Any wushu (traditional and/or contemporary) in San Antonio, TX?
yes, search the forum.
Did that but those threads are somewhat dated. I’m looking for more recent information/opinions/suggestions for San Antonio.
I was considering a position in San Antonio and posted this thread. Got a few responses. Sadly I was not offered the position so I am still here in DFW.
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46714&highlight=san+antonio
xcakid: That was why I posted the new thread because I saw your post some time ago and I had been wondering what you did assuming you made it to San Antonio (and what the others on this forum did as well). The closest I can find here is Gilbert Leal’s Shaolin kungfu class. What he teaches is closer to modern wushu. He studied wushu with Wang Jurong in Houston. Seems like Houston has three or four Shaolin kungfu schools now. Houston ought to export one to San Antonio for all I know. One would think a heavily military city like San Antonio would have Shaolin kungfu by now.
What kind of training are you looking for? I’ve been considering taking a student or two.
Water Dragon:
Well, what kind of training am I looking for - I am looking for good serious changquan, staff, spear, sword. Training that resembles that of the Houston Shaolin schools - essentially break every bone in my body and leave me collapsing in a heap at the end of class. I’ve already tried several martial arts schools in San Antonio and hardly broke a sweat, that’s no good for me. No pain no gain.
Oh, I dont think you’d be interested then. I’d definately bust your ass, but I don’t think what I have is what you’re looking for.
Yeah, I think you do shuaijiao or something like that. Looks like Gilbert Leal is the closest thing to what I’m looking for until the next Shaolin monk wanders into San Antonio.
[QUOTE=zhugeliang;783103]xcakid: That was why I posted the new thread because I saw your post some time ago and I had been wondering what you did assuming you made it to San Antonio (and what the others on this forum did as well). The closest I can find here is Gilbert Leal’s Shaolin kungfu class. What he teaches is closer to modern wushu. He studied wushu with Wang Jurong in Houston. Seems like Houston has three or four Shaolin kungfu schools now. Houston ought to export one to San Antonio for all I know. One would think a heavily military city like San Antonio would have Shaolin kungfu by now.[/QUOTE]
Well given that Houston has 4 Shaolin Monks that have schools open there and a number of northern styles on top of that, you got yourself a CMA mecca going on there.
Unfortunately it seems San Antonio is lacking severely in CMA. At least here in DFW we have a handfull of schools.
Another suggestion is commuting to Austin. There is a few places there that can give you the training you are looking for.
Where are you training at in DFW? Yes, San Antonio is severely lacking in many respects including CMA. I’m looking for jobs in Houston for that reason. Until then it’s make do with what little there is in San Antonio.
Hey Zhugeliang,
The International Shaolin Wushu Center has a school in Austin we have a Saturday Class from 11:30a to 12:30p. If you want to break a sweat come on in, Austin is only an hour to 45 minutes depending on where you live. My master and I have had some discussions about San Antonio and opening a school there and bringing another master in next year but nothing has been decided or is firm yet.
www.internationalshaolinaustin.com
shaolin1:
I assure you and your shifu will find no competition whatsoever in San Antonio in terms of Shaolin gongfu, northern styles, etc. Wing chun seems to be big here for some reason but I don’t go in for push hands stuff. Sadly, Shaolin-Do has a foothold here.
I wonder how many more Shaolin masters Houston can absorb, four seems to be approaching critical mass.
[QUOTE=zhugeliang;783197]Where are you training at in DFW? .[/QUOTE]
Kwoon I study at: www.swyi.com
[QUOTE=zhugeliang;783292]
I wonder how many more Shaolin masters Houston can absorb, four seems to be approaching critical mass.[/QUOTE]
Hardly. The problem is they are all in one area of Houston. They need to spread out. The Shaolin Monks I speak of are all in Chinatown. Like 5 sq miles. 
If they spread out a bit. Take a look at the S.F. Bay Area and NYC. quite a few good instructor there, but they are spread out.
Hardly. The problem is they are all in one area of Houston. They need to spread out. The Shaolin Monks I speak of are all in Chinatown. Like 5 sq miles.
Seems like a very Shaolin-dense area. Maybe they got cheap rents there.
[QUOTE=zhugeliang;783292]shaolin1:
I assure you and your shifu will find no competition whatsoever in San Antonio in terms of Shaolin gongfu, northern styles, etc. Wing chun seems to be big here for some reason but I don’t go in for push hands stuff. Sadly, Shaolin-Do has a foothold here.
I wonder how many more Shaolin masters Houston can absorb, four seems to be approaching critical mass.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I have heard that, I have a student that lives in San Antonio and she has said the exact same thing. Yes, Houston is very Shaolin rich which is a good thing. They each have their own specialties. My Master has a vision to spread Shaolin to all major Texas cities, with a monk or a disciple teaching in each which will make Texas in general, very Shaolin rich. It will also help to eliminate those schools that are forgeries. Hopefully, this vision will be accomplished. I think Dallas and San Antonio would support this.
[QUOTE=xcakid;783297]Kwoon I study at: www.swyi.com
Hardly. The problem is they are all in one area of Houston. They need to spread out. The Shaolin Monks I speak of are all in Chinatown. Like 5 sq miles. If they spread out a bit. Take a look at the S.F. Bay Area and NYC. quite a few good instructor there, but they are spread out.[/QUOTE]
No, it is more like 1 sq. mile. Shi Xing Hao’s school is blocks from our school. The Houston Shaolin Temple is about a mile up the road from us and Shi Yan Feng’s school is also about a mile away. It would be cool if they spread out a bit but I think each wants to serve the Chinese community and that is where the community is. All of the schools have a lot of students so the closeness of each does not seem to matter. Plus rent is cheap in that general area for the square footage and height that is required of our schools.
[QUOTE=sha0lin1;783489]Yes, I have heard that, I have a student that lives in San Antonio and she has said the exact same thing. Yes, Houston is very Shaolin rich which is a good thing. They each have their own specialties. My Master has a vision to spread Shaolin to all major Texas cities, with a monk or a disciple teaching in each which will make Texas in general, very Shaolin rich. It will also help to eliminate those schools that are forgeries. Hopefully, this vision will be accomplished. I think Dallas and San Antonio would support this.[/QUOTE]
Good goal. Texas is a large state with Chinese communities concentrated in Dallas, Plano, Houston, and Austin. But do the Houston masters view Shaolin as something just for the Chinese community? With all those Jet Li movies out there one would think the non-Chinese community would take interest in Shaolin.
No they don’t view it as just for the chinese community it is for everyone. However, since they are Chinese they want to serve their community and they feel most at home there as well. I am quite surprised however, that there are very few non-chinese students in our school and I am assuming that the others are that way as well because I have seen very few from the other schools at performances that we end up at together. However, it doesn’t really matter where they are located, if you want good training you should seek out the best. Let me tell you, there is nothing like learning from a Master that has been doing Wushu since he was 6 years old 6-8 hours per day 6 days per week. It is an awesome sight to behold indeed. We are very lucky that the Shaolin Temple has allowed monks to come here.
sha0lin1, what is your schools curriculum like? I am really intersted in learning more of the Shaolin forms and application. Like Xiao and Da Hong Quan, Tong Bei, etc.