fallen_milkman

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804832846/qid=1121089997/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-9857531-2749632?v=glance&s=books That is a darn good book. I read it myself, it is fairly in-depth.

Sorry, missed your last post. You could sign up for one month, but it is more expensive than dividing by 12. $130 a month. There is no boarding available, according to this brochure I have. They also have a program called "Out of Town Membership." As long as you live outside of NY, NJ, and CT you can pay the registration fee ($125) semi-annually and attend special seminars and other special events at the school. Doesn't seem so great to me, but I figured I'd let you know in case you were interested.

Yeah, they have steep prices. For a one year contract, it's $1000. That is only kung fu, too. Chi gung and Tai Chi Chuan are separate classes. So for all three, $3000 a year and $150 to register when you first sign up. If I was already in NYC, I'd probably try and find a way to do it. Might end up there anyways.

It's kind of a complicated process. I had it explained to me by my sifu. I'll type up what I can remember. Basically, there are a few ways to go about organizing your moves. 1. Basically go though several opponents, imagining an attack and defending. Then move to the next and defend as efficiently possible. 2. Use the form to organize tricky or new self defense techniques you have learned. 3. Use cool looking moves to make an impressive, performance based form. After you figure out your method, start working alone. Arrange your moves paying attention to footwork, positioning, and being realistic. Once you have a framework of moves and a concept of where you want the form to go, you find a living, breathing punching bag! (Also known as "friends" or "training partners.") Ask this person to throw the attacks you put into your form, and basically see if your guesstimations on how your techniques would flow are realistic enough. Make sure you can see each attack as it is coming. I.E. if they are attacking from behind, how do you know they are there? Is it a choke, or a headlock? If you can't answer, the form is not very realistic. After working with them, you should have a few mods to make. Practise alone for awhile until you know the new form inside and out. Now grab your punching bag again, checking for realism. Do this until it seems you have a finished form. If you have any more questions either post them or PM me, and I'll see if I can help. Lastly, your instructor should be able to help you a bit with this as well. Ask him or her if your style includes the creation of personal forms.

I would imagine the training is as close to Shaolin Temple training you can get, without living in a temple and practising all day. Those schools are all run by actual fighting monks. The schools themselves aren't actual temples, but Shi Yan Ming of the USA Shaolin Temple in NYC is currently raising money to build an actual American temple in Upstate New York. You can count me first in line, after reading this quotation about the final testing in Shaolin requiring the forearm brands. From an article on http://www.usashaolintemple.com/: Ever since I was a very young child, there was nothing I wanted more than to earn those marks. Notice I stress the word earn. Anyone can brand or tattoo those marks. To recieve them as a part of tradition would be amazing.

I have made a one person staff form, and a couple of friends and I created a staff v.s. sword two-man form. Creating your own forms, if done correctly, can be a great exercise. My style requires form creation as an artistic part of martial arts. I think we make one for every level beyond our second rank.

I would like to know the source of this equation, because it makes completely no sense at all to me.

Accidental double post. Excuse my fritzy internet.

No.

Actually, the prices were about the same unless you were only going to go once a week. Which i wouldn't recommend.

I second that. Much love and support.

Most of the staffs my friend and I use are broken brooms from work. Easiest way to make one.

Well, close enough for government work. But there is a LOT more to Tai Chi than martial art. For certain folk, it is more like a religious practise. Meditation in motion. Pretty complicated, but if there is enough interest I could go into what I know of it. Just don't feel like typing it all out if I'm speaking to no one that cares.

Another large simularity between our arts. We have a block that I have never seen another art do, maybe you guys do it. (Or maybe our art diversity is limited around me? You guys set me straight if I'm wrong, and this is more common than I though!) Against a lot of attacks, we block it once, with a cross-body block and their arm to block their centerline. Then our second arm strikes the elbow with a ridgehand while our first arm withdraws, then the first arm uses a palm on their shoulder to unbalance them further. When this is done full force I am pretty close to being behind them, and am definitely in a position to strike where they basically can't strike me. Still kinda hard for me to pull off in combat right now, but I am getting WAY better at it.

