# Needed: Opinions and Advice on finding a school.



## IRO-Bot (Jan 14, 2008)

Hello all,

It's been a while since I've done anything on these forums, and I generally stuck to the Kempo boards.  I've since stopped going to my old dojo at United Studios of Self Defense, with the departure of my original instructor.  I wasn't impressed with the new instructor, what with how he'd speak poorly of my old Sensei, and his style of teaching was chaotic and far too fast paced.

That being said, and with 2007 having drawn to a very catastrophic close for me, I've decided to turn 2008 into a year of self-improvement.  I've set several goals, one of which is getting back into the martial arts.  Now, I'm posting this here, because at this point in time I'm most interested in Tai Chi Ch'uan, but I know next to nothing about the variations in family styles or even about the system itself.

I've done some searching for schools in my area, and they're pretty few and far between, or they're not quite as traditional as I'd like.  I found a website for one school that isn't far from me, and it seems like it might be pretty good, but I honestly don't know what I should be looking for.  I plan on e-mailing the instructor, but I'm not sure what sorts of things I should ask him.  Also, I was hoping that a few of you more experienced practitioners might be willing to check out the web site and provide opinions and advice. Here's the link: http://realtaiji.com/

Any and all help will be thoroughly appreciated.
Thank you,

Doug.


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 14, 2008)

It appears to be associated with Eli Montaigue which leads to Erle Montaigue and I do not have a high opinion of Erle Montaigue. 

But without knowing more I do not know what to tell you other than the guy needs to fix his website it is WAY to hard to read.

*EDIT:*

The 6 Taijiquan Families
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43409&highlight=families

There are other taiji styles as well but these are the 6 recognized by the PRC


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## jks9199 (Jan 14, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> It appears to be associated with Eli Montaigue which leads to Erle Montaigue and I do not have a high opinion of Erle Montaigue.
> 
> But without knowing more I do not know what to tell you other than the guy needs to fix his website it is WAY to hard to read.
> 
> ...


Huh...  His website read easily enough.  It just didn't make much sense.

Of course, I think the big picture with the chi-ball glowing as he takes his hand out of the glove and glowers kind of speaks volumes...


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## bigfootsquatch (Jan 14, 2008)

IRO-Bot said:


> Hello all,
> 
> It's been a while since I've done anything on these forums, and I generally stuck to the Kempo boards. I've since stopped going to my old dojo at United Studios of Self Defense, with the departure of my original instructor. I wasn't impressed with the new instructor, what with how he'd speak poorly of my old Sensei, and his style of teaching was chaotic and far too fast paced.
> 
> ...


 

Eli is Erle's son. Erle(and Eli teaches most of the classes now I believe) claims to teach too many ultra rare styles such as the Old Yang Style as Yang Lu Chan performed and then some sort of wudang dim mak forms. the way he does his bagua is also different from what I've seen others do, but I know little to none about bagua. I would find someone else if possible, or just check out the class and see if you like it. They can teach some you some practical stuff, but I don't think they teach Old Yang Style Tai Chi as they claim.
 Anyway, you can find videos of Erle on www.youtube.com and www.taijiworld.com

He even has a free video teaching the yang cheng fu form and another teaching the first 1/3 of his claimed old yang style.

Tell us what you think!


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 14, 2008)

jks9199 said:


> Huh... His website read easily enough. It just didn't make much sense.


 
The View I was getting Look similar to this

The View
I was getting 
looked similar 
to this

Accept the small text was actually smaller and harder to read. I had to copy it into a text editor just to read it.



jks9199 said:


> Of course, I think the big picture with the chi-ball glowing as he takes his hand out of the glove and glowers kind of speaks volumes...


 
Like I said, I don't have much use for Erle


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## ccaissie (Jan 14, 2008)

What do *you* think?  Do you think he has anything to impart?  Maybe.  Why are certain people drawn to certain teachers?  Part of their personal path.

Some people would only have Bruce Lee be their teacher.  You can learn from anyone.

Personally, I am attracted to the down-to-earth types.  
ccaissie


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## East Winds (Jan 14, 2008)

He claims to teach the "Supreme Ultimate Fist Form" of Taiji (whatever that is!!!!!):erg:

There is down to earth and there is hype. Take your pick

Very best wishes


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## bigfootsquatch (Jan 14, 2008)

ccaissie said:


> What do *you* think? Do you think he has anything to impart? Maybe. Why are certain people drawn to certain teachers? Part of their personal path.
> 
> Some people would only have Bruce Lee be their teacher. You can learn from anyone.
> 
> ...


 
Personally, I wouldn't train with Bruce Lee if he lied to be more attractive. Yes, you can learn from anyone, but why would you want to learn from someone who makes up a bunch of bs and bad mouths masters like Fu Zhong Wen in one place praises them in the next. :erg:


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 14, 2008)

Would I train with the gentleman in the supplied link? No

Would I train with Erle or Eli? No

Would IRO-Bot train with either? I do not know it is entirely up to IRO-Bot


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## IRO-Bot (Jan 18, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> Would I train with the gentleman in the supplied link? No
> 
> Would I train with Erle or Eli? No
> 
> Would IRO-Bot train with either? I do not know it is entirely up to IRO-Bot



My answer:  Probably not.


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