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Is this school a fake?

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  • Is this school a fake?

    I have been looking at a school that is not really new. Least they tell me they have been around for 5 years. They have about 20 students give or take, yet I have only ever seen 5 at a time there. The instructor, Robert Waite, in my opinion is really bad. I have seen him drop weapons, his "forms" are very poor. He does not even remember the moves to most of the forms he does. His students write down everything in books. That is what they use to train. I have been there several times now and have yet to actually see him train anyone. He just asks them what they are working on, and maybe here and there throws in a pointer. I have seen his students try and practice one of the forms, they have to always look in the notebook for the stuff they wrote down. Even the instructor has to look in their notes. They might poke around at it for 30 minutes before he can "remember" how it goes. Honestly I just can't see this being the real deal here but this was my first ever look at something other than TKD so I am truely am trying to view it with an open mind.

    I have been searching the interent high and low for any information about this school or its teacher but I can find nothing. I have found a hand full of sites, but they are just links to his school and that is it. I know it is a shot in the dark, but I don't suppose anyone here has ever heard of this place and can tell me if this guy really does know what he is doing.

    Here is the link to his web page so you know what school I am talking about.

    Chan Wushu Gung Fu

  • #2
    Have you seen the guy? The picture. It gives you your answer.

    Guy with a mullet.
    In Arkansas.
    Teaching kung fu?

    Two of the three fit together, but one of them is a bit out of place.

    Really though, I looked at that page for about a minute and from your post, I think his class is bull. Been in business for 5 years with only 20 students? No wonder.
    Becoming what I've dreamed about.

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    • #3
      "Chan WuShu Gung Fu"

      Does he know the meaning of these words? They don't even go together like that. The picture is a drawing of him I'm guessing. But if the drawing was of him while standing and this is exactly the way he did it. I'd say the stance is very poor. That's not the way to do that stance. Toes should be pointed down. Knee should be up and turned in to block the groin. And no one's hair should ever look like that! Well, that's a hairstyle. Doesn't mean anything. But I've come to dislike any school that's symbol is a blue and red Yin Yang. Unless they are Korean. Which Chinese is not.

      Normally I would say give him a chance. Maybe. But from your words. His forms are poorly done and he has dropped weapons. And can hardly remember what he teaches. These kinds of things should never ever happen for a master.

      A mi tuo Fo
      -Xing Jian

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      • #4
        Originally posted by xing_jian108
        "Chan WuShu Gung Fu"

        Does he know the meaning of these words? They don't even go together like that. The picture is a drawing of him I'm guessing. But if the drawing was of him while standing and this is exactly the way he did it. I'd say the stance is very poor. That's not the way to do that stance. Toes should be pointed down. Knee should be up and turned in to block the groin. And no one's hair should ever look like that! Well, that's a hairstyle. Doesn't mean anything. But I've come to dislike any school that's symbol is a blue and red Yin Yang. Unless they are Korean. Which Chinese is not.

        Normally I would say give him a chance. Maybe. But from your words. His forms are poorly done and he has dropped weapons. And can hardly remember what he teaches. These kinds of things should never ever happen for a master.

        A mi tuo Fo
        -Xing Jian
        What I meant, but said in a harsher way, heheh.

        Also I must ad:



        I hope he is not teaching that woman because that woman's form owns his. His stances, like Xing Jian said, are weak. When he is kicking, he is leaning over and his foot is in a horrible position.

        His hands don't match the woman's, and from what I see, the woman is better than he is.



        HMPTH!
        Last edited by LeiYunFat; 09-22-2004, 05:38 AM.
        Becoming what I've dreamed about.

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        • #5
          From that web site:

          Grand-master Leong Chan Lee entered the Shaolin Monastery in 1908 at the age of 8. There he studied the Shaolin way for 17 years, taking a vow never to teach the secrets of Shaolin to anyone outside of the temple. In 1925, he decided he wanted a family so he left the Temple to pursue this desire.

          In 1929, at the age of 29, he married Song Ng. They were happily married for 19 years, but unfortunately were unable to have any children. They met while Grand-master Leong Chan Lee was practicing his Martial Arts in one of the gardens he tended.

