I'm a ghost... in training...

[Tim Greer]

Hey everyone, it's been fun, but as I intended to do previously, I am going to be away training. I was asked to help moderate this forum, which I agreed to. However, I have just spoken to a person that teaches one of the most effective martial arts I know of, and has everything. This person is one of the few in the world with this high of a rank in this art. It's cool enough to have found this guy, but you don't find him, unless you're looking -- he doesn't advertise or anything. Sort of an inncer-circle type of thing.

 

Anyway, after speaking with him today, I am going to finally have the chance to delve into the greatest of arts by the most qualified person I can think of. I'm very fortunate, and I'm going to basically emmesrse myself into studying and training. If any of you know or have read my opinions and theories and how I like to train, you can imagine how unique it is to find great styles taught by a high ranking instructor, whom happens to share my same opinions and theories about how to train, and train for real.

 

I'm very excited to have the ability to study under this person, and this is so rare, I don't want to delay it. This seems like what I've been looking for. The styles I will be studying, are various forms of Kung Fu (the real stuff, not any "fantasy" crap, no passiveness or whatever most schools in this country try and pass off -- and you really use it, unlike many schools). The styles are Hsing-I, Tai Chi Ch'uan, Chin Na and various other styles. I feel this will both improve and complement my previous nd current training, knowledge and goals.

 

For the viewers that don't know about these styles, Tai Chi is not the "artful", "slow" activity for old people that you see in bad commercials. All of these; Tai Chi (TaiJi) Ch'aun/(TaiJiQuan) is very cool and a very brutal system, as is Hsing-I ((XingYi)/Hsing-I Chuan (XingYiQuan)) [Shen Lung Hsing [- Tang Shou Ta]], Pa Kua (Chang) (BaGua/Baguazhang) and Chin Na (Qin Na/Quin-na), Shuai and the other styles compliment it very well. I am lucky enough to live within only a few miles from John Price, whom studied directly under Master Hsu Hong Chi. These are complete systems, and are very, very effective, real and brutal.

 

John Price was named as the head of the Tang Shou Tao for the United States and also vice president of the same organization in 1977, but moved to my area shortly after [1979] (lucky me). He basically brought it here. As you can imagine, this is a rare opportunity, so I'm going to take full advantage of it. Therefore, I simply won't have time to participate here much at all, if at all. I do have to work online still (I'm not going to be a bum, yet), and I might check in, but I'll likely be too busy working, and if I have time to not work, I'll be offline or in idle and be off training. Anyway, just wanted to let anyone that was curious, to know why I'm not going to be around. Have fun, everyone, I know I will.

 

 

[Angus]

Cool man, i hope to have that level of training some day... Seeya later Timmy, all the best.

 

Angus

 

 

[MuayTB1]

I heard that that the kung fu masters made you do horse stand for 3 hours a day. At least they did that to a friend of my that I didn't see for 5 years. Ok read you later.

[iamrushman]

good luck and enjoy TIM............ does this mean you'll be a monk when you return? ...we'll wait patiently for your return.

 

humble respects with a bow

 

_________________

 

rushman (taekwondo moderator)

 

3rd dan

 

wtf/kukkiwon

 

florida

 

This Message was edited by: iamrushman on Aug 10, 2001 11:46am

[Kato]

Good luck Tim, this sounds like a wounderfull opportunity, wish you all the best

 

[Tim Greer]

On 2001-08-10 05:42, MuayTB1 wrote:

 

I heard that that the kung fu masters made you do horse stand for 3 hours a day. At least they did that to a friend of my that I didn't see for 5 years. Ok read you later.

 

I forgot I checked email updates. Hey everyone, thanks for the words of encouragement. MuayTB1, don't believe your friend when he says that. If that's true, he/she should quit that place ASAP, assuming they haven't already. Training can or can not be difficult or strenuous, depending on who you are and your conditioning -- and how much you condition yourself, but any teacher that makes anyone stand in Ma Bu (Horse stance) for 3 hours, should be sued. Doing such is only doing damage to their knees. You don't want to ever stand in Ma Bu for over 10 minutes at most.

 

Also, someone emailed me asking the difference between these styles, etc. and other various things, but their email bounced. Kung Fu is anything, Kung Fu isn't so much a style, it's meaning covers everything. In it's essense, every style known to man is considered Kung Fu. Also, the question about how these styles are "internal" as opposed to "external" and how one is 'soft' and the other is 'hard', one is more real for street fighting and the other is more passive and "beautiful" or whatever in forms and is dependant on some voodoo conjuring of the great Chi god or whatever, this is all confusion and off the wall.

 

Internal and external styles do not mean either within your body and mind, as opposed to actually doing realistic techniques. Both Internal and External styles are basically the same in many regards. Tai Chi Chaun is not some dance or excercise for elderly people -- it's a very brutal and effective art. This isn't breathing excercises. Internal Kung Fu styles are based on styles within China, that's what internal means -- they are internal to that country. External simply means that the style of Kung Fu was brought from (as historically as we all know to be the most true) India by the monk Da Mo to the Shao Lin temple. It's considered "External", because it came from outside of the country of China.

 

Therefore, since all styles of fighting are "Kung Fu", one is Internal Kung Fu -- being developed and within China, and Extrernal Kung Fu, being brought in from the outside from India (or anywhere else). It has no bearing on the realism or effectiveness of the style. I hope that's more clear, and why I mentioned the example of Tai Chi Chaun and how that is one of the many misconceptions about what it's about, as with many internal styles. Hsing-I, as I mentioned earlier about my study of it, was created by a man that studied Shaolin style Kung Fu from his father, and wasn't interested in it, as much as he was into Judo and Boxing and other things. He was renown for his abilities and speed and his style, but he ran into a Shaolin trained person and got [word edited out]y with him, and the Shaolin guy "Whooped" his ass...

 

He then realized what he was missing and begged this guy to teach him and get serious about it and incorporate this into his current style and knowledge, devled into Shaolin Kung Fu and never looked back. This developed a very, very effective and experienced/developed system that incorportated many new elements into the Shaolin Kung Fu he learned before and after. This is why it's so rare the opportunity I have is, because John Price (as mentioned earlier) is directly of the second generation lineage. He studied in Taiwan for so-many years and when he moved back to the states, his master would come out for years and stay with him and his wife for months on end and continue training Mr. Price.

 

There's really no one else in the states as experienced, unless they are a diciple of John Price -- and there are a few (about 8, I think) that are teaching the styles throughout the states. Anyway, I hope that provides some better information and insight about the styles I mentioned in my original post to the people that asked, or the people that are wondering. Anyway, again, thanks for the words of encouragement, I know how rare and difficult it is to find any true/real teacher of these type of arts in the states (or anywhere else for that matter), so be careful when some teacher makes you stand in Ma Bu for hours on end and expects you to pay to have your knees ruined. Anyway, I'm off... Cheers!

 

 

[Joecooke007]

Good luck to you.