Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan?

[kal]

Hi,
My first post here.
I have searched for previous threads on this, but not found any. Apologies in advance if this has indeed been discussed before.
There is a school nearby offering Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan kung fu. Here is the website:
http://www.nampaichuan.org.uk/
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this system? Is it genuine?
Thanks

EDIT: I also found some photos here: http://www.sussexkungfu.co.uk/gallery.php

[David Jamieson]

pretty generic.

name means - shaolin southern family fist... (unless the "nam" means something else)

anything more specific? Is it a Hung Based style? Choy Li Fut derivitive? Wing Chun?

[Royal Dragon]

Karate uniforms, and belts...that allways makes me suspect.

[Minghequan]

Their site states:


The name of our System is Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan (North South Fist)

Also some info on the style here:

http://www.sussexkungfu.co.uk/history.php

It states:


The name Nam Pai Chuan was devised by Sifu Lai and means ‘Northern Southern Fist’, in recognition of the fact that the style incorporates attributes of both Northern and Southern Chinese martial arts. The technical aspects of Nam Pai Chuan were devised by Master Leow and Sifu Lai, with the combat and set-piece sparring sequences largely devised by Master Leow. The traditional forms, sequences and weapons techniques were devised by Sifu Lai.

Formulation of the System was completed in 1978. Sifu Lai came to London in July 1979 and began teaching at two centres in London, at Muswell Hill and Golders Green. The System now has a large number of registered blackbelts training at centres throughout England and Wales, as well as some in other European and Oceanic countries.



Have to agree with Royal Dragon here, Gongfu with Karate Gi and Obi's? Not real sure what the connection would be but perhaps the "Karate-Look" is more marketable?

[Royal Dragon]

Sounds like Karate guys who are playing Kung Fu

[kal]

Thanks for the replies and advice so far.
I think I'll give this place a miss.
I've fallen victim to a made-up style in the past, and I'm in no rush to get into another one.

[Mano Mano]

name means - shaolin southern family fist... (unless the "nam" means something else)That’s what I thought, I was apart of this discussion on MAP (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59695) Acording to NPC member’s pai means North.

[norfbech]

Give it a whirl first Kal...I shouldn't make rash decisions just on the type of uniforms worn. They're not actually GI's anyway, more thin canvas gear - in fact I'm sure I've spotted similar uniforms in the old Shaolin movies (see 36th Chamber of Shaolin etc...they must be authentic then :) )!
I personally wouldn't have been happy wearing 'orange robes' 'silk pygama's' or just gym slacks - I like getting out of my civvie gear once in a while!
Perhaps it is a marketing thing, but it's pretty hard to get people of the streets in the UK these days...we're now one of the most obese countries in Europe. If the paraphanalia works - then great, as long as once inside the system remains true to itself and history.
I went to quite a few clubs (here in Manchester) before I settled on this one - it just felt right, perhaps the 'purists' would argue otherwise but there's certainly no BS thrown around in this system
Bit more on the history:


the nam-pai-chuan tradition or style can trace its line far back to great grand master hui cheng of the chek chain nan hai pooi chee temple in china. master hui was a direct descendant of the southern shaolin tradition taught by buddhist monks in the tradition of da-mo. One of master hui cheng's student was grand master seh kon san.

cho-si seh koh san was a legendary figure in martial arts of the far east. the nam-pai-chuan school and style owe its origin largely to his teachings. he is the great grandmaster of the nam pai chuan system. he belonged to the 2nd chamber 48th generation of shaolin and was the abbot of the siong lim temple in singapore until his death in 1960 at the age of 74. the art thaught by cho-si seh kon san was known as "shaolin kung" of "shaolin material arts". it was also commonly refered to in the far east as "fatt kah chuen" or "buddhist fist". the school of cho-si seh koh san still flourishes today and the students taught by him belong to the 2nd chamber 49th generation of shaolin. one of his students was grandmaster quek hen choon, 2nd chamber 49th generation.

Hi by the way...I wasn't intending for this to be my first post, but I've been reading this forum over the past year and have really appreciated the advice and stories et al on here - certainly time to chip in.
Regards.

[David Jamieson]

nam is a version of "nan" which is "south".

North is "Bei" (pronounced "bay")

Pai is canto for clan or family.
chuan is mandarin for fist.

gi's are not in the movie masterkiller. they wore novice robes which are blue-ish while full monks wear saffron.

