hello all!
i was wondering who teaches southern mantis in america. i know there is gin foon mark, is there anybody else? what about henry yee, anybody study with him or know anthing about him? thanks.
Good Luck!
You’ve just picked one of the most controversial topics in this board. Good Luck…you’re gonna need it. 
uh-oh
i don’t want to be involved in any controversy i just want to know who teaches in america and where, that’s it. if anyone doesn’t want to discuss on this forum than please email me at
jmantis2000@yahoo.com
thanks.
One of Gin Foon Mark’s teaches southern Mantis in New Jersey. I think it is in Cherryville. I do not know the name of the sifu, but I think the name of the school has Gin Foon Mark in it. I hope this helps. Peace.
Henry Po Yee is not a long time studet of the grandmaster. Gin Foon Mark is. Mark hates Po Yee. In the high school days there were a lot of fights. Po Yee was playing soccer.
It is like a finger point away to da moon…
In the days of yore, when the likes of Bak Mei, Shotokan, Tae Kwan Do, Fu Jow, Kempo etc. were just being invented, Mok Chin Fung(Gin Foon Mark) brought real Kung Fu to America.
On the other hand, Henry Poo Yee was the name of the Last Emperor of China.
Hope this tells someone SOMETHING.
Now that I think about it, I believe that New Jersey sifu’s name from Gin Foon Mark’s lineage is Martin Eisen. There is also a Southern Mantis school in Alabama, I think it is in Decatur. I think the school’s name is Bamboo Temple. They have run an ad in some issues of Inside Kung Fu magazine, so yu might want to pick up an issue of the mag from the last few months. I hope this helps. Peace.
The guy in Decataur
Is Roger Hagood. I’ve heard people ***** about him, but I’ve met him and discovered two things:
He’s for real and has great skill, He’s a nice guy, and an articulate instructor.
And no, I’m not involved in the SPM world. None of those guys like each other, but most of the ones I’ve met had good gong fu.
I am a big beleiver in luck. The more I work, the more luck I have.
Okay, that was more than two things…
I am a big beleiver in luck. The more I work, the more luck I have.
Hey Everybody
This is all that i know about Henry Poo Yee
He was never in any of the group shots of all of Lam Sangs Disciples but still claims that he was a disciple.
He also claims that Lam Sang Gave him his alter but the truth is, Gin Foon Mark is the holder of Lam Sangs Alter and Artifacts.
Lam Sangs Disciples teach the style all basically similar but Henry Yee Teaches it totally different and still calls it Jook Lum. He claims that Lam Sang taught him a different version but how many versions could there be?
Hey Everybody
This is all that i know about Henry Poo Yee
He was never in any of the group shots of all of Lam Sangs Disciples but still claims that he was a disciple.
He also claims that Lam Sang Gave him his alter but the truth is, Gin Foon Mark is the holder of Lam Sangs Alter and Artifacts.
Lam Sangs Disciples teach the style all basically similar but Henry Yee Teaches it totally different and still calls it Jook Lum. He claims that Lam Sang taught him a different version but how many versions could there be?
Its sad to know that somebody would switch the whole style and make up most of it.
James Cama Sifu JCama108@aol.com
okay, let’s not turn this into any pi$$ing match about who has what. I must say, that to Poo Yee’s credit, he did seek out other teachers and his art is a very good one. Sure, you might say it is not the same as Mark Foon’s or others, but he still has great skill, and from what I hear, is a good, forthright Sifu. This, above all is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
Bottom line, if you like what you are doing, then all is good. Period.
There are quite a few teachers of Jook Lum, and to be quite frank, not many of them agree with what the other is doing. Everyone thinks they have the sh!t, and everyone else is wrong. So fine. Let them. Of course, asking them to agree to dissaggree would be the way, but things are as they are. I am but a neophyte in Jook Lum, but I am very happy to be learning what I am learning, and that’s all there is to it.
In NY, we have Norman Chin and Milton Chin, and now James Cama is teaching in NYC as well. There are others, but finding them, and whether or not they are taking on students is quite a diferent story.