Bummer. Well, good luck finding the school that is right for you, and not quite so far away.

I think I have one of the more amusing stories about people like this. I live in the suburbs, where I've noticed people just don't know how to mind their own business like those in the city. Anyways, the roads in my area are set up kinda goofy. This results in one of my neighbors being able to see into my back yard from his basketball hoop across the street and around the corner. Well, one day a friend of mine and I were sparring in my back yard, and he landed a kick to my ribs. The next thing we know is we hear some guy yell "Nice kick, *expletive deleted*!" and some goofy highschool bully laughter (you know the stuff). We decided to ignore the three kids, and keep fighting. After awhile, we took a break and sat down in my driveway. The next thing we know, the three kids drive by, each in their separate fancy car their mommies probably bought them, yelling various profanity and making exceedingly rude gestures. It was the most amazingly wasteful and stupid thing I have ever seen. An idiot parade of sorts. They then pulled into their driveway, right in view, and continued playing basketball. Lucky for them, we are more easily amused than angered. Imagine if we had been the violent type! We had our swords, staffs, and nunchaku within arms reach when they did this, not to mention they were aware we were training in unarmed combat. Well, this ended up longer than it needed to, but I just don't understand why people would pick fights with those that obviously know how to seriously injure someone in a fight. Same deal happens when we have class in our local park. People driving by just yelling abusive, hateful things...at people holding swords.

Well, Iron Bell Cover is a typo. I meant Golden Bell, and it is the ability to withstand weapon attacks. You may have seen Shaolin demos where they bend swords when they are stuck by them, and have hammers hit them in the chest. Iron shirt is a step on the way to Iron Body, which only protects your torso.

From http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/history.html. Claims Tai Chi was developed 6th century BC. Damo (Bodhidharma) came to China is the sixth century AD. It all depends where you draw the line of creation in a style.

Yeah, then Goju linked to a website of way overpriced chi gung lessons and we kinda got...sidetracked.

Throwing weapons are illegal to buy and own in NY? They are illegal to carry here in PA, but buying, owning, and practising is legal.

Chi gung is not a martial art, but a component of most Chinese martial arts. It may be a part of other MAs, but I don't know any for sure. Tai Chi Chuan, on the other hand, IS a martial art in and of itself and uses its own chi gung exercises. So basically, if you take Tai Chi to compliment your karate (could be a nice compliment, adding an internal style to your previous external), you will be getting chi gung with it.

Iron Body, in Shaolin arts, IS chi gung. It is one of the many forms of protective chi gung, such as Iron Bell Cover and Iron Shirt.

Not sure which part of Philly you're in but my school has a branch there, actually. It's called American Fighting Arts. We do a style of kuntao, which is basically another term for kung fu, as far as translation goes. Chinese/Indonesian in origin, very street effective. The two main men who brought it to our state were soldiers for their countries in the Indonesian fight for independance from the Dutch. I could babble forever, I love this art so much. Here is a link to some reviews of the school, as well as the address: http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/review/9006721 I would suggest at least suggest checking it out if you consider it close enough.

Then I would set aside some time to do some shopping around. Look into smaller Tai Chi classes and Kung Fu classes in your area and see which ones do the king of stuff you're looking for. $1000 for chi gung is not really such a great deal.

Well, some styles do just get better quicker. For instance, I can rock a friend of mine in timed sparring. He's taken Goshin Jutsu for five years, against my seven months of training in Kuntao. A friend of mine who does Shotokan and Tuite (spelling?) can hold his own, but after almost seven years of martial arts training. Our basic style specialties are similar to Wung Chun, such as centerline training (although not as heavily emphasised), staying in close, and throwing a lot of attacks in a row. I can definitely see style can make a huge difference in the short run.