Gene Ching met super master Ma Xianda???

[carly]

The Muslim Master of the Old Empire
An interview with Grandmaster Ma Xianda
by Gigi Oh, with Gene Ching
Wow! I for one am impressed. Where did this interview take place? In China?

[GeneChing]

Our Publisher Gigi Oh did the interview in China. We translated it together. I worked out the English and researched and wrote the introduction, but I didn't meet GM Ma myself sadly. Wish I did. Maybe I can the next time I'm in Xian...

Here's that article (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=244) unabridged.

[carly]

Thanks. Great article with a great master.

[GeneChing]

That article recived a lot of great reaction, not just for it's subject GM Ma, but for a lot of his comments on Wushu vs. Traditional Kungfu. I was very pleased with it's outcome.

[Sho]

That was an excellent article, fyi!

[GeneChing]

We're taking the magazine more in that direction this year. Deeper into China. Deeper into Taiwan. Hope you like it and thanks for your support!

[Stranger]

Gene,

I think a deeper exploration of San Francisco and NYC's Chinatown's in the mid-19th century and then maybe a decade by decade series that tracks the history of TCMA in America would be cool. Somebody had to be teaching within the Chinese community. KF has possibly existed in the US to one extent or another for over 150 years. Are there any schools that track back their lineage that far in America? Did the techniques evolve differently than those in China? Do the names of any famous KF masters from China turn up in immigration records? Just curious.

[GeneChing]

I've been researching Hawaii & SF chinatown a bit lately (NY is a little far from me here.) A lot of the records are obscured - immigration records are a mess when it comes to Chinese. They said anything to get across the border so the names don't really match (besides that's a riduculous chunk of work to research those archives, think about it.) But I have been working towards interviewing some of the older generation masters who lived through some of the early years. Most of them are fairly secretive by nature, and many feel they have been 'burned' by coverage of previous magazines, so the tough part is earning their trust. But at the same time, many of them are well into their autumn years now, and seem willing to "set the record straight' if you will.

So keep your fingers crossed. I'm chipping at it. It's been a project that Andy Ching (our ad man) and I are working towards for 2003.

[carly]

now that China has opened up and become accessible again.
I've seen the same Californian sifus and schools profiled over and over again as if they were the only kung fu there was by the magazines since the 1970s, and some newer stuff is interesting.