Green Cloud Kung Fu, represent?

[Jules]

Well, it seems as if there are a lot of Green Cloud people here, so maybe we warrant our own thread. At least I hope so.

So my question, if anyone feels like piping up, is, who is everyone, where do you train, and do we all know each other? I know that a few of us already do. A few of you are from Holbrook, also.

I'm Jules and I train in Shoreham. So, holla back. ;)


~~J

[Green Cloud]

Hey jules, that's a great Idea, We have enoughf people where we could have an exclusive thread. It will be a great way to make anouncements.

My only concern is how to keep the trolls off the thread. I should talk to someone from the magazine and find out if this thread could be exclusive.

Get tj's attention he seems to want to talk about his old style but know one seems to want to go there.

This is a good place for him to be.

[Ou Ji]

Shaaaaah - you know what? Un uh! :)

Actually you can get the software to run a forum like this on your own website.

Another good idea is to create a Yahoo Group for the school or organization. You can set it up for the whole CTS clan.

Since this is a public forum I don't see any way you can keep the trolls, or anyone else for that matter, out.

[Mook Jong]

Well than a quick question; whenever i look at someome's profile i see 'so-and-so is not a member of any public groups' is there anyway we could make a group?

[Ou Ji]

Interesting observation. I looked through the user control panel and did a search in the FAQ section and I can't find any groups list or any reference to groups other than what you mentioned.

Maybe this feature is disabled.

[CoRWiN]

Corwin here representing, train out of the Holbrook school. I msged Gene the moderator about creating a group, he responded with a "we don't do that" but hopefully with a calling for it that will change.

[Green Cloud]

heyn Corwin Ou ji gave me a good Idea I'le get a seperate forum on the web site. It shouldn't be that dard to do

[Jules]

Well, there's really no way to keep trolls under the bridge. But like most mythical creatures, they disappear when ignored. This thread is just a shout-out to Green Cloud students and teachers to see who's who.

I could make a Yahoo group really easily, though; I've got three other ones already for Hula and other interests so it wouldn't be a problem. Then I could be the moderator and I could BANNINATE you all. :D Kidding, of course. If we had a Yahoo group, we could gossip about all the other schools. (Kidding again.) If anyone wants that, let me know.

Meantime, what's up, Green Cloud homies? Hey there Corwin, howzit? Mook Jong, are you Holbrook, or do I know you from Shoreham?

~~J

[Fu-Pow]

I'm Jules and I train in Shoreham. So, holla back. ;)


~~J

Does that mean you're a holla back girl?;)

[Jules]

Does that mean you're a holla back girl?;)

HAHAHAHAHAHA No. :D

~~J

[GreenCloudCLF]

Hey Hing-Dai/Hing-Moi....

I'm jason from Merrick (hitting Holbrook whenever the 2 kids let me....)

[GreenCloudCLF]

I had some free time this morning, so I set up a Green Cloud Yahoo! group.

Green Cloud at Yahoo! (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/greencloud/)

It's set up as a private group, so click the link and drop an email to be added to the group.

[Jules]

I had some free time this morning, so I set up a Green Cloud Yahoo! group.

Green Cloud at Yahoo! (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/greencloud/)

It's set up as a private group, so click the link and drop an email to be added to the group.

Good idea. I just joined. ^_^

~~J

[Mook Jong]

hey jules, it's dave from shoreham. Mook Jong means wooden dummy, it's a nickname chris gave me

[Jules]

hey jules, it's dave from shoreham. Mook Jong means wooden dummy, it's a nickname chris gave me

Oh, hey Banana Ice Cream! :p It's good to read you here. I'll see you tomorrow night. ^_^

~~Neo :D

[ingchao]

Now Mook, you said you weren't that happy w/that nickname, but now you made it stick....................forrrrreeeeevvvvveerrrrr (from the movie "The Sandlot")

Mooo Haa Haaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D :D :D

[greencloudtj]

Hey jules, that's a great Idea, We have enoughf people where we could have an exclusive thread. It will be a great way to make anouncements.

My only concern is how to keep the trolls off the thread. I should talk to someone from the magazine and find out if this thread could be exclusive.

Get tj's attention he seems to want to talk about his old style but know one seems to want to go there.

This is a good place for him to be.

I know sifu,no one wants to go there,it must be a shaolin secret shhhhhhhhhhhhh

[greencloudtj]

Well, it seems as if there are a lot of Green Cloud people here, so maybe we warrant our own thread. At least I hope so.

So my question, if anyone feels like piping up, is, who is everyone, where do you train, and do we all know each other? I know that a few of us already do. A few of you are from Holbrook, also.

