Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 51

Thread: Tagou

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    van, bc, canada
    Posts
    582

    Talking Interesting Foot Note Gene

    Just met a former member of the Guangdong Wushu team that is going to university here in Canada. We chatted about Tagou (amongst many things), he stated that he had visited as one of his friends, a former member of the Henan Wushu team was working there. He mentioned that the Tagou institute is quite the shrewd business operation, and that when you sign onto the school as Chinese citizen you are only allowed to eat in Tagou canteen (additional cost) & must shop in their in house store for a personal needs (clothing, toiletries, etc... another additional cost) and that per the contract you are not allowed to purchase these things elsewhere.

    He also mentioned that Tagou is one of the largest employers for professional athletes retiring from the Henan team. And that unlike the professional gov't teams, Tagou did not require retired athletes to gain a college teaching degree to work at Tagou.

    An interesting conversation that kind of provided some insight as to how they (Tagou) are able to run such a large operation.

    Do you know if the other institutes also run like this? I know that privately run schools are springing up all over China & find it interesting to understand how they compete in what has to be the most competitive market in the world for Chinese martial arts.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Big Fish

    Most people outside are critical of Taguo just becase they are the biggest fish and it's very much within Chinese nature to take a bite of big fish. Perahps it's a communist thing... But I can't refute any of those statements off hand, so who knows? Taguo definately has to remain competative - it'a an amazing empire, but far be it from me to tell you what the costs might have been. As far as I can see, all the private school are just that, they are all run on their own terms, much like private industry here. What's the secret to a good school in China? It always comes down to two main factors in my view - results and connections. The best schools have the best tournament results. And it takes good connections to get one started and keep in running. It's a little different than here, since people still do challenges and enemies can come over a break your sign and take your martial skill.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #18
    You can buy a set of books that will give you brilliant insight as to what tagou is ,and they are great set of books to own either way

    http://www.wle.com//store/b_shaolin.html

    the book is called a course in traditional gong fu 5 volumes about 90$

    Its a set of 5 books that i believed would be traditional , however it bears no resemblence to traditional gong fu in my eyes , its one big manual of everything you learn at tagou school.
    It goes through every wushu routine imagineable , 2 man forms 3 man forms shield and sword vs staff etc .
    One book is dedicated to application and it is completely sanshou/sanda orientated . It has lots of sanshou combos dodging ducking etc . The last book is nice with simple qigong applications .
    Its worth getting it purely because it is so complete and perfectly done .
    However its not trad kf , judging by the books , tagou is exactly like a university in china however not so expensive and more long term
    as opposed to semester training you find in the universities

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Sub. of Chicago - Downers Grove
    Posts
    6,772

    Really?

    So those aren't the traditional forms? What about the Shou Hong Chuan set, and all the Martial Monk sets?? I thought Hong Chuan was from the late Sung dynasty, and the Martial Monk sets are traditional Louhan.

    I know the first two forms are modern, Wu Bu Chuan, and Lianhuan Chuan, but aren't there alot of real traditional sets in there as well?
    Last edited by Royal Dragon; 02-07-2003 at 07:00 AM.
    Those that are the most sucessful are also the biggest failures. The difference between them and the rest of the failures is they keep getting up over and over again, until they finally succeed.


    For the Women:

    + = & a

  5. #20

    contacting Tagou

    Hi everyone,

    I have been trying to e-mail tagou wu shu school, but have had little luck. Their mail addresses on their web site keep bouncing back to me.

    Does anyone have an up to date e-mail address for the school??

    Thanks in advance for your time,

    regards,

    Chen

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Taguo contacts

    My understanding is that Taguo is moving locations so they might be a little hard to contact until after the dust settles.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #22

    Tagou

    Hi

    Does anyone have an upto date e mail address for Tagou. There contact details from there web site appears not to be working.

    thanks in advance

    chen

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Taguo contacts

    Taguo is in transition right now - moving from Shaolin valley to Dengfeng - so a lot of it's contact info might be a little sketchy. Here are my most recent contacts:
    Tel: (0371) 2749100
    www.shaolinmonastery.net

    Let me know if those work for you.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    van, bc, canada
    Posts
    582

    Tagou Demo

    Shown on the 'Who's the Hero' TV show in China a little demo by the Tagou Institute demo team. Download takes a while but definitely worth a look http://www.5show.com/show/show/90850.shtml


  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Sub. of Chicago - Downers Grove
    Posts
    6,772
    I have Comcast....it took 3 HOURS to load the first 3:15 of this. What gives?
    Those that are the most sucessful are also the biggest failures. The difference between them and the rest of the failures is they keep getting up over and over again, until they finally succeed.


