China 2013 Pictures

[mooyingmantis]

You can find pictures of my China training trip here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151508474169481.1073741826.750549480&type=1&notif_t=like

If you can't see the pictures, just send me a friend request at Facebook.

Haojia Tanglangquan is alive and well in Qingdao, China! :)

[xiao yao]

hows your trip? are you still here?

[mooyingmantis]

hows your trip? are you still here?

The trip was more than I expected or could have hoped for! :)

I just got back home today.

[Raipizo]

Lucky, I'd like to go there someday.

[mooyingmantis]

Lucky, I'd like to go there someday.

Shifu Zhang Weifu has just opened a new school in Qingdao that has a space that is being turned into living quarters. Soon it will be open for short and long term foreign students.

You can contact me for more details as they arise at: r-tolson@sbcglobal.net

The cost for my trip was much more reasonable than many might imagine. Here is an approximate breakdown of my costs in US dollars:

Round trip Air China ticket: $1,115
Passport: I already had one. A new one costs $165.
Expedited Visa: less than $400
Total hotel bill for seven days: $120
Total cost of the buffet breakfast at the hotel for seven days: $20
Instructional Fee: Private, but far less than a year's tuition at a typical kung fu school or gym.

[18elders]

Hey Richard,
who did you train with and what did you learn?

[mooyingmantis]

Hey Richard,
who did you train with and what did you learn?

I trained with Shifu Zhang Weifu of Qingdao. Shifu Zhang is an eighth generation inheritor of Haojia Taiji Meihua Tanglangquan.

Shifu Zhang, along with Shifu Yu Tianlu and his sons, was chosen to demonstrate traditional tanglangquan for the manual, Textbook Series of Chinese Wushu Duanwei System and it's accompanying DVDs. This textbook contains the "examination criteria of Chinese wushu duanwei system".

I relearned Zhai Yao Yi Lu according to Haojia standards as taught by Shifu Zhang and I learned the Liu Shi Ba Ji Ji Fa form. As well as all the fighting applications of each form.

[18elders]

sounds like a nice trip. did you visit the qingdao beer company??:):)
went to qingdao in 1993 to train with Master Zhang Bing Dou.

[MeiHuaBR]

It must had been a great travel.

I can't see the pictures and had sent you a friend request a loooong time ago, but no answer.

Best Wishes

[mooyingmantis]

sounds like a nice trip. did you visit the qingdao beer company??:):)

I do not usually drink alcohol, so I wasn't really interested in the Tsingtao company tour. However, I did try the Laoshan label beer which is put out by the Tsingtao company. It has a very low alcohol percentage and doesn't have the bitter taste, so I did like the taste. :)



went to qingdao in 1993 to train with Master Zhang Bing Dou.

Zhang Bingdou has done quite a bit to promote tanglangquan. I have two of his VCDs, two of his books and purchased a book written by one of his female students while I was in Qingdao.

Shifu Zhang's sword skills are amazing!


It must had been a great travel.

I can't see the pictures and had sent you a friend request a loooong time ago, but no answer.

Best Wishes

Since I don't know who you are, I probably just denied the friend request. Send me a message at FB telling me you are MeiHuaBR and I will gladly accept your friend request so you can see the pictures. :)

[xiao yao]

I bet Qingdao has changed a lot since 93. I lived there from '07-09, then I went back to visit in 2012 and it has developed a lot in a couple of years, especially Chengyang the district I lived in went from being almost a village to super big shopping malls and stuff

[YouKnowWho]

Mooyingmantis,

Is this mantis teacher still teaching in Qingdao or Yentai?

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/5711/mantismaster.jpg

[Maofei]

Hi John,
If I may add to this conversation,
The teacher you are asking about is Master Sun Delong. He is still teaching Hao family mantis in Qingdao.
Master Sun Deyao just visited his brothers Master Sun Delong, Master Sun Dexiao and cousins Master Hao Mingli and Master Hao Mingwen in China this past Fall 2012.

If you would like you can see recent pictures of these masters and of the 2012 China trip at:
http://sundeyao.com/media/pictures

Warm regards,
-Darin / Maofei

[mooyingmantis]

Now that I have been back from China for a couple of weeks and have had time to reflect on my experiences there, I wanted to share some of my impressions of training in China with Master Zhang Weifu. I will do it in a question and answer format, because I am weird and just process information like that. :)

Was training in China very different from training in the US?

No, not really. We trained twice a day. We started with a short time of stretching and warm ups. Then we went on to form and applications. Though there was kind of a set start time, class lasted as long as we wanted to train.

How was training with a shifu in China different than training with a shifu in the US?

Master Zhang was unpretentious. He wasn't expecting an ass-kissing and didn't want to be treated special. He seemed surprised at my constant courteousness. He was far from the American "drill instructor" mentality. I have personally had a few great shifu in the US, but I have also met a few " I sh1t gold" ass-holes in the US.

Was he demanding and did he push hard in class?

He was a perfectionist, without being demeaning. He knew about my recent heart surgery, so he was understanding and demanded that I stay hydrated and pace myself. Yet, he expected me to learn as quickly as possible (I relearned Zhai Yao Yi Lu and learned a new 70 move + form, along with all the applications in five days).

