GreenDragonSociety

[theneuhauser]

anybody know anything about the Green Dragon Society in phoenix AZ?

its a wudang school, dont know much else.

[MonkeySlap Too]

I beleive it's a surviving branch of the "Green Dragon Society" out of Chicago, IL. These guys were known for their rough and tumble training and cult-like behavior. (I've known plenty of guys who quit and were still friends with members, so I really don't consider it a cult)

Found by Nova Kinsky, who claimed to learn a style known as Chi Tao Chuan while stationed in SE Asia, the group gained noteriety when 'Count Dante' and his dojo busters stormed a North side GDS school and got the crap kicked out of them, and Dante's (aka John Keehan - hair dresser and very competent full contact karate player) best friend got killed. I beleive Dante died in prison of bleeding ulcers.

But I digress - The GDS system, as I've seen it from long time players, was a heavily external system, very brutal, and very similar to what I've seen of Bando. I think there might be a connection there. But that is my guess, not a fact.

I do know several former GDS guys in Chicago whose training worked very well for them. Schools that claim being no-nonsense, only for killing or maiming should make a wide berth for the GDS guys, because the GDS guys really mean it.

I don't know how sophisticated the GDS stuff really gets, but boy if they still train like they used to, they are tough.

[KC Elbows]

They seem to draw enough attention. I'd say there's one of these threads asking about them every six months.

[Walter Joyce]

I actually almost trained with GDS in Chicago, but was turned off by their air of mystery and claims of mastery. Maybe I was wrong, but when I went for my appointment, the sifu couldn't have been out of his 20s. Maybe I judged them too harshly, or maybe things had changed since the Count Dante days.
There was alsoa Green Dragon Society in Jersey, near Philly. Sifu S.L. Martin was the main guy. His main guy, Mike Steigerwold was a triple threat at the tournaments in the early 80s, forms, weapons and fighting.
Anyway, my $.02 worth.
Walter

[MonkeySlap Too]

Yeah, they were weird. But one of my Shuai Chiao brothers came out of that school, and he wasn't all that bad.

The window dressing was certainly a little nutty though.

[dubj]

I used to want to study there, but it is a little far from me. It seems like a legit hard core school, but that is only from what I have read. It is pretty difficult to find out about their history and lineage. I have read that they have a good reputation for being hardcore fighters, and their iron palm and herbology skills are well regarded. I also have no idea about the depth and level of knowledge taught, but it is definately worth checking out. You can email David Devere from the emtyflower website because he has trained there and is now studying very good gung fu, so he should be able to give good insight. I can also tell you that you will be better off staying away from the shaolin do school down the road. Use the search button and find out why if you haven't already. I study with Master Philip Selmon in ho chow kun tao. I like what I am learning so far, but it is mainly up to you to do the hardcore training for now because he is only currently teaching at the community colleges. He hasn't been teaching in the college system for long, so most of his classes are beginner level. I am not the most qualified to judge, but I can tell you that he has some real skill, and I have seen very little of what he knows. Monkeyslap if you are reading this, have you been able to train with anyone from the Reeders lineage yet?

[MonkeySlap Too]

"Monkeyslap if you are reading this, have you been able to train with anyone from the Reeders lineage yet?"


Reply - Nope. These guys are hard to find out West. I'm still curious as I know Reeders studied Sera under one of the DeVries and was a contemporary of Paul DeThouras. I've had the good fortune to be able to train in that DeThouras branch of things, and I am very curious to see what Reeders students do - as Reeders is the only other guy I hear spoken well of.

Send me a PM and we can chat.