Attn: Tc

[Ray_Pina]

I noticed a post of yours. I simply wanted to say hello. I’ve heard a lot about your dad over the years though I have never met him, or crossed hands with any of his students.

I did see your brother take someone down with a pretty cool kick/sweap combo though on a Discovery CHannel special. I liked the way your father and brother represented on that special, with boxing gloves, trading blows like fighters and not in pajamas hopping around.

My best to you and your family. I’m now studying internal with Master David Chan Bong, I’m sure its only a matter of time before I meet your brother or class mates out at some event. Until then, please be well and I’m sure being the daughter of such a special man you have the tools to carry on the name and tradition.

Peace
Ray

[tc1]

Thanks, that’s really sweet of you.

Where are you located, are you planning to be at any tournaments this summer? They are always a lot of fun.

I was on that special too, but they only showed my ponytail for about 30sec. Shame on you for not noticing, just kidding.

Thanks for the kind words about my dad, he is very special man and every day I realize more and more how lucky I am to be able to call him dad, but behind every great man there is a great woman and I am very lucky to also be able to call her mom.

Thanks again.

[Ray_Pina]

Actually, I did notice – but didn’t want to be that way. The fact that you were truly cheering your brother on also stands out in my mind.

I live in Long Beach NY now, moved there from Jersey about 5 years ago. I’m training with Master Chan in Chinatown. I got into MA as a kid, when I was four, but just started the internal a little over a year ago. I’m sold. This is it for me. The technique is superb.

I’ve been testing a bit on old S. Mantis, Hung Gar and Wing Chun friends and I do believe by summer I should be ready for an internal tournament. We’ll see how it goes. My master is very particular about sending folks out. His saying is: “If you’re going out to fight, you’re not ready. You need to go out and beat.”

I can understand that. His technique is of a level I have never seen before.

I doubt I will ever accumalate the vast knowledge and skill this man has but it is my quest to do so.

It certainly was a pleasure hearing from you. My best to you and your family again, and I’m sure we will meet up sooner or later at one of these events. I vistited your school’s Web site and saw your brother’s titles. I have to say its impressive, and I hope someday I can meet him in a ring, because its exactly fighters like that I want to be trading hands with.

I’m sure you’re not bad yourself. The internal does not discriminate. My master has a young female disciple who is quite powerful for her small size.

Be well.
Peace
Ray

[Ray_Pina]

And another thing

I just finished writing, and was training a bit, and I thought of your father because I was reading about him. I was working on some Tai Chi. I don’t know the form, my master teaches it through use, principle. Anyway, the opening. The up down, the paint the fence type move. So I’m working it like off a hook, cross handed shielding attack of the bridge, into that downward paint the fense attack – But I’m coming from the outside, dropping the elbow to rotate over. I’m sure you now it. Loose, yet that palm … you know what it can do.

So I’m thinking. I wonder if that girl has a simniliar trechnique, because I have to say I never seen such a thing until training with Master Chan. The hitting is hitting, but the way it is delivered. But even more is the shielding. I don’t know if that is from his Ba Gua or what. Anyway, do you know my master?

I’m getting side tracked. OK, where was I. Its got to be the shoes.

O, so what is it like being the daughter of a master? That’s got to be tough as a young woman. How do you take a guy home to meet dad. “Hi, this is my dad, Chan Man Ching’s disciple.”

That’s got to be nice.

How do you date soemone you can fold up into a pretzel? Must be interseting. You must be fun at ****tail parties.

Well, don’t mind me. I’m just a fool who happned to have some energy after work today and found myself at my desk – writing.

[tc1]

As far as tournaments go I have always been told that if you are going to go out there to compete you should be ready to loose. You have to learn to loose before you can learn to win. I have often found that I have learned a lot more from loosing than winning. Winning is a lot more fun though. So as far as competing goes, nobody wins all of the time it’s just training and I think an essential part of learning your art to the fullest. The most important thing is to have fun with it and to look at competing as another way of sharing. Compatetions are so much fun, you meet great people and not only get to train with with them but socialize and PARTY, a necessity when it comes to truely appreciating and perfecting an art, in my eyes at least.

As far as the form, there are so many different applications for one movement. I’m not really sure what you mean, but I am sure as long as your applying the principles the way your teacher is teaching you you are doing just fine.

I’m not sure if I know you teacher, I might by face.

Being the daughter of my father has been pretty normal, I just have a dad that is really good at something and is recognized for it. It has definitely opened up doors for my family, but overall I think I have had a pretty normal life. I think everyone’s parents have a talent somewhere, my dad’s just happens to be Tai Chi Chuan and he shares it with a lot of people and he uses his talent to support his family.

I have great parents, my mother is definitely the one that my dates should fear, unfortunately I have yet to meet anyone that I would ever burden my parents with meeting, but when the day comes I’m sure that my parents will be like any other parents meeting their daughter’s boyfriend.

Well, hopefully we’ll cross paths at a tournament or in the city. Good luck with your training, most importantly, have fun with it.

[Ray_Pina]

I hear what you are saying.

I learned a lot from tournaments as a kid. How to win with grace and humility, how to loose and keep your chin up, see where I went wrong.

After getting into the southern arts, especially S. Mantis, my mind had changed a bit. I got out of tournaments for a while because I despised them, strongly dislikes the point sparring – the forms. Too many people eager to where the uniforms and represent everything about martial arts except its martial qualities.

I was fighting with some S. Mantis guys from NYC at this time, about 2 years ago and was almost constantly bruised. It was a strange time. Good for my fighting attitude but not my head space.

Then I got beat pretty definitely by a Hsing-I guy, an old student of my teacher. I saw internal’s potential. I realized there was nothing soft about it.

So now I;m here. Learning my teacher’s E-chun, a combination of his experinces with Ba Gua, Hsing-I and a few other arts I never heard of before.

I still cross hands with old friends now and again and cherish the opportunity. Most are hard core into S Mantis or Hung Gar/Wing Chun. I give as good as I get. And when I get rocked pretty good I’m stoked (forgive the surfer in me) – because I want to see how they were able to do it.

I’m still in this faze.

I do not want to go out and “officially” represent a my teacher’s school until I’ve done more testing. I don’t care about loosing for myself, I really don’t. One can’t go to battle and not expect a casualty here and there. Its just that I love my teacher’s method so much I want to wait until I can give it a fair representation.

So I’m just training, training, training. Hopefully by the end of summer I can start taisting the waters.

Nice to see someone from my generation has so much respect for their parents. Hopefully they see that.

Be well.
Ray