Wow
LiLong…
It seems we’ve got some common friends. 
Sifu Norm was my first sifu, when I was in high school in Okinawa.
He was pretty much my introduction to kung fu.
You may also know Bill, his assistant instructor or at least one of the top guys there.
Bill and I used to hang out together in high school.
We started class on the exact same day (a bunch of us did) I think and there was always kind of a question of who was “sihing”. hehehe
It’s a small world.
Small Indeed…
hey Lost Disciple, good to hear from those who have received great training from sifu Burland. Well, unfortunately Bill is no longer training with him but sifu still considers him one of his top students. Bill lives in Orlando and chose to train in modern wushu, whcih suited his formal training as a dancer quite well. no doubt he still is an awesome fighter.
Cheers,
LiLong
Thanks for the info, I am definitely going to check into Sifu Norm.
Lost Disciple
How long did you train w/Sifu Norm? Did you do a lot of fighting/applications? Did you do Bagua? Hsing-I? Hung ga? mantis? Or all of the above?Thanks.
LLPM
So Bill IS the guy with the spear in the pic? Wow he changed! I guess we both did. He got skinny, I turned into a 250 pound monster (quasimodo styles, not schwarzenegger). Probly wouldn’t recognize either of us from high school.
I knew about the wushu school and Orlando. Got an e-mail from him last week actually.
gwendolyn
I never got to the Hung Gar or the Bagua- although from what norm teaches, those aren’t complete cirriculums. With Norm, chances are you’ll learn a bit of taiji no matter what you do, unless you specifically request not to. Aside from the taiji I spent a lot of time with the hsing yi and the mantis; and started out with the Ching Lung forms. I was there almost 2 years in all, which at about 6 days a week, is a lot more than it sounds.
We did lots of application, in addition to stretching and calisthenics. Like the website says though, it’s not a place that you’re going to strap on pads and go full-bore really early on. Tho you might hit push hands practise pretty early if you’re interested in it.
No disrespect to LLBM or sifu Norm, but meltdawn’s school is the one I would check out if the distance was feasible- just from what i’ve seen of her posts on here, and what i’ve seen from her school’s website. Knowing that you are into Bak Mei, Bak Mei and Southern Dragon could pass for sisters. I’ve heard of people doing both as one compliments the other while still being in the same vein of southern shorthand.
you might wanna check out the tournament on April 6th before you make a decision. Kung fu is a major commitment, at least for me it is, so you wanna make sure you find the “best” place available (best place for you) to train.
Good luck finding a place. I think i, myself, may have finally found my home.