I'm Jules and I train in Shoreham. So, holla back. ;)


~~J

What up jules,Im T.J from holbrook.I have prob meet you before down at the shoreham school.Well hope all is well T.j

[Jules]

What up jules,Im T.J from holbrook.I have prob meet you before down at the shoreham school.Well hope all is well T.j

Yeah, we met on a Saturday a few weeks ago when I was doing Small Wheel. ^_^ I was the only other one there. You remember, really tall and spastic? :D

Ingchao, didn't recognize you by your screen name, whaddup? Training was superfly tonight, I loved it. ^_^

~~J

[Jules]

Me again, sheez, I can't seem to quit. For anyone having trouble joining the Yahoo group, you have to be signed in with your Yahoo account in order to sign up. Then just click the link provided up-thread here. It's moderated, (which is great, keeps out the trolls and bots,) so you have to say who you are in the space provided on the Yahoo join-up page.

See you there!

~~J

[Green Cloud]

sounds easy.

[Jules]

How awesome was New Years in Chinatown today?! TJ and Corwin, you guys are a blast. When you see Tristan, tell him how cute he is when he's asleep, and I have pictures to prove it. :p

Sifu, we missed you today! Wish you could have been there to point out some history. It was total chaos, but in a fun way. I'm sure you would have had tons of stories to share. We wore our Green Cloud shirts in hopes that someone would say, "Chan Tai San!" but it was such mayhem that you could hardly even see where you were walking. Maybe everyone could go there someday?

Hey Corwin, dye your hair and have a seizure. :D

Later,

Jules

[greencloudtj]

Corwin here representing, train out of the Holbrook school. I msged Gene the moderator about creating a group, he responded with a "we don't do that" but hopefully with a calling for it that will change.


Corwin you neerd

[greencloudtj]

How awesome was New Years in Chinatown today?! TJ and Corwin, you guys are a blast. When you see Tristan, tell him how cute he is when he's asleep, and I have pictures to prove it. :p

Sifu, we missed you today! Wish you could have been there to point out some history. It was total chaos, but in a fun way. I'm sure you would have had tons of stories to share. We wore our Green Cloud shirts in hopes that someone would say, "Chan Tai San!" but it was such mayhem that you could hardly even see where you were walking. Maybe everyone could go there someday?

Hey Corwin, dye your hair and have a seizure. :D

Later,

Jules


Whats up Jules. China town was a lot of fun,we def need sifu next time to point us in the right direction. The food was great Corwin was like having a nother women,with all his great shopping ideas lol well see you soon t.j

[Jules]

Whats up Jules. China town was a lot of fun,we def need sifu next time to point us in the right direction. The food was great Corwin was like having a nother women,with all his great shopping ideas lol well see you soon t.j

Sifu says that celebration goes on the whole month. Me, I'd go back anytime with all of you guys! There's so much to see there. Maybe next time we won't all get soaked.

The people there were awesome. The food was weird. Those tapioca things just were not right. :p

~~J

[Mr Punch]

We wore our Green Cloud shirts in hopes that someone would say, "Chan Tai San!"...Don't get defensive about this question please, but I'd really like to know and since there have been a lot of stories about Chan Tai San's greatness on here...

Has anyone ever done that?

I mean, recognised that your school comes from him and given you the heads up?

Or is it wishful thinking on account of his greatness, and maybe you have no chance of accomplishing anything like what he achieved...? (Again, while this may seem harshly worded, it isn't meant that way - of course he was a product of another country in a bygone era which means you may not want to achieve anything he did! - but with that also no chance of achieving his reputation...?)

I only want to know because it would be interesting to see how far the phenomenon of his reputation continues after his death, and if it rubs off on his students.

For that matter, are you active in martial sports like Ross, or is his legacy to you somewhat different?

[Jules]

Don't get defensive about this question please, but I'd really like to know and since there have been a lot of stories about Chan Tai San's greatness on here...

Has anyone ever done that?

I mean, recognised that your school comes from him and given you the heads up?

Or is it wishful thinking on account of his greatness, and maybe you have no chance of accomplishing anything like what he achieved...? (Again, while this may seem harshly worded, it isn't meant that way - of course he was a product of another country in a bygone era which means you may not want to achieve anything he did! - but with that also no chance of achieving his reputation...?)

I only want to know because it would be interesting to see how far the phenomenon of his reputation continues after his death, and if it rubs off on his students.

For that matter, are you active in martial sports like Ross, or is his legacy to you somewhat different?


