Wudang Monks are in Austin TX.

[The Willow Sword]

http://www.healingtaoinstitute.com/wudangdvd.html

Here is the promo vid for the visit. If you click on other links on the site you get a list of the seminars they are going to be holding. I for one am going to attend the Kung fu workshop in zilker gardens.

As Always,TWS

[The Willow Sword]

I guess this is a rare opportunity to study with these guys. But i have signed up for the two night seminars on the form they are teaching(Wudang Taming Tiger Internal Style Kung Fu.)

Is anyone else in the Austin area going to go to this or go to any of the events?

PM me.
Peace,TWS

[jstreet]

I can probably make the Friday class, Thursday I am visiting Jeff Hughes's school.
What's the deal with this?

[chud]

I guess this is a rare opportunity to study with these guys. But i have signed up for the two night seminars on the form they are teaching(Wudang Taming Tiger Internal Style Kung Fu.)


Holy cow, that's this Thursday and Friday! Man, I think I might drive up there from San Antonio.

WUDANG KUNG FU WORKSHOP
Thursday & Friday evenings, July 13th & 14th, Zilker Botanical Gardens Center, Main Building, 2220 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, 7:00pm
$40 in advance (both nights); $50 at the door
or $20 per night; $25 at the door

Wudang Monastery is as famous as the Shaolin Temple for its martial arts monks, and particularly renowned for their "internal style" martial arts that teach precise use of body mechanics combined with Qi, breath and mental intention for extraordinary power. This is a rare and special opportunity to learn world class kung fu from the head instructor one of the rare Wudang Kung Fu sets. He will be teaching Wudang Taming Tiger Internal Style Kung Fu. Wear loose clothing and sneakers, and be prepared for a workout!

[chud]

From a thread (http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42105) in the Taijiquan section of this forum: Hi everybody. I am glad to be back home. Just a warning not to bother going to wudang acadamy it is run down, no running water, no working toilets, mold on the roof, roof caving in, no master to greet us to give a demonstation and all of ther masters have left for other schools or to teach in USA.

LOL, I guess they all came to Austin! :)

[The Willow Sword]

Well i cant really make a judgment based on reading that excerpt in that thread you posted Chud.

Maybe he wasnt at the right place. Maybe it was the wrong time.

hmm seems to be the right place and time for Me and the 20+ others who are going to attend the class. Zilker botanical gardens are a great place to hold classes like that anyway. no moldy roofs and no broken toilets;) :D

Peace,TWS

I will definately post my thoughts and opinions about the classes after they are over.

[jstreet]

I went to Sifu Hughes's school tonight instead (awesome class) so I can free myself up to attend these seminars. What are they? How long do they last? Does it make any sense for some one to attend these events as a beginner? I have never taken a class.

[TenTigers]

I was thinking of hosting Mickey from Disney World-not the Disney type schools, but the actual DUSNEY WORLD FROM FLORIDA! You wil learn to sing "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It;s off to work we go" from the actual Seven Dwarves! As well as Mickey, who wil lbethere as well. Do not miss this opportunity.

[The Willow Sword]

I would imagine that this form that is being taught is a basic one in their curriculum. But honestly i dont know what to expect, But i am going anyway. I mean i would imagine that beginners could benefit from the instruction, and at the price it just seems too good to pass up.(most seminars charge quite alot, sometimes too much, not these seminars specifically, but in general).

i say do it. what have you got to lose except 50 bucks? PLUS as i stated to you in the PM i sent you. You wont be pressured in to "joining" anything as it is just a seminar.

Cheers,TWS.

[jack]

Actually taiji, xingyi & bagua don’t come from wudang. Even though, they had Taoism theories.

Wudang had its own kinds of martial arts but they aren’t that famous compare to taiji, xingyi & bagua.

[Water Dragon]

Holy cow, that's this Thursday and Friday! Man, I think I might drive up there from San Antonio.

