Good Internal Teachers in the Los Angeles area?

[cha kuen]

Just moved here and would like to checkout some schools on internal arts. Can you guys throw out a few names? So.. I know of Anthony Ho and Jason Tsou. Any other people as well?

Also, what is the schedule,address, etc for Jason's School? They used to be in Monterey Park right? Now it's at a local park? ?

Thank you.

[woliveri]

Tony Ho's the best I've seen who had both a very high level of Qigong and Martial techniques.

[Three Harmonies]

No one better then Tim Cartmell at Shen Wu.

[woliveri]

Each of those mentioned, (Tim, Tony, and Jason) are excellent at what they do so it would depend on what the OP was looking for as to which he should choose.

I prefer Tony. Tony includes the Qi training which I look for. Jake prefers Tim, and others prefer Jason.

Best thing to do is visit each school or teacher and get a feel for what you might like.

My opinion.

[mawali]

No one better then Tim Cartmell at Shen Wu.

Ditto!
He actually competes and does well with BJJ/Judo styles so he is a notch above the rest. Most do not test their skills against other MA styles!

[woliveri]

Again, it depends on what the OP has in mind when requesting IMA. In fact, he just wrote Internal Arts. Said nothing about BJJ or MMA, or even Fighting. If you want to factor in Qi development then the highest I've come across is Tony Ho. I haven't spent al lot of time with Jason but I think he would be high on the list too. In the world of Qi development I've seen nothing from Tim that would even put him in the running.

[mawali]

wolviere said

Again, it depends on what the OP has in mind when requesting IMA. In fact, he just wrote Internal Arts. Said nothing about BJJ or MMA, or even Fighting. If you want to factor in Qi development then the highest I've come across is Tony Ho. I haven't spent al lot of time with Jason but I think he would be high on the list too. In the world of Qi development I've seen nothing from Tim that would even put him in the running.

Great point and well said!
One has to know the definition of Internal Arts but for me, it contains both sides of the same coin. I guess for some it is martial and for others just qi development.

It is also hard for me to understand what qi development is while saying it is part of the internal MA training encompassing jibengong and shenfa.

Is it safe to say that qi development can be gotten without internal arts as ?defined by wolvieri? If yes, then you can reach a level of qi development through nothingness and doing everything in moderation.

From a questioning POV, by engaging in qi development do we live longer, or, what criteria shows us we have developed our "qi"?

[Three Harmonies]

By all means if you are interested in "Qi" visit someone else. If you are interested in actual "martial" arts Tim is the best.
Jake

[woliveri]

Some people look for health, some people want fighting... nothing wrong with either and neither should look down on the other.

The concept of Qi and the exercises surrounding it are unique coming from a Chinese point of view. I've been around this stuff for 20 years, martial arts for 25, and have lived in China and I've definately seen my share of BS so I have no problem with Tim's no BS approach. However, in my 25 years I have found credible Qigong Masters who don't use Qi as a martial art but to help students/people. Tony is one of those Masters.

So why worry about Qi? For healing and keeping healthy certian exercises I've found along the way have been extremely helpful in keeping or improving my health, and boosting energy levels.

[cha kuen]

Does anyone have Jason Tsou's contact info? Or where they practice @ ? I can't find it on the net.

[woliveri]

Name Jason Tsou
School Jason Tsou Kung Fu Academy/Chi Kung International
Address 400 Casuda Canyon Dr., Montery Park, CA 91754
Phone Art Schonfeld - 818.753.3200
Styles Northern Longfist, Praying Mantis, Shuai Chiao, Baji, Piqua, Yang and Chen Tai Chi, Bagua, Hsing-I, various Chi Kung


This is what I came up with on a quick search...

Another youtube entry says:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwZjqgxtj5c

teaches at Casuda Canyon on Saturday mornings at the Highland Park School from 10:30 -1;30 or so.

[woliveri]

In addition to my above post, I use Qigong, namely a form of Zhan Zhuang to:

Tonify the physical aspects of Stomach, small intestine, large intestine. Thus it's a energy enhancing exercise through increased metabolism. Also, from a TCM approach, tonifies kidneys (the root of all yin and yang in the body).

[count]

Jason's public classes are only on Saturday's and Sunday's in the park on Casuda Canyon. 4 hours each morning starting around 9am. Jason is a great guy to learn from and has a good group of serious students to train with. It's a good balance of kung fu and chi kung with a focus on basics and application. Jason is always careful to discuss concepts like "chi", or "internal" only in the context of how it applies towards maintaining your health. Jason can also teach you tui na, acupuncture and bone setting. No chi projection from a distance. No BJJ either, but he did study shuai chiao directly under Chang Dong Sheng.

If you have any questions about Jason's classes, feel free to post or PM me. I'm not in LA any more, but I studied from him for more than 20 years and am in contact with him.


Tim's ok too.