          Song Ng had a strong desire to learn his martial arts but his vow prevented him from teaching her. In an effort to please her, he began to develop a way to change the Shaolin Martial Arts into an art that was both beautiful and functional and at the same time, still based upon the Shaolin fundamental principals. The results are seen today in Chan Wushu Gung Fu or Chinese Shaolin Freestyle Boxing. In 1948, Song Ng died from the Influenza Virus.

          Plagued by memories of Song Ng, in 1950, Grand-master Leong Chan Lee left China and immigrated to America, specifically to San Diego, California. There he lived a simple, peaceful life. In 1975 he met nine year old Robert Waite while he was practicing his Gung Fu in Balboa Park. Young Robert persuaded Grandmaster to teach him his Family system, and he subsequently trained Robert for ten years. In 1985, knowing he was close to death, he returned to China to be buried with his beloved Song Ng in the Henan Province (Tiger Mountain), the place of his birth.


          This grandmaster was 75 when he started teaching this nine year old kid? And this master refers to himself as "si kung"? (Never heard that before; in Shaolin, a master is referred to as "shifu", pronounced "shir foo", with a heavy "r" Dengfeng accent).

          I could have come up with a better story than that.

          Your impressions of this guy, in your question, seem to be horribly negative. You should read what you wrote again. You've answered your own question.

          Entertaining stuff we find on the web. Someone should tell Yongxin about this guy's use of the Shaolin name, lol...
          Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

          "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

          (more comments in my User Profile)
          russbo.com


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          • #6
            I have never seen that woman there, so don't know if that was/is a student of his. He supposedly used to look like those pictures. He has a few pictures of himself in tournaments. He has the long hair in those pictures. If you see him now though, his hair is all gone. Like a military hair cut now. I guess the story goes that this old shaolin monk joined the monastery. After many many years he decided to leave and have a family. He met his wife, and she wanted to learn his kung fu. He was not allowed to teach her, but this being his wife, I guess he created a different form/style/something that he was allowed to teach her. Many years go by and I think she dies. He then moves to America, and somehow runs into this 9 year old boy. The boy ends up learning from this "master" for I think 10 years. After that, the "master" moves back to china or wherever his wife is buried, dies, and is buried next to her. So, I guess this kid is the only master of the system left. Think he has a piece of paper on the wall that says he is a 9th degree black belt. Said he can not get 10th degree without going to the monastery himself. He says he has some brothers that also trained with this master, but the master did not teach them everything he taught Robert.

            They listen to music while they train. Can be anything from the asian music I have heard to the soundtrack from.... nuts, I can't remember the name of the movie. It is the movie where a guy goes to a high school and trains some of the bad kids. They learn some Jamaican martial arts. At the end of the movie, the students all clap/sing this one song while their teacher fights the bad guy. Well, he played that song the other day during their training class.

            Anyway, since then, he has trained under some different people, one of which is someone named Richard. I don't remember Richards last name but Richard is suppose to be one of the 1st generation students of.........you guessed it, Bruce Lee. He has both Richard and Bruce Lee's picture on his wall. So, he likes to say that he is a 2nd generation teacher under Bruce. If you read the website, notice he does not say that he teaches Jeet Kune Do. I asked him about this and he replied that is what his Hu Leong is.

            I heard all this and thought "too good to be true" but I just wanted so badly for him to be the real thing. Would really be fun to actually learn these different types of animal styles. There is a grace and art to the form that really intrigues me. I even spent a few days just watching his class hoping that something would bring out that WOW factor. It never happened. After watching for several days he has yet to teach anything to his students, he consistantly screws up his forms, he has dropped weapons and stumbles through the rest of the routines, I am giving up. I just wanted so badly to find someone that did not teach Tae Kwon Do. I have nothing against Tae Kwon Do, I was just after something different.

            My last effort was hopefully coming here and finding someone that actually knew who this guy was and could give some validation to what he was claiming. Oh well, at least it was worth a try. Perhaps this will at least serve to inform someone else down the road about this school.

            Thanks

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            • #7
              Originally posted by MikeB
              After that, the "master" moves back to china or wherever his wife is buried, dies, and is buried next to her.
              so conveniently the only master of the system is dead. that's all you need to know. forget this guy.

