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- This topic has 27 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 5 months ago by farooq.
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May 19, 2006 at 2:55 am #14057farooqParticipant
Hi Fajin,
You were indeed blessed to have found such a good teacher.
It can also be said that a teacher is fortunate to have a sincere and hardworking student.
btw I read one of your previous posts about doing the horse stance with 650lb of weight! That sounds unbelievable. and if i understood correctly, you also stay in the deep stance for hours – That is incredible rootedness. is this true?
also, just out of curiosity, since you stayed in China so long did you learn Cantonese or Mandarin?
Peace and smiles
farooq
May 19, 2006 at 7:59 am #14059FajinParticipantHi Farooq,
Your compliments make your good heart apparent. I enojoy discussing with people like you any time. You may ask me any question at any time, even if the reply is late, it’s a pleasure discussing with you. 🙂
Yes, I am able to stand in the horse stance with 650 lbs. of weight on my knees. Although, it’s not THAT great as you think it may be. The shaolin of past were able to do over 1000 lbs. of weight at higher levels.
I do this without standing on wooden stakes though. When you stand on wooden stakes, the weight is concentrated on the soles of the feet which is really skillful, especially with weight over 1000 lbs.! So, I perceive ALL the legends of old to be true. I mean, I know through my experience, hehe.
The hard part, at first, is being able to stand in the low horse stance for several hours. When you can do that, it’s pretty much all downhill. Well, not really downhill if you’re standing on stakes too, because it is extremely painful in the first month.
After, the pain subsides and the legs get VERY strong and the root is very deep and powerful. Yes, my root is very strong and I doubt a wrestler could displace me even if he spear-headed me, hehe.
Sadly, I did not learn Chinese in China. This is because 98% of the time, I stayed at the academy and trained alot. And my teacher was Eglish speaking along with many Chinese students who knew some English. But I did manage to learn some basic words. I will probably learn Chinese on this visit.
Btw, you said your uncle stayed in Hong Kong, does that make you part Chinese (is that why you asked)? I know it’s part because your name is not Chinese and you said that you grew up in Pakistan. Thanks!
🙂
FajinMay 19, 2006 at 10:16 pm #14061farooqParticipantHi Fajin,
Thank you for your kind words. I was raised to respect everyone, even those younger than me, ( i am 41 years old btw) – it comes down to treating others the way you would like to be treated.
Comming back to the horse stance, I really admire the work you have put into it. The longest that I was able to sit was only 30 minutes – and even then, I was not very low.
In getting up to 2 hours did you just keep your hands at your sides in fists?
Also, what frame of mind would you have?One of my cousins is a student at the Shaolin Acadamy in Surrey. Are you familiar with this school. The teacher there; Mr. Terlecki, went to train at the Shaolin temple in China for a few months. He said that he was not impressed with the local students there. He said most of them would pass the night nursing large bottles of beer. Is the calibre of students where you are going better?
Aside from the Liang School in Vancouver, do you recommend any schools here to learn good martial arts?
Oh yes, I am not part Chinese. My Uncle’s dad was a Land Commisioner in Hong KOng after World War ll, So my Mom and her brothers (my uncles) all spoke fluent Cantonese. When my Uncle was a teenager he was befriended by an old man who taught him some kung fu. Later on my Grandfather retired and moved the family back to Pakistan.
Well, I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss this stuff with you Fajin. Your devotion to the Martial Arts is very inspirational to me – Thank You.
Peace and smiles
FarooqMay 20, 2006 at 2:13 am #14063FajinParticipantHi Farooq,
I keep my hands relaxed over my thighs sometimes, or wherever is comfortable really. It doesn’t matter too much where I put them because the exercise is for rooting. It’s all about daily progress!
The students at the Wudang academy are definately better. There are some that stay there for some years who want to take their studies seriosly and really dedicate themselves like me. So it all depends. But I agree with Mr. Terlecki, the students today here in the West, especially, just train a little, they don’t put enough time and effort into it – the real meaning of gong fu.
Like I said, I was disciplined in the traditional ways, and so I put alot of time and effort into it, that is what it should be all about.
I really don’t know much about the schools in Vancouver all that well, because I don’t follow much since I received the training I needed from my teacher here who passed and my teacher in China.
My recommendations to finding a good teacher are this.
The single most important thing you need in a teacher is one that puts a huge emphasis on the internal aspects of martial arts. If he has you doing running drills and push-ups, he’s not up to par. Martial arts are all about internal power so when looking for a teacher, make sure he lives up to his word on that. Does he have strong root, lightness, vitality, etc.
If you could perhaps name me some teachers and show me their websites, then I could check out their web page and tell you what I think of them. It would be a pleasure!
🙂Regards,
FajinMay 21, 2006 at 1:00 pm #14065farooqParticipantHi Fajin,
“….the exercise is for rooting.”
So as you are in the stance, do you conciously draw energy from the earth and circulating, or are you just in Wu Wei?
Sitting in a deep horse stance for long periods of time is really ‘old school’ so I am really happy to find someone who actually has reached that level.
regarding teachers, I can only think of Shou Yu Liang, If you find any one locally, please let me know. Thanks
Peace and Smiles
Farooq
May 21, 2006 at 4:32 pm #14067FajinParticipantHi Farooq,
I feel my root beneath my feet and the heaven force above my head and my dantian connected as one like in a Taiji form. You could also do the macrocosmic orbit but it is