Im gonna post my stupid story for the day while my friend watches Crouching Tiger [kinda getting sick of it].
I went into Sydney today with the intension of looking around for a uni course. After getting some lunch and doing my uni stuff i went for a walk with my friend though chinatown. I have been long wanting to find a good sifu that teachs Bagwa in a traditional way. Looking high and low and visiting several schools i had not found any i thought i would want to learn from.
Finaly on our way back i noticed a little accupunture shop, thinking to myself about how many kung fu masters are doctors i went up and had a look in the window. Inside was a tiny notice advertising Wushu. I decided to ask inside and just see what there idea of ‘wushu’ actualy was. We went up a set of stairs and found the clinic. Seated inside was a middle aged Chinese man who was obviously quite physicaly fit. I asked him about the martial arts and he quickly informed me it was ‘just’ Tai Chi. So i started to push him, do you teach it as a fighting art or just a health art? Is it the orginal deal? Do you teach any other arts as well?
He then tells me that he is not the sifu and informs me they train in the Chinese gardens [my favorite place] so why not just come take a look? He also tells me im better off speaking to the sifu. I thank him and turn to leave. On my way down the steps we passed an elderly chinese gentleman. I couldnt help but notice this guy was litteraly GLOWING. He was in his sixtys at least but his skin was perfect and he had a huge smile on his face, as i moved out the road we both exchanged glances and smiles. I kept on going for another flight of stairs before stopping dead and informing my friend i was going back. I knew darn well i had just passed that same master i had just been told about. I called Shelly my friend back to turn around and we started back. Half way back up we ran into the same guy again who was on his way down to catch us!
We went back inside and I got some more details, he teachs Bagwa and Tai Chi and is born into a Tai Chi family. His movements judging purely by his pictures looked perfect. He was also the most fit older person i had ever seen in my life. I told him a bit about my background and we had a really good chat. In the end he asked me to come and join him for training the next morning and tells me he teaches every day and would teach me Bagwa for practicaly no money privately!
I left him with my promise to join him the next day…
Im really spun out by all this it just seems to good to be true. He treated me VERY nicely and was really respectfull about my current training. He also took a likeing to my friend and offered to teach her as well, so were both going:D
Seems to me that this was all preplaned just to darn wierd!
Still im happy as a jumping bean.
Hung Ga and Bagwa muhahahah look out!
I hate to rain on your parade Jon but the body structures of Bagua are not a good match for Hung Gar. You might want to really think about it and choose a path to walk.
The 3 main “internal” arts of Hsing-I, Bagua, and Tai Chi Chuan are regarded as linked by some. A natural progression and refinement of elements unique to these methods.
It’s possible to explore and possibly learn other methods once you have your base system firmly in place. Seems to me that 10-15 years of good, solid, consistent practice and training should provide a good foundation in the event you wanted to explore something else. Your choice, of course.
i just read a article in ikf about hungga gm ycwong
he’s been into pakua for like 20 years,says it gave him really quick footwork in his hungga,and hes like 70 all-bouncy,so in my books,win-win situation.
Thank you kindly for your advice, i have a lot of respect for your opinions.
Im not planning on compleatly shifting my focus but there are some elements from Bagwa i wish to add to my training. Mainly the circle walking and footwork.
Im still a bit weirded out by the whole sitution but i want to go and at least have a look at his level of skill.
There have been a few in my linage including my teacher, his teacher and his teachers teacher. Who have studied bagwa and most have focused on the footwork and energy building as opposed to trying to redefine there fighting technique.
Ive also been on Gung Gi Fuk Fu for so long im craving something slightly more internal to try my hand at.
I wont leave Hung Ga, i respect my sifu to much, if it becomes to hard to continue with both practices or if they conflict i will be forced to leave the Bagwa.
Thanks for your advice, i think i need to slow down a little im too swept up in it all at the moment. The way we met was just a bit too strange not to at least further investigate.
Hey Jon, I’m a Sydney boy too.Wondering if you can devulge a name,when and where?I live petty close to Chinatown and like finding people interested in BGZ.How’s the training?
Friday did you get down and chat to Conn,I’m interested in your thoughts about him.