    For the Women:

    + = & a

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    van, bc, canada
    Posts
    582

    Interesting Video About Tagou & Their Role in the 2008 Olympic Ceremonies

    In interview with the Tagou headmasters talking about their role in the Beijing Olympics Ceremonies & other similar such events.

    http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/qzLPKKtYemk/
    Etiquette requires us to admire the human race.
    --Mark Twain

    I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.
    --Mark Twain

    Questioning my knowledge has made you look even more ignorant
    --Shaolinsky

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    But is it Kung Fu?

    Certainly looks like it takes some skillz.
    Shaolin Martial Students Perform Spectacular Aerial Stunts for 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Opening Ceremony
    By David Sim
    August 11, 2014 09:24 BST

    The 2008 Beijing Olympics proved that the Chinese know how to stage a spectacular opening ceremony. It looks like they're about to wow the world again.

    IBTimes UK presents the first photos of dress rehearsals for the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony. Some 520 students from the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School create complex patterns as they are suspended over the stadium.


    (Reuters)

    (Reuters)

    (Reuters)

    (Reuters)

    (Reuters)

    (Reuters)

    The 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held from 16 to 28 August 2014 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.

    An estimated 3,600 teenage athetes from 204 nations will compete in 28 sports. Security in the city has been tightened ahead of the games; thousands of soldiers and armed police have been drafted in to ensure the event runs smoothly.

    Nanjing Youth Olympics opening ceremony


    Thousands of members of the Jiangsu Armed Police Force line up in formation as they swear an oath to provide security for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games(Getty)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    more pix

    I'm only cut&pasting the first one. There are 10 more if you follow the link.
    'Building Dreams' dazzles opening ceremony rehearsal of Youth Olympic Games
    (People's Daily Online) 08:01, August 12, 2014


    Students rehearse for the opening ceremony. (Dahe.cn/Feng Weifeng)

    The formal rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the 2nd Youth Olympic Games is held at the Olympics center at Nanjing on the evening of August 10, 2014. Nearly 1,000 students from Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School in central China's Henan province take part in six performances in the six-chapter ceremony. ‘Building Dreams’ is the most dazzling show in this ceremony. In coordination with 400 students on the ground, more than 100 students form different shapes in the air with the help of wires.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    nice article

    Wired to wow
    Updated: 2014-08-28 07:05
    (China Daily)

    "It took a while of swinging and massaging them before you could walk again."


    Liu Baoshan is the board chairman of the Shaolin Tagou Education Group. Kung fu for everyone

    When Liu Baoshan created the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School 36 years ago, he had only one student.

    But with increasing interest in kung fu and its evolving image on the back of the country's development, Liu now boasts 35,000 students in six schools.

    "The growing number of kung fu learners is a result of social development," the 83-year-old said.

    Liu, board chairman of the Shaolin Tagou Education Group, said that his ancestors had learned martial arts at the Shaolin Temple, China's most famous Buddhism monastery, starting from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

    Liu started to teach martial arts in his 20s, but the government prohibited the practice in the 1950s since some kung fu groups had become criminal gangs then.

    The ban on martial arts was lifted in 1959 after some kung fu practitioners took part in an international competition and struck gold, he said. Still, Liu could not charge for his kung fu lessons since private businesses were not allowed during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

    The situation remained unchanged until 1978, when the Communist Party of China launched the reform and opening-up policy. The reform, pushed forward by late leader Deng Xiaoping, legalized private enterprises.

    "More and more people want to learn martial arts since it can make them healthier," Liu said, adding that the number of students has been growing by 1,000 annually.

    The Shaolin Tagou Education Group includes primary, middle, occupational and international schools to meet the demand of different learners.

    "We have continued to attend international competitions and large performances in recent years, which has helped build our reputation," Liu said. His group's students have performed in State broadcaster China Central Television's Spring Festival gala for 12 years.

    The students have won 379 gold medals in the Olympics Games and other world-class competitions, according to figures from the group.

    "We are optimistic about the future of our group and its kung fu since more people are making sports a higher priority," he said.

    By An Baijie
    Students also had to endure the heat from training outdoors under the blazing sun in Nanjing, which is famous for its high temperatures in summer.

    Still, the Tagou students have learned to stay upbeat amid hardship after years of high-intensity martial arts training.

    "We are proud that we fulfilled the assignment again and delivered to the whole world," said Tagou school teacher Zhang Jiwu.

    Training ground

    The Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School, located near Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng at the foot of Henan's Songshan Mountain, has participated in a series of major ceremonies at grand events, including the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Guangzhou Asian Games, and 12 consecutive CCTV Spring Festival galas.

