Going to China for Kung Fu?

[Xue Sheng]

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.

Still some good in the North too, they are just hard to find, because they don't advertise and they appear to like it that way.

 

[mrt2]

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.

For real. How much can you learn in 6 months if you are a total beginner? How many hours of training per week before you you overtrain and/or burn out? I am wondering if OP has been watching too many movies, where a relatively untrained individual trains intensively with a wise old master for a few months, then beats far more experienced martial artists in battle, or competition.

Going to China to train Kung Fu as an untrained individual is a truly terrible idea.

 

[Headhunter]

For real. How much can you learn in 6 months if you are a total beginner? How many hours of training per week before you you overtrain and/or burn out? I am wondering if OP has been watching too many movies, where a relatively untrained individual trains intensively with a wise old master for a few months, then beats far more experienced martial artists in battle, or competition.

Going to China to train Kung Fu as an untrained individual is a truly terrible idea.

It's not a terrible idea as long as he realises he won't be an expert when he gets back

 

[hoshin1600]

Going to China to train Kung Fu as an untrained individual is a truly terrible idea.

its not a terrible idea. would he be better off with some experience? yes. but the benefit regardless is in the experience itself of going there. its something you will never forget.

 

[Finlay]

Again it depends what you want.

I was there for a long time and saw a lot of stuff. Some good and some bad.

If i had my time over again i woukd do somethig differently

One woukd be to know more mandarin before going and maybe experince chinese styles a little so i was familiar woth the teaching method.

Alot of the 'good' stuff is away from the big cities so there is that to consider as well

 

[JR 137]

For real. How much can you learn in 6 months if you are a total beginner? How many hours of training per week before you you overtrain and/or burn out? I am wondering if OP has been watching too many movies, where a relatively untrained individual trains intensively with a wise old master for a few months, then beats far more experienced martial artists in battle, or competition.

Going to China to train Kung Fu as an untrained individual is a truly terrible idea.

Like the previous guys, I don’t think it’s truly a terrible idea. But I don’t think it’s the smartest move if his focus is intensive training. It would be far better going after several years of experience rather than starting from scratch.

There’s a gentleman who coordinates trips to Okinawa for karate training. If I were to go, I’d feel I’d be best served by having at least a 2nd dan beforehand. I’d use it to get a new perspective on training, address weaknesses in myself and/or curriculum, etc. I certainly wouldn’t go without knowing anything about karate. But that’s my focus. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing if I wanted to go to Okinawa regardless, and decided that I might as well try some karate while I’m there even though I’ve never stepped foot in a dojo.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Like the previous guys, I don’t think it’s truly a terrible idea. But I don’t think it’s the smartest move if his focus is intensive training. It would be far better going after several years of experience rather than starting from scratch.

There’s a gentleman who coordinates trips to Okinawa for karate training. If I were to go, I’d feel I’d be best served by having at least a 2nd dan beforehand. I’d use it to get a new perspective on training, address weaknesses in myself and/or curriculum, etc. I certainly wouldn’t go without knowing anything about karate. But that’s my focus. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing if I wanted to go to Okinawa regardless, and decided that I might as well try some karate while I’m there even though I’ve never stepped foot in a dojo.

Agreed, but previous training in China can sometimes work against you, possibly in kind of a positive way. My in-laws were trying to set up push hands training for me and they found a guy who was supposedly awesome, or at least that was the impression he gave them. He had tons of push hands experience and was more than happy to meet and train an American...for a fee. That is when he asked if I had any experience and they said yes, he has been training taijiquan for many years and is in the Tung Ying Chieh lineage...he then said he didn't know push hands that well and that is the last they saw of him.

Could be he was fake and looking to make a quick buck of an American, could be that he was actually good and just did not want to deal with a person who may be set in his ways and not willing to change (the whole full cup empty cup thing) frankly I think it was the quick buck thing.

But with that said, show up in China wither experience in the art you want to train is a good thing. Showing up expecting any special treatment or thinking they care is not going to get you anywhere at all.

 

[JowGaWolf]

they are just hard to find, because they don't advertise and they appear to like it that way.

For real. How much can you learn in 6 months if you are a total beginner?

It depends on your goal. If you just want to learn forms then that's doable. It only takes a long time to understand how to actually use the techniques in an actual fight. That takes a considerable amount of time.

 

[JowGaWolf]

That is when he asked if I had any experience and they said yes, he has been training taijiquan for many years and is in the Tung Ying Chieh lineage...he then said he didn't know push hands that well and that is the last they saw of him.

