Upcoming New Year Celebrations

[yu shan]

Interested to hear what your school has planned for shows and entertainment for Chinese New Years. For Lion Dance Teams, give us some insight on your set, tricks etc. I know the Wah Lum group is very serious about their Lion Dancing and KF Demo. Pong Lai`s main school in Tampa has numerous shows scheduled. We here in Nashville have shows, our big show is in Asheville, NC. We are supporting Shifu Matt Melton (Oso) with his Grand Opening, and a big show downtown. The show downtown will include lions from other KF schools... this could get interesting!

[flem]

yu shan,

I have heard that what we know as lion dancing is rather weak, or not what it should be. Something to keep in mind during your quest for the truth.

[MantisSanDiego]

will be playing Jiben Gong Taolu and Tang Lang San Da drills. Shifu Dasargo will also be playing various sets and Yongfa as well.

Following the demo will be various kuoshu demos (Mo Gar Lung Ying Shaolin Choi Lai Fut etc) presented by the Kuoshu Union.

San Diego Chinese New Year and Cultural Faire
http://www.sandiegochinese.net/sdcc/cnyf.htm

The Kuoshu Union
www.KuoshuUnion.Bigstep.com

Gong Xi Fa Cai!
L.

[mantis108]

Hi Yu Shan And Oso

Wow, that would be so cool to have a Grand Opening coincided with the New Year celebrations. I wish you guys all the best in promoting Kung Fu especially that of Tanglang Kung Fu.

I don't want to hijack the thread so I will leave the Lion Dance show for now. Just wanted to briefly mention that traditional lion dance play (more about culture) and the modern sport lion dance play (more about athleticism) are quite different. So it really depends on what the club's focus is when it develops a lion dance team these days.

Warm regards

Mantis108

[sayloc]

Yushan

My area of the country does not have much of a chinese population and the rest could care less about the culture. I wish it were a different story, my students love doing the lion dance and practice hard.

Some kind of football dance would go over big!:)

I am sure you are going to have some fantastic shows!

Flem

No offense but you come across as a negative individual.
It could be the way I read your posts. It is probably just me.

Have a good day.

[flem]

sayloc,

negative in what way? Yu shan and I share a similar background, a friend of mine has spent some time in Sanfrancisco and has found what we know as lacking. Thought I'd let him know as more research and other lion apps might prove more appealing done for a Chinese audience- performed by whitey.


Yu Shan,

Are you offended? I don't think you'll have much of a "showdown" (no offense intended) there, unless things have changed since I was there. We brought the first lion to the area, and I suspect (since I saw him on t.v. during a parade) that my friend will be the other performer

[sayloc]

Flem

I didnt realize that you knew yushan.

I dont. He sounds like he knows his stuff.

I think everyone knows they can improve themselves in every aspect of the art that they study and teach. We usually dont need to be reminded.

I am sure the guys in frisco that you have watched are trying to emulate another team that they have seen. Always someone better, Right?

I still must be reading your post wrong :)

Have a good evening

[Oso]

hmmmmmm....

let's stay positive, fellas.

I can't begin to thank yu shan and his gang enough for coming to town to help me out...yu shan's willingness to share is what brought me to Pong Lai to begin with.

Irrelevant of the authenticity of it, yu shan's students bust ass in the lion. I saw the local group just before seeing the N'ville group perform and it was like night and day.

There will be much good beer for my boys J and B when it's all said and done.

My only problem is finding some one willing to let me demonstrated shuai and na on.

[SaMantis]

Hi, Wah Lum Boston and WL'ers from around New England will be out on the streets Feb. 13 along with several other area schools doing lion dance in Chinatown. It'll be a huge, daylong event and we will hit dozens of storefronts.

Because several schools are roaming the neighborhood, competing for hung bao, there's the potential for things to get fierce. But I haven't seen anything get ugly yet (this will be only my 3rd CNY in Boston). Some dances are reserved days ahead of time. Some stores have each troupe lion dance (usually a very short one). Most schools send advance scouts around to the stores as they come up the street, to see who wants a lion dance.

Etiquette is really important with so many lions roaming the streets. When 2 schools pass each other, they do so with the lion heads lowered. When the lead lions meet, they "kiss" (touch heads together); this is a gesture of respect. Raising the lion head high will start a fight.

As far as who's better? At CNY, it doesn't matter very much. Usually the temperature is hovering somewhere around Insanity (last year the high was 5, wind chill -15), the streets are icy, and this year there will probably be a foot of nasty dirty slushy snow on all the curbs. The last half of the day is more like a test of endurance.

