Shaolin Culture Center [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

JMJ

02-02-2008, 11:51 AM

Hi All,

I'm new to this board and wondering if anyone has heard of the Shaolin Culture Center in San Mateo? They also go by "Chinese Martial Arts and Entertainment Institute (C.M.A.E.I)". Head of school, Grandmaster Yung-Chi Chung has a really great resume and is a wonderful teacher. I am currently a student of his and searched this forum but could not find any info. Their website is http://www.shaolinkungfu.com

PS. I'm not trying to market the school! Just looking for info/opinions.

Thanks

LFJ

02-02-2008, 03:34 PM

i dont know who he is, but i checked the site. my first impression? looking at the instructor page there's a huge picture of him doing pubu with his heel up! either showing lack of ankle flexibility or knowledge of basic stances. or perhaps i'm too judgemental and he did it for fun?

i didnt really think the website made him look good. especially how it talks him up so much saying he's much better than most martial art senseis and the average karate, taekwondo, or judo sensei definitely doesnt have credentials like his. and he'd have a phd if shaolin temple gave them. sounds kind of childish.

but interestingly it says he's the 31st generation of shaolin temple. but doesnt say what- monk? disciple? what? and who is his master in shaolin?

there is an old picture of him with master shi deyang presenting him with an award for his skills and teaching. but hard to say what that shows.

but maybe he is really good. you'd be able to judge that better than me. but the presentation of him on the website is kinda silly.

JMJ

02-02-2008, 03:59 PM

LFJ,

I agree on the site. He speaks little English and is very traditional so I wonder if he even knows how he is presented on the site. I know that he personally would NEVER put down any other styles. He does instruct us to be flat footed (heel down pubu etc...) so can't really say much about the pic.

LFJ

02-03-2008, 12:03 AM

I agree on the site. He speaks little English and is very traditional so I wonder if he even knows how he is presented on the site.

with that in mind, i checked the chinese version of the website. and there it says 31st generation "disciple" of shaolin, under such great masters as shi suxi, shi suyun, and shi sucheng. so, its better in that respect- explaining his lineage.

the picture with him together with master shi deyang is only described in chinese as them having a picture together. says nothing about the award for his skill and teaching, and i cant really read what the flag says with the glare on it.

but it seems the english which talks about him being the best and having so many credentials is a direct translation of the chinese or vice versa:

如果您想要學武功, 為什麼不跟最好的武術家學呢? 請看看下面的得獎列單, 這些獎可不是一般的跆拳道, 柔道, 或空手道老師有的.

translation: if you want to learn martial arts, why not study with the best martial artist? please have a look at the list of awards below. these awards certainly arent possessed by most taekwondo, judo, or karate teachers.

thats more or less the exact english sentence on the chinese version. so, unless he's never seen his own website, its unlikely he isnt aware of how he's being presented.

LFJ

02-03-2008, 12:35 AM

on further inspection, at the bottom of the homepage, it says in parenthesis "to put it simply, shaolin kung fu beats all other martial arts". lol, who writes this stuff? :confused:

that line, however, is not in the chinese version. but the chinese version does say no other martial art in the world is as rich in techniques and as effective as shaolin gongfu.

that line about beating all other martial arts was an added one. but its still summing up the same thing said in chinese. so the instructor surely knows about the content on his website, unless he has really never seen it before.

its also not looking good since the school has the best web address "shaolinkungfu.com". negative representation though.

on other aspects, classes are only 50 minutes long. doesnt that seem extremely short?

the shortest class i've ever had was in china, an hour and ten minutes long. but that was followed by a 20 min break before another hour and ten minute class started. and there were seven of these daily- six days a week.

but in america, no shorter than 2 hours with one class per day at least 3 days per week.

LFJ

02-03-2008, 01:01 AM

sorry to pick this site through, but its late now and i'm bored.

of course, many schools in the west have now adopted the colored belt system which we all know is not chinese at all. i'm getting used to that a bit. but in these pictures, it appears that bowing is done like koreans or japanese. thats definitely not chinese. so on that, i'm confused.

http://shaolinkungfu.com/Chinese/images/0002.jpg
http://shaolinkungfu.com/Chinese/images/0013.jpg

but it appears in fact he is a disciple of shaolin temple under those 30th generation masters. his disciple name is shi deyuan. but some of them were known to have a great number of disciples. so what does it say, if anything? "yuan" means "distant".

he becomes an interesting character. :) i'll have to ask about him.

JMJ

02-03-2008, 11:23 AM

LFJ,

Thank you for your thorough analysis. Interesting stuff... I can say that after studying (books, Docs, etc...) a lot of traditional Shaolin forms that Master Chung's forms are very traditional. He also does a great job in converting the forms into a sparring set so you can understand the use of the stances/attacks/defense. I have a lot of experience outside of his school and can only say great things about his teachings.

He does have the best website address!:)

LFJ

02-03-2008, 02:23 PM

yes, as i said, i can only comment on the website itself. there are some interesting things there and some questionable things there as well as some silly things there.

but i havent seen his gongfu and cant comment on that. i'm interested in exactly what type of curriculum he is teaching. if they are the songshan shaolin forms as he must have learned from the 30th generation masters. and if so, i'd love to see them.

do you know what a few of the forms he teaches are? one of his teachers was apparently great master shi suyun, who was renowned for his xiaohongquan and tongzigong. so there should at least be xiaohongquan, i'd think. thats a basic representative form of songshan shaolin martial arts.

i hope he's not doing the japanese bow before and after them though. shi suyun once single-handedly defended shaolin against a challenge put up by a handful of japanese martial artists, using his famed xiaohong boxing skills.

