Help?

[tug]

Hello to all. I am obviously new here, but have been perusing these forums for several years in a humble quest for more knowledge of kung fu. I do have an honest question, though.
I am thinking of enrolling at Shi Yan Ming's on Broadway in NY and was wondering if I could get some educated opinions on this topic.

Stellar?
Worthwhile?
Don't bother?

Thanks.

[tug]

Mr. Gene Ching?

Anybody?

[WanderingMonk]

First, formulate answers to the following question.

A. What do you want to get out of it?
B. How much work do you plan to put in?
C. How much money do you want to pay?

do some reading,

http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/foru...&pagenumber=10

do some research, make your own decisions.

[Pk_StyLeZ]

why not just go to the place?and see if u like it?
it shouldnt matter wat other people opinions are
after all..who training??you or them?
if you like it..then enjoy and practice there..dat all dat matter
if u dont..find another one..there are plenty of shaolin schools in new york manhantan area anywayz
check them all out..look at class..observe a class at all the schools..and see which one u like best
hell..ask if u can try a class and see if u like it or not

[GeneChing]

I've kind of lost touch with Yanming lately, but there are some forum members here that train under him, so they'd be good for you to talk with about him.
Here's some reading for you in the meantime:
My Sep 99 cover story
Ervin Nieves Jul\ne/July /96 cover story
My '99 e-zine story

[tug]

Thank you both for replying.

I am interested in other's opinions, especially from those respected and known in the kung fu community. I am not looking for someone to tell me what I should do - I know what I want, and know what I want to get out of it. It is a very big deal for me to commit to something like the study of kung fu, and I am just trying to understand as much as possible before I jump in with both feet. I will not take this lightly, it will be something to become part of my life, something I will have for the rest of my life.

The reason I am so interested is because I have been obsessed with kung fu and anything related - MA in general, eastern thought and philosophy, stories, legends, medicine, culture, and especially the way of thought connected to all of it. Like I said, it's a big deal...because I have never done anything about it.

This, of course, is no one's fault but my own. But now I find myself finally able to do something about it. I am finally in a place financially, mentally, and physically that will allow my to follow my dreams that have been with me ever since I saw "Kung Fu" on Saturdays in California in the mid-70's.

I know, I know, I am not going to play a part, acting as if I know what's going on. I know it was just a tv show, and that this is not some fantasy to get out of my system. I am happy to be in this position, I wanted to finally make some contact with people on this forum whose posts I have been studying for about 3 or 4 years now.

Sorry, I'll stop now. But I do want to thank everyone in advance for helping.

If anybody is interested, I will keep posting.
If not, thank you and goodnight.

[tug]

Thanks, Mr. Ching!!

[Shaolinlueb]

My sifu trained there for two years when he was first aropund. the classes are big, and he does a lot of repitition and i mean a lot. my sifu would tell me how all they did was jumping outwar d cresent kick for an hour.

go for it. he is good. the other monks dont like him because he does his own thing in the USA . shi yan ming is very humble but business like i hear. if he ssees something imagines it he will do it. hes married has a child so some of the "real" monks look down on him.

[tug]

Excellent! Thank you.

I had heard some negative things, so that's why I posted, wanted to hear from you guys before I went ahead.

Doing it!

[GeneChing]

I'm glad you decided to try it for yourself and see if it works for you. That's always the best way. I think I would enjoy training at Yanming's. Sure, he's controversial, but I spent a week there a few years back and it was a lot of fun. Tell Yanming that Gene says 'hi'.

[David Jamieson]

People remeber you for what you finished and not for what you started.

get started, and keep going.

[richard sloan]

well I train there. at the time I started there were only three monks in the NYC area. I had caught wind of something RZA had said about Shi Yan Ming- I couldn't believe there was a Shaolin monastic presence in NYC. There was Yan Chang, Guolin, and Shi Yan Ming. I thought Yan Chang's disciples were all cracked, and Guolin seemed to be very into pursuing buddhist orthodoxy, and coming from a LI hardcore background I felt like I had moved beyond that dualistic straightedge stuff. I mean I had already gone through that and was looking for another way. So I went to visit Yan Ming. Took me all day to find him, and when I did, he answered every single question I could mustre with one answer. "Come and train. You will see."

