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  • #31
    looking for people who may be intrested in coming to northern china to study martial?

    hey all,

    my first thread but doubt will be my last.

    ok I have been to northern china martial arts academy and everything what you have heard is probably true. The teachers a very, very good but they are forced to teach the way the owner wants them to teach. wang xing peng also used to teach there and now teaches near the southern shaolin temple with his wife laura. they are currently making extra room for there students there. my teacher was name wei sifu. he was a disciple of wang xing peng as well. they all learnt toghether from a early age and then went seperate ways till a few yrs ago when they all joined abck up toghether. I am looking for people to learn with me in china in a place called changchun. It has everything in this city such as mcdonalds, to clubs , to teaching schools, to amazing students from the university. I am heading over there late september and am looking for people who wish to train from my teacher with me? we will be living near or in the university untill sifu wei has enough funds to set up a academy. u see the problem with northern china shaolin academy was the students ended up running the place, alot of people lost respect and the teaching was limited due to the owner telling the teachers what they could teach in a certain amount of time. anyone intrested would love to hear. I want to set up a school with my te acher where we only have dedicated students who will train hard. ok hope to hear from people soon. can also find them jobs teaching in there spare time for extra money. ok bye!

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    • #32
      how much $

      How much$ dose it cost a month and how much a year? In USA dollars thanks bye
      lil monk

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      • #33
        hi

        i am starting this up with a shaolin monk who taught at the northern china martial arts academy. wang xing peng i am in close contact with and he and laura would speak vey highly of my teacher. but do not just think because they have said he is good u should believe it. i have many friends that attended northern china martial arts academy and they also would say he is very very good. i can get translators to help around the city when we or u need to go out. there is a good night life in changchun. the university is very good too. many people who are friendly. the apartments which we would be staying in would be inside the university untill we can rent a desent place or buy a place in changchun. once we have brought this place we are gonna build it up while training so it looks traditional and then train 9 students continuously. and people who come for short periods (3 months) we will also train maybe by another teacher. plus hopefully in the afternoons we can go out and just chat about shaolin and listen to students who are actually studying and know what chinese history actually is. ok speak soon bal. know i havent helped out to much at the moment but always get new emails from china every day from my translators and friends and from my teacher so closer it comes to me going the more info i will get. just want things to be sorted out before i go to china. plus if i can get people to come from the martial arts academy i will. i leave in late sept , from canada and then spend five yrs of my life there. people say how can u say that, but i have already spent a yr there and five yrs is not long considering i was working nights for 2 yrs and didnt really have a hope of changing and then one day decided to go for it and havent looked back. think that is why im doing this, also seen my teacher and would love for him to edventually move to canada with me after five yrs. it my goal and dream to own a school in canada and if my teacher comes i would be happy in life more than what most people can imagine. ok really hope u aint disappointed in this thread but we are really trying to get things sorted out it just takes time. i hope we will chat again sometime.

        bal.

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        • #34
          Si Ping Shao Lin

          Hello Russbo.

          I know this place has been discussed ad nauseum on this board. And believe me I've read all those discussions twice. Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is because I'm actually here at the Si Ping Shao Lin Martial Arts Academy right now. For reasons that you can probably relate too I don't have all day to type on and on about training and things you already know... but I thought I would post this as an open offer to anyone who has questions about this school. If you want the opinions of a relative newcomer to the arts, that is physically present at the moment, I will try and answer for you as to what is happening now at the school as best I can. If I don't reply immediately please be patient, I can't sign on to Russbo every day.

          Peace and good lucks.


          -Franklin

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          • #35
            Glad you're starting a new experience. As things always change, we'll be glad to hear about your experiences up there.
            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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            • #36
              First off, thanks to Doc for this wonderful website!...

              I am also thinking of training here...i have a few guestions for you...

              Whats the atmosphere like?
              Whats the food like?
              How are the instructors?
              What level of "difficulty" is the training?
              How similar is it to what the website says?
              Whats the weather like?
              How are the accomodations/rooms?
              What are communication barriars like(English speaking students/instructors)?
              How are the other optional "classes" in accupuncture, Manderin, Taoist/Buddhist theory?
              What is the teaching curriculum mostly compsed of (i.e. Kung Fu, Chi Kung, Wushu, weapons forms)?
              How many students at one time?
              Worth the money?
              Easy to get there from Beijing? Would you suggest using the guide service they offer on the website?
              What is there for security of belongings? (...safe in room, just keep important belongings on you?...)
              How are the bathroom facilities?
              What is the training regimine/schedule like?(same as/similare to the one on the website?)
              Are there any choirs or other duties that students are expected to preform?(Not that I would have anything wrong w/ this!)