If you really want to see good lion dance in Boston though, come up in the summer for the August Moon Festival, when the area schools perform on stage in the center of Chinatown. Last year there was excellent skill shown by all the schools. There was also an all-female lion dance troupe that performed (they only do LD, not martial arts); when they started, a lot of people kind of chuckled to see only women under the lions, but 15 minutes later they were cheering -- this team never slacked, no one switched out for the whole performance, and they pulled off some serious acrobatics.

BTW, my sifu doesn't hand out beer to the group afterward -- so Oso, I'll take 2 please!

[Oso]

sounds fun ! might be a reason to road trip.

and, um, the beer is for later, of course..... ;)

I don't smoke but I'll match any old chinese master cigarette for beer !!!

(ok, i'll say it: that's sigable)

[flem]

Sayloc,

Yes, you must be reading it wrong as I said a friend of mine, not me, spent time in SanFrancisco, by that I mean more than watching. In any case, my understanding is that it is not emulation, but rather whole dances, whereas Yu Shan and I learned the basic set, the one most seen and emulated the rest! As did those around us. But apparently theres much more (tradition-wise) .


Oso,

The authenticity is fine, but my understanding (not to be negative, Sayloc) is that there are many dances other than just the simple routines we learned.
I am quite certain that Yu Shan's group gave a superior performance. BTW, you are in a great location. The area has been lacking in good Chinese martial arts. How long have you been there? Have you been to Belle Chere? Thats a cool event.

[Oso]

ok, so what you're saying is that you guys were just taught basic lion dancing? authentic but not elaborate?

I've been in Asheville for 3.5 years. Was in Boone for 11 prior to that.

It is somewhat lacking. Do you know that an old teacher from WL is also close by? One of my students has done some design work for him but I haven't met him yet. I hope to do so on the 5th.


Belle Chere is the shiznit. We also have a thing every last friday of the month during the summer months. Asheville rocks for street fests.

[flem]

oso,

Design work? I used to teach wl, but no design work.
You sure he's allowed to cllaborate with you? lol

Yes the lion is good- the real thing, but apparently there's much, much more.

[Oso]

whups, mistated myself maybe.

A student of mine has done graphic design work for an old WL teacher who is now well known for his bagua. This teacher has a retreat close by.

I've been looking forward to meeting him.........

[yu shan]

SaMantis, nice story about Boston. Pretty sure I`m well versed in LD etiquette. Here in Nashville we are the only troupe in town. So I don`t think I have to worry about crossing paths with another lion. However, this gig in North Carolina is going to yield lions from a few KF schools. Of course we will show respect, we are just out to have a good time.

Our team is new, first year together. We had our first show tonight for a private party. Went OK, everyone there was excited. Our team had the jitters of course, hit there tricks, just got to work with front man on his mannerisms. So this year is practice for us, this team next year will be awesome.

Sayloc, yes sir, I have and still do study those who are premier in lion dancing. I had alot of people to look up to while in Wah Lum. Being part-time there is only so much I can do though. We don`t light the world on fire but we make the crowd happy and break a good sweat. This team has a few good tricks, they will get better in time.

Flem, It is always good to hear from you. Hope all is well with you and your family. No offense taken at all. You say you were there and you brought the first lion to this area. Where are you talking about? And who is on t.v. just curious, pm me if you like. Can you give me a little more info on our weak attempt? Just trying to learn.

Oso, thanks bro, we want to help make your Grand Opening a big success. It will be good training for our team. Break the d a m n beer out early dude, come on!

[Oso]

Just a quick note on this weekends Open House.

Jim's Lion Dance and Drumming really started things off and drew the people in off the street. I think we had somewhere around 30 people watching the opening dance and demo. Doesn't sound like a lot but the front of my tiny school was full.

It was a loooong day with 4 dance/demo sets over 4 hours.

Jim's students not only performed great Lion but demonstrated forms as well after my students did there thing. It was real inspiration for my beginning students to see some new forms.

Asheville Pong Lai wants to give a huge thanks to Nasheville Pong Lai for making our weekend something special. We could not have done it w/o them.

[SaMantis]

Congrats on your grand opening and open house, I'm sure the show was great!



SaMantis, nice story about Boston. Pretty sure I`m well versed in LD etiquette. Here in Nashville we are the only troupe in town. So I don`t think I have to worry about crossing paths with another lion. However, this gig in North Carolina is going to yield lions from a few KF schools. Of course we will show respect, we are just out to have a good time.

Hey, no prob -- the info was mostly for folks who haven't seen/done lion dancing yet.

