theres no point asking the elephant about itself, it probably sees less than each of the blindfolded men. But may i ask the blindfolded for what they know about phenix?
i’m interested in the elusive rogue… all i ‘know’ is:
name - hendrik?
nationality - european? german perhaps?
nickname - phenix
style - wing chun etc.
interests - too many to name.
Hendrik is Chinese (Fukienese) born in Indonesia. If you know something about that countries attitudes about Chinese and their culture, you will understand why his name was Dutchized (is that the equivalent of Anglicized?) as a child.
He original studied Kyokushin Karate and was a full contact fighter until a man named Cho Hung-Choi whupped him using Wing Chun Kuen. Cho Hung-Choi is the only known person to have studied WCK under both Cho Chuen in China and Cho On in Malaysia, the inheritors of the Cho family lineage passed down from Yik Kam.
Hendrik attended University in the US, and later settled there, and now raises his family there.
Although he converted to Buddhism and retired from actively training in WCK, his skill is still extreme (and I use that word not lightly, but a little poetically, as his WCK has evolved from his sifu’s facination with a possible Emei origins into something more esoteric than most), and he is quite possibly the most learned WCK person I have ever encountered on this continent (though he is annoyingly bad at sharing his knowledge over the internet, due both to his lack of English language skills, and his almost bi-polar coyness.)
Personally, I think he makes himself too accessible and tries to share too much, leading to diminished perception of the worth of his information, but his wife will not change his password so we are, thusfar, still stuck with him.
Rene has posted a good skinny/profile on Hendrik/Phoenix.
I have met the man and spent some quality time with him . He actually is a delightful individual. Very integrated in his values. Very knowledgeable on Chinese history, and literature and culture and Buddhist literature and ethics. He has first rate high tech background and has strong experience in the Silicon valley world.He is well travelled in Asia and the West.
As his posts show he is quite a hyperactive but focussed individual.
The latter does not always show in his posts because of his English… and also being multi topical in several different posts in different threads. He does have a passion for engagement in topics that he knows quite a bit about. And he knows more than he shows. Rene is correct in one direction of his post- that in net forum discussions- no good deed goes unpunished.
He comes from an entirely different lineage from mine in wing chun.
I dont know all about his wing chun but neither does he know about mine… I do think that he over-generalizes about the details of wing chun at times. And I chuckle and differ with him on some of his ideas- including the mattress SLT…its ok if someone has reasonable mastery of slt- to show his balance- but it can be havoc for building important foundations-with the mattress controlling the beginner, rather than the other way around.
I have seen his Cho family slt-its different from Ip man’s but clearly it is a slt. And rather than separating slt, ck and bj as phases of learning-his slt does have chum kiu and biu jee principles and there are biu jee motions. And their/his chi sao is different from Ip man chi sao.
Again, what I do is different from what he does- but some of his posts are very informative and I think he is a good gadfly-though easily misunderstood in the obfuscations of forum talk.
He does not have a school- doesnt charge anyone anything
and ergo does not have what is normally called a “vested” interest in pushing anything. A Buddhist perspective is not necessarily value neutral and engaging in discussions and examining premises and their implications is really an old Buddhist tradition. The Platonists are not the only ones to couch ther positions in the form of dialogues.
Joy Chaudhuri
There you have it:
Phenix-
the man
the myth
the legend
FWIW, I always enjoy reading his posts, but when he starts getting cryptic I just take it with a grain of salt. When I understand completely what he says I love to add more, or perhaps get more out of him.
I was reading his analogies using apple computers on this forum and figured he worked with technology. I as well work with technology in the IT field. So it seems me and him have a few things in common.
Pokemom # 2314567---- PHENIX
phenix— a bird which is getting better and growing bigger every time it dies and burn down into ashes. A very anoying coocoo bird but it never goes away. Since energy can never be created or destroyed.
Property---- never ending energy transformation
Action-type ---- walking into and facing the shadow wave
Archi-type — Wave Surfer
Technology type — High Tech Esoteric
Vision type — Non Duality
Domain — Omni diamention
Purpose — Diamention Boundary breaker Paradigm shifter
Hendrik is “apple”. Take a bite! Whether you go to sleep for a hundred year or wake up to your own sorrows is each man’s tale.
Ha! Ha!
Originally posted by PaulH
Hendrik is “apple”. Take a bite! Whether you go to sleep for a hundred year or wake up to your own sorrows is each man’s tale.
Ha! Ha!
Apple’s job is to fall on your head and you become Newton discovering Earth Jing — Center gravitation force.
You gotta just love it when Yoda speaks…
I do believe he’s got something to offer us all though.
Hendrik (Phenix):
The man…the myth…the legend…with bi-polar coyness and lousy English skills.
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP !
Got to hang with this guy someday…
Originally posted by Ultimatewingchun
[B]Hendrik (Phenix):
The man…the myth…the legend…with bi-polar coyness and lousy English skills.
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP !
Got to hang with this guy someday… [/B]
Ha ha - trust me, you will cherish the experience. He is exactly the same in person as online, except quite a lot easier to read. 
Regards,
I beg to differ that Hendrik’s English is lousy. There are musical or poetical undercurrents in his thought and variety of expression. That said his syntax is quite inventive - something of a melting mixture of Chinese and American English!