Was he just being enigmatic? Was I not getting it? What was the sound of one hand clapping anyway, was Bart Simpson right? And why wouldn't he just answer me plainly.

My brother and I then came back to watch a class. I turned to my brother at one point, and asked him if he had ever in his entire life seen anything like this. This was nothing like our former karate class...I mean that was like a freakin' joke in comparison. The jumping...I mean it never stopped...and when it did, there was another set right after a bunch of kicks. When did these people stop moving. After an hour they started doing freakin' cartwheels! I never did a cartwheel in my life, at least not on purpose...I'm sure snowboarding's thrown me into one or two, lol...we kept looking at the clock. When they broke to stretch and drink we thought it was over. Instead of leaving they lined up and did forms.

So we took stock of our situation. I couldn't even touch my toes! The stretching session, these guys looked like human wracks. So we decided we needed to train to get up to speed to train, lol...what a big mistake. I mean it was all right cuz we got to dabble in a bunch of other stuff for about a year, a real mixed bag of tae kwon do, muay thai, karate, just random stuff...but after a while the spiritual thing was noticeably missing, and that's what really had drawn us to Yan Ming, and we lost a year of training Shaolin. Finally we came to our senses and showed up for class.

As soon as we walked in the door, Sifu looked around, locked eyes with me, and said, "FINALLY." It had been a long time since we had last spoke, but he still remembered us. It was like he was there waiting for us to figure it out.

Man, let me tell you, that one word right there blew me the hell away.

So I was in the first class of disciples, been training there for a long time now, blah blah blah...so I'm not exactly unbiased. His approach is refreshingly unorthodox at the same time it is rooted in traditional values. He took his monasticism and decided to use it's strengths to engage the world, and for that courage I have to give him a lot of respect and admiration. I see him at the junction of a new monastic frontier- we see engaged monastics emerging from many traditions- I think the first engaged monastics I was aware of were Thomas Merton and Thich Nhat Hahn. I mean here you had two monks sharing a Catholic High Mass and one wasn't even baptized much less confirmed. Merton could probably have been excommunicated. But I started to see what I think they were looking at- transcendance of the medium in which they were working, and that is what all these systems are all about at their roots. Well this is going way off track so...

I can tell you that level one class is not easy, but very rewarding. You will increase your speed, flexibility, endurance, and strength. It's two hours long, and it's all basic kicks, jumps, punches, and movements, stretching, then forms. Your musculature will literally be transformed...

I can say that without hesitation because not only do I have weird cuts and stuff going on -and wait to you start Yi Jin Jing- but my brother was involved in a serious car accident- punctured lung, ruptured spleen...he had to undergo emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. I got this one pic of Sifu we took- it's like you can see one cut go from his neck right down his torso. It's bizarre, anatomically speaking. In the waiting room when the Dr came to finally see us, after saving my brothers life, the first thing out of his mouth wasn't anything like your son will be fine, he'll be okay- come through all right- no sir, he wanted to know what he did. He point blank asked our mom, What does your son do?

My mom was just completely hysterical, I mean, we thought my brother was dying in there. So the Doc says that, and she's like, what...? What are you talking about?

So he goes, I mean just that. I never cut into anyone like him before. Sick word usage right? He had to use the word "cut?" What a weirdo.

Now I'm like, great...what is this like Art Bell's personal doctor? Is my brother going to come out of the OR with like, a third arm or something....why does he get a quack.

So the Doc is like, "I am very curious about your son because I've operated on a lot of people before, weight lifters, football players, soccer players, and I've never encountered muscle like that."

This should have been a movie! My mom goes, "He does gong fu."

I was like, hell yeah he does! So does my mom too, by the way, usually to debunk cloud dispersers like WKK- her "iron chi leg" is something to see...

Anyway, by all means, come down check it out and see if it is for you.

Jesus this got long in the tooth.

[tug]

Awesome! I've always been a big fan of his sometimes controversial lifestyle, it seems to make sense to sort of transform oneself and blend in with the surroundings.

So, hopefully within the next couple months I will be there!

Thank you all so much for your inspiration.

[tug]

Oh yeah, Mr. Ching, I will deliver your message personally.

Thank you again!