Some observations on TCMA

[Robinhood]

OK. I should have stated that better. What I meant was that a fighter with unorthodox technique can still win over someone who better represents the expected appearance of good form. A technically good fighter can still lose to someone who is bigger and stronger. Correct application of energy gives you an edge--but not always the advantage.

Yes, and I would like to add, learning is an individual journey, you will improve yourself and hopefully make yourself more efficient than you were, whether that will give you an advantage over someone else ?, depends on their abilities and level of skill, size , etc.

So in the end, if you learned something worth while , you should be better than you were , if your not, maybe you didn't learn anything.

[jdhowland]

I...have observed no disconnect between the aesthetic and martial content of the arts.

Another piece falls into place: So far we have (at least) cultural identity, history, social groups, rules of order, teaching systems, medicine, martial content and aesthetics.

Please excuse me if this post has seemed arduously long. Please consider it an introduction of sorts and I look forward to talking with all of you in the future.

SKM

You think that's long? Look at some of the forums around here.
Welcome to the discussion. If you are still in the Bay Area you might know some of the names thrown around here.

GP? Osteopath? Other? just curious.

[jdhowland]

OK, SKM. I just saw your public profile.

There is no such place as the midwest.

I've been there and it doesn't exist.

[jdhowland]

LOL. Corrected that in my profile. Thanks for the tip.

Also, yes I recognize some of the names that appear on this forum. All of that was a long time ago. Lots of water under the bridge since then.

Not really a tip. Don't give any personal info you don't really want to share. It's just that (for very good reason) some will not engage you based on a vague introductory story. Stick around. There are some good folks here. On the whole, we're a contentious lot, but pretty good natured about it.

Being far away from my kf roots in SF Chinatown I love to swap stories with anyone who was there in the "old days."

Be well.

[EarthDragon]

jd

Being far away from my kf roots in SF Chinatown I love to swap stories with anyone who was there in the "old days."

when were you there? I lived in the sunset 1405 noriega spent many a day in chinatown. from 1995-1996

[jdhowland]

jd


when were you there? I lived in the sunset 1405 noriega spent many a day in chinatown. from 1995-1996

'74 to'79 and intermittently thereafter. Things have changed but you probably had similar experiences.

[-N-]

My Gung Fu master was highly intellectual as well as powerful. He was a fighting and acupuncture master. His school consisted of a run down building on Geary Avenue in San Francisco which always smelled of dust, sweat, and iron palm medicine. He only taught four Gum Gong, or fighting forms, based upon the fists and footwork of his school, and two weapons- knife and staff. The rest of training was composed of fists and footwork in high repetitions and fighting; always fighting. The students were like chess players trying to figure out how to hit each other without getting hit. At that time, I did not do much sparring. I went away to college and when I came back to the school, it was fighting, always fighting. I was bruised on my entire body all the time. Gum Gong training at that time was brutal, bordering on dangerous.

George Long White Crane?

[jdhowland]

Correct. George Long's White Crane Gung Fu. It was a great start.

Then we have some ancestors in common.

[SteveLau]

Confucian values provide some of the social structure.
Legalism is also shown in the prevalence of posted rules of conduct in many schools.

Similar to TCMA, Chinese opera is also a very traditional art. The culture bought forward is prone to abuse, politics and nonsense. That is why some modern schools still teach the tradition art but without such rules and culture. They emphasize passing on the values and practical skill of our predecessors.



Regards,

KC
Hong Kong

[jdhowland]

SteveLau;1206206]Similar to TCMA, Chinese opera is also a very traditional art. The culture bought forward is prone to abuse, politics and nonsense. That is why some modern schools still teach the tradition art but without such rules and culture. They emphasize passing on the values and practical skill of our predecessors.

I know what you mean. I had a semester of Chinese Opera training in college. It was intense work. We had a week-long seminar with a famous music director from Beijing. He talked about attempts to modernize the tradition to make it more understandable to the public. Every gesture, every motif, even every color has a meaning. Very much like traditional martial arts.

[EarthDragon]

Jd,
that was before my shirfu came to America, he moved here when We Xiao Tung Passed in 1984. Were doc fei wong, adam hsu and Brandan lai there then? I know tat mau wong was in the late 80's what other well known shifus were in SF in the 70's i really miss that city one of th4 prettiest I have ever seen and I have been all over the US

[-N-]

Jd,
that was before my shirfu came to America, he moved here when We Xiao Tung Passed in 1984. Were doc fei wong, adam hsu and Brandan lai there then? I know tat mau wong was in the late 80's what other well known shifus were in SF in the 70's

Brendan Lai came to the US in 1961. He began teaching shortly after.

Gini Lau came to the US in the 70's. Early on, she taught her own classes out of Sifu Lai's studio.

[Punch.HeadButt]

I believe Kwong Wing Lam began teaching in the US in the 60s.

[jdhowland]

Jd,
that was before my shirfu came to America, he moved here when We Xiao Tung Passed in 1984. Were doc fei wong, adam hsu and Brandan lai there then? I know tat mau wong was in the late 80's what other well known shifus were in SF in the 70's i really miss that city one of th4 prettiest I have ever seen and I have been all over the US

Ah, the nostalgia. I had the pleasure of meeting and exchanging stories with a few well-known sifu, some of whom have passed on. They included Brendan Lai, Ming Lum, Jew Leong, Doc Fai Wong (and his son, Jason), and later, Wong Tat Mau. My white crane teacher, Quentin Fong was very well known in Chinatown and my sisuk William Siu used to have the White Crane Supplies Company (my memory of place names is fading but wasn't that on the corner of Market and...what...?). Used to see others training but didn't introduce myself. Kuo Lien Ying (am I remembering the name right?) taught a unique form of taijiquan there. Lots of others whose names I don't know. I would go into a Chinese bookstore or restaurant and ask questions and it would come up that someone there was a well-know sifu. Despite the gang warfare at the time people were very friendly and open about their practice. We just had to be careful about concealing our club uniforms when we went out for noodles.

[-N-]

My cousin was learning White Crane from Ron Dong in the 70's(?)

I think that was the teacher. I was told they wore motorcycle helmets for headgear and got their clocks rocked.