Wudang Taoist Kung Fu Academy for training

[GeneChing]

It's one of my tragic flaws. I do tend to sample a lot of stuff and I would be a far stronger martial artist if I just stuck to one thing. However, I'd be a must less talented reporter. After all, our readers might enjoy an annual Shaolin special, but I doubt they all tolerate if every issue was a Shaolin special. It gets a little frustrating because my head is filled with so much theory, but my ass spends way to much time in front of this here computer writing, doing research, coordinating stuff for the next issue, event or whatever, etc, etc. If there was a chengyu for my current state it would be "full head, fat ass." But still, I enjoy my position - it's a small price to pay to be able to bear witness so many great masters. It's a privilege to work on the magazine and I can only hope that my work inspires our readers as much as I've been inspired by the martial arts.

[Sacoche]

And that old nun is exactly the type of person I'd like to spend some time with. I think I learned something in regards to man's vitality, how to stand and revigerate myself and how to seperate orgasm from ejaculation to remian vigurous, but don't know anything in regards to the female system.

I believe she is a practitioner of the Silver Flower system. My teacher knows her well.

[kayzen]

Hi Gene,



"It's a privilege to work on the magazine and I can only hope that my work inspires our readers as much as I've been inspired by the martial arts."


Well Gene, just by reading two of your articles I can honestly say that not only am I deeply inspired to train in either Shaolin or xingy but I've also gained valuable insight into China as a whole and into different styles of martial arts. Thank you for displaying your contagious passion for this truly beautiful art form.


I narrowed it down to Shaolin gongfu or xingy although I know it will be a challenge to find a reputable master who's willing to teach on the side.



You mentioned that regimen and not only style is important. I'm not sure I follow you here. What do you mean by regimen and how it relates to this? Are you referring to the big picture of training; daily schedule + diet plan?



I understand that it's all about guanxi...although this takes much time and usually direct contact with several Masters. However, I do respect this process and I'm open to cultivating relationships but I have a limited time in China so I don't think guanxi can be developed under this time frame.



As with everything else, a direct contact and connection with an influential person would be the best method for me considering the language barrier and schedule.



Maybe we can work together to achieve very similar goals.....possibly a story on my adventures with Q & A so your readers can personally experience the realities of living/training in China..Just a thought



Best,

Lara

[GeneChing]

Forgive me, kayzen, but I write a lot and I can't remember the context of your question about regimen and style. I'll answer more sucinctly if I know where I said that. And thanks for your kind words about my work!

As for writing, we do publish personal warrior's journeys on our ezine, and a few forum members have written up their adventures and shared them there. You'll find our guidelines for submissions online here.

I'll be frank and tell you that the language barrier is significant in finding a good teacher in China. Unless you have knowledgible guanxi, you will surely be directed to modern wushu teachers, which is fine if you want modern wushu. If you're looking for traditional Shaolin or xingyi, it's a little trickier. A lot os schools and teachers will push wushu versions of both, even at Shaolin or Wudang - especially at Shaolin and Wudang. Because they see so many tourists, there are a lot of people that take advantage of the tourist, just like any tourist trap. In fact, it was a government edict when Deng Xiaopeng first initiated the Open Door policy - get foreign money from tourists.

So where are you going exactly? Do you have an itinerary?

[kayzen]

Hi Gene,



No worries. You stated this about regimen and style;



"Anyway, how to find a private teacher. Good question. There's no easy answer to that, really. There are so many factors to weigh in - where you are, what you're looking for - not just style, but regimen, price range, so many factors. The bottom line is that it's all about guanxi."


"I'll be frank and tell you that the language barrier is significant in finding a good teacher in China. Unless you have knowledgible guanxi, you will surely be directed to modern wushu teachers, which is fine if you want modern wushu. If you're looking for traditional Shaolin or xingyi, it's a little trickier. A lot os schools and teachers will push wushu versions of both, even at Shaolin or Wudang - especially at Shaolin and Wudang. Because they see so many tourists, there are a lot of people that take advantage of the tourist, just like any tourist trap. In fact, it was a government edict when Deng Xiaopeng first initiated the Open Door policy - get foreign money from tourists.

So where are you going exactly? Do you have an itinerary?"



I know I'm in for a challenge in finding an honest traditional Shaolin private trainer


I dont have an exact itinerary yes as I'm still in the planning stage. Most likely I will be in HK, Beijing, or Shanghai. I might go to Shaolin first for a few months to train b/c it appears all the authentic monks who have trained in traditional Shaolin live there.


My goal is to have a few leads before I arrive so i know who exactly to go to. But I need to establish a set plan first.

Any ideas are welcomed

[GeneChing]

I think regimen is a more important factor than style, especially with Shaolin. Shaolin is such a big name in CMA and there are so many lineages, so don't be so attached to that. It's more important to get in there and train, and that's going to be limited by your schedule. If there's some great teacher that only teaches while you're working, you have to make a choice. In the same vein, if there's some great teacher that only teaches once a week, you might want to supplement, or just go somewhere else where you can get more lessons. That's all I meant by that.

If you can train at Shaolin, go for it, but there are plenty of inauthentic monks there too. Don't be attached to the monk thing either. There are more folk masters that hold authentic Shaolin, mostly because there are so many folk masters and so few monks.

[kayzen]

Hi Gene,


Thanks again for the reply. I understand what youre saying so I'll banish the focus on finding that one special monk


I'm not trying to sound stupid ( I swear) but whats the difference between folk masters and monks?


Thanks again

Best,

Lara