First CLF class next week

[Joe_GA]

Hello,

I'm brand new here. Next week I will visit a CLF class for the first time and begin instruction. I'm 35, been wanting to study since I was a kid, so I am really excited. The teacher teaches CLF and Tai Chi Chuan and said that I could start with either one. I also have an interest in studying Tai Chi but I am leaning toward studying CLF first. Any thoughts?

[tvl]

Hello Joe,
You are a smart man, hope you do well in CLF and focus on the motions and not the hoopla of linages and teachers, if you need help with any training info respond back to any one of us CLF guys and gals about the beggining courses, just remember sei ping ma and ding ji ma, your first horse stances are important.

[Ou Ji]

Go with the CLF first. Especially if that's what you're leaning towards. Most find training the hard external stuff first when younger then going into the softer arts as they age.

It works going the other way around but it doesn't seem as though many pick that route. Maybe your teacher can give you a taste of each to help you decide but at 35 I really think you should put in 10 years with the CLF then settle in to the Tai Chi.

I think 45 was about when I started to notice a little bit of age creeping in and at 50 Tai Chi started looking a bit more interesting.

[Infrazael]

Good luck bro. CLF is a fast and devastating system. . . . . if your body is up for it, then go for it!!!

It's awesomely controlled uncontrolledness (as Joe Keit a.k.a. Sao Choy put it). :D

[Joe_GA]

Thanks guys for your input and for the warm welcome. Last night, I found out that one of my students (I teach at a university) had studied with this CLF teacher and said he is very good. Also, he teaches children so its possible my 8 year old son and 6 year old daughter may start. He says that he begins with children at age 6. My daughter will eventually be doing gymnastics and she does ballet. My wife was originally going to sign my son up for TKD but I talked him into coming with me next week to see the Kung Fu class (nothing personal against TKD). It took me awhile to find a school since where I am at, we are inundadated with the whole TKD, BJJ, and so forth but there are only 2 Kung Fu teachers within the city and they didn't advertise widely so they were hard to find. The other person who teaches Kung Fu teaches Southern Praying Mantis. The next place to study Kung Fu is 3 hrs. away.

Any thoughts on children and Kung Fu?

[Infrazael]

The younger they start (but not too young), the better they'll be.

Kung Fu can also help develop character. And by character I don't mean like what they do in a TKD McDojo, where they bow to everything, call each other by "Mr. X," and talk about how honorable they are all the time.

Anyways what I mean is that it will hopefully make them into confident, honest, and overall good people. They'll be able to defend themselves and those they care about.

Enough of the preaching. . . . . (which is subject to NO guarantees whatsoever) :rolleyes:

As for the technicalities of children learning, I think the instructor will typically not go very hard with them. However, whatever they do a CLF instructor will most likely help them build strong foundations.

Also by the time they are older and can withstand the more rigorous training methods, they will already be accustomed to movements and that kinda thing.
I always wished I could've started when I was younger. . . . . . but no matter I believe training hard can make up for that.

As for fighting capabilities I believe CLF > TKD, in alot of ways. But not to diss any TKD guys tho. . . . . . . TKD just tends to be very "limited" compared to CLF. I think your son will love it. Your daughter might or might not, we've had a little girl or 2 drop out because they were bored. But Kung Fu training can be boring at times too for kids. . . . . I think my Sifu says that 8 is the best age to start or something. . . .

Anyways, you also said there was a Southern Mantis school nearby? Is that one the 3 hours away school, or is it also close? You might wanna have your kids try out both styles, see which one they like more. Kung Fu takes dedication and if they do CLF for 2 years then decide to switch to SPM, then alot of what they learned can be useless.

anyways good luck and I'll have the more senior/knowledgable people here have a go.

Peace

[TenTigers]

Uf the teacher can make it fun, and exciting, while developing real skills, great. My daughters studied and it really developed their self confidense, and self esteem. Also,for self-defense, they had it when they needed it-as Half-Chinese growing up in a non-Asian elementary school, they were often targets, and I am happy to say, they handled themselves quite well.
Ok, back to self-esteem; let me share something with you that to this day, I still talk of with great pride. My daughter at age 11, was at a playdate at a friend's house. This other girl also invited another friend over. Somehow, (and who knows how kids do this, but they do) they sided against her and her "Friend" flatleft her. She asked us to pick her up, and in the car informed us of the situation, and further stated that she no longer was friends with this girl. When we told her that this girl was her only playmate, she firmly stated,"I would rather go through life without friends, than to have friends like her. I don't need people like that in my life" I was floored. Not that I would suggestt hat she remain friends with someone who was so two-faced, but I was concerned. But that at such a young age to make such a confident, mature statement. I am not sure if I, at her age would've made the same decision. When I was younger, before Martial Arts training, I did not have the self-confidense to resist peer pressure. As a reult, I often fell in with the wrong crowd, and got into some trouble.
You cannot put a price on this. Nowadays, self-esteem is a child's most powerful protection against peer pressure, drugs, gang violence, you name it.
What you are doing for your child is something that will change her life for the better-forever. I know this, not only from watching my girls grow up, but because from time to time, I recieve letters, phone calls, visits from former students, who I taught as children. They thank me for the positive impact it has had on their lives. Some have brought their own children in to the school. (jeez, I'm freakin old)
Last week, one student showed up at my school. I taught him 20 years ago. He came to Long Island from upstate NY to visit with friends and family, and to visit me. He told me about how his life has unfolded, and how he feels that I was such a positive influence on his life. He then presented me with a "token of his esteem".which was a 200 year old Chinese sword, with a Jade handle. Needless to say, I was floored. We sat in my school and talked for hours. It was a very moving experience. For both of us.
This has happened quite a lot over the years. Does this tell you something about the way Martial Arts can impact a life and change a person forever?
As a teacher, and as a Father, I cannot stress enough the VALUE of Martial Arts training for a child.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