Regards,
PH
Hendrik the Chi Kung master
As I recall, I first heard/read about Hendrik in WCML. That was a few years ago. At the time I was mostly lurking, didn’t have much to post (remains the same way till now).
So my first impression of him was that Hendrik is some kind of a Chi Kung/Qigong master who also does WCK. Every other posts he wrote he talked about this special kind of “Chi” and how it enhances WCK. This special kind of Chi produces a lot of heat. The man was really quite knowledgable in it. To a point he was feeling so attached and even obsessed about it. This “Chi” sounded like a Yin side of Chi because it had so much feminine quality. It is so soft but powerful. Then, every one on the list, like Marty, Rene, Terence and even Zopa were all talking about this kind of “Chi”. They seemed to enjoy the topic so much … For weeks I was scratching my head wondering where this “Chi” come from. I scanned through all my Qigong books and still couldn’t find out what kind of Chi Hendrik was talking about. It felt like I have discovered a new treasure in WCML, something I have never heard of in my WC studies. It made me really curious.
Then one day… Simon, the guy who sat next to me in my office, was showing me some Asian movie star sites. One of the star photos caught me eyes because she had the name “Hsu Chi”…
Ahhh…Hsu Chi… that’s what Hendrik has been talking about. 
I like Hendrik - his heart’s in the right place.
Hendrik who?
There is no Hendrik!
hehe
Couldn’t resist!
Seriously tho! Hendrik is a wealth of knowledge. In the beginning I thought he was another wacko (no offense HS) but the more I thought about what he wrote the more I realized it was gold.
See ya,
see,now this is what annoys me about this site.ALL THE TALENT that posts on here.and where is the book?exactly!can you imagine what could be accomplished if you guys gathered and made firm plans.life…it’s later than you think…
Re: phenix bio
Originally posted by foolinthedeck
[B]theres no point asking the elephant about itself, it probably sees less than each of the blindfolded men. But may i ask the blindfolded for what they know about phenix?
i’m interested in the elusive rogue… all i ‘know’ is:
name - hendrik?
nationality - european? german perhaps?
nickname - phenix
style - wing chun etc.
interests - too many to name.
[/B]
foolinthedeck,
There are many many WC masters and practictioners from many many different lineages that have a very very low opinion of Phenix.
This is because he has made many many outlandish and egocentric claims. It is also because whenever he is confronted by authentic WC masters, authentic Chan masters, or authentic historians, he has a habit of always having to go on vacation.
So go ahead and read his posts and decide for yourself what to take and what to trash. But you will never find any real history from him other than his own interpretations of a few old pictures. And you will never find anyone from his lineage who will vouch for any of his self-grandizing claims.
Personally I find him utterly insulting to the art and precious knowledge that is WC.
Re: Re: phenix bio
Originally posted by duende
[B]
..This is because he has made many many outlandish and egocentric claims. It is also because whenever he is confronted by authentic WC masters, authentic Chan masters, or authentic historians, he has a habit of always having to go on vacation…
[/B]
duende-
First off by all means I am not trying to disrespect anyone here. Everyone can believe what they want to and that is okay with me. So no offense is intended from what I am about to say.
It seems to me that all these so called authentic wing chun historians really have no concrete proof of anything. Every lineage has its history, some are similar some are different. How do we know for sure which ones are true and which ones aren’t? The truth is we do not. Phenix could be right about a lot of things, or he could be completely wrong. The thing is about these historians is that they are quick to call all other lineages mythical, and their mythical lineage truth. So it turns into a huge debate about what lineage has better foot work or better forms or whatever. Then people start taking offense to it, and then it gets even worse.
If one lineage says execute this move this way and this is why, and another is the opposite who is wrong? Niether, both of the different systems have reasons behind the technique, both have worked and have purpose.
In a way its just like arguing if jesus christ ever existed and if there really is a god. This argument is pointless because we cannot prove or disprove anyting from lack of knowledge, or ignorance. Plus when we do this we miss the real point. It doesn’t matter if Jesus really existed, what matters is what he stands for and what he did. The stories are there to teach lessons.
So maybe for once we can look at difference of opinion, lineage, art, etc as a good thing. Perhaps we could learn off each other?
I don’t know, sorry for rambling just some random thoughts when I read this thread…
(btw just used jesus as an example)
Phenix’s Song:
…In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence.
"Hi " said I, “You do not know
Silence like a rainbow grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.”
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.”
And whisper’d in the sounds of silence.
Sound of Silence- Paul Simon -
Gangsterfist,
I’m all for differences of opinion. And I could really care less about better this or original that.
The fact remains that Phenix has a talent for posting alot of mis-information. Sorry, but that is not an opinion, that’s a fact. I have an OPINION that he is of a very low character for doing so.
I don’t want to make this more negative then it has to be. Foolinthedeck asked for a character reference. I gave him my honest opinion, based on the factual experiences I’ve witnessed on this forum.
PS No need to be sorry… I know you mean well.
Originally posted by foolinthedeck
But may i ask the blindfolded for what they know about phenix?
A blindfolded man is a happy man any foolinthedeck knows that.
originally posted by captain
see,now this is what annoys me about this site.ALL THE TALENT that posts on here.and where is the book?exactly!
Amen!