Next week is a holiday week and I have a couple of days off. It's by no means the only week I will be shopping around but it's a good start.
What are the things that I should pay attention to, things that I can *OBSERVE* (not ask) that would help me separate good from McDojo school?
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35yoNewbie - what exactly is your goal? What do you want to accomplish by studing Martial arts? By stating that you don't want injuries I don't think you are being realistic about MA. If you don't want injuries then you should grab a training tape and a box of popcorn. Injuries will always happen, the potential even more if you are out of shape, in every MA or just working out. So again what are your goals, if you are that concerned about injury MA are not for you....and that's cool...no shame. But if you are interested in MA or just being physically fit you have to let that go.
Now regarding the MA schools what did you not like about the first two schools you went to? I am starting to think this is a situation of fantasy meets training reality. MA is hard work, even the fake MA schools will usually give a really intense workout. This is the only way you can improve yourself....again what are your goals.Leave a comment:
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Judo or...? (other?)
When I trained with coach Mitchel he was a 3rd dan... that was back in late 70's & early 80's I have no idea if he is even still alive?Originally posted by Hardball View Post
Since then I've been around the world and played with a number of belts and styles.
I found judo in kali and silat. I found Judo in "CQC". I found Judo in JKD and well...I won't even get started on so called Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. LOL
Do I need rank?
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Yea, I can imagine gettin smacked on my forearms with Boars iron palms, over and over again. Ouch!!Leave a comment:
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When it's taught as a martial art, it's no less rough than any other.Originally posted by Hardball View Post
I've definitely heard people asking for lower levels of intensity in Boar's Tai Chi classes, the fools, that just makes him worse. (easy, easy) ROFLMAO
**************************
Article First Published 1983
This is the first part of an interview that one Mr Hu from China Wushu
had with Mr Chang Yiu-Chun back in the mid to late seventies. Chang
was a student of the not so famous Yang Shou-Hou.
Q. How long have you been practicing the T'ai chi ch'uan
A. Since 1911.
Q. Who was your first teacher and how long did you study with him.
A. My teacher was Yeung Shou-hu the grandson of the founder of the
Yeung style, Yeung Lu-sum. (Yang Lu-Ch'an). I was with Yeung from 1911
until his death in 1930.
Q. Many people have commented upon the sometimes brutal nature of
Yeung Shou-hu's teaching methods.
Yes, quite often we would finish a training period with blood on our
vests and many bruises. Sometimes a bone would be broken. Yeung did
not have many students.
Q. What are your views on this type of training?
A. It was good for me because I was very undisciplined in my younger
days. I always wanted to fight and so with Yeung I got plenty of
fighting. It taught us that if we did not do T'ai chi ch'uan correctly
then we were hurt. Most of us did it correctly eventually or we left.
Q. Most people in the West would look upon this type of T'ai chi
ch'uan training as being quite brutal. The style of Yang style T'ai
chi ch'uan today in the West is not brutal at all.
A. I do not know about what they do in the West. But what they do in
China is a modified form of T'ai chi ch'uan invented by Yeung
Shou-hu's brother Yeung Cheng-po. This style is Yeung Cheng-po's own
invention so that many older and sick people can do T'ai chi ch'uan.
Q. What you are telling me is that there are actually two different
types of Yeung style?
A. Yes, the one that was founded by Yeung Lu-sum is not like the Yeung
Cheng-po type.
Q. What are the differences?
A. When my teacher used to do his T'ai chi ch'uan, we would often say
that he was like a canon shot one second and like the great river in
the next second. He was very energetic. The Yeung Cheng-po style is
all soft and flowing with no canon shots.
Q. I have never heard of this and I find it quite interesting. Why is
it that no-one knows that there are two Yeung types of T'ai chi
ch'uan. Did Yeung Cheng-po do the original T'ai chi ch'uan?
A. In the early days before Yeung Cheng-po, we would only teach T'ai
chi ch'uan to family members and very close friends, friends who were
almost like family members. I am a family member, a second cousin to
the Yeung Shou-hu family. Yeung Cheng-po was the first one to teach
everyone and he became very famous all over China. So this is why we
only ever hear about this style. Yes, Yeung Cheng-po did the original
Yeung style of his grandfather before about 1915, then he changed it.
