Hung Fut Questions.

[OldDogNewFu]

Hey, I am new to the forums here I have a few questions about the style and Kung Fu in general. I am 23 yrs. old, so I'm not too young but not really old. Yet most people I know that have been taking martial arts having been training for several years. I practiced Shotokan a long time ago when I was younger, but I have now decided to try something new. No one in my family is healty (diabetes, high bp, high propensity for stroke/ha etc.). I have decided to really take my health seriously, and from what I hear certain styles of Kung Fu may really help that. (not to mention some self defense benefit)

Here are some questions:

1.) The school that I am looking at is the only school near me that teaches Hung Fut, the next closest being a school in Maryland (Sifu Tai Yim). The class only meets one day a week. I asked about private lessons, but there are none or so I was told. I would like to really immerse myself into and work with a teacher as much as possible. I was instructed that once I learn the basics to practice a lot on my own. Any suggestions on what to do, If really want to get into this? I know there aren't any shorcuts, and I'm not asking for that, I have no problem practicing, I just really want spend a lot of time working with this?

2.) Can someone with experience in the style tell me about the honest physical fitness benefits of this style?

3.) " " sincerely how practical the art is in terms of a real fight, hand to hand?


4.) " " any draw backs or negatives?


5.)I was given a speel from one of the instructors about how great the art was, and it was well respected in China, and how effective/practical it was; I know it may be blasphemous, but I have also considering practicing Shotokan again, with my old Sensei. Can anyone tell me if/how the training in one style may help or benefit the training or experience in the other.



Thanks in advance for the answers.

Sincerely, OldDogNewFu

[Hopping Frog]

Hey OldDogNewFu,

I have only been training in Hung Fut for around six months, so take my opinion for what it's worth. Also keep in mind that my school is located in Canada and is not under Tai Yim.

Anyway, I would say that our Hung Fut regime is excellent for conditioning. We do a lot of low stance training and conditioning of the hands, fingers, and forearms. We focus on deep breathing and power, which rests primarily on strong use of the legs and hips for strength. It can be tiring on the knees when you first start, but that goes away after a few months. Everything follows the principle: block, then strike. Lots of power and always deep stances. There is not a lot of high kicking, not a lot of wide stepping and movement. Everything is quite grounded.

As for street fighting, I would say that it is effective in the sense that it is a style that developed out of the 'alley fighting' concept of close quarters. It uses a lot of tiger claw grabs and eye rakes. There is no ground work in our system, only breakfalls and similar things. Keep in mind though, that I am no experienced street brawler.

As for health benefits, we do a lot of deep breathing and focus on the dan tien, but I have little experience on health oriented martial arts like Tai Chi and Chi Kung. I think that if health is your concern, then you may want to inverstigate an internal martial art like Tai Chi.

More importantly though, if you do want to do Shotokan, then try it out again and see if it is right ofr you. I think that any martial art you take will have to 'feel right' after a month or two or else you will know that it isn't for you. Test out what is available to you and you will get your own feel for where you want to be.

That's my thought, I'm sure you will find something that works for you.

Good luck, Simon

[poorboy]

what state or area do you live in? and where is the first hung fut school you were looking at that only meets once a week?

[OldDogNewFu]

Hey, thanks guys I appreciate your responses. to answer Poorboy I live in Ohio, and the school is in Akron. I believe the school is somewhat new, though. here is the link,


http://www.donniamstudio.com/location.htm

[poorboy]

olddog: the person in the link learned his hung fut from sifu yim, other then that I can't tell you anything about him since I think he was a private student, but once a week is not enough for the serious student. If you lived near Md i would defenitly recommed sifu Yim's school. he's open 6 days per week and he has a good curriculum and structured training.

actually, any legitimate southern school would be good. I heard good things about tony brown's hung gar school (somewhere in ohio). his student relocated to md and spoke good things of the school. benny meng, wing chun, I believe is in ohio too.
good luck!

[OldDogNewFu]

thanks a bunch Poorboy, I looked up Tony Brown, and seems very interested but he his about 2 hours away from where I am. I couldn't really find any good info on Benny Meng, but from what I did find, doesn't seem much closer, I guess I could possibly look into private lessons from Tony Brown, the drive would be a bit much, but I guess Akron, isn't a real good place for someone who interested in seriously learning any ancient southern chinese martial arts styles. I'll keep looking around, and maybe this guy that is close to me will expand his classes to more days per week. Thans again.

[poorboy]

if the HF school is close to you, you should check them out. if the price is reasonable you should consider it. one day a week is better than nonthing.

how far are you from kensington, md? sifu yim gives private lessons (actually, he'll probably have one of his top instructors do it ). he has several out of state students doing this. that's how don niam, the person in the link learned. call the school at 301 9464211 if you want to consider it.

when I was younger, in my early 20's,I commuted on my days off from wash. dc to chinatown, ny to study KF. sometimes I would leave NY late at night and go straight to work at 7:00am in wash. dc. i did it for several years until tai yim opened his school.

a friend of mine during this same period commuted from wash dc to boston to study from sifu chan poi. that commute was a killer. he was raymond fogg, he's a sifu now in texas.

[B-Rad]

Yeah, Tony Brown is very very good... If I had a car, that's where I'd be :p

[OldDogNewFu]

how far are you from kensington, md? sifu yim gives private lessons (actually, he'll probably have one of his top instructors do it ). he has several out of state students doing this. that's how don niam, the person in the link learned. call the school at 301 9464211 if you want to consider it.