Now, here I go stepping on people’s toes…there are people out there teaching SPM. They may be good, they may not. They might have gotten direct transmission from the old man himself, and might even have his hand.BUT…many have not, for whatever reason, passed on his hand to the next generation. This mightbe for lack of teaching talent, for not finding the right person to pass their art down to, for selfish reasons, or that they simply do not care to pass it down. Who knows? Find a teacher.If you like what you are learning, well, that;'s it, isn’t it?
peace
TT
United We Stand
Noble words Rick. Now is the time for Southern Mantis practitioners to come together and put away our differences. I think that New York City should be the Mecca for an annual Mantis tournament. I would name it “G.M. Lam Sang’s Southern Mantis Classic”. I suggest this for all that he’s done for Southern Mantis. What better way to get to know each other and make new friendships. Of course there will always be controversy and pollitics but isn’t that the fun of it as long as we all agree to disagree. Like Cama Sifu always says, “Hands Will Tell”.
Here we go again!
I would be the guy who feels he has to defend Sifu Yee, as I believe I have been with him the longest. I’ve been with Sifu Yee a long time now and know way to much about the politics of this system. I have heard many people who claim to know a lot about my teacher, but when I meet with them or read what they have written, I find they are just passing on 2nd or 3rd hand information, with little or no truth.
Please guys keep my teacher out of these stupid discussions, about who’s who in JL. Most , if not all of you dont have a clue as to what your talking about and just should’nt say anything about him. Every so often this stuff comes up and there always is someone going on about Sifu Yee’s skill in JL, as if they had some inside clue as to what he’s doing. Believe me, you dont have a clue.
As for his Altar, it is as he says. I was with him in the 80’s in Florida when he recieved it, and it did come from Lum Sang. There is much you dont know about Sifu Yee and Lum Sang and most likely will never no.
Is Sifu Yee’s JL different then the others? I would say yes it is! I’ve seen many different JL people, and they all are different. None of them look alike. Is Sifu Yee’s approach different in teaching this system? I would guess it is. Although I have never studied with any of the other teachers.
What was between Lum Sang and Sifu Yee, we will never no. We will either choose to believe what Sifu Yee has said to be true, or you will choose to believe otherwise. I have been around long enough that i choose to believe what he has told me as the truth.
Lum was alive and well when he made these claims. There were articles published of Sifu Yee’s claims as far back as 1988. Not once did anyone, and I mean anyone protest of his claims. Lum was well aware of what he was saying in these articles. Only after Lum’s death did all this crap start.
Everyone of the people who make statements of Sifu Yee not being who he says in JL, I have been told stories about by people other then Sifu Yee. There are many stories out there about people in JL . Most of these stories are of what people have claimed Lum passed on. Do i write about them and make assumtions? I choose not too. Why?? Because it would only be here say!!!
Again I will say this. Sifu Yee does seminars all over the U.S. they are always advertised months in advance, and are open to the public. He has done some demo’s in NY Chinatown, and never was he approached by anyone, that he was doing something wrong. He is in the public more then most JL teachers.
So guys, if you dont like what he’s doing, dont study with him. Do your own thing! He certainly dont care what you are doing. So why care about him?
And guys please dont write threats to me and call me names.
If you want to come and see me, you got my address.
If you want to drop me a note, you have that too.
God Speed
Bruce P. Campbell
166 Green Hill Rd.
Conestoga, Pa. 17516
email benbuster@comcast.net
My sifu says skip the politics, the only thing that matters is if your hand are right, Their will be arguments about our style forever, He sais “if Poo Yee’s methods are so off then test my hands”.:rolleyes:
Hands Tell
Yes hands do tell. Also there is documented proof on video and tape of Grand Master Lam Sang himself stating whats what and who’s who.
radical
This question has been itching at me recently. I heard a story once about Poo Yee. This is a shortened version of it. He came to New York, met with NYC Southern Mantis people, got thrown around like a rag doll, hasn’t returned to NYC since because he was threatened.
Let’s assume the above is false. When was the last time Poo Yee was in NYC and when will he return to teach a seminar?
NOw let’s assume the story is true. IF the story is true then how come there are so many people who brag about his amazing skill? From his website clips it seems he has tons of students nationwide. How could someone so unskilled have so many followers?