Being the newest one to Green Cloud Kung Fu, I can't answer most of those questions for myself. That one day in CHinatown, we all ended up having to have our coats closed because of the rain and cold and so no one actually saw what we were wearing. But I have heard that it has happened to others.

And of course I have no chance of achieving what Chan Tai San achieved. That is one or two in a million. I will never achieve what Sifu has achieved, and probably many of my training brothers and sisters, because not everyone is going to be a madly skilled legend. I didn't join a Kung Fu academy for those reasons anyway. I joined because I wanted to defend myself and not be afraid, to learn a beautiful discipline and to have some discipline and focus in my life, to have better overall health and try to get this pain in the @ss (and everywhere else) arthritis under control, but I didn't want to join a gym or do something ordinary. I got all of that at Green Cloud. On top of that, I made friends with some really awesome and beautiful people. I'm never going to be a Kung Fu action star in movies and I will never be walking down the street in Eastern Long Island and have someone say, "She is just like Chan Tai San or Sifu Gus!" :D

But maybe someday if we go back to Chinatown all wearing our shirts, someone might recognize the logo or the name--because I understand that that has happened--and that would be pretty cool.

~~J

[GreenCloudCLF]

I'll kick in 2 quick stories:

1) I have worn a Green Cloud shirt in Chinatown with no recognition (and I didn;t expect any)...however Sifu Gus got these new "retro" shirts that had "Chan Tai San's Kung-Fu" in calligraphy and did get recongized...not that I could understand what the guy was saying other than Chan Tai San, Kung Fu, and some silly arm waving.

2) I had a friend with Sifu Gus who went to Manhattan. They walked into a well-known KF school to ask to use the bathroom, and from what I heard, the Sifu (who shall remain nameless) almost wet himself because he thought Sifu Gus was there to challenge him. (My friend that was with Sifu Gus was a Sifu, and not one of his students who may have blown the story out of proportion.)

[Lama Pai Sifu]

Chan Tai-San was a very well known personality in NY's Chinatown. If you were walking down the street with him, you couldn' get 20 feet (literally) without someone saying 'hello' or stopping to talk to him. Many of NYC's Chinatown people are from Guangdong, with many coming from the town/city of Toi San. Chan Tai-San was VERY well know in his home town/city.

I recently went to Toi-San and got a chance to spend time with a dozen or so individuals who knew him very well. The stories were flowing....

But Chan Tai-San was also famous outside of NYC. He was very well known in Toronto, Canada, as he taught in several schools there for many years in the early and mid to late eighties (with brief trips back and forth to the states)

But it was more than that: My two classmates, Sifu David Ross and Sifu Gus Kaparos and I had taken Sifu CTS to California one year and after tourney stuff and visiting people, I decided to go to Stockton, CA to visit relatives I hadn't seen in many years.

After a two-hour drive outside of S. Fransisco, we drove to a shopping mall in the middle of nowhere to visit my cousin's spa/salon which she owned. I told the guys that I'd be an hour or so, so they went with Sifu to a chinese take out place in the strip mall.

After we met back up, Sifu Ross had told me that everyon in the kitchen knew him and came out to sit with him.

It was always cool to travel with him.

[hskwarrior]

having that type of recognition is nothing new. it happens and is nothing to be shocked at.

i'll kick in a story that i witnessed personally. one day in chinatown i was visiting the sun sing mall with my sifu to check out some vcd's. now its common for people to walk out in the streets in chinatown with no regard for automobiles. we were walking in the street when a chinatown parade was on a collision course with us. as the gung fu masters saw my sifu the parade stopped and they bowed to him out in public.

"wow, they stopped the parade to show you some respect" i said to him. i was completely blown away. but that happens alot when you have a well known sifu.

here's another story..... i was in a grocery store when the cashier noticed my chinese tatoos and asked me who my sifu was. i said DINO SALVATERA, and he said "Oh, shet i trained with him." then the next 3 people behind me in line all sadi they had trained under him as well.

so yes mat, these things do happen to people like chan tai san.

[Mr Punch]

so yes mat, these things do happen to people like chan tai san.I know they happened to people like Chan Tai San, Frank, please read the question again.

Cool story Lama Pai Sifu, but ditto to you... has it happened to you?

[GreenCloudCLF]

Mat, what's the matter my story isn't good enough for you:rolleyes:

[Mr Punch]

Mat, what's the matter my story isn't good enough for you:rolleyes:Hehehe, sorry mate, completely missed it as I'm on my way to bed... yes it's a beautiful story, thanks!

... But would still be interested in seeing how much longer and wider his legacy and reputation have continued and may continue through his other students. It's an interesting phenomena.