    Tagou was established in 1978 when the government lifted the ban on private business. Its students range from those in kindergarten to the elderly. They come from all parts of the country to enroll in martial arts courses that take up to 14 years. The training costs about 5,000 yuan ($814) a year.

    Shi Linlei, 16, a middle-school student who started training at Tagou three years ago, said that the physical training is harsher than what he had expected.

    "At the beginning, I could not help crying when I called my mom and told her about the life here," he said.

    "The coaches are strict and there are no entertainment facilities like karaoke or cyberbars in the school."

    Shi said that he managed to get used to the tough training within a month, after the coaches gave them advice and helped them when they encountered difficulties.

    The students also started to get along well with each other after several weeks because they are always told to be "polite and selfless", he said.

    Pan Guili, a businesswoman in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, said that even though her relatives had warned her about the possible violence in martial art schools, she still sent her 14-year-old son to one of them in early March.

    Pan worried a lot about her son when he complained about being bullied by other students at the beginning of his training in the school.

    "I told him that as a man, you should be strong and accept the rules there," said Pan, who went to see her son on Aug 21.

    "He has to live on his own or he will not get by when he enters society and starts looking for a job," she said.

    Importance of ethics

    Liu Baoshan, 83, board chairman of the Shaolin Tagou Education Group, which runs six schools, including the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School, said ethics are an important part of its education.

    "I have been concerned with one question for decades after I established the school - will the students become talented martial artists or rogues?" he said.

    That is why teaching ethics is the top priority for the 35,000-odd students in the six schools of the education group, he said.

    "Before learning martial arts, we should learn virtue first. The students are given ethics courses every day," said Yang Songpo, a coach who taught in the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School for three years.

    Some newcomers might not understand why they have to go through so many ethics courses, but they will gradually realize the importance of virtue, he said.

    Many of the students are also "left-behind children", whose parents have migrated to urban areas for work and left them in their rural homes. To foster better interaction and build teacher-student ties, coaches also live with their students in dormitories, eat with them in cafeterias and play games with them, Yang said.

    "We are strict with the students in training and we are nice to them in their daily life," he said. Such an approach helps, Yang said, citing an example of a rebellious student who improved his behavior and attitude after the teacher took care of him when he was ill.

    Zhao Yibo, a teacher with the publicity department of the Shaolin Tagou Education Group, said that the students seem to be in high demand during the People's Liberation Army's Special Forces recruitment exercises.

    "Because of their excellent physical condition, many students have become police officers and soldiers," he said, adding that 48 students became SWAT members of Guizhou province in April.

    Many students also choose to start an enterprise and teach martial arts after graduation, Zhao said.

    "We teachers and coaches will do what we can to help the students fulfill their dreams," he said.

    "When my mom told me on the phone that she had watched the TV program and saw our aerial dance 'Build the Dream' during the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony, I felt that all my hard training had paid off," said 16-year-old student Shi Linlei.



    Contact the writers at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn and anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
    There are more pix of the Build the Dream aerial dance if you follow the link.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    One more Tagou tale for today

    Today was a big day for Shaolin on the newsfeeds...
    School of hard knocks
    Updated: 2014-08-28 07:00
    By An Baijie in Dengfeng, Henan(China Daily USA)

    Like many fellow Americans, Colin Malick used to think kung fu was more of a "Hollywood thing" rather than martial arts.

    But after arriving in China last year and taking up lessons at the Shaolin Tagou International Communication Center in Dengfeng for eight months, the 23-year-old has realized that kung fu is not child's play.

    Malick, from the US state of Oregon, said he trains for six to eight hours every day.

    "We have to get up at about 5:30 am and run 3 km to the Shaolin Temple to exercise before breakfast," he said.

    Malick became interested in martial arts after watching movies of kung fu star Jackie Chan. His father's girlfriend, who is Chinese, told him to learn Shaolin kung fu.

    Malick said his dream is to become a police officer, and learning martial arts can improve his physical condition.

    His martial arts course costs about $10,000 a year, with the training fees, accommodation and food included. There are currently 11 foreign students learning martial arts at the center and 9,800 foreigners have studied there since 1997.

    By performing at many international events, the center has attracted more international students, said Liu Baoshan, founder of the Shaolin Tagou Education Group.

    Won Zong, a 15-year-old Korean-Frenchman, said that he was studying Shaolin martial arts under the orders of his mother to become more independent.

    The campus is better than what he had expected, he said.

    Shen Jia, a coach for the international students, said that some foreign students were homesick at the beginning, but he always encourages them to persevere.

    "Many foreign students thought that it would be fun to learn martial arts, but actually it's tough and tedious," he said.

    "After all, Shaolin Temple is not Hollywood."

    (China Daily USA 08/28/2014 page6)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •