Yang Jwing Ming's Kung Fu and Taiji?

[Ford Prefect]

Greetings,

The other thread got me thinking. What is everybody's opinion about Yang Jwing Ming's kung fu? Is he legitimate? Are his instructors legitimate? Is he a good instructor himself? Does he teach people the "real" combat stuff? Etc.

Thanks for any and all responses. I am really just curious to hear opinions.

[The Willow Sword]

Well i have found his Qigong books to be very informative and well drawn out. I mean they have helped me to correct some wrongs that i recieved in my qigong training elsewhere. As for his Kung Fu books. I find them to be very good reference points to draw from. I like his Emei Bagua book and his books on qin na. All around i would say that Dr. Yang has the most informative TCMA books out there.

Peace,TWS

[Royal Dragon]

Unfortunetly, most of his books are just translations of others works, and not his own knowledge base.

[shuaichiao]

Greetings,

The other thread got me thinking. What is everybody's opinion about Yang Jwing Ming's kung fu?

I always liked it.



Is he legitimate?


Absolutely



Are his instructors legitimate?

They must have been. His longfist instructor was fairly well known and respected.



Is he a good instructor himself?


As I mentioned in the other thread I think he should have spent more time in his own school and taught more himself. I think he is a good teacher.



Does he teach people the "real" combat stuff?

Yes.

[The Willow Sword]

Unfortunetly, most of his books are just translations of others works, and not his own knowledge base.

But doesnt our Knowledge base come from what we have learned from others? Did little Gnomes from the 35th dimension give you your knowledge base? Is what you know all from your head and not from anyone elses?

Peace,TWS

[SPJ]

Long fist or Chang Quan is the starting or beginning course both for Wushu program in China and Kuo Shu and Wu Tan in Taiwan.

There are many and many more extensive forms and routines.

Tai Chi books:

I like Ma Hong book editing contents or notes passed down from Chen Fa Ke.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/SPJ/chentc.jpg

I also like Wang Pe Sheng book on Wu Tai Chi.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/SPJ/wutc.jpg

:)

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Dr. Yang has his Doctorate in Engineering.. his analysis of Taiji, QiGong and Kung Fu is reasoned, linked to solid science, and well presented for easy comprehension.. I have trained with him in very active situations, 75-80% "live" conditions, and.. he is competent, powerful, fast and demonstrates "conclusions" to combat applications (which i appreciate).. he is a demanding instructor, not willing to let small inconsistencies go uncorrected.. he is a compassionate disciplinarian, i have been smacked for failing to follow instructions.. but, i got the message and made the corrections.. he also understands people, there are those he wouldn't smack, too.. if you are sincere in your quest for the knowledge you will appreciate the discipline.. if not, why bother..

He has always been eager to share his knowledge, to the degree it can be understood by the student.. he honestly critiques the students such that you can have a realistic reference from which to tailor your training (i appreciate that as well).. Dr. Yang has high standards and CMA can benefit from high standards..

Is he "legitimate"? i am not qualified to make that determination, but.. i see no evidence that suggests he isn't.. what he has taught me "works", produces the effect he says it will, and "feels" consistent with the classics.. all-in-all, he has been a very beneficial teacher in my quest, for which i respect him and his efforts.. My training with Dr. Yang has been in his Taiji, QiNa, and QiGong.. we differ in our Kung Fu approach.. The above represents my personal opinions based on my experiences and training with Dr. Yang, it is not intended to assert any factual truths applicable to someone else's experiences..

Be well..

[Ford Prefect]

Anybody else?

I already train at YMAA headquarters, so I'm rather familiar with Yang himself. No need to go there. I was just curious as to people's opinions about him and his MA. I won't argue against anybody's opinion, so positive and negative ones are welcome.

[Firehawk4]

I wish Dr. Yang would write a book on the martial side of his Fujian White Crane his first on Fujian White Crane Qigong is a very good book . But i would like to see more from him on the Martial side of his Fujian White Crane there is not much in english about Fujian White Crane but alot in chinese .

[mok]

I wish Dr. Yang would write a book on the martial side of his Fujian White Crane his first on Fujian White Crane Qigong is a very good book . But i would like to see more from him on the Martial side of his Fujian White Crane there is not much in english about Fujian White Crane but alot in chinese .

Firehawk: FYI - There's an excellent english book on fukkien white crane written by sifu Lorne Bernard. You can order it from his website here:
http://www.shaolinwhitecranekungfu.com/media/books.asp

hope this helps

[Faruq]

I could have sworn his book Fujian White Crane covered the martial aspects. I don't have the one called White Crane Qi Gong. I'm gonna have to take the White Crane book off my shelf, dust it off, and read it again because I don't remember it covering Qi Gong, except in a general fashion.

[Samurai Jack]

I know a person who claims to have trained as a closed door student of Yang Jwing Ming. I have always wanted to verify his story, because it contained some elements that seemed different from what I have seen in Yang's books, and what I know from my own internal martial training. Not to mention that a friend of mine who I know for a fact trained with the man had never heard of the supposed closed door student.

A simple question answered here will provide me with the final straw;

Is it true that Yang's students call him "Yan-ja-min", pronounced like "Benjamin" only with a "Y" in place of a "B"? Supposedly all of his students call him that because they can't prononuce his name in mandarin, and also can't call him Shirfu because he's "too humble for that."

I know it's a silly question.

Just trying to seperate the wheat from the chaff.

[shuaichiao]

I've never heard any body call him that when I was training there and his names not that hard to pronounce that nobody could get it right. Most people call him Dr. Yang.

[Ford Prefect]

Dr Yang, Master Yang, Sifu Yang...

Never heard Yan-ja-min before.