[hskwarrior]

MAT,

SO YOUR ASKING WHY WOULD THEY GO RUN UP TO THEM JUST BECAUSE OF CHAN tAI SAN?

I THINK I SEE YOUR POINT. IF YOUR POINT IS WHO ARE THEY THAT THESE PEOPLE WOULD JUST RUN UP TO AND SAY "CHAN TAI SAN!!!"

YES NO?


FRANK

[Mr Punch]

LOL, :D

no Frank i'm not trying to make any point at all. i'm interested in the phenomenon, the legacy that chan tai san has left. as you said people go up to your teacher too, and you say this isn't really so uncommon...

so i'm not asking

WHY WOULD THEY GO RUN UP TO THEM JUST BECAUSE OF CHAN tAI SAN?

i'm asking

DO THEY GO RUN UP TO THEM JUST BECAUSE OF CHAN tAI SAN? now he's not there...

i really cant put it any plainer than that... there's no reading between the lines to be done on this one.


--------------------------------
for edxample
i can assume for example that ross is known in chinatown, and indeed has friensds around there... i can also assume that he gets people who know him thru the san shou conenction... but does he get new people coming up to him and recognising him for his connections to chan tai san...? same goes for any others of the first generation teachers...? then what about people like jules, who i gather has no direct link to chan tai san... if she wears a cts t do people speak to her...? and jason has told us a couple of interesting anecdotes but for instance, i've had somebody come up to me when i was wearing a purebred (shooto gym) t and start waving their arms about, ditto aikido ts and ditto wing chun ts... doesnt mean they were recognising my teachers, just that people always go WATAAH and the like when they know you practise ma!:rolleyes: jasons stories were interesting but we dont know whatthat guy was actually saying...

in a hurry, sorry for typos

[hskwarrior]

ohhhhh

so the green cloud kung fu school of new york gets a little picture inside the kung fu -qi gung magazine huh?


you big ballers!!!!!!

[hskwarrior]

mat

forgive me then. people are usually so bugged out with chan tai san's students telling their stories and legacy i actually thought you were being one of those nay sayers in that matter. my bad.

shame on me.

[Jules]

then what about people like jules, who i gather has no direct link to chan tai san... if she wears a cts t do people speak to her...?

Err, like I said, no one saw what any of us were wearing that day, and that's the first time I've been in Chinatown, and no one on Eastern Long Island is likely to even know what Kung Fu is outside of the movies. So as of yet, there is no way to answer that question. Do people approach me asking about Chan Tai San? It has never happened. Will it ever happen? Well, who can say? And in the end, does it matter? I'd say, "Yes, I train with Sifu Gus" and that would probably be it. It wouldn't be like in a movie where we would go into the alley and fight just for the hell of it.

Or, you know, I could go around wearing a T shirt that said, "Hi, I train in Kung Fu with Sifu Gus who is a student of Chan Tai San, so come and talk to me!" but that would be a little silly. :p

~~Jules

[Green Cloud]

Untill recently I never revealed that I was a Chan Tai San student unless I was asked. All my student's have always worn Green Cloud shirts, only after 10 years of competition mostly out of state did we decide to go with the CTS t shirts as a homage. Green Cloud has proven it self over and over again without riding on my teachers coat tails.


This year we gave the credit to my sifu by wearing his t shirts as a celebration for who he was. I've got to admit it felt good when people said Chan Tai San school, hmm we thought that there was something special about your school.

As far as Mats question, thats a tuffy. How do you fill the shoes of CTS?? In todays world things are done differently than in CTS's day. For instance if you kill some one today well lets say some jail time comes with it.

AS far as representing and carrying on the legacy, I think we are all doing that. Look at Dave he has a masters from NYU, do you think he chose kung fu as a career because of the great benefits?? As far as I'm concerned I was making a six figure salary at the age of 21, and no it wasn't from teaching Kung Fu. Do you think I chose to run a martial arts school because I thought it was a soud buisness Idea?? If your looking to get rich it's a bad career choice.

As far as I'm concerned after studying with CTS for the first time I understood what it was all about, and I wanted to share it with everybody. Do we have a rep?? Absolutely, we are known to have a great lineage and good kung fu. We also back it up by going to all sorts of competitions.

Together me and my training brothers have been good at forms, fighting,and running some of the more sucessfull schools in the Kung Fu community. On top of making a big impact on people that would other wise have not known anything of CTS.

The rest depends on the detication of our own students to carry on the tradition

[Mr Punch]

...3) from about 1988 to 1991 we liked to eat a one particular restaurant in Chinatown; so, it's like 5 or 6 years since the last time that I had been there, and I walk in and this waiter takes one look at me and goes "Tai San!"; that is, he referred to me by Sifu's name, as if to say "oh, one of Chan Tai San's students"Thanks. Not that the other ones weren't interesting but that's kind of the thing I was wondering about. That's both cool and interesting!