              I just wanted so badly to find someone that did not teach Tae Kwon Do.
              move out of arkansas, man.

              i am in the middle of probably one of the worst hangovers of my life.

              no that doesn't have anything to do with this topic! so? so!?!? go **** yourself!!!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Wow! That story is very much a cliche. Looking at his stances particularly the ones that are "Tai Chi", are horrible. My 11 year old student could knock him over.

                These kinds of people need to be debunked, and their teaching career ended until they've actually learned something genuine. This whole situation is getting old. Why can't we just do it like the good old days and challenge someone like this?

                I particularly like the mix of Cantonese and Mandarin, specially that of his master (who was from Northern China, in which they would of spoken Mandarin mostly). This guy is a fraud, you're better off learning from tapes/vcd/dvd.
                "For some reason I'm in a good mood today. I haven't left the house yet, though. "

                "fa hui, you make buddhism sexy." -Zachsan

                "Friends don't let friends do Taekwondo." -Nancy Reagan

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                • #9
                  Think he has a piece of paper on the wall that says he is a 9th degree black belt. Said he can not get 10th degree without going to the monastery himself. He says he has some brothers that also trained with this master, but the master did not teach them everything he taught Robert.
                  Mike, whenever you have questions, research. It's good to have questions. Search the answers, and you shall learn.

                  If you read the web site here, you'll discover that Shaolin does not use belts. Never did. It's a Japanese / Okinawan invention, and it is not used in the northern Chinese martial arts. I've never seen or heard of it in China itself.

                  Has anyone questioned the move from San Diego to Arkansas???? I've been to San Diego. I've been to Arkansas. I mean, no offense, but, oh well....
                  Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                  "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                  (more comments in my User Profile)
                  russbo.com


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                  • #10
                    I never asked him about the moves he made from Ca all the way to Ar. Far as the belts go, the answer was due to the change made so he could be taught the system. But I didn't press an answer about going to the monastery to get a 10th degree black belt. I just tucked it away in my mind to come look it up. I did research it pretty hard. I searched everything I could on the internet, which is how I found this place. I found a few different message boards, including one at martialartsplanet where someone else posted almost the exact same impression I got from this school. Their post was over a year old. That person also posted about a different school he found that teaches Kuk Sool Won, which I went and watched last night. It does not have all the interesting forms and such that I was looking for, but at least it looks real.

                    Yea I know, living out here in Arkansas where nothing spells loving like marrying your cousin I never placed much hope in finding exactly what I was looking for. But oh well, jobs take people all over the place and mine took me to Fort Smith.

                    Thanks for the information.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      It's all good Mike, don't give up hope-- you can still train by yourself and/or engage yourself in the other various forum topics here. Atleast it's more real than "Si Kung" Mullet over there.

                      Just do what you can now, you could learn some drills or something and train in those until you find a compotent teacher to teach you forms. Atleast that's what I did/have been doing.
                      Becoming what I've dreamed about.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Far as the belts go, the answer was due to the change made so he could be taught the system.
                        \

                        Mike, I'm amazed at how many people out there think that the use of belts is associated with Chinese martiial arts. Truly amazed.

                        I've been to Arkansas. Don't mean to diss your state man, (I'm not a huge Clinton fan), but, you know, you have to live where you have to live sometimes. I spent seven long years in Syracuse NY for some of my medical training. Nice place if you like gray weather. Keep looking, train where you feel comfortable. Sometimes it doesn't matter if it's "real". Sometimes all that matters is that you're happy, and staying healthy and fit.
                        Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                        "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                        (more comments in my User Profile)
                        russbo.com


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                        • #13
                          I spent seven long years in Syracuse NY for some of my medical training.
                          Only four for me...

                          Engineering @ ESF....

                          It was long enough....
                          practice wu de

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                          • #14
                            at least san diego has a football team.

                            then again, it's the chargers...

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                            • #15
                              San Diego has much better looking women. And better weather. And did I mention, better looking women?
                              Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                              "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                              (more comments in my User Profile)
                              russbo.com


                              Comment

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