WHAT SHOULD I DO

[FIRE HAWK]

Should i give up Chinese martial arts because the arts like PAK MEI WHITE EYEBROW,SOUTHERN MANTIS,LUNG YING MOR KIU DRAGON STYLE,YAU KUNG MOON, are not in my area where i live or should i take Moy Yat Benny Meng Wing Chun VINGTSUN.Or should i go and try and learn the Philipino martial arts like KALI,ARNIS,ECT..there is a lot of Philipino martial arts in my area where i live and Silat to.I have tons of books on Chinese martial arts like yesterday i recieved my 10 JOOK LUM Southern Mantis books from master marks southern mantis schooland i have at least 20 Wing chun books and other chinese martial arts videos and books and videos on MUAY THAI BOXEING when i was learning that martial art and things on Ninjitsu when i was learning that art .I have gained some understanding of some of the Chinese martial arts i have listed through videos and books but you can not learn these kind Chinese martial arts from videos and books.So what should i do .FIRE HAWK

[DF]

Find your self a good teacher in your area and start training under good guidance. It does not matter if it is Philipino, Korean , Japanese or any other arts. You can always learn from a good teacher. Just be sure the teacher is legit and knows his or her stuffs. May be one day you will have the opportunity to learn the Chinese martial art but until then at least you are training, and that ain't bad.

Good Luck

DF

[fiercest tiger]

what are the southern mantis books like? did you recieve video's as well, the reason why im asking is im putting together a correspondance video series and like to know what and how they are doing it. any info would be good... :D

regards

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

[GreyMystik]

there are varying theories on whether or not learning through video is effective or even indeed possible... and much of it depends on the context IMHO. for example, learning through a video series where the instructor says 'here's the form' and slows it down a few times and says 'here are the applications'... you can only do as much as you perceive, and without feedback you won't probably catch subtle things. HOWEVER, that being said, I do believe there is a way to learn from video CORRESPONDENCE. In fact, I have recently chosen to pursue this path with a Sifu who is halfway around the world from me (for now!). The program is thus: i receive a video from my Sifu with detailed explanations/forms/instruction on whatever level he feels I am ready for. I will also receive other materials such as written examinations and such to be determined. If i have any questions regarding the material, I can call or email him at any time (as i am his student!). Also, once a month i send him a video with my practice and whatnot and he will make any corrections necessary until it is time to take it to the next level.
to me, this seems like an effective method of learning, because I get nearly all the benefits of personalized attention (as close as one could get without some sort of ultra expensive Star Wars-type hologram anyways). there are, however, limitations (no sparring/partners etc), but i'm sure those can be addressed in due time. and they will be!
that's my opinion. take it for what it's worth! :)

[MoQ]

Books do not count. Later when you say how long you've been practicing MA you will not count your early years of books and dreams. Commercial video is the same. I do not think one can learn from correspondence video as a beginner. A person needs to be drilled by an instructor at least long enough to develop good training habits, a yr or so AT LEAST.

In CMA(forget about Brucey), it's "He who is self-taught has a fool for a teacher"...

[sifuchuck]

I agree with everybody here. Many do learn from videos and books, but the quality is never the same as having a teacher with you. And you should get the basics first. I have to learn all my new stuff on video because my teacher is in California and I'm in Wisconsin and I try to meet with him when I can--but it's not much and never enough! But I feel I at least have enough basic instruction that I can learn from his videos and I always have the opportunity to raise questions. I also have Hung Gar brothers near enough to compare notes.

So try to find a teacher first. I found this listing in the yellow pages:
Wing CHUN Museum
5715 Brandt Pike, Dayton, OH 45424
(937) 236-6485
Maybe they teach Wing Chun? I never heard of a WC Museum before--It's still CMA, and you can learn alot if the teacher is good. Anyway, good luck!

[Buby]

I've recently received an instructional vid. and it was awsome. Nothing like the panther vids. I felt like I was having a private lesson with sifu. I guess it all depends on the sifu and his ability to teach and my ability to pick up.

A punch is a punch and a kick is a kick. When demoed properly it's easy to pick up.

Most of my questions are regarding stances, but all I have to do is give sifu a call and he hears me out and walks me through the stance work. As a matter of fact he helped me out yesterday. Thanks Sifu!!!

It all depends on how much info is on the tape and how much effort the sifu puts into making the tape. My tape is put together very well and I really don't have any problems following. I've actually learned more from my training tape than six months at a well respected kungfu school here in NYC. So how about them apples!!!

Thanks again Sifu!!!

Buby

[tnwingtsun]

If ya got Wing Chun close by go for it and save those tapes and books for when you get some solid training latter on after you have had face to face lessons(no,no,scoot that TV back),Beware,the bad habits you pick up now you'll only have to chip away latter before you can absorb something useful.Good luck,I'm a rooting for ya :)