Personally, I’m not sure if the story is true or not but I just wanted to hear some other opinions. What did Lam Sang actually teach this guy? ANything>? Everything? Nothing?
Too bad nobody filmed this supposed incident when it happened in NYC cause would’ve answered a lot of questions. This is just bait in case someone did film it and wants to put it up on youtube.
MAybe the situation between Lam Sang and Poo Yee isn’t as complicated as everyone thinks. OKay, let’s say you’ve known your best buds for years. You love them. They love you. You’d all do anything for each other. THEN one of them gets a girlfriend and he stops hanging out for the next three years until they break up. Or maybe he wasn’t into being cool and hanging out with the bros and just wanted to cuddle with he girly girl. Parallel this situation with Lam SAm/Poo Yee/5 disciples in Lam Sang’s picture. Mark Foon, Ho dun, three other Chinese guys(don’t remember their names) were Lam SAngs frat boys. They did all his gangster sh!t for him. THey supported him. They beat up anyone who challenged him. LAm SAng liked them all well enough but got bored and moved to Taiwan to retire away from the baby drama mama. Could Poo Yee, in a sense, have become like the girlfriend from the other story? Maybe Lam didn’t like the other five dudes for whatever reason and became buddy buddy with Poo Yee. I can see the above happening.
More made up stories
You should find the people who made up those stories of Sifu Yee getting beat up and ask them why they tell such BS. Sifu Yee’s been to NY Chinatown I think 3 times in the past 5 years. Once he stayed for about 2 weeks. The time he went and did the demo in Chinatown there was about 5 students with him, and nobody said or did anything, but praise him on his gung fu. He had many witnesses to that.
As for him coming back to NY Chinatown? Im sure if he does, it will be like always anounced way in advance. He’s not afraid to go anywhere, he’s all over the country.
You sure dont know Sifu Yee, cause he dont get slapped around like any rag doll. Thats laughable!!
As for tapes, I heard a few tapes of Lum talking about his art back in the 80’s. Sifu Yee brought them back from NY, when he returned from a visit in the 80’s. You might be surprised what he had to say about some people then. I think there is two different tapes, each about 2 hours. I ask Sifu Yee to release there contents 7 -8 years ago, and he said he would not, cause it would hurt certain people. He said these people are old now and it made no sense to hurt them.
As for people who are loyal to him? Yes there is many of us who are loyal. His gung fu is as good as any I have seen, bar none. You cant spend anytime with him and not respect his skill. You guys are mostly interested in politics, who said this and who did that. Gung fu skill is secondary to most of you.
For the last time, Sifu Yee got most of his JL from Lum Sang. He started making these claims many years before Lum passed. There is much proof of this. He dont care what you think of him. If he was worried about getting slapped around, I dont think he would do the many public demonstrations he does per year.
For years we heard this crap how, he better not go to NY cause all these JL people were going to set him straight. Well, we found out that was just more BS cause he has been there and done that. One was a public demo in Chinatown NY. none came. The compliments on his gung fu then were many, from gung fu people up there.
And for the last time. Go to the JL teachers you respect. Have them show you the real JL. Practice it and be loyal to your teacher. Have your teacher show you not only the fighting but the character that goes with the arts. Dont waste your time with teachers who just want to tell you stories about other practitioners of JL. If they tell you stories how they did this and that to other JL people, ask them to show you proof. Spend your time training and not so much on what others are doing.
Please guys, talk about how great your teacher is, tell us how lucky you are to have him. Talk of his skill and tell stories how he is the best in the world. Say how he has the real thing, and talk about how you no everybody who learned this and that from this master and others. But please keep my teacher out of this! He dont go on about any of your teachers. He dont care what they are doing. When were with Sifu Yee he dont talk about any politics, and if anybody brings them up, he nips it in the bud.
Some of you guys like to use the catchey pharse; “the proof is in the hand” yes it is fellows. So leave it at that.
P.S.
and if you are going to write on this forum, and you want respect? Use your real name. Your teacher should have taught you that.
B.P. Campbell
166 Green Hill Rd.
Conestoga, Pa. 17516
717-871-9798 / 717-629-0615
benbuster@comcast.net