I find a lot of this sort of thing in UK clubs that have websites. Weird interpretations and guesses at what's what and dodgy looking practice claiming to be this or that drawn from one movie or another...mind you, it's everywhere these days.

wouldn't hurt to keep looking in my opinion.

[MasterKiller]

Pei is also North, as in Peiking (Beijing).

[B-Rad]

Where's the video? In the pics I see longfist, monkey... maybe drunken style.

Of course the board breaking, gi's, belt system, and bare feet make me think karate...

Need to see it in motion though :)

[norfbech]

B-Rad - There's some video on my local clubs website...I'll try and post it up. There's not really any karate in this system mind and that's often made quite clear...it's roots are certainly TCMA. But you folks are far more knowledgeable than I so I'd be interested in your thoughts. However in saying that, I've found a really good, genuine club and a great teacher...the last thing on his mind is making money et al.


gi's are not in the movie masterkiller. they wore novice robes which are blue-ish while full monks wear saffron

Sorry - I perhaps wasn't entirely making myself clear...I certainly wasn't implying the uniforms were in that movie, merely there were 'hints' of the style in their design!

[qupte]I find a lot of this sort of thing in UK clubs that have websites. Weird interpretations and guesses at what's what and dodgy looking practice claiming to be this or that drawn from one movie or another...mind you, it's everywhere these days[/quote]

Not sure what you're getting at here David, I don't recognise any of that at this club.
Thanks for the input though, it's all interesting.
Regards.

[B-Rad]

Found some videos here:

http://www.cardiffcentralkungfu.org.uk/Tiger%20Form.html

[B-Rad]

Are these videos your school's traditional forms? Because to tell you the truth, it looks like some material was "borrowed" from competition wushu and sport karate. :confused:

[kal]

Is there any kind of deep and/or internal training at that school?
Is there any chi kung, iron palm, iron vest etc.?

[Wong Ying Home]

Nan Kuen Bei Tui
Southern Fist Northern Leg.

Being an eagle claw practioner, having practiced many years and researched a lot of the variations of eagle claw, in the eagle claw form on the video I see no signature movements that can be seen in the northern or southerns styles of eagle claw that I have been exposed to over the past 22 years.

Of course I have not seen all there is re eagle claw, but the video shown carries many signature body movments and body mechincs closers to japanese karate methodology, IMHO these body movements/mechnics carry over to all the forms shown on the videos.

I would agree with Mr Jamieson and suggest that it would'nt hurt to keep on looking for other Chinese Martial arts

[norfbech]

Is there any kind of deep and/or internal training at that school?
Is there any chi kung, iron palm, iron vest etc.?

Yes - there are elements of chi kung in each class as well as conditioning and sparring.
I'm suprised to find that there are hints of karate suggested. We have an ex karate guy in our class and he certainly recognises this as tcma...perhaps other schools within the system have added their own flavours? But I've barely touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to MA so I can't really fully advise on whether some of the more traditional kung fu elements have been adapted of this system (via Singapore...possible certain kicks may have been included via TKD?).
But certainly shop around - I attended different classes/systems/schools (mostly KF, but also wing chun) before I liked what I saw here. A great teacher - a teacher in it for the love of the art not the money really helps. No harm in attending a class or two from the schools you find locally...not sure KF's as wide spread in the uk as in the states mind?
Good luck - keep us posted!

[Yao Sing]

Now where have I heard these comments/arguments before? Hmmmm.

[Kureeus]

Norfbech, The Martial technique used in Nam Pai Chuan is purely TCMA. There is no influence from Japanese art or TKD concerning the Martial techniques in NPC.

The Uniform is merely practical, Though I dont see how clothing or uniform and the fact shoes arent worn denote whether a martial art should be differentiated as being chinese or japanese.

Board breaking is just breaking boards, applying technique using a different method of training, should this be considered purely japanese?


I find a lot of this sort of thing in UK clubs that have websites. Weird interpretations and guesses at what's what and dodgy looking practice claiming to be this or that drawn from one movie or another...mind you, it's everywhere these days

Thanks for this quote, It good to see someone has an open mind

[David Jamieson]

weapons?

I couldn't see any weapons practice going on.

no weapons?

[Ironpig]

Very interesting

[YouKnowWho]

Is that Kajukenbo (Karate + Judo/JJ + Kempo + Chinese boxing)?