Going to China for Kung Fu?

[DanT]

Traditional Shaolin Quan is very rare. I have the fortune of being able to learn it from my sifu. I don't know more than a handful of true Traditional Shaolin Quan masters.

Traditional Shaolin is a lifestyle alongside a martial art. The Martial art aspect is a complex art of 18 weapons and a complete fighting system covering all ranges of combat including grappling. You will learn to use not only your body as a weapon, but also 18 weapons. You are expected to master these weapons.

This is a big commitment to a big curriculum. It takes on average 10-15 years to complete the system if you are training full time.

 

[DanT]

Most of the schools you'll find are garbage regardless of where you go, so good luck to you.

 

[toffee1234]

There is an academy in Hong Kong run by Ip Man students that has lodging there as well. I will see if I can find it and post it for you.

And Money first, even half the money, in China.....be careful. They are in China and can quickly vanish never to be heard from again..... stick with the big, well established, schools if you are set on doing this.

Yes, please! I will be really grateful!

 

[Xue Sheng]

This info came from here emprty minds Wing Chun a documentary

I believe this is the place I was talking about that has the Wing Chun school and a hostel to stay in

The below quote is from Kung Fu Tea

Wing Chun: A Documentary” directed by Jon Braeley.

Master Sam Lau’s Wing Chun school and hostel on Nathan Road at the tip of Kowloon.

Master Sam Lau’s Wing Chun school and hostel on Nathan Road at the tip of Kowloon. I was pretty impressed with what I saw here. Most of the students were visitors, only staying for a month or so to take Master Lau’s “intensive” course. That fact not withstanding he had them engaged in serious Chi Sao and everyone the camera turned to looked pretty solid. Clearly they weren’t all experts, but they were working hard, their energy was good and you could just feel the intensity in the room.

Milun Kung Fu School - Beijing

Yiquan Beijing

 

[JR 137]

Thats a great advice! Thanks! Actually I have never had martial arts training before. So I'll look for an online school.

What do you have available to you locally? I’d start searching what’s available to you, then start looking to go abroad after you’ve got a bit of experience with it.

I’m not trying to sound mean, but it’s highly likely you have a romanticized view of what true MA training is really like. Let’s just say you find a truly authentic school that’s not running a version of the Nigerian scam like the one who wanted your money but stopped talking to you after they knew they couldn’t get it. Let’s say you find a school that’s “the real deal.” Bruce Lee trainer there along with Shaolin Monks, yadda yadda yadda. What if you quickly find out that this whole martial arts thing sucks? Movies and stories paint quite a pretty picture. Those pictures aren’t real life.

Find a local school that’s a good fit for you. Hopefully it’ll be one that has direct ties to China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, etc. If so, you’d have a place you can easily find and train there at the right time. For instance, if you found a Judo school locally, you could train there for a while and look to visit and train at the Kodokan in Japan when the time’s right. Same for many styles of karate or TKD that have international organizations.

I train in Seido karate. The headquarters dojo is in NYC about 3 hours away from me. There are dojos on every continent except Antarctica. If I take a trip to Japan, South Africa, Australia, and on and on, I could send an email and ask to stop by for some training while I’m there. All it would take really is a confirmation email or call from my teacher as a courtesy.

MA and MA training has been highly romanticized in movies. So has practically everything else. Don’t fall for the hype. It’s nothing like the movies portray it. I love training MA, but TV and reality are two different things.

 

[Martial D]

What do you have available to you locally? I’d start searching what’s available to you, then start looking to go abroad after you’ve got a bit of experience with it.
...

MA and MA training has been highly romanticized in movies. So has practically everything else. Don’t fall for the hype. It’s nothing like the movies portray it. I love training MA, but TV and reality are two different things.

Sound, Sage advice.

There is a reason over half of first day students never become second day students.

 

[Headhunter]

What do you have available to you locally? I’d start searching what’s available to you, then start looking to go abroad after you’ve got a bit of experience with it.

I’m not trying to sound mean, but it’s highly likely you have a romanticized view of what true MA training is really like. Let’s just say you find a truly authentic school that’s not running a version of the Nigerian scam like the one who wanted your money but stopped talking to you after they knew they couldn’t get it. Let’s say you find a school that’s “the real deal.” Bruce Lee trainer there along with Shaolin Monks, yadda yadda yadda. What if you quickly find out that this whole martial arts thing sucks? Movies and stories paint quite a pretty picture. Those pictures aren’t real life.

Find a local school that’s a good fit for you. Hopefully it’ll be one that has direct ties to China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, etc. If so, you’d have a place you can easily find and train there at the right time. For instance, if you found a Judo school locally, you could train there for a while and look to visit and train at the Kodokan in Japan when the time’s right. Same for many styles of karate or TKD that have international organizations.

I train in Seido karate. The headquarters dojo is in NYC about 3 hours away from me. There are dojos on every continent except Antarctica. If I take a trip to Japan, South Africa, Australia, and on and on, I could send an email and ask to stop by for some training while I’m there. All it would take really is a confirmation email or call from my teacher as a courtesy.