JMJ

02-04-2008, 11:58 PM

LFJ,

Some of the current forms are Fu Shin, Shao Hung Chuen, Tong-bei, Nan Chuan, and various long fist and group fist forms. Someday I will try to upload a video so you can see one. No Japanese bow before or after forms. We have class twice a week. The classes last between 1.25-2.00 hours depending on experience (belt) level. They are very intense with conditioning (stances, etc...) and hand forms on Monday and conditioning and weapon/sparring forms on Wed. Most students are Chinese youths with only a few Adults. We typically only have 4-6 students in our adult class. Lots of focus on stances, speed, and power. BTW, most adults in the class are doing it just for fun, health, and conditioning so he is somewhat restricted on what he can teach. The kids spend a lot of time on acrobatics and other advanced Wu Shu. I hope that gives you a little insight.

LFJ

02-05-2008, 12:09 AM

the class content sounds great to me. and some of the forms are certainly songshan shaolin. i would prefer small classes like that too. the only thing i'd want if i were there, would be more days per week. as least three. its too much time in between classes each week. but as long as you are training on your own, as you should anyway, then perhaps it works out.

mkriii

02-05-2008, 09:04 AM

ORIG. POSTED BY LFJ...."on further inspection, at the bottom of the homepage, it says in parenthesis "to put it simply, shaolin kung fu beats all other martial arts". lol, who writes this stuff? :confused: "

I think what he is try to say is that Shaolin has more to offer as far as forms, techniques, and weapons than any other style (tae kwon do, karate, etc....), not that Kung Fu can beat any other style (as in actual fighting).

Judge Pen

02-05-2008, 09:33 AM

No one said anything about this picture? Those are nunchuckus. NUNCHUCKUS!!!

It can't be kung fu if he uses nunckuckus! :D

mkriii

02-05-2008, 09:35 AM

No one said anything about this picture? Those are nunchuckus. NUNCHUCKUS!!!

It can't be kung fu if he uses nunckuckus! :D

Just like it can't be kung fu if they use sai (like Sin The' does) :D

B-Rad

02-05-2008, 10:26 AM

No one said anything about this picture? Those are nunchuckus. NUNCHUCKUS!!!

It can't be kung fu if he uses nunckuckus!

lol, well, Bruce Lee did have a lot of Chinese fans ;)

LFJ

02-05-2008, 10:20 PM

No one said anything about this picture? Those are nunchuckus. NUNCHUCKUS!!!

It can't be kung fu if he uses nunckuckus! :D

ever heard of shuangjiegun? they are chinese.

LFJ

02-08-2008, 05:38 PM

I think what he is try to say is that Shaolin has more to offer as far as forms, techniques, and weapons than any other style (tae kwon do, karate, etc....), not that Kung Fu can beat any other style (as in actual fighting).

i was basing that off of the fact it says in both chinese and english that shaolin gongfu is "more effective".

saying it beats all other styles after that line indicates the meaning.

GeneChing

02-11-2008, 10:22 AM

Songshan

02-11-2008, 11:37 AM

Sorry, I can't say that I have any info on the school. I just wanted to say that not everyone who trained at Shaolin or trains in shaolin has to be bald with orange robes. There seems to be a new trend with the new "monks" emerging from shaolin. They are coming out with hair and regular clothes....but still teach shaolin. So....investigate yourself and visit the school if you are close rather than take other peoples word for it. Good Luck!

JMJ

02-11-2008, 04:01 PM

Songshan,

Thanks for your reply. I have been training under Master Chung for over a year now and he in no way "pretends" to be a Monk. This is what I like about him. I think a lot people think that if you train in Shaolin you are a Monk or only Monks can truly learn the system but this (today) simply is not true. He spent many years training in Shaolin and has devoted his entire life to Martial Arts. Now he lives in California and has three children but that does not mean his techniques are not Shaolin or not "traditional". The fast paced bay area would be very difficult for a Monks lifestyle and I am extremely grateful for people like Master Chung who have brought Shaolin Techniques to America.

JMJ

02-11-2008, 04:09 PM

Gene Ching,

Great article. Thanks for posting!

Errant108

02-11-2008, 05:01 PM

Read my 2005 July/August (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=598) cover story, Numchuk Skills: Calligrapher, Photographer, Riot Police Trainer Master Li Yancai (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=599)

Great article, Gene.

I once listened to a Japanese karate practitioner berate a Korean stylist for practicing with nunchaku and calling it by a Korean name (Ssang Cheol Gon...wanna guess what Chinese characters go with that pronounciation?)

This person was insistent that kobudo weapons were all Okinawan farm implements...yet we have the "sai", the "tonfa", and the "nunchaku" all present in Chinese systems. Wow...those Okinawans sure were influential, that the Chinese started using their farm tools for weapons...:rolleyes:

kwaichang

02-11-2008, 05:31 PM

Errant108

02-11-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote from Genes article, : erjie gun goes back to the fall of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) in China. An erjie gun creation legend attributes it to the first Song Emperor, a venerated warrior who reigned from 906 to 976 CE. Wow that is the name we refer to them as in SD. HUMMM KC:eek:

Everyone knows wookies don't use chucks.

GeneChing

02-25-2008, 12:56 PM

It's stage one of the three-section stick (http://www.martialartsmart.net/25-34.html) - the favorite staff was split into one, then into two. Of course, given that take on it, the erjie gun would have had to have been a lashing staff (http://www.martialartsmart.net/3280.html) (also alternatively called an erjie gun.

But before you get all excited that this might confirm your lineage, I think that Tang legend is totally apocryphal.

sean_stonehart

02-25-2008, 01:49 PM