong Kong. I now realise I have been very fortunate to have found him first!!

[lzreading]

Hi guys,

Very interesting topic, however I would like to correct a few things that someone has made in the previous threads.

1. I am from Zhengzhou, Henan, as far as I know, both Zhengzhou University (in Zhengzhou) and Henan University (in Kaifeng) take in foreign students. You may check out their websites for more details.

2. As everybody knows, Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Kung Fu (I think most Chinese prefer the name Wu Shu), Taiji and Bagua are the creations of talented Shaolin disciples. The birthplace of Bagua is Wu Dang Shan, in Hubei province, and the most famous style of Taiji is Chen's Taiji, which is based in Wen Xian, in Henan province. You will find most of the local people there are real Kung Fu masters.

3. I used to practice sword at univerity in Henan, it was part of PE class. I think they still do that as it is part of the tradition.

[woliveri]

Dong Haichuan (董海川) was born on the 13th of October 1797 (or 1813) in Zhu village, Ju Jia Wu Township, Wen An County, Hebei Province, China and died on the 25th of October 1882 in Beijing. He is widely credited as the founder of Baguazhang and most, if not all, existing schools of Baguazhang place Dong Haichuan at the beginning of their lineage.