MA and MA training has been highly romanticized in movies. So has practically everything else. Don’t fall for the hype. It’s nothing like the movies portray it. I love training MA, but TV and reality are two different things.

Yep have to agree with that. My old instructor had a story about going over to America to train in kenpo for a while. Before he went over he thought those guys would be so much better because it's in America a different country they're closer to the source (ed Parker who was alive then) and he thought those guys would be amazing but he saw when he got there it was no better than what they were doing in England

 

[Headhunter]

What do you have available to you locally? I’d start searching what’s available to you, then start looking to go abroad after you’ve got a bit of experience with it.

I’m not trying to sound mean, but it’s highly likely you have a romanticized view of what true MA training is really like. Let’s just say you find a truly authentic school that’s not running a version of the Nigerian scam like the one who wanted your money but stopped talking to you after they knew they couldn’t get it. Let’s say you find a school that’s “the real deal.” Bruce Lee trainer there along with Shaolin Monks, yadda yadda yadda. What if you quickly find out that this whole martial arts thing sucks? Movies and stories paint quite a pretty picture. Those pictures aren’t real life.

Find a local school that’s a good fit for you. Hopefully it’ll be one that has direct ties to China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, etc. If so, you’d have a place you can easily find and train there at the right time. For instance, if you found a Judo school locally, you could train there for a while and look to visit and train at the Kodokan in Japan when the time’s right. Same for many styles of karate or TKD that have international organizations.

I train in Seido karate. The headquarters dojo is in NYC about 3 hours away from me. There are dojos on every continent except Antarctica. If I take a trip to Japan, South Africa, Australia, and on and on, I could send an email and ask to stop by for some training while I’m there. All it would take really is a confirmation email or call from my teacher as a courtesy.

MA and MA training has been highly romanticized in movies. So has practically everything else. Don’t fall for the hype. It’s nothing like the movies portray it. I love training MA, but TV and reality are two different things.

Also to add at the end of the day China or wherever isn't perfect either. There's good and bad martial art schools in every single country. I actually believe the west has it better because there's a huge range of styles available so it gives more perspective and different types of training partner than some countries who only have a few styles. I first heard that in an interview withphilip rhee when talking about moving from Korea to America

 

[JR 137]

Yep have to agree with that. My old instructor had a story about going over to America to train in kenpo for a while. Before he went over he thought those guys would be so much better because it's in America a different country they're closer to the source (ed Parker who was alive then) and he thought those guys would be amazing but he saw when he got there it was no better than what they were doing in England

It all depends on the individual. Like you said, there’s good and bad. Being in a certain place doesn’t inherently make someone there better than everyone everywhere else. You may find a better concentration of great practitioners in one area, but that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Not just MA, but everything.

My mother needed a kidney transplant a few years ago. She went with a surgeon in NYC, about 3 hours away from us. She didn’t go to him because he was anybody in NYC, she went to him specifically because she thought he was the best. Family members had this mentality of NYC doctors are so much better than the ones in our area. I just shook my head and said I’m sure there’s no shortage of hacks in NYC too. That guy’s one of the best, but he’d be just as good if he was anywhere else.

Same for an MA teacher. It’s not like the worst kung fu teacher in China is better than the best teacher anywhere else. Japan’s worst judo teacher isn’t going to be better than every other teacher outside of Japan just because he’s in the birthplace of judo. There’s a judo teacher not too far away from me who was an Olympic silver medalist, and coached several USA Olympic teams. I highly doubt every single teacher in Japan is better than him.

 

[toffee1234]

Traditional Shaolin Quan is very rare. I have the fortune of being able to learn it from my sifu. I don't know more than a handful of true Traditional Shaolin Quan masters.

Traditional Shaolin is a lifestyle alongside a martial art. The Martial art aspect is a complex art of 18 weapons and a complete fighting system covering all ranges of combat including grappling. You will learn to use not only your body as a weapon, but also 18 weapons. You are expected to master these weapons.

This is a big commitment to a big curriculum. It takes on average 10-15 years to complete the system if you are training full time.

Very informative post, Sir! Thank you! I guess it all depends upon the luck if you can find a good teacher. Are monks at Shaolin Temple are real time fighters or is it just a myth? Because I HAVE read somewhere they teach MA to interested people as well. There is a Kung Fu motivational video on youtube and below is their website which offers many courses. However, some schools even claim to be located inside the temple. I don't know if its true or not.

 

[toffee1234]

This info came from here emprty minds Wing Chun a documentary

I believe this is the place I was talking about that has the Wing Chun school and a hostel to stay in

The below quote is from Kung Fu Tea

Wing Chun: A Documentary” directed by Jon Braeley.



Milun Kung Fu School - Beijing

Yiquan Beijing

Thank you so much, Sir!

 

[Flying Crane]

Very informative post, Sir! Thank you! I guess it all depends upon the luck if you can find a good teacher. Are monks at Shaolin Temple are real time fighters or is it just a myth? Because I HAVE read somewhere they teach MA to interested people as well. There is a Kung Fu motivational video on youtube and below is their website which offers many courses. However, some schools even claim to be located inside the temple. I don't know if its true or not.

