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  • A Little Advice?

    Hi, my name is Mathew, I am in pretty good shape, and have been training in martial arts (mostly tae kwon do with little bits of tai chi, kung fu, karate, and wing chun on the side).

    I live in Canada and am in my final year of high school. I was planning to go to the US for post secondary but due to the incompetence of my schools career/university counselors, I was not able to apply this year. Luckily I had a backup plan...to train martial arts for a year in China (preferably Shao Lin kung fu)...

    The reason I want to go to China to train martial arts is so that I can get away from the hustle and bustle...the complications... of western life, so I can devote myself fully to what I am truly passionate about (martial arts). I also want to find some place scenic, so that I can reflect and meditate on myself and my training while I rest. As well, I wish to learn the Chinese language, culture, etc. I want to push myself to the limits of my physical and mental being. I do not wish to use any sort of training for 'bragging rights' or for 'show'...I want to be able to use the martial arts I learn (again, preferably Shao Lin kung fu!!!) as a means of self-defense, meditation and good health.

    I do not speak (besides 1 or 2 common phrases, and being able to count to ten) any of the Chinese language (mandarin if I’m not mistaken), but I am familiar with some Chinese customs (and seeking to learn much more!)... I am open minded and more than willing to learn/try new things, and to regard other's cultures and beliefs with respect!

    I know that it is not recommended for one to stay in china for as long as I have planned...but I see little else that I could do... or little else that would benefit me more in the long run...

    So my predicament is; were should I train?

    I'm looking for some place seclude from busy city life that can teach me Shao Lin kung fu, for defense and meditation purposes, has a scenic and tranquil landscape for meditation/reflection and that will push me to my limits both physically and mentally...
    Does such a place even exist? lol
    I know that I’m asking for allot.... but what’s the "best" you can give me?

    So far all the schools that I know about include the plenty in Henan, and the one off of shaolins.com

    I’ve read many posts, and posted some myself, but cant seem to find what I’m looking for...
    I sincerely hope that you can help me,
    Thank you kindly,
    Mathew J.

  • #2
    Wudang daoist gongfu academy and the wushu guan at shaolin are your main choices for schools I beleive. Theres loads of info on both in this site.
    Show me a man who has forgotten words, so that I can have a word with him.

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    • #3
      i must have missed this Wudang Taoist Kung Fu Academy the first 30 times i read through the posts on this forum! lol

      thank you ALOT for helping me find this!

      now all i have to do is decide between the two prespective schools i'm looking at...
      this Wudang Taoist Kung Fu Academy (http://www.damo-qigong.net/temple/wudang/wudang.htm)
      ...and the Siping City Shao Lin Martial Arts Academy ((http://www.shaolins.com)

      Wudang, or Shaolin?

      what are the main differneces?(if any)

      anybody have suggestions, comments....just throughing in your 2 cents would be greatly appreciated!

      thanks again!

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      • #4
        I don't recommend the Siping one. If you want to go to China to learn Shaolin, go to Shaolin. If you want to go to Siping, you might as well go to Las Vegas, where the weather is nicer, the food is safer, and the women are cuter. Oh, and the toilets flush. Besides, there's a real Shaolin monk there (two to four this winter). You've got real monks with awesome skills in Texas and New York also. (And London, but, England....). Why go to Siping in northern China to train with coaches? There are many, many good schools there in Henan, where Shaolin temple is, some of which are videotaped here on the site, with descriptions. I don't recommend going until March though, most of these places close for Jan/Feb. Besides, it's miserably cold during the winter.

        I don't know anything about Wudangshan. I tried to go one year, and never made it.
        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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        • #5
          well like i sed, i'm looking for more seclusion...so that i can train outside of buisey day-to-day city life(ie. training in North America(larger centers especially))...thats the main reason i'm considering the Si Ping school...for the solitude...even if the coaches don't teach proper, or 'good' shaolin, then atleast i can refine what i "know" already....

          correct me if i'm wrong but i was under the impression that shaolin was located in a somewhat buisy centre...
          I don't want buisy, I want peaceful serenity, interupted by an occasional asskicking!

          and i can handle the cold thanks too those good ol' Canadian winters...

