Help with a Xing Yi teacher

[Kshurika]

I have read, re-read and re- re- read Sun Lu Tang's book on Xing Yi. I am a longtime practitioner and teacher of Iyengar hatha yoga and I have studied a bit of Chen Taiji. I have always been intrigued with Xing Yi and am amazed at Sun Lu Tang's knowledge, as well as with the close correlation between the internal actions of Xing Yi with those of hatha yoga (REAL hatha yoga, not the New Age crapola that currently seems to be dominating America). Because I have studied with a great yoga master like Iyengar, I am the sort of person who is willing to spend 3 years studying only San Ti Shi (like Qi Gong Bo) if that's what it takes. Can anyone out there suggest a truly superior Xing Yi teacher (preferably Hebei) in Los Angeles, Orange (where I live) or San Diego counties? I'm willing to drive as far as I need to find a great teacher. And by the way, if YOU think you're a good teacher, don't be shy or humble. I'd like to hear from you. Also, if you respond, could you also please tell me why you think a teacher is notable?

Finally, I will be going to mainland China for several months late in 2002. Any suggestions for great Xing Yi masters there? I'm all ears.

[dedalus]

It must have been an incredible experience to have studied under Iyengar in person... I'd certainly like to hear a bit more about that if you don't mind elaborating :)

After spending time with a man of Iyengar's stature, however, I can only imagine that you will find it difficult to locate a xingyi master of comparable quality. I believe that Mike Paterson teaches in California, and he is certainly well regarded for his level of skill. I have met one of his students here in Australia who had also learned tuina and bone-setting from him, and his healing was of quite a good standard, as was his xingyi. I'm not sure how much deeper he will go with his studies, but it must be noted that his training was far from complete - thus, it is difficult to judge just how good Mike is, except that he can produce quite skillful students in the mid-term (around 5 years). I also like his teaching philosophy as outlined on his website.

Anyhow, you will need to decide for yourself if this is a man who meets the standard you are looking for. You can have a look at his website as a start, though: www.hsing-i.com (http://www.hsing-i.com)

Mike also teaches Chen style, so that may be of interest to you. Make sure you download the MPEGs, they're very good.

Best of luck!

[Mark M]

I understand that Sun's daughter is still alive and teaching in China. If you can get to Taiwan, my teacher, who was taught by Sun is still teaching there.

[count]

And welcome to the forums. You are welcome to come to class with me on Saturday not far from you in Monterey Park. Most of us are doing bagua but my teacher, Jason Tsou, is easy to talk to and may teach you Hsing-I, even if you are the only one. We also h ave some other things of interest you might consider. You could get more Chen Tai Chi Chuan or maybe you would be interested in Baji or Piqua. We may be traveling with our group next year to Hebei and Shandong. Jason has some good contacts there for study. Check our website (http://privacyplease.net/) for location and times, or e-mail me direct.

PS. We have an all weekend workshop next weekend at CSLA which you are welcome to attend but there will be no regular class than.

Count

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[Kshurika]

WHAT A GREAT FORUM! Thank you all for such speedy assistance. Hope that there is more to come. And Dedalus, I believe that I have met two geniuses in my life - Walt Disney and B.K.S. Iyengar. His knowledge of the body, its movement, its limitations and how to heal its maladies goes beyond brilliance to an almost supernatural realm. I have studied with him several times and I spent 3 months with him early this year, after attending the Maha Kumbha Mela. At almost 83, Mr. Iyengar is retired from teaching (officially) but people like Iyengar never stop. And, he is TOUGH - very, very tough - not because he's on an ego trip, but because he loves yoga and wants everyone to get it right. In India, he is known as "The Tiger of Yoga". If you want to see him teaching, try to get hold of some of the videos from his 75th birthday intensive that Mystic River Video puts out. Sheer brilliance.

In May, I studied for a week with Mr. Iyengar's daughter, Geeta. She is poised to take over the training and is almost as brilliant as her father. Iyengar yoga never gets stale. The innovations keep coming, which is why they make it so hard to become a certified teacher, even at the Introductory level. If there is a Senior Iyengar teacher near you, you may want to check him or her out. As an internal martial artist, you won't regret it.

[dedalus]

I've taken some Iyengar yoga at a very good school near where I live - the caliber of instructor that the style seems to produce is always impressive to me. Unfortunately I've let it slide over the last year or so because I've wanted to spend more of my spare time on bagua, and also because it's so **** hard ;)

Anyhow, there's a school in Australia's Blue Mountains in New South Wales where the instructors go on retreats to polish their skills. I don't know who teaches there, but the setting must be wonderful. Man... so much to learn but only so much you can do at the one time :)

[count]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I believe that I have met two geniuses in my life - Walt Disney and B.K.S. Iyengar. His knowledge of the body, its movement, its limitations and how to heal its maladies goes beyond brilliance to an almost supernatural realm. [/quote]
:D
We'll I have heard that Gong Bao Tien and Walt Disney had an opium habbit in common but I did not know they had internal arts in common also.
:D

Count

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_ˇ

[Sum Guye]

Tim Cartmell is a great teacher. No BS, fighting oriented stuff- lots of fun.

check out "Shenwu.com" for more info... or
call him:

Shen Wu Academy of Martial Arts
7411 Garden Grove Blvd. Suite F
Garden Grove CA.
92841
(714) 890-0605

[fkchang]

HI:

I'm not great in anything, but I'm looking to start some neijia activities in the Orange County area (among which inviting some teachers I've trained w/or sponsored when I lived on the East Coast to the area - Chen XiaoWang, LI TaiLiang, Zhu TianCai, etc...), but I'd love to rap about xingyi w/you.

Forrest