The “monks” are typically teaching government sanctioned Modern Wushu.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Very informative post, Sir! Thank you! I guess it all depends upon the luck if you can find a good teacher. Are monks at Shaolin Temple are real time fighters or is it just a myth? Because I HAVE read somewhere they teach MA to interested people as well. There is a Kung Fu motivational video on youtube and below is their website which offers many courses. However, some schools even claim to be located inside the temple. I don't know if its true or not.

The “monks” are typically teaching government sanctioned Modern Wushu.

Yes and they also teach completion Sanda (Sanshou), and you can get the same in virtually any of the Physical Fitness Colleges in China..just without the saffron robes and Buddhist influences.

 

[donald1]

I also recommend looking for a local school. What happens when your six months of training ends? Does your interest in Kung Fu end then and there? I certainly hope not. Your probably gonna want a place to train regularly. So you don't forget what you've learned.

 

[JR 137]

I also recommend looking for a local school. What happens when your six months of training ends? Does your interest in Kung Fu end then and there? I certainly hope not. Your probably gonna want a place to train regularly. So you don't forget what you've learned.

Let’s suspend reality for a second and say he’s accepted as a live-in Kung fu monk and does the walk down the hallway were he goes through arrows shot at him, sword wielding masters trying to cut his head off, etc., and finishes by picking up the red-hot calderon which burns the dragon on one forearm and the tiger on the other forearm...

Training in China for 6 months under those conditions isn’t going to make anyone a master, make anyone qualified to teach, nor make someone so good that they’ll never need any instruction ever again. It’ll take longer than that for them to even remember your name. Especially true for someone who has zero MA experience going in.

 

[donald1]

Let’s suspend reality for a second and say he’s accepted as a live-in Kung fu monk and does the walk down the hallway were he goes through arrows shot at him, sword wielding masters trying to cut his head off, etc., and finishes by picking up the red-hot calderon which burns the dragon on one forearm and the tiger on the other forearm...

Training in China for 6 months under those conditions isn’t going to make anyone a master, make anyone qualified to teach, nor make someone so good that they’ll never need any instruction ever again. It’ll take longer than that for them to even remember your name. Especially true for someone who has zero MA experience going in.

Unless you're the chosen one

 

[j.ouellet23]

This thread is actually pretty helpful, is there anyway that we can save it and have people add to it with schools they have been to and with small reviews?

 

[FriedRice]

Hello Everyone,

I am new here and this is my first post. Nice to meet you all! So for the past 6 months I have firmly decided to go to China for 6 months training but there are so many school, each claiming to be the best and the largest authentic school. Could you please guide me which is the best and authentic one since I have intentions to get full professional training but first I'll start with 6 months training. Thanks!
1. Shaolin Kung Fu Academy - Learn Kung Fu in Shaolin Temple Wushu School China
2. Original Shaolin Temple - kungfushaolins
3. shaolin temple academy,china gong fu,wushu,chinese kung fu, Martial Arts Academy , Qi Gong, Tai Ji, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Tang Lang (Praying Mantis), San Da, chinashailins.com, chinashaolinskungfu.com, shalins.com, wwe Wrestling Learn, k1 Training,
4. Songshan Shaolin Temple Wushu Academy
5.Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School | Learn Kung Fu in China

So 1 and 5 both claim to be the largest schools. Which one should I choose?

Kind Regards.

If you train at Shaolin, then those aren't real Shaolin Monks. They're just the Chinese Wushu team, teaching. The Chinese Cultural Revolution of 1966 put an end to all that. The Shaolin Temple is just like Chinese Disneyland now, opened up for tourists....selling more junk made in China. Ironically though, those Wushu fighters are more legit as fighters than the real Shaolin monks. Real Shaolin Monks are probably nothing like those movies, all BS. They probably fought like crap, while the Wushu Team can fight. I bet that they even modeled the reopened Shaolin Temple after those Run Run Shaw movies of the 1980's.

This White guy, who runs an MMA gym in China, says that many of the Kung-Fu schools being taught in China, are taught by White and Black dudes, LOL. That sounds about right.

One of my Muay Thai friend did go train at Shaolin, and he said it was a great experience though. He went through the whole shabang of paying for the whole room/board, etc. package. It wasn't cheap. Hell, I think you should do it....but for the fun factor and not think that they're going to teach you something that dudes in America can't and/or don't know about.

 

[Finlay]

I stumbled about china for a few years studying with a few giod teachera and some not so good.

Did shaolin in dengfeng for a while. Not over impressed but if that is yohr thing then it is a good place to learn.

Found some taiji amd bagua guys with a solid lineage but took some time and i had to learn mandarin.

 

[hoshin1600]

if i were to go (which im not) i would go down south Fuzhou area. there are still some old school martial arts there. i have heard that the Hakka arts are the heir's to the shaolin temple arts. but you probably find it difficult to get someone to teach you.