WUDANG KUNG FU WORKSHOP
Thursday & Friday evenings, July 13th & 14th, Zilker Botanical Gardens Center, Main Building, 2220 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, 7:00pm
$40 in advance (both nights); $50 at the door
or $20 per night; $25 at the door

Wudang Monastery is as famous as the Shaolin Temple for its martial arts monks, and particularly renowned for their "internal style" martial arts that teach precise use of body mechanics combined with Qi, breath and mental intention for extraordinary power. This is a rare and special opportunity to learn world class kung fu from the head instructor one of the rare Wudang Kung Fu sets. He will be teaching Wudang Taming Tiger Internal Style Kung Fu. Wear loose clothing and sneakers, and be prepared for a workout!

Lemme know if you do, I might go with you. I'll split for gas.

[Sifu Darkfist]

In reality the Wu Dang had been noted for its incredible ability to protect dignitaries or Kings or governors, why has no one brought this fact out?
The truth is, the Wu i Know and love is the antidote to other home grown Kung Fu.

[TenTigers]

did Mr. and Mrs Stewart name their kid, Jampa?
sounds kinda phoney to me.
ever since Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Wudan isthe new Shaolin.
I cant wait till Hua Shan is portrayed in a movie.

[Unfettered Palm]

I am filming a hua shan movie next summer......it involves the birthplace of qi gong...you think we could convince the world of this ten tigers? hah...maybe it could be a dwarf who lives there and decides to teach the world...and has seven disciples...

I just watched the video in the link...I actually recognized two of the monks. one of them i trained with (i would consider him a priest/monks live in zi xiao temple-as my master told me)and the other i saw in a restaraunt on a mac laptop....thats pretty trippy for china, but i also saw him do a demo and it wasnt half bad. he has a lot of jing. I iwll say that they teach kung-fu but they do not practice it for martial purposes. my master was part of the academy and left for personal reasons. put 2 and 2 together. some of the monks know how to fight and some do not. to what length can they apply their own system? I do not know. But as far as the health and meditation stuff go....they are very real and know what they are doing. It's the guys running around in robes pushing the esoteric crap and claiming to be mystical gurus you have to watch out for......just give wudang a bad name.....makes me sick.....
best wishes.....

[chud]

I iwll say that they teach kung-fu but they do not practice it for martial purposes. my master was part of the academy and left for personal reasons. put 2 and 2 together. some of the monks know how to fight and some do not.

Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. It looks like I am going up to Austin to check this seminar out, but I'll admit I have waffled about whether or not to go. Hopefully these monks will prove that some good kung fu has survived in China.

[Water Dragon]

I'ma have to bow out. One of my guys is taking a fight at the end of the month, and I need to get him ready.

[chud]

I'ma have to bow out. One of my guys is taking a fight at the end of the month, and I need to get him ready.

Cool man, I understand. Good luck to your friend.

[The Willow Sword]

Oh man you would not believe how much i was sweating in that class. i think i lost 5 lbs:eek: All in all i have to say that it was an amazing first night. Great form, good people all around. They broke us up into 4 groups(4 monks were there) and we just followed what they did. Very little english communication and there was a woman there who was translating for us.

Recognized one person there who was taking the class, Sifu Jeff Hughes and a student of his. i think he and i both sweat the most haha.

cant wait for tomorrow, and i am so freakin glad that i started running a couple of months ago, other wise my legs would have given out on me. i havent trained like i did tonight for a good while. so it was great to get my a$$,literally, and legs back to what they were a few years ago.

I know chud showed up but i missed his PM today so we didnt meet. Maybe tomorrow.

I will post more tomorrow or saturday depending on my mental state.

i give the class a 5 out of 5 stars when it came to instruction, quality, and humbleness of the monks there teaching us.

As always, TWS.

Oh and the form we are learning is "Wudang Taming the Tiger" It seems like it is an intermediate level form, based on my experience.

[chud]

I agree it was a good seminar. I sweated a lot too, I think we all did! :) I liked the form that was taught.
There were actually five monks there I think; the head monk sort of walked around checking people's form, while the other four monks each led a group.
(TWS: I was in group 4.)
I plan to go back to attend part 2 tomorrow night, barring any unexpected family emergencies or other obstacles.

[The Willow Sword]

5 monks were there, the head monk was wearing black and overseeing the others who were teaching us.