How do you fill the shoes of CTS?? In todays world things are done differently than in CTS's day. For instance if you kill some one today well lets say some jail time comes with it.

AS far as representing and carrying on the legacy, I think we are all doing that. ...Do we have a rep?? Thanks Gus (is it?). That's why I said I knew it was impossible and undesirable to fill his shoes these days. I'm sure you all have good reps, and it would be interesting to meet and train with you.


Err, like I said, no one saw what any of us were wearing that day, and that's the first time I've been in Chinatown, and no one on Eastern Long Island is likely to even know what Kung Fu is outside of the movies. So as of yet, there is no way to answer that question. Of course, you had already answered my question, and then in my above post I used you as an example: see? Where it says 'for edxample'. So I wasn't pushing *you* for reconfirmation and your somewhat facetious 'Does it matter' BS in the rest of your post. [shrugs] In the long run, of course it doesn't matter, but then, nor do most things... I was just interested in Chan Tai San's legacy that's all.

Thanks everyone for your replies. :)

[Jules]

Of course, you had already answered my question, and then in my above post I used you as an example: see? Where it says 'for edxample'. So I wasn't pushing *you* for reconfirmation and your somewhat facetious 'Does it matter' BS in the rest of your post. [shrugs]

Actually, I wasn't being facetious at all. My point is that if someone were to ever recognize the name of the logo and associate me with it, that would be cool and a really big honor, but I am not going to go out of my way and be a show off. Most especially when I couldn't live up to it at this point in action. Hopefully in honor and respect to my school, I can live up to the name, though. That was my point and it was sincere, although I said it in a frivolous way. Hence the :p thing.

~~J

[Mr Punch]

Fair enough. Sorry. :)

[Jules]

Fair enough. Sorry. :)

No worries :D

~~J

[Lama Pai Sifu]

In a nutshell, Chan Tai-San was a very well know and recognized face in Chinese Martial Arts community. Throughout the early to mid 90's, his disciples took him around the country to tournaments, masters demos and a variety of events. Most of the older Chinese teachers that came from Canton knew him, others from Hong Kong knew of him.

It seems lots of Cantonese people are all over the country, so anytime we met a Chinese person from Canton, they knew him, saw him or heard of him. He was a well known martial artist and was a boxing champ during the 50's. He had quite a few fights that resulted in deaths, which is where I'm sure he got his reputation from.

If you were one of his disciples during the 80's and 90's (and there are at least 3-4 of them on this forum that I know of - beside myself) than you trained and ate with him several days a week. Most of the disciples can speak Cantonese fairly well, so we all got to know the waiters and shop owners in Chinatown. People would always greet us nicely, as they respected out Sifu.

Now that his has passed, I still see many of the waiters every month or so, and yes, they still talk about him and ask me questions about him. No one runs up to me and shouts "Hey...Chan Tai-San student". They know who I am, and his disciples, and a 'nod' or a greeting is acknowledment.

As far as a rep? Who know's what everyone thinks. It's a moot point. What people say to your face and behind your back may be two different things. Fact is, not everyone liked him. He was uneducated and very poor growing up. He was sometimes bold (but never boastful) and didn't take BS from anyone. He was always a fighter and was ready to throw down even in his late 70's (if he was challenged or disrespected). I know of more than one fight that he had in NYC and in Canada while he was very old.

Even though he might get mixed reviews as a person, I haven't heard anyone say that he didn't have great skills or wasn't a great fighter.

As a Sifu, his attitude sometimes prevented him from reaching higher levels in the political martial arts world, both in China and America. He was not always the most diplomatic person. It is also well know amoungst his disciples, that when it came to learning from him, if you werent' very good, he wouldn't put much energy into you, and you would sometimes get easier version of forms (one's that matched your ability) Problem is, those who got less than "A" versions of stuff, DON'T KNOW IT! He was an old man an needed to earn a living.

Logos? I don't think any of his disciples schools use a logo that is recognized by people off the street in Chinatown. If his name was written on your shirt in Chinese, then yes, I'm sure people would say something to you.

As far as someone filling his shoes? I don't think anyone who actually trained long term with him, would ever want to. He led a hard life, without a lot of love or family. It was mostly war, death, poverty and training. In general, a very hard life.

I believe he did a lot to promote Chinese MA when he was alive. His disciples carry on his traditions and teachings to future generations. We were all fortunate to train with him.