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          • #6
            And what's wrong with England??????

            Hell, your weather in the last couple of weeks kinda reminded me of home!
            Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

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            • #7
              come on....anyone?
              seclusion, kung fu, "peaceful serenity, interupted by an occasional asskicking!"????

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              • #8
                Dengfeng is a small town. It's busy, and full of people who want to watch you all day long, yes. BUT a nice relaxing jog down the road and up a mountain and you'll be getting all the peaceful serenity you can handle. A lot of people who train there forget this, or are too lazy to make the jog or haggle with the tuk-tuk driver to take them there. You might also be surprised who else likes to train with nobody around.
                -Jesse Pasleytm
                "How do I know? Because my sensei told me!"

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                • #9
                  Hey how is it going, Funny enough i was in the same scenario as you just about. Ive taken a year off school now to train in china. Most of my experience lays in differnt arts than Shaolin. The school i chose to go to was Chan Wu Si, the webpage is here http://www.shaolintemplekungfu.uk.com/ . We train extremely hard and right now there is only 2 students, so we get an insane ammount of personal atention with our master. The school just finished building its indoor training hall that is heated. Also we are 20 mins outside of Deng Feng in a very small farming village. So there is absolutly no city noise and bull **** where we are. And we are able to do mountain running and train in large open feilds with no people around.

                  The webpage has the training schedual, we also do Sanda, Chinese lessions, Acupunture classes and lion dancing. The training shcedual is slightly differnt for the winter months (now) Anyways feel free to hook me up with an email if you want some pictures or more info on training here. Rm2501998@hotmail.com

                  I was also looking at going to siping but with alot of research and talking to people who went there i decided not to. One of the girls that did go here went to Siping and didnt have much good to say about it.
                  Last edited by Chris Crosbie; 11-10-2004, 09:55 AM.

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                  • #10
                    eh Chris, thanks for the info!
                    i sent u an email request for a few pics...

                    thanks alot!

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                    • #11
                      I didnt get your email, try sending it again or send one over to chriscrosbie@crosbiegroup.com, or just post your emails adress here.

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                      • #12
                        send to techno_jesus@hotmail.com , thanks!

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                        • #13
                          Ok...so i've been communicating with Chris here for the past couple months.....and now i'm thinking that this school is not gonna be all that great to train at.... since it seems to be more wushu-oriented than kung fu oriented....

                          Anyways, now i'm looking for another school (ANY SCHOOL) in China that teaches traditional Kung Fu (don't really care what type anymore). Kung Fu that is not wushu....that has applicable self deffence application, that preferably teaches iron body (or other body strengthening techniques), is physically demading, accepts foreigners, and possible has lessons on speaking Chinese (Manderin, Cantonese, Whatever!).....

                          Now i know that good traditional kung fu schools are praticularily hard to come by nowadays due to the sudden demand by Chinese students to learn wushu. But ther HAS to be a place that teaches traditional kung fu some were in China! Right???

                          Anyways, tell me what ever you know, i'm eager to hear it all. Price isn't a real big factor, so post whatever you know. As well, I plan to leave in August, so it would be great if you could tell me what you know as soon as possible, so that i can have time to research and register and the like....

                          Thank soooooo much you in advance!

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                          • #14
                            There are several schools in Dengfeng that can and do teach traditional....

                            look through a couple of the threads here.

                            Shi De Cheng's school comes to mind....
                            practice wu de

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                            • #15
                              HOLY CRAP that was fast!

                              ok...i just read the stuff about Doc's school in Phuket, Thailand....now that seems like a pretty good school

                              so....How much for a year of Gung Fu training?(Approx.)
                              How has the recent tsunami affected the school/hotels?(if at all)
                              Am I being led on when it says on the site that it is real kung fu taught by real monks?
                              How many students does this school usually have?(Approx.)
                              How does this compare with the usual China Shaolin training?(Pros, Cons, Differences, Similarities)

                              I'm also send some of these question to Doc on the contact page of the site, but i'd also like some other points of view on the matter.

                              Thank you!

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