White Crane?

[Mtal]

Hi, I was wondering about White Crane Kung Fu. Anyone have any experience with it? It looks kind of cool. Seems like a good amount of locks in the system. They also say it has some internal aspects. Does it have good applications? Are there a lot of forms in the system? What is a typical class like? Are there many different types of Crane styles and how do they differ?

Well thanks, any thoughts would be great. I am thinking of taking up kung fu (just been doing Tai Chi lately), and this looked kind of cool.

[htowndragon]

what kind of white crane? fukien or tibetan?

[Mtal]

what kind of white crane? fukien or tibetan?

I think it is Fukien, is there a big difference between the two?

[htowndragon]

their not even related.

[HOKPAIWES]

Hello,

The Tibetan crane/Pak Hok Pai is a very good system, in the early stages of training it is what many often refer to as a "long fist" system.


I could be mistaken but there are only 5 known schools in America currently, one is in New York I believe. http://www.geocities.com/whitecranefist/directory.htm

You can find some info and history at the Lions Roar web site and a few video examples on the YouTube site.

I have seen some of the Fukien crane on YouTube aswell, however I have no knowledge of the system other than it exist. Here is a link to a small video of a fellow classmate practicing some Tibetan crane speed punches and one of another crane guy in Singapore working his way through a set.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2MxOf90owA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF6sSWharGk

[Mtal]

Actually, that is the school I was looking at. Thanks for the info. So I guess it is Tibetan crane I am checking out. It seems like Tibetan crane is kind of a long range system, and the other is close range. Yeah from looking at Ytube, they are seem different.

[Onepath]

Try looking into Lama Pai Kung-Fu, White Crane is said to be a offshoot from Lama Pai which is originally from Tibet & there are Lama Pai teachers in the NYC area. The particular brand of Lama Pai I refer to comes from the late GrandMaster Chan Tai Shan(National Treasure of China) who is said to have reunited a couple different branches of the system, so that there is more material contained with the system than other branches.
Just about anything you find in White Crane, you will find in Lama Pai and possibly closer to the original source. :cool: Its an interesting system, it seems to be complete, there is long hand, short hand, different types of internal and external practices, weapons, throwing, etc. They generate a lot of power in their techniques, turn out good fighters, the system has elements of BaQua and Shuai Chao and also looks good when performed. Another offshoot of LamaPai is HopGar and I think there may be another one, Im unsure of the name.

[HOKPAIWES]

This is great Mtal. If you do check out the school in NY I would like to here how it works out for you.

Take care.


Lama, Hop Gar and Pak Hok Pai all where made from a very large system called Lions Roar. Here is some info found in the Wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_White_Crane

[Onepath]

Yes, please do tell us what you think, I can remember my first visit to a White Crane school(Quentins Fong's) in SF, I was fascinated.

[Onepath]

My fault for leaving something out, yes, Lions Roar is the original name of it all. Also just to clarify: Chan Tai Shan learned from Monk Jyu Chyuhn who learned from both Wong Yan Lam and Wong Lam Hoi thus learning the whole tradition not just the partial teachings his teachers passed on to their respective students, a more complete explanation on the different lineages can be found at: http://www.lamakungfu.org/
Im not trying to advertise for LamaPai, I just remember when I started in Chinese Martial Arts, I wanted to know everything I could about the history of whatever I was looking into, and its really interesting to know the different stories and lineages.
Whatever branch one studies, its not your ordinary Kung-Fu system.

[HOKPAIWES]

Yes, please do tell us what you think, I can remember my first visit to a White Crane school(Quentins Fong's) in SF, I was fascinated.



Hi OnePath. Are you still training any Hok Pai? It would be to cool to bump into another crane guy. My first visit to crane class left me more than a little sore. Here is a couple angles I took of myself to see how clean I was/wasn't being. http://www.zippyvideos.com/6921943226894746/movie23/

I will ask around class and see if anyone has met or has any interesting stories about Quentin Fong to share with me. We are from the George Long line, who was both a Hop Gar and crane fighter.



Mtal,

If you do end up in one of the Tibetan classes you will have a good time, from what I understand we all use the same seed punches. Just knowing these is very effective in keeping another fighter away from your center line.