              ...and thats all i can come up w/ right now...lol.....
              thank you so much for your time!!!
              sorry for pulling you from your training!

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              • #37
                *just another note...I'm not expecting, or looking for some 'cakewalk at a holiday inn'...I really am looking forward to 'meager' livings (as strange as that may sound)...

                As well, I plan on staying for an entire year before returning home, would you think this to be unbearable, and too long of a stay?

                Thanks again!

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                • #38
                  Wow, that was a few questions all right. I will answer them all with my opinions but it will take a little while. I might wait until this weekend. I tend to think a little clearer on the weekends. We don't have classes on the weekends here. I usually go into Si Ping.

                  Before I do though, here are some suggestions I have for you:

                  Read all the posts about this school on Russbo twice.
                  Go to shaolin-wushu.de and read the posts about this school there, twice.
                  Go to the US Department of State website and read the Consular Information Sheet about China, it has good info even if you're not American.
                  If you are American go to the Chinese Embassy in the United States website and read the visa information.
                  There is a blog out there on the net somewhere called "Carney in China" about training here. Read that. It's pretty long.

                  That should give you some ideas. I'll post my responses to your questions as soon as I can. And nothing is ever quite like the website describes it.

                  -Franklin
                  p.s. You should start going running and doing squats on a very regular basis.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    thank you for the suggestions....i have read many things already about the school....but aparently i have MUCh to read! lol

                    i'll try to find time and read everything that u suggested....

                    BTW i'm from Canada....

                    i well await your answers,
                    thanks again!

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      OK here we go.

                      Hmm. Atmosphere. I think the atmosphere is OK. I like most of the students but some of them don't really have what I consider to be the best attitude towards training. Everyone is very nice, and treats everyone else with respect at all times. However, some people seem especially disinterested in realizing that they are in a foreign country and that things might not work quite the same here as they would at home.

                      The food is OK by me. I like chinese food and don't mind using chopsticks at all. Some people do complain about the food though. Mostly we get meat, rice, and vegetables served buffet style, with tea at every meal. For breakfast we have breads, rice, fries, and hard boiled eggs. The kitchen makes some western style meats too like fried chicken nuggets which is always very popular. The kitchen is clean and the staff are very nice, and helpful.

                      The instructors are amazingly talented. It seems like some of them don't have as much teaching experience as they could but they are all very good at what they do. The shaolin-wushu teachers are all kind of young (20's). I really like my teacher alot and we do alot of the stuff that I wanted to learn when I came. It does sort of come down to which group they put you in though. The school also has chi-gong/tai chi, in the morning (I always go to this class, and enjoy it) Xing-Yi in the afternoon, and you can specialize in Baji-Quan if you like. I don't go to the Xing-Yi class but the teacher appears to be very good and can generate incredible power with very little movement. I've never been to the Baji class.

                      I think the difficulty level depends mostly on which group you are in, and on yourself. If your mostly in it for bragging rights back home and don't really want to push, you can just say you hurt your knee or whatever and they will accomodate you. Or if you're really serious, and your teacher knows it they will come and tell you to get out of bed if you don't make it to class on time. You can sit around and do nothing when you're not in class, or you can go and practice, work out ect. I think it really depends on you. I'm a begginer and find it challenging enough for me.

                      It is not like the website. The website is only in English and I doubt that the majority of the staff have ever even read the website.

                      We are in the far north of China. It is fall and the weather is getting colder. It will be bitch-ass cold all winter (think Russia) and probably hot and dusty during the summer. At the moment it is damn cold in the morning when we get up, but is usually not too bad by the afternoon, although yesterday it was very cold all day. The school does have a heating system.

                      The rooms are not so bad. Everyone else says that the beds are uncomfortable but I find them rather comfortable. Of course, I've had the wonderful experience of sleeping outside in the rain on concrete, and I don't think many of the foreign students here have done that. They have rigged up some sort of sit-down and flush toilet system that usually works, we have a heating system, and water for hot showers for 2 hours a day. Most of this stuff works, most of the time. We also have a computer room, with a maddeningly slow internet connection.

                      The teachers don't speak much English, the younger ones seem to try and learn it, and the older guys just don't bother at all. The translators are good enough for the classes (but don't expect lengthy explanations) and are usually around. You will pick up some Chinese, they will pick up some English, and things will move along more or less OK.

                      The only other optional class I've been to is the Chinese class. I use the class, but If I hadn't learned Pinyin and some basic communication and pronunciation before I came, I would probably be hopelessly lost in the class. I go faithfully to it every thursday though, and find it good practice. Most of the students exhibit little or no interest in learning chinese, and a few have gotten quite a bit down.