[Joe_GA]

Ten Tigers, if you don't mind, I'm going to show your post to my wife. It is a beautiful story really. I would like my wife to consider studying too but she's not interested in the moment.

[Infrazael]

Just know this. Most of us practicing CLF, or otherwise, end up good, decent people. Kung Fu builds lots of self-esteem and good character.

I can state perfectly what TenTigers mean by lack of self-esteem and falling in with the wrong crowd. I was the same way a few years back. However kung fu has made me strong both physically and mentally, and I don't need that kind of stuff anymore.

TenTigers your daughter is cool. Does she do Hung Gar I presume? If so, how is HG training with women? I know it's very hard and demanding, but do you think their body structure (flexibility, perhaps speed) would be better suited for other arts? Just curious bro.

Peace

[TenTigers]

no problemo, ya might wann correct the spelling first!

[Joe_GA]

Hey, well, we had our first class last night. It was hard. But that is good :). I still feel all of my muscles burning. The kids really loved their class as well. Thanks guys for the encouragment.

Joe

[CyCo PL]

I'm pretty new to kung fu myself... all I can say is, stick with it. There will probably be times where you'll want to take a week, or a month off, but I've noticed that every time I go to class, I come out feeling like a million bucks-- a very sweaty and exhausted million bucks, but a million bucks nonetheless. :)

When I started about a year ago, they were taking pictures of all of the students for a plaque that they put up every year with all of the students' photos on it of them doing a kung fu "pose". My pose was a move from our first form (which I hadn't learned yet), where I was in a twist stance, doing a "crotch grab" type move (I don't know the actual chinese name for it, so I call it the crotch grab), and I was having SO MUCH TROUBLE getting into a low twist stance. My sifu just kept saying "lower... lower... lower... lower...", and my legs were shaking like there was an earthquake or something.

Now I look back on that and think it's crazy how much I've changed, I've lost about 40lbs since I started taking kung fu, and I can drop into a low twist stance and hold it almost effortlessly. I would probably have to say that kung fu is one of the best things I've ever done, it's given me a reason to want to get up and exercise, build up my body and endurance. A lot of people have told me that they think they've waited too long to start and they'll never be as good as somebody who started at a young age--and the latter might be true--but it is never too late to start and I can guarantee that you'll see some definite changes just in the first couple months if you dedicate just a few days a week to it.

So yeah, good luck with your class and I hope it works out as well for you as it has for me. :)

[Infrazael]

Haha, I've gained about 5 pounds of muscle.

[CyCo PL]

Yeah, I've actually been gaining weight recently, but it's all muscle. I will admit that before I went into kung fu, I was a lazy bum. I literally didn't exercise _at all_ for a good five years, and I had the saggy gut and man breasts to prove it. It's crazy how fast all of that went off though. I was creeping up on 230, then it dropped to 180, now it's evening off somewhere between 185-195. I've still got remnants of the saggy gut and manboobs, but they're definitely not noticeable now. I've become very good friends with my belt (I don't have a sash, I mean the belt that holds pants up).

[Joe_GA]

Second class went well. We practiced horse and bow & arrow stances and bowing. We practiced 2 different combination moves from the horse stance and 2 blocks. Much of practice was stretching. After class, I watched a couple of advanced students spar for a bit. They looked pretty good, but being new, I'm not sure what to look for yet. They were practicing for a tournament in North Carolina this November. Anyway, don't worry, I won't give you a class by class commentary :D. Ciao.

[Infrazael]

Well, did they look like they were using their gwa, sau, and chops, or just randomly throwing haymakers, bad jabs and crosses?

[TenTigers]

Joe-Ga,
Women do quite well in Hung-Ga. It's not as ridgid as people think. Couple that with the fact that our version has had alot of CLF influence within the past several generations, it is a bit looser in places. We focus in the begining on what we call the element punches, you call gwa,been, sow,cup,ping, and chop. Not too different from our CLF brothers. As you all know, these strikes are pretty easy to develop power with, and the confidense that one feels when they hit something and they blast it is priceless. Women find it "empowering". Believe it or not, many women want to feel powerful and in control. They don't want demure, feminine technique. They want strength.