[yu shan]

Glad we could help make it a success. It was good practice for the lion dance team/kungfu demo. Everyone there seemed happy and full of appreciation. Even the local Shao-lin Do teacher caught one of the demos. He left very quickly though. One of Oso`s senior students "Ming Yu" posted some pics of her bruised arms on the training and health board. Her and I went at it hard and heavy doing the hand drills. She is a real trooper.


Good luck and Happy New Year to Oso and his students.

[kejia nu ren]

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year)

It was a great experience making it over to Asheville this weekend to meet other PongLai brothers and sisters, and for me to take part in my first demonstration. Albeit tiring, it was a good time and I hope I'll have the chance to learn from more trips and seminars! I would advise in the meantime, though, that everyone brush up on their Mandarin and form names! ;)

Regards,

~annibelle~

[Metal Mantis]

Just wanted to thank Oso for the hospitality and comments. I must say you have a great group of people in your school. I felt a lot of positive energy there and excitement about what they are learning. I always enjoy visiting other schools to see what is up.. Especially those in la familia.... Keep up the good work bro and take care of that shoulder... Peace... Thanx again.......

[Oso]

It was tiring...Lesson #1 of the day was: No more 4 hour open houses!

Thanks for all the help and next year I'm gonna have the after demo food and drinks catered. :D

Metal: thanks for that last dance, I know you guys were beat. btw, B has talked about almost nothing else but her experience working with you. Thanks for jumping in to fill a hole in the ranks.


someone taking pics that day already has a disc for me so hopefully I'll have some to show in a day or two.

[Lu Bu]

Congratulations on the official grand opening, Oso. I am glad to see that you have a very positive group of students, and a good place for all of you to train. :)

Also, thanks for having us over to assist you with the grand opening of your school. I was honored to do so, and look forward to visiting and training with the rest of my gongfu brothers and sisters in the future. Hopefully, you will be able to come to Nashville soon, and train with us. We would be happy to have you over. :cool:

Take Care!

[shang wu]

Congratulation on your open house success, Best of luck.

Happy New to everyone,great time to be getting things started.

[premier]

Well. We're going to have a dinner together tonight. After that we'll propably go to a bar and get drunk ;)

Hopefully I won't be too hung over because we're starting a 4 day seminar tomorrow. Shi-xiong Marcin Karaś from polish praying mantis kungfu society is coming to teach us. Talking about a kick start for the new year! :D

[Metal Mantis]

Oso, Thanks for the words Bro, just took a little reflexion of Tainan to keep up the ability.... Tell B to keep it up and I shall see her in the future, ciao.......



Just wanted to (on the day) wish everyone a Happy New Year.... The year of the Wood Rooster.... A new cycle begins for us Monkeys.... Best wishes to all, Peace.........

[sayloc]

oso

Congrats on your opening and good luck with your new school.

Metal Mantis

Is Tainan your instructor? It sounds like you have alot of respect for him. It is not often you hear a student mention thier instructor as inspiration. He seems like he is very knowledgable from his posts on this forum.

I noticed on your profile that you are in Nashville. I did not realize that tainan was located there. I may be planning a trip there in the furture. Do you think it would be possible to stop in and get some info on MA history? It seems he is vell versed in this area

thanks

[18elders]

Yu shan is metal's shrfu., tainan is our kung fu uncle. Yes tainan is very knowledgable and he lives in taiwan. Shrfu Jim is in Nashville so you can look him up.
Would probably be respectful to mention your shrfu also but you know the younger generation.

[sayloc]

Thanks 18.

I got confused by the posts. I wasnt sure who was teaching where.

I understand. I have had cases of kung fu uncle worship in my school. Usually leaves me feeling like crap.

Its seems he is just as fortunate to have yushan as a teacher. From his posts it sounds like he knows his stuff. I will try to hook up with yushan on my travels if possibe. You guys do pong lai, right? Guess I should bring my forearm pads :)

[Metal Mantis]

Sayloc, I had the fortune of spending some time in Tainan the city over the summer. It was kinda a double meaning. As in my time spent there with both Master Shr and my Uncle Tainan.... Feel free to contact my Shrfu Yu Shan. We are always open to people and would love to get to meet you.....

18 elders, my inspiration from and respect for Yu Shan I believe is understood by him. He has done more for me in the world of MA than I could have ever asked. He is my Shrfu. I was there for him, to support him, to show my thanks with effort and reverence, to help the grand opening of a school that he is the mentor to....
................................Peace............. ..............

[Oso]

first pic of the open house

[Oso]

#2

[Oso]

3

[Oso]

4

and all for now, It will be a couple of weeks till I get them on my website, then I'll post a link. I've got 224 pics taken that day and over 100 that are pretty good.