[Onepath]

I never got to train White Crane while I was in the Bay Area, however I was fortunate to meet George Long at his school when I was a teenager and just getting started in Martial Arts, I also met Ron Dong later. and actually went to see a Hop Gar School too, there were books out on White Crane,etc and I read them all. I was training other stuff, then many years later my wife started in Lama Pai & I got involved, the whole tradition has always fascinated me since I was a kid ,now Im having the greatest time.
I saw your clip, do you also use the advancing & retreating footwork? mostly we practice the Chyun Choi as a line basic combining it with the Bin Choi(Whipping Hand), Whatever combination you use it with, it really teaches you great waist power, I remember a long time ago I was teaching some kids from another system and they didnt have much power, so I lined them up & had them do the Chyun Choi even though I didnt study White Crane & they really improved their power. By the way, I didnt know that George Long also did Hop Gar?:eek:

[HOKPAIWES]

Hi Onepath,


Ok, you train Lama Pai. I can't wait to go into class this week and just be like- Hey, I talked to a Lama guy who met Dr. Long ..how cool is that!

Dr. Long trained my teachers Sifu so that will be sure to get everyones smiles and spirt level going.


What I am told is that Master Long was a Hop Gar fighter before meeting and training Pak Hok Pai with Chen Hak Fu. The website about Dr. Longs school says it is being rebuilt, hopefully it will be back and have some info about his Hop Gar. I will ask about in class again and see what else I can learn about it.

http://www.whitecranegungfu.com/



We train the foot work hard and often, it does payoff as the kids you were helping must have quickly found out.:D

Just to get out there and make our art work for ourselves this past month we went and sparred in a semi-large Karate event. It turned out that outside the world of forms and sets we were the only school there using any form of tride and true foot work at all to defend ourselves.

It is amazing how much anyone truly running these Tibetan systems stands out from the crowd. I am sure the Lama systems makes you keep attention to your posture when training?, so I'm betting you will understand this. One fighter at the event came up and commented on how arrogant we all were. I could only smile relising this must have been like the first time more than a few of them had ever been around any martial artist that knew how to actualy stand up straight when they moved.:)

[Kung Pao]

Oh, so this is where all the crane guys are hiding out...lol.

[HOKPAIWES]

Oh, so this is where all the crane guys are hiding out...lol.


LOL. I dunno, I think it is just me.:confused:




Hello?, is anybody out there?

[Buk&Hung Sing]

Try to find the style that matches you, rather than you to the style. Take into account your physical, mental, emotional strengths and weaknesses before forking out the dough or wasting your time. Are you tall and looking for the whipping power or stout and want to grind your opponent into the ground? I have a crane set in the system I studied, and like it alot.

[htowndragon]

uhh hey, im a hop gar guy, i talk to your si hing mario from time to time

[HOKPAIWES]

uhh hey, im a hop gar guy, i talk to your si hing mario from time to time



Cool Htowndragon, I read your story about meeting the guy who knows about alot of fighters from books but doesn't want to train himself. Mario and our Sifu use the EF forum sometimes. When I try to login after registering I get these wacky error warnings so I just gave up on using it.

[Gru Bianca]

Hi,

Please check your PM.

Regards,

Luca

[htowndragon]

do you know much of george longs personal history? he is my si bak and i don't know much about him other than him opening up the white crane school.

according to someone who trained under him at one point in the early days (name ommited to avoid politics if there is a disagreement) george long's "white crane" is the "white crane division" of hop gar (the four divisions are white crane, lohan, wei to, and daat mo). and is considerably different from other lines of chan hak fu's bak hok pai.

u say that he learned under CHF after he trained with my si gong ng yim ming, do u know where this was? as i understand it, he opened a school in SF not long after leaving the hop gar school, from what i heard, george long stated that he learned from CHF before he trained with ng yim ming (harry ng) when he was younger.

u can PM me to continue this conversation if u don't want to talk about it on here, i hope u don't mind that i asked this on an open forum.

i haven't talked to terry in a while, tell him i say hey!

[Onepath]

I have seen a lot of the upright posture(in competition) as compared to other styles, with people who have'nt had much experience practicing other styles, or are just limiting themselves to strictly White Crane techniques, then I have seen more experienced people picking & choosing styles of movement, mixing it up as necessary depending on their opponent, but when they just stick to strict WC it really looks cool when they intercept an attack, for example using Kup Choi. The fight between (Was it Chan Hak Fu?) and the Tai Chi Master in Hong Kong is one example, the Siu Kau punches thrown by the WC man and most of his other stuff is thrown from a more upright posture.

[HOKPAIWES]

i hope u don't mind that i asked this on an open forum.


No worries from me. If his Hop Gar came after his Pak Hok Pai from Chan Hak Fu rather than before it will be my mistake. All the history that I get is oral so I could just be remembering wrong on that part before/after.







i haven't talked to terry in a while, tell him i say hey!


Will do!