Jon,Would you be talking about William Ho?
does william ho teach bagua? i have met him once, he is a very nice man. my wallet got knicked and dumped in the park he teaches at, and he was nice enough to return it to me! luckily i had my training receipts from years ago in there, and he called up my sifu (who he coincidentally knew) telling him he had my wallet. so lucky me got all my cards back, but no money. **** thief who stole my wallet! :mad:
and whilst we’re on the subject of tai chi, the same day i went to pick up my wallet, and i saw a group of people practicing their forms in the park. but they were also doing some application work, and it was the first time i saw tai chi application. must say it doesn’t look anything like the forms, alot more viscious and fast.
this is the story of how i became the student of one of my sifus:
one day i received an email from an Italian person who i didn’t know. apparently he had seen my email address at one of the Pak Hok Pai kung fu sites where i had signed on.
as it turns out he practiced the same style but in Italy under a gentleman that would in the future become my sihing. we got into discussion about the style, what forms we knew how it had worked for us different kung styles etc lol u know how it is between kung fu enthusiasts anyway, being kung fu practitioners in the same style i asked about his lineage and so found out about a master of pak hok pai who lived in asia. his praise of his sifu and sigong led me to ask him whether i could get that masters details so that i could visit him if i happeneed to be in that location or thereabouts in the future. anyway i was refused politely, due to the fact that my friend and his sifu didnt’ know me , did not wish to introduce me to their teacher (for that reason which sounded reasonable to me)
anyway, i found that persons address and phone number which was posted on a pak hok pai kung fu website. it so happened that i made a trip to that area that the master resided in and paid him a visit after a short phone call.
what can i say? i received a sort of interview like thing, where he asked me what style i practiced who i was learning from etc. i originally was thinking it would just be a martial arts class and any additional students would be accepted without any thought to it, i would pay a some of money and be taught like the rest of the students. how wrong was i, after he decided to accept me (after having done appropriate checks - on my lineage), he showed me some videos etc and was i amazed. i had never seen such depth of knowledge…
what followed was an amazing three months of kung fu training. one - to -one. i was so enthusiastic i spent 5 days a week training 4-6 hrs a day. i ate meals at my new sifu’s home, accompanied him to help teach at a school, helped out with lion dancing, festivals, watever…the knowledge i acquired i did not imagine could hve taken place in such a short space of time. the great thing about my sifu was that knowing i didn’t have much money he refused any payment.
something else i learnt from my sihings there was that my sifu had pretty much decided to stop accepting students due to his age etc. so how **** lucky was i???
for me too it felt like fate…destiny type of thing. when i think back about the improbability of it all…if that italian man who i know consider my dear friend hadn’t emailed me, if i hadn’t been able to find those details, visited my sifu, if he had refused me etc…
anyway thats my rather long story my apolgies.
lol sorry i don’t know where belmore park is
ummm…dun tell me…the answer is…Belmore???
haha
anyway i would like to meet up with u b4 and then go together how does that sound?
i live near china town too probably not as close as u do tho’
sorry i know this was addressed to ka, but belmore park is opposite central, on eddy ave. hehe. i though the same too initially, that’s why i was thinking, waht the hell is my wallet doing in belmore when it got stolen at central!
Im to excited to sleep and i need to get up to go and see him, ive done a little more research on him his name is William Ho and he is quite well known and respected.
He is not exactly teaching me for free so dont be to jelous;) On the other hand as i say his prices for a private lesson are rediculous i dont want to list how much, but for the time and his experience it is just plain silly. Less than the price of a drink in some places…
Plus he is there in chinese gardens every morning.
Im just hoping the two styles dont colide to sharply though as diego said its been studied by several in my linage including my sifu and they all found it very benificial.
Im just still tripping over the whole way we met, some things just happen to strangly to ignore.
Tae Li
You should come along some time, im going tommorow to check it all out and get a lesson. He teachs classes as well as privates.
Anyway ill let you all know how it went tommorow:)
anyway, being kung fu practitioners in the same style i asked about his lineage and so found out about a master of pak hok pai who lived in asia. his praise of his sifu and sigong led me to ask him whether i could get that masters details so that i could visit him if i happeneed to be in that location or thereabouts in the future. anyway i was refused politely, due to the fact that my friend and his sifu didnt’ know me , did not wish to introduce me to their teacher (for that reason which sounded reasonable to me)