Many people watched him practice the original style and he even taught
a few people. But when he invented his own style and changed it over a
few years, all of his students forgot about the original style.
Q. From what you know about him, was Yeung Cheng-po as good at self
defence as we are told today?
A. Yes, he was very good at self defence. He was quite large and
strong and he could also be quite brutal in his pushing hands but he
learnt the original style first.
Q. Other T'ai chi ch'uan styles sometimes say that the Yeung (Yang)
style is no good for self defence, why is this?
A. Yes, it is no good for self defence if you are talking about the
Yeung Cheng-po style. But if you mean the Yeung lu-sum style then it
is very good for self defence. No-one outside of the family knows the
Yeung Lu-sum style and so everyone thinks that the Yeung style is useless.
Q. How good then is the original Yeung style of T'ai chi ch'uan?
A. ... it is the best.
Q. Why and how is it used for self defence.
A. We use T'ai chi ch'uan in two ways. The first I can tell you about
because many people know this way today. This way we take the
movements and use them for self defence. we move out of the way of an
oncoming force and give our own attack as he passes. we lock his
bones, we break his legs and arms. This is the first level of T'ai chi
ch'uan self defence. The second way is too sinister and evil for me to
talk about.
Q. Why?
A. I am sorry, I have taken an oath not to tell about this way of self
defence.
Q. Does pushing hands play an important part in your T'ai chi ch'uan?
A. Today it does but in the early days it did not. we used to place
more importance upon the fighting but as we learnt more, we used
pushing hands to teach us about balance and the theory of yin and yang.
Q. What do you mean by 'fighting'.
A. By that I mean the shan-shou. But there are also today two versions
of the shan-shou. The one version by the Yeung Cheng-po family is
softer and less brutal while the older version is quite brutal.
Q. Brutal, why.
A. We do the shan-shou in three ways. The first way is to learn the
movements of attack and defence. The second way is to do these
movements faster and with much more power, this is where we get some
bruises. The third way is when we try to strike each other for real
and try to get each other off balance by doing the movements in the
wrong sequence.
Q. If Yeung Lu-sum were to be alive today, what would he say about his
T'ai chi ch'uan.
A. Firstly he would not recognize the name because it was not called
T'ai chi ch'uan until fairly recently. He would even recognize what is
being taught in his name today. Unless he saw the Yeung Shou-hu style.
Although I am sure that over the years this too has changed as
everything does. But not as much as the Yeung Cheng-po style.
Q. Many people in the West have changed the Yeung Cheng-po style even
more. Even in China we now have people changing the styles trying to
integrate the three styles. (the beginning of the Peking styles...
Editor). What is the future of T'ai chi ch'uan.
A. I do not want to say anything about the way in which our Government
is changing the styles and I do not care what is happening in the
West. But if T'ai chi ch'uan changes any more and no more people begin
to teach the original Yeung style then when we used to have a goat,
now we have a duck.Leave a comment:
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Everybody here knows you love tai chi just like tanto loves judo. Peace OutLeave a comment:
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Are you saying that tai chi has high probability of injuries?Originally posted by TTEscrima View Post
Hey now. I almost sprayed my keyboard with water. 
I'm thinking ANY art that's taught as a martial art will be too much from the way the first post reads.
The idea of training a martial art that you aren't likely to be injured in strikes me funny.
I'm guessing even the Yellow Bamboo guys strain their vocal chords occasionally.
From the list he provided of available schools, Wing Chun is probably the best to dip his toe in the water and see if he actually likes training, and the injuries are likely to be least serious for a beginner.
Saying there is Kung fu available is like saying there are restaurants in town, what TYPE of KF schools are available?
Hung Gar might be an option as well if its available.Leave a comment:
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I wasn't trying to belittle Tai Chi, I was just suggesting an Art that had lower probability of injury.Leave a comment:
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Originally posted by 35yoNewbie View Post
Hung Gar is a Southern style noted for its deep stances and extremely powerful hand strikes combined with the Tiger claw. It will get you physically fit and give you some basics to draw on. Once you're fit and ready for a little rough and tumble find a Judo school then maybe a MT school.
YouTube - Basic Introductory Hung Gar and Arrow HandLeave a comment:
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