Did he charge a huge sum for instruction and expect expensive gifts or to be wined and dined?

Master Zhang is quite wealthy by Chinese standards. He owns his own business that provides machinery world-wide. So, money was of little consideration.
I have received more money in a one day seminar than he charged me for seven days training.
He provided every lunch and dinner. We dined in some VERY nice restaurants and he firmly refused to ever let me pay. He negotiated a wonderful deal on my hotel (I paid $120 USD for 7 days in a three star hotel). He paid for every place we went sightseeing.
Master Zhang is clearly not teaching martial arts for money. He is just passionate about what he does and shares his knowledge to pass on the art.

What was Master Zhang like as a martial artist?
He was a doer. He had an intensity in his eyes that convinced me that he was the real deal. It was the look of someone who was very confident about their ability. Though he will be 61 years old this year, he moved like a man decades younger. He is strong and very quick. His attacks are still fierce. And he walks TOO **** FAST (you walk rather than drive most places in China). :)

Since training in China wasn't much different than training in the US, was it worth the cost, time and effort?
Absolutely! It was a once in a lifetime experience (though I do hope to go back). China is a beautiful country and the people were courteous and delightful to deal with. And believe me, the bartering for items from street vendors is ADDICTING!!!

I consider myself very blessed to have had two wonderful shifu in the US: Mike Biggie and Yang Xiaodong. Now I have a wonderful shifu in China, Zhang Weifu. I hope in the end I will make all three of them proud. :o

How did training in China change me?
Because the training was intense, my physical health improved greatly. Master Yang stated in my first class after I returned back to Ohio that I was like a different man. He said he could see a change in my face. I had a more healthy color. Others have also mentioned this. I am even back to running up and down stairs. Not bad for a guy who had quadruple bypass surgery less than a year ago. :)

Am I any more important now that I trained in China?
Definitely! Now everybody start sending me your monies! LOL!!!

[David Jamieson]

You can find pictures of my China training trip here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151508474169481.1073741826.750549480&type=1&notif_t=like

If you can't see the pictures, just send me a friend request at Facebook.

Haojia Tanglangquan is alive and well in Qingdao, China! :)

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing them.

[Jimbo]

Now that I have been back from China for a couple of weeks and have had time to reflect on my experiences there, I wanted to share some of my impressions of training in China with Master Zhang Weifu. I will do it in a question and answer format, because I am weird and just process information like that. :)

Was training in China very different from training in the US?

No, not really. We trained twice a day. We started with a short time of stretching and warm ups. Then we went on to form and applications. Though there was kind of a set start time, class lasted as long as we wanted to train.

How was training with a shifu in China different than training with a shifu in the US?

Master Zhang was unpretentious. He wasn't expecting an ass-kissing and didn't want to be treated special. He seemed surprised at my constant courteousness. He was far from the American "drill instructor" mentality. I have personally had a few great shifu in the US, but I have also met a few " I sh1t gold" ass-holes in the US.

Was he demanding and did he push hard in class?

He was a perfectionist, without being demeaning. He knew about my recent heart surgery, so he was understanding and demanded that I stay hydrated and pace myself. Yet, he expected me to learn as quickly as possible (I relearned Zhai Yao Yi Lu and learned a new 70 move + form, along with all the applications in five days).

Did he charge a huge sum for instruction and expect expensive gifts or to be wined and dined?

Master Zhang is quite wealthy by Chinese standards. He owns his own business that provides machinery world-wide. So, money was of little consideration.
I have received more money in a one day seminar than he charged me for seven days training.
He provided every lunch and dinner. We dined in some VERY nice restaurants and he firmly refused to ever let me pay. He negotiated a wonderful deal on my hotel (I paid $120 USD for 7 days in a three star hotel). He paid for every place we went sightseeing.
Master Zhang is clearly not teaching martial arts for money. He is just passionate about what he does and shares his knowledge to pass on the art.

What was Master Zhang like as a martial artist?
He was a doer. He had an intensity in his eyes that convinced me that he was the real deal. It was the look of someone who was very confident about their ability. Though he will be 61 years old this year, he moved like a man decades younger. He is strong and very quick. His attacks are still fierce. And he walks TOO **** FAST (you walk rather than drive most places in China). :)

Since training in China wasn't much different than training in the US, was it worth the cost, time and effort?
Absolutely! It was a once in a lifetime experience (though I do hope to go back). China is a beautiful country and the people were courteous and delightful to deal with. And believe me, the bartering for items from street vendors is ADDICTING!!!

I consider myself very blessed to have had two wonderful shifu in the US: Mike Biggie and Yang Xiaodong. Now I have a wonderful shifu in China, Zhang Weifu. I hope in the end I will make all three of them proud. :o

How did training in China change me?
Because the training was intense, my physical health improved greatly. Master Yang stated in my first class after I returned back to Ohio that I was like a different man. He said he could see a change in my face. I had a more healthy color. Others have also mentioned this. I am even back to running up and down stairs. Not bad for a guy who had quadruple bypass surgery less than a year ago. :)

Am I any more important now that I trained in China?
Definitely! Now everybody start sending me your monies! LOL!!!

Cool! Thanks for sharing your experiences! And I'm glad to hear that you are feeling much better now. :)