[Samurai Jack]

My intuition told me the fellow in question was not being honest. Thanks for the heads up. He liked to tell lots of stories.

[GeneChing]

Grinding an Iron Rod into a Needle (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=893)by Javier Rodriguez.

Javier Rodriguez is a disciple of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming at the YMAA Retreat Center, a dedicated training facility isolated in the mountains of Humboldt County, California. He is a part of the second generation of accepted disciples training under Dr. Yang in a 10-year intensive, traditional martial arts program.

[YouKnowWho]

Yang and I share the same long fist teacher so if he is still teaching the old way, I can share some long fist training experience here.

- Heavy bag work was introduced in the early stage.
- Sparring (one person plays offense while the other plays defense) was also introduced in the early stage.
- Stretching in the beginning of everyday.
- Basic kicking and punching drills will be done after stretching.
- Pair you and your partner for solo form training. When your partner does the solo form, you watch and rest. You then take turns. You train like this non-stop out door (even under heavy rain) for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, and continue like this for 3 months per session.
- Deaw a circle and spar within that circle at the end of each day.

As far as I know, Yang demands his students in sparring more than most of my LF brothers.

[goju]

fromw hat ive read and seen the man seems to be a treasure trove of martial arts

very detailed and thurough with his teaching:)

[SPJ]

Yang and I share the same long fist teacher so if he is still teaching the old way, I can share some long fist training experience here.

- Heavy bag work was introduced in the early stage.
- Sparring (one person plays offense while the other plays defense) was also introduced in the early stage.
- Stretching in the beginning of everyday.
- Basic kicking and punching drills will be done after stretching.
- Pair you and your partner for solo form training. When your partner does the solo form, you watch and rest. You then take turns. You train like this non-stop out door (even under heavy rain) for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, and continue like this for 3 months per session.
- Deaw a circle and spar within that circle at the end of each day.

As far as I know, Yang demands his students in sparring more than most of my LF brothers.

much envy.

they are able to dedicate 10 years of life for MA and nothing else.

let me see from 20 years of age to 30 years of age.

I was studying hard in college, 2 years of military service in Taiwan, graduate study in US--

no such luck for me and many others.

:cool:

[Blacktiger]

Love his Qigong book - very good!

[Lokhopkuen]

"isolated in the mountains of Humboldt County, California. " Cough, cough :D

[taai gihk yahn]

"isolated in the mountains of Humboldt County, California. " Cough, cough :D

well, I'm sure that there's no Starbucks in walking distance...

[David Jamieson]

Isn't Humboldt County like Marajuana central for California?

I mean, they made a movie about that. lol

[Scott R. Brown]

well, I'm sure that there's no Starbucks in walking distance...


Isn't Humboldt County like Marajuana central for California?

I mean, they made a movie about that. lol

David, you rained on my parade, I was about to say,

"Yeah, but marijuana is!"

Yes, it is so prevalent up there that the Sheriffs all carry CAR-15's in their trunks so they have something close to weapons parity.

My wife's uncle hunts up there and he and his party have come upon cultivators while hunting!

[SPJ]

let me see.

looking for something natural in cali

1. red wood national park

2. yosemite

3. sequoia

--

I will pick red wood. we are truly humbled by 3000 year old red wood tree.

some needs the opening arms of 26 people to "hug" the tree.

--

doing tai chi in front of 3000 years old tree--


or walking a ba gua circle around one

--

I meant wow.

:cool:

[GeneChing]

He thought it was funny. They had to remove a small squatter farm from the property when they first started settling there. Their property lines are well defined and the neighbors have honored their abstinence from marijuana culture so far, which is quite prevalent if the recent issue of Rolling Stone is to be believed.

[SPJ]

marihuana will be soon legalized in Cali, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YTrrqEdrI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rpaojP1xwQ

:confused:

[David Jamieson]

marihuana will be soon legalized in Cali, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YTrrqEdrI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rpaojP1xwQ

:confused:

It should be legalized across the continent.

tax it and relieve my burden.

remove it from the hands of criminals and free the law enforcement, courts and prison system from wasting time securing pot heads and weed dealers who bring about as much harm as kittens.

take away all the scare stories about how it will make you schizo based on the stories of three previously diagnosed schizophrenics who had worse cases when using recreational drugs.

stop people from profiting on it and creating misery with it.

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo67AeuUbvk&feature=related

instead of California gold rush.

it is called California green rush.

:eek:

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDdPdcvtFqI&feature=related

giants of trees.

:cool:

[SPJ]

kung fu retreat is always a good idea.

shorter time span would be fitting for more people.

---

:)

[sanjuro_ronin]

We used to have weekend retreats and even week long ones, in kyokushin.
Just good old fashioned outdoor training from sunrise to sunset.
Awesome fun.

[mawali]

Anybody else?

I already train at YMAA headquarters, so I'm rather familiar with Yang himself. No need to go there. I was just curious as to people's opinions about him and his MA. I won't argue against anybody's opinion, so positive and negative ones are welcome.

Are you saying that you do not trust your knowledge and instincts based on your training with YMAA?
1. His translation efforts and personal insights are above reproach
2. He has an excellent vision for MA
3. He appears to be doing a great job of educating his students
4. He has always been forthcoming with training of all sorts with his students

A teacher once remarked that 10% comes from the teacher and 90% from the student! Validation should come from your own experience and awareness!

If you are not satisfied then you should take up shuaijiao! It is real kungfu without forms.

[sanjuro_ronin]

A teacher once remarked that 10% comes from the teacher and 90% from the student

Well said, I have also hear from one Kenjutsu sensei that , when a student has become proficient and says that he did it "himself", he had an excellent teacher.

[ghostexorcist]

He is not the best historian in the world, but he seems to have a good working knowledge of his craft.