                      The curriculum depends on which group you are in. For example the Baji group has it's own schedule, and I don't really know it. I'll assume you want the shaolin package like most people. Some groups seem to work on more Sanda than others, but the training is basically divided into forms training, basics training, Sanda, and you'll have one class a week on the more acrobatic leaps, breakfalls, butterfly kicks, and aerial cartwheel type stuff. There is a set curriculum for the shaolin forms, you have to learn a few forms and some basic skills, before you get your first weapon. I've been here for about 4 weeks and have learned most of the basics, and the first 2 forms. We also have classes in Sanda, and have power training sessions (work outs) as well.

                      My goup has 8-10 people in it. Some groups have as many as 15-17 people in them. It kind of depends on which group you're in.

                      This one is a trick question. It was worth it to me. Bear in mind that you will need money for, any weapons you want, sparring equipment and pads, internet cards, phone cards, training shoes, running shoes, whatever you want from town, ect. Everything is pretty cheap, but it can start to add up if you're on a budget.

                      I would not reccomend using the guide service. 100USD is an astronomical price by local standards. One guy took a cab here all the way from Changchun airport and it was about 40USD. If you just want to study, and don't care about sightseeing you should fly to Chanchun airport, and go to the train station (huo che zhan) in a cab. Or negotiate a fare to Si Ping (pronounced Ss Ping). If you're coming from Beijing just take a train to Si Ping, come out and any cab driver will know where the school is. The ride is about 1 hour and don't pay more than 40 kuai for it. Make sure you bring your letter from the school so you can show it to the cab driver.

                      They have some not too thick lockers you can rent that have small flimsy locks in a room that you could easily kick the door down. I have a locker and haven't had any trouble. There is a real trusting vibe in the school, and I think most people just keep their passport, wallet, ect. in their room. I am yet to hear a story about anyone getting anything stolen from their room or their locker. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened mind you.

                      I've got to run now but I'll try and get the last few answers up later this weekend.
                      -Franklin

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                      • #41
                        Sounds good, Franklin.
                        Becoming what I've dreamed about.

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                        • #42
                          Eh, thanks alot man!!!
                          So far the school sounds like paradise to me! lol

                          and like i sed...i'm from Canada, i live about 10 degrees latitude north of si ping (yes, i checked my atlas! lol)....right now we already have snow on the ground, and there'll be alot more to come! so the cold shouldn't be that big of problem for me....

                          I DO really want the whole package wen i go, train as hard as i can, as much as i can (or as much as my body will alow me to anyways!) and learn as much as i can (martial arts, language, culture, religion, etc.)...all in all i want to come out of this a better, more well rounded person!

                          and oa few more questions...(sorry! lol)...
                          Which is taught most specifically, kung fu(ie.self defence application), or wushu(ie. moreso acrobatic entertainment/competition-based)?
                          What's the scenerie like? How(if at all) is the landscape used in training?

                          and a personal question...How long are you (planning on) staying for?

                          thank u SO much again

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                          • #43
                            OK a little behind schedule but I'm back. I had a little bit of pain to deal with and was in a very negative frame of mind for most of the week. I try not to give advice when I'm in a negative frame of mind. Although, I should say that if I've made it sound like paradise then I've been to kind.

                            Back on track here. The bathrooms are OK. The flush thing works most of the time. There great by local standards.

                            The schedule changed when I first got here. It works like this. Wake up and run at 5:30 followed by some morning exercise type stuff. Tai-chi, chi-gong is available until just before breakfast which is just before 7.

                            Morning lessons starts at 8:30 and goes until 10am. Then you have a break until 10:30 and then you train until 11:30. Lunch is at 12:00.

                            Afternoon lessons begins at 1:30 and goes until 3. Then Xing-Yi is available from 3:30 to 4:30.
                            Dinner is at 5. There is another Taichi Chi Gong class in the evening. I never go. It's happening right now but I'm on the computer writing this. Or doing whatever. The training hall is always open and you can go in and work on your own stuff, hit the bags, or use their minimal weight setup pretty much whenever. The teachers do not generally just hang around in the training hall though.

                            My first day here I was given a shovel and my group was told to enlargen the outdoor training area. I hear that when it starts snowing we are expected to shovel snow. It hasn't started snowing yet but the suspense is killing me.