See ya tomorrow chud.
TWS

[chud]

Man, I can't believe this. I popped my knee this morning. All I did was roll over in bed and the sheets caught my leg so it didn't turn right away; something went 'pop' and now my knee feels like I got tackled by a bunch of football players.
I'm gonna go buy one of those knee brace thingies that you see the basketball players wear and hopefully that will help. I may have to sit out and just watch most of tonight's seminar though. :( I hate that 'cause I had a lot of fun doing the Taming Tiger form last night.
So this is what it feels like to be pushing 40...
:(
I'm gonna go to this chinese guy I know who does Tui-Na, maybe he can fix me up.

[The Willow Sword]

Aww man sorry to read that Chud. Knee health in your late 30's is very important. i am 35 now and i am a runner,amongst other things. But you know it still didnt prepare me for the intense soreness i felt when i woke up this morning. Luckily nothing "popped".

Chud do you know of the silk/coccoon reeling excersises? there are a few designed for the knees, they are pretty basic and are common in tai chi and bagua as well as xing yi. They have helped me in my knee health. being a tall guy my joints are more suseptable to injury and arthritis later in life.

i hope you arent out of commission totally for the rest of the class. for me i am just going to stretch, down some renshen extract,keep the hydration thing going and pray:D .

Many respects,TWS

[chud]

But you know it still didnt prepare me for the intense soreness i felt when i woke up this morning.
You know I actually wasn't sore this morning at all. When I walked in that place yesterday I knew it was gonna be a tough workout, so I told myself, "I'm going to have to relax or this thing'll kill me". I tried to do all the movements relaxed and fluid, like Taiji. I saw people around me grunting and clenching, but I just stayed loose and at the end of the night actually felt pretty good. Sweaty, but good. Then the knee popped this morning...



Chud do you know of the silk/coccoon reeling excersises? there are a few designed for the knees, they are pretty basic and are common in tai chi and bagua as well as xing yi. They have helped me in my knee health

Maybe we can get together after class and you can work with me on that.


i hope you arent out of commission totally for the rest of the class. for me i am just going to stretch, down some renshen extract,keep the hydration thing going and pray:D .


Well the chinese Tui-Na guy I know worked on my knee and it helped somewhat, but it's still tender. I'm wearing one of those knee support braces also. I may work out a little, but probably not like I did last night. I'll have to sit and watch most of it.

[The Willow Sword]

Well right now i no longer have functional use of my legs:D . Same pretty much as yesterday, decent group of people with mixed backgrounds in either kung fu tai chi, karate, aikido etc etc. some people were getting frustrated because the second half of the form had some interesting footwork and changes in posture and arm/hand movement(very snake like and flowing). i mean if you had some experience in form and stance and footwork and such you would be able to pick things up pretty well, but those who are trained in other martial systems had a tough time rethinking on how to move. My experience level is pretty solid considering, and i had some brain f@rts in this class, mainly due to my legs almost giving out on me. You put 110% in to what you are doing and you get that much back, but i must admit, my level of being in shape was increased by doing these classes. I think i held my own pretty well, and everyone else despite occasional frustrations did very well, i was very impressed with a few peeps in the group i was in.

Still all in all it was a fantastic seminar and i got so much out of it. these monks are very humble and yet they show that they know their stuff well. Each monk had his own characteristic when demonstrating. I definately liked both teachers i had in those two nights. Yes i sweat buckets again and my jellified legs became even more so. but it was all worth it.
i gotta say i am amazed that the classes didnt cost more, the instruction was top notch and this form is quite a decent form in their system, its not all flighty but rather has many internal elements contained within.
Mr chud is a decent guy and i hope he takes away some good things from this whole event. it was a pleasure meeting him.

Many Respects/Peace: TWS

[chud]

Willow Sword: thanks man, I agree with all that you said. The seminar was indeed a real bargain, and the monks were very cool people. I would recommend if they come back to the USA that people take the opportunity to go check them out.

Btw, you did a good job when you demo'ed the form.

[The Willow Sword]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXi0tdwi-R4

Here is who was at the seminar overseeing the training. His disciples were teaching us. Now this wasnt what we were learning, hehe. i couldnt find the form listed that we learned.
Peace,TWS

PS. Thanks for the good word chud. i felt like my thighs were going to rip off my bones as i was doing the form.