fallen_milkman

I pay $40 a month myself, and consider it a bargain for what I am getting. That is the point I am trying to make. There are plenty of masters out there who can teach you exactly what the Shaolin monks can, and you won't have to get a second job to pay for it.

I am at school, so I don't have my pamphlet with me. What I can tell you is that it is actually $100 (about £50) a month to sign up. You only get it for $1000 (£500) a year with a 1 year contract. Still not bad. My problem with this is that this is ONLY for the kung fu classes. I would want chi gung with my kung fu. That is ALSO $1000 (£500) a year, on top of the cost for kung fu classes. So it comes out closer to $160 a month, or about £80. I am not so sure that is worth it, especially since I would also want Tai chi chuan classes there, making it an even $3000 a year, or $250 a month. More than I currently would pay for rent. But hey, if I had the money, I probably WOULD train there. Shaolin monks know their stuff.

July is my eighth month, and I am just as obsessed. I love nothing more than getting together with the friends that joined MA with me and practising in the back yard. It's wonderful. Hopefully we both keep up our interest and momentum!

In between jobs, but I have a guy calling me later about a position as a security officer.

All that shows me is that the Shaolin Temple truly has become a money-maker for the Chinese government. The true heart of the Shaolin Temple for me was the dedication it took to leave society and learn from the greats. No monitary value, as long as you worked hard and learned, you could stay. Now, they charge REDICULOUS sums of money for the stuff you can learn in Canada and the United States for around $50 a month.

Honestly, I've only ever worked with one woman in our school. I don't think our way of training is the way most women would want to train. We train medium contact almost all the time. There is usually at least one bloody lip during sparring, and several bruises. Not that our style is hardcore, we're all just very comfortable around each other and know the others won't mind heavier contact. I think that scares off most females.

If that school is anything like the authentic Shaolin monk school near me in NYC, it's gunna run you around $1,000 a year for each class you take. For me to take Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, and Chi Kung classes at the school I looked at, It was $3,000 tuition, plus $125 registration fee. Here is the site http://www.usashaolintemple.com/. I rapidly changed my mind after seeing that.

The monks are basically owned by the Chinese government. They only show what the government will let them. Like I've said before, and can be backed up by most who are familiar with traditional Shaolin forms of fighting, most of the great fighters left China long, long ago. The ones who remain teach for the government, and charge outlandish prices at schools in the city near the temple, not the temple itself.

Yeah, I have noticed most of the best masters refuse the title in everyday conversation. My teacher, for example, is a technically a master rank by our style's titles but prefers to go by his previous title of Sifu.

Mad crazy props 'n' stuff!

Yeah, seriously. You seem to want kung fu way more than your current art.

I have never agreed more with an article on these forums. I argue about the importance of forms in martial arts fairly often with friends of mine, but never as eloquently as this. I am one of those people who just can't learn a form by movement alone. I need to know what I am doing. Luckily, this is how all my sifus teach forms, by application. And thank you for having the guts to point out the facts about Bruce Lee. Most people give him far too much credit in the wrong areas. Before I drift off and start restating what you already said better than I ever could have, great article. Couldn't agree more.

Eighteen is young. I am 20, and I too sometimes feel that is a long freaking time on this Earth, but think about it. We're about 1/4 of the way done with living by normal life span. That gives us 3/4 of the way to learn and grow with martial arts or whatever else we want to pursue. You have plenty of time to learn any art you wish.

Katana can be one-handed or two-handed. And I would love to learn to wield a katana-wakazashi combo in the traditional way.

Really, whatever you are comfortable with. If there are any MA weapon stores near you, I'd go check them out and see what feels comfortable. 30" is really great for me, and I am just under 6 feet tall.

Actually, Ki and Chi are the same concept. You DID mention Ki.

No problem, glad to help. A friend and I just purchased this sword: http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm?action=moreinfo&itemid=2476 and I highly recommend it. Just thought I'd pass the info along! Good luck, the broadsword is a really fun weapon.

I agree there comes a time to stand and fight. I too had problems with bullies in school (imagine that, there seems to be a trend). My sifu gave me this advice after months of problems with no solution, including talking with teachers and parents: wait until a teacher is coming and just as they arrive, dive on the kid. No danger of getting hurt or a chance to have to use force and hurt him, the teacher will break it up. That way whenever anyone asks, you weren't backing down from a fight, so you didn't lose face and you didn't have to hurt him. Kind of amusing advice, but he did it in his youth so I'd imagine it would work. Myself, I unfotunately lost my temper and hit the kid square in the face. I'd say his way worked better.

In August, a capoeira teacher is coming to run a month-long school in my town. Monday-Friday classes. I will definitely be attending. Not sure how much it will add to my kuntao, but the musical knowledge I'll gain will definitely be cool.

I was shocked and appalled when I left theater after this movie... I mean, a GOOD Batman movie? Is that even allowed? I thought they were all supposed to be terrible. I personally loved it, being a huge Batman nerd. It was kind of a bummer not to see the fight scenes, but it made sense to me. I think they did a good job capturing the vengeful side of Bruce Wayne. Also, Ras Al'Ghul is probably the coolest villain ever.

Nope. In fact, there is a better than good chance Tai Chi Chuan is older than a lot of other Chinese arts. Taoists may have created it before Bodhidharma left India.

Wow, still no one answered this? Well, I am new to the broadsword myself, but I do have an entire Shaolin-do form under my belt. Google for those forms. There are probably about a million websites to pick your favorite from, a billion if you don't mind paying for a video or dvd. As for buying a sword, I am not sure if you prefer wooden or metal swords. For metal, I wouldn't pay much more than $40 for a single Chinese broadsword. I would hit up http://www.martialartssupermarket.com. My instructors and I all buy our swords there. And lastly, one small tip that keeps your arm from getting sore. Remember to let the sword do the work.

Well, if you learn the applications, how can it be just for show?

Best piece of advice I can give: try not to spend more than $40 on a Chinese broadsword. Nothing you find will really be worth more than that. As for forms, there are millions of martial art DVDs for sale. Just use your best judgement when looking for them.

Actually, my sifu found a form for me: "White Ape Comes Out of the Cave." Very interesting stuff. Broad, sweeping strikes with the arms, lots of takedowns and ground stomps, even some ape-like chest pounding for body conditioning. Pretty cool looking. Hopefully I'll have it down by the end of the summer.