                            Hmm. A year here. I would have mixed feelings about staying here for a year. It would really depend on the group I was in, and the teacher I had. There are several students staying for a year or so here, but most people are only staying for a few months. Including myself. The students are mostly foreigners that aren't staying too long. People who aren't staying for very long might not be in the same space as people who are staying longer.
                            I kind of agree with Doc that a person shouldn't committ to a long time in China until they've been there. This seems like a great place for a first trip, or someone who had some kind of athletic background and wants to get back into shape to me. The staff here are used to dealing with foreigners, and the school has translators. I would imagine that if you were really serious, after a period of six months to a year here you might want to seek out a school with higher standards, or find a teacher that suits which area you want to specialize in. I think that many of the schools in Henan are probably much harder, and cheaper. If I was really in shape, and knew for sure I was determined to study for a year, and wasn't concerned about the accomodations I would go to Dengfeng, or Zhengzhou.
                            I should point out that the visa process for a year might be difficult and costly, although I found Mr. Che to be more knowledgable and informative, about the Chinese visa process than anyone from the other schools that I contacted or anyone on this website, for that matter.
                            Also, I know many people really want to train hard, but it might be good to really know what your limitations are. Unless you are a competitive proffesional gymnast, ballet dancer, b-boy, or have been studying martial arts seriously for a while (three times a week doesn't cut it) or are some kind of proffesional athlete, sportsmen or the like then you might not understand what training all the time is like. Have you ever been hit with a stick for not squatting low enough and how might you feel about it?? Sticks are fairly common teaching tools in many traditional chinese art forms. No, I have not been hit with a stick since I got here. But some people have.

                            OK on to your response.

                            I'm a begginer. I don't want to get involved in the whole what is "real shaolin" discussion. I think westerners coming to China and looking for "real shaolin" is kind of humorous. Think about the history.
                            Remember also, that the Chinese habit is not so much to tell a person what you think, but to tell them what they want to hear in many cases. This was a very difficult concept for me to deal with at my job in Taiwan, and I think it often drives westerners crazy who actually live in Asia. Is this real Shaolin?? What kind of answer do you think you'll get from someone you're paying to say yes??

                            But, since you asked. It looks like wushu influenced shaolin to me. The kicks are done from the hip with straight knees during wushu classes, and we are told to do the stance in the forms really low. However, we do have classes that focus on power generation, and Sifu shows us combat applications for the forms every now and then. Some of the moves have fairly obvious combat apps, but no we don't spend much time on it. I came from a performance background and am planning on moving back in that direction after I leave here, so for me personally the whole wushu, shaolin debate doesn't make any difference. One thing the other students in my group always tell me is to really do the form to visualize combat. Sanda is sportfighting and of course has obvious applications that you will learn. I think most people are doing about half wushu-shaolin and half Sanda at the moment.

                            The scenery is used to look at. We run up and down some of the hills, and around the "ancient" castle on a pretty regular basis. If someone is taking pictures or in a deep thought kind of place then the scenery is great. If your just in class then I don't think it really matters so much. It's nice watching the sun rise over the hills though. And don't be fooled, they are big hills, not mountains.

                            I'm staying for three months. This is the perfect amount of time for me to stay here at this point in my life. I feel like I will get something solid out of the whole experience. If I ever come back to China to study wushu again though, I will probably opt to go somewhere in Henan province instead.

                            OK one more thing. Anyone planning to come should really think about why. Do you want to learn self-defense? You could probably do that just as easy or better in Canada. Or wherever. Do you want an interesting cultural experience?? You could teach English here or in Taiwan, or Japan and get paid good money for it. Have you identified a clear and concrete reason for your trip here, and understand how that will benefit your life?? Good questions to ask. And finally, do you know anything about chinese people, chinese culture, or understand any of the language??

                            These are just my opinions. It took me almost 2 hours to type all of this. I would rather take advice from the guy who doesn't spend hours on the computer because he (or she) is so busy training.

                            -Franklin

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                            • #44
                              Great post!

                              More Chi! Train harder! lol

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Got an email from a student who just left this school:

                                Hello doc.

                                You probably don't remember me, but i emailed you about a year ago inquiring about "SiPing Shaolin Martial Arts Academy".
                                I actually went there and stayed there for 5 months. It was alright. But the settings were a little bit crappy (it's on a mountain next to a small village). SiPing is 2 hours away on a taxi ($5 per ride).
                                There are good living conditions, good food, and pretty good training. However, the translators are horrendous. During training you have a better chance of figuring out what the shifu says by yourself.
                                I couple of things that you see on the website are not true. There is no Chinese class or Buddhism or Acupuncture. The horrible translators tried to lead these classes, but after a couple times you could see that it's just crap.
                                There are about 30 foreign students and about as many chinese students.

                                It's alright, as i said. But i think it could be better.

                                Right now i'm in Shandong province. I left the academy to go to YanTai. There will be a new school opening there, and i'll be one of the first students there. I'll let you know how it goes.

                                (just some information that i thought yu might find interesting).

                                Thanks.

                                Byebye.

                                - xxxx
                                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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