I am about 5.5 hours from Kennsington. When you said that Sifu Yim gives lessons to out of state students, are you saying that he has students that give privates lesson in other states or were you saying he gives private lessons to out of state students but only in the area? I agree one day a week is better than nothing, maybe I will check out Tony Brown. I have some time off the drive to Columbus won't be too bad. Thanks again poorboy. I will give the number a call, it can't hurt. At most I might learn something I didn't know before.


Yeah, Tony Brown is very very good... If I had a car, that's where I'd be Hey B-Rad, do you have any other info on Tony Brown like a number or address I couldn't really find anything online other than his name, and that he teaches Hung-Gar. You speak highly of him, have you been taught by him, or know someones he is/was? Are you aware if he offers private lessons. I figure if I do decide to commute to Colombus, I will probably need to maximize my time if its possible maybe commute 3-4 days a week and practice for 2-3 hr. under private instruction each time. Who knows.


Thanks again all of you for the support, and input, it definitley is, and has been helpful. PS. Has anyone else noticed how bad of a speller I am late nights? LOL.

I await your replies. :D

[LynyrdSkynyrd]

Also,you could try Brian Boston in Hartville or Carl Dechiara in Cleveland.They teach Wing Chun passed down by Ken Chung and Leung Shung.The website is immortalpalm.com

[B-Rad]

Hey B-Rad, do you have any other info on Tony Brown like a number or address I couldn't really find anything online other than his name, and that he teaches Hung-Gar. You speak highly of him, have you been taught by him, or know someones he is/was? Are you aware if he offers private lessons. I figure if I do decide to commute to Colombus, I will probably need to maximize my time if its possible maybe commute 3-4 days a week and practice for 2-3 hr. under private instruction each time. Who knows.

I haven't seen him in quite awhile, though here's the contact info from the newest phone book: Tony Brown's Kungfu School 195 W.Olentangy St. (614)793-0144

A good friend of mine was a student of his for a long time, and friends with his daughter. I've taken one introductory class and learned "Chung I Chuan" from him. Chung I Chuan is a form he teaches to new students first. It's a simple Taiwanese military form based off of Baji and Shaolin. I think he also has a couple of Choy Lay Fut forms inserted into his curiculum that were given to him by some CLF teacher. In addition to Hung Gar, he also taught Southern Mantis at the time. I assume he's still teaching that too, though it isn't advertised.

As for his background, my knowledge is somewhat limited... just that I think he was some kind of full contact champion despite only having one arm. You'd think at first that the "handicap" would make it difficult for him to teach application, or get both sides of the form, but he's a hell of a lot better with one arm than most teachers are with two :p You quickly forget he's missing anything when he starts teaching ;)

Also, when I took my intro lesson, he had a way for paying for classes where you could basically buy a card for $100 that would entitle you to 10 lessons (So, $10/lesson) for those who couldn't get there multiple times a week. If he's still doing that, it'd be a good deal for distance learning. Class sizes were small enough, that it really wasn't much different than a private lesson. Like I said, things may have changed quite a bit since I was there (been about 3 or 4 years I think), but defenitely worth checking out.

[OldDogNewFu]

Also,you could try Brian Boston in Hartville or Carl Dechiara in Cleveland.They teach Wing Chun passed down by Ken Chung and Leung Shung.The website is immortalpalm.com

Hey LynyrdSkynyrd, thanks for the info. Would you be able to tell me what some of the differences in Hung styles and Wing Chun as it relates to combat, and training methodology?



A good friend of mine was a student of his for a long time, and friends with his daughter. I've taken one introductory class and learned "Chung I Chuan" from him. Chung I Chuan is a form he teaches to new students first. It's a simple Taiwanese military form based off of Baji and Shaolin. I think he also has a couple of Choy Lay Fut forms inserted into his curiculum that were given to him by some CLF teacher. In addition to Hung Gar, he also taught Southern Mantis at the time. I assume he's still teaching that too, though it isn't advertised


wow it sounds like this guy has a lot of knowledge of different Kung Fu styles. I've read that Wing Chun doesn't focus on training the physical aspect as much as other Kung Fu Styles. My goal is number to learn a chinese martial art serioulsy, my second goal is to become a physical fit and effective fighter. Man how I wish there were more friggin schools in the Midwest. Not gonna lie, Sifu Brown sounds like a badass.

[poorboy]

olddog:
wing chun ia a good fighting style, I wouldn't mind learning it, most southern systems are but unless your willing to travel far and wide and spend alot of money your options may be limited.

do you live near the HF school you mentioned earlier? if so, go down and check it out. write a post on your observation and impression of the school. ask them what their curriculum is, how much of the HF system they know, also ask them why they only teach once a week. as a HF practioner i'm curious.

[B-Rad]

Yeah, what's the Hung Fut school like?

[LynyrdSkynyrd]

Honestly,no I couldn't tell you much about differences.However, I have heard that Don Niam's school is pretty good and I go to Brian's.You should try each and see what you like more.

[OldDogNewFu]

hey thanks everyone, I think I'm gonna give each a school a shot, and make my decision. Currently I am most interested in the Wing Chun school and Tony Brown, both of those meet at least 3 times a week, and have private lessons, so they will better accomodate my schedule, for 1 day a week just isn't even enough to get a serious work out, let alone serious learning. I talked to Tony Brown, and he seemed like a good guy, and said he'll give a lesson or two free to see how I like things. I haven't contacted the Wing Chun school in Hartville yet though, hopefully the news will be good as well, who knows maybe I will study both.