Could be he was fake and looking to make a quick buck of an American, could be that he was actually good and just did not want to deal with a person who may be set in his ways and not willing to change (the whole full cup empty cup thing) frankly I think it was the quick buck thing.

sounds like a quick buck story to me as well. Either that or he didn't know as much as he claimed and someone with knowledge would have seen through that in heart beat. Because of the experience I have in martial arts, I'm more likely "to call BS" on stuff faster than a student who didn't know anything. Show me a person sparring, and I'll call it even faster.

 

[Bruce7]

The Chinese government started Wushu to have control of Kung Fu. So most of the masters left China. When I was in the navy I was station in Guam in the 1970's. There was a tall Chinese man who could not speak English, but taught Kung Fu, I guess it was long fist because we mostly train in kicking. He push me harder than any of my instructor, I think he enjoy my pain. I did not like him but respected him as one my best instructors.

If you want to train in Kung Fu my suggest is to find an instructor who was taught by one these masters who left China when the government started Wushu.

 

[JowGaWolf]

If you want to train in Kung Fu my suggest is to find an instructor who was taught by one these masters who left China when the government started Wushu.

Interesting that you have this story. I have heard a couple of times, "If you want to learn Kung Fu for fighting then don't go to China."

 

[Xue Sheng]

The Chinese government started Wushu to have control of Kung Fu. So most of the masters left China. When I was in the navy I was station in Guam in the 1970's. There was a tall Chinese man who could not speak English, but taught Kung Fu, I guess it was long fist because we mostly train in kicking. He push me harder than any of my instructor, I think he enjoy my pain. I did not like him but respected him as one my best instructors.

If you want to train in Kung Fu my suggest is to find an instructor who was taught by one these masters who left China when the government started Wushu.

My first Chinese Shifu, in America, once told me it was harder to teach students in America.... I asked why...he said...."Because I can't beat them"

 

[Xue Sheng]

Interesting that you have this story. I have heard a couple of times, "If you want to learn Kung Fu for fighting then don't go to China."

There are some teachers there that will teach you how to fight using their style, but they are few and far between and hard to find, because they are not advertising much, if at all. Most of the "fighting" you will learn in China is Sanshou/Sanda.

A few years back there was still a Zhaobao teacher (Taijiquan), I believe in Shanghai, who was still taking challenges.

 

[Bruce7]

My first Chinese Shifu, in America, once told me it was harder to teach students in America.... I asked why...he said...."Because I can't beat them"

My shifu was amazing and I respected him even though he was to mean to me. I thought because I had a fast snap punch and side kick I might surprise my master. Most of the Kung Fu kicks are the same as taekwondo except the side kick. The taekwondo kick is more powerful, but the Kung fu side kick may setup a little faster. Any way my favorite technique was to do a snap punch at the face to setup my next move, then do the same snap punch and when the punch is blocked grab the arm above the wrist lean back and do aside kick to the ribs. This had always work on some one the first time we spar. I just knew I was going to get to kick him hard. When I did the snap punch he slip it like a boxer and kick me in the face. Then I thought I am fast and he has never seen a taekwondo side kick so I shorten the distance by bring my back left foot up crossed behind and in front of my right foot to position for my side kick. He circle to my right slipping my side kick and the sweep my back leg with a kick to back of my knee. Thank goodness for the matted floor because I hit the floor hard. They were about the same age, I use to dream about my master and Jack Hwang sparing. My master was much taller with greater reach and seem to know how to handle a taekwondo attack, but Jack Hwang was faster and I just know he would win.

 

[Xue Sheng]

My shifu was amazing and I respected him even though he was to mean to me. I thought because I had a fast snap punch and side kick I might surprise my master. Most of the Kung Fu kicks are the same as taekwondo except the side kick. The taekwondo kick is more powerful, but the Kung fu side kick may setup a little faster. Any way my favorite technique was to do a snap punch at the face to setup my next move, then do the same snap punch and when the punch is blocked grab the arm above the wrist lean back and do aside kick to the ribs. This had always work on some one the first time we spar. I just knew I was going to get to kick him hard. When I did the snap punch he slip it like a boxer and kick me in the face. Then I thought I am fast and he has never seen a taekwondo side kick so I shorten the distance by bring my back left foot up crossed behind and in front of my right foot to position for my side kick. He circle to my right slipping my side kick and the sweep my back leg with a kick to back of my knee. Thank goodness for the matted floor because I hit the floor hard. They were about the same age, I use to dream about my master and Jack Hwang sparing. My master was much taller with greater reach and seem to know how to handle a taekwondo attack, but Jack Hwang was faster and I just know he would win.

Spared one of my Xingyiquan Shifus once.... he told me while sparing "If I don't get hit, I don't feel like I am sparring" so I hit him...twice...he proceeded to beat the living daylights out of me.....and it is here where I prove marital artists are all crazy...most would be upset by that... my very first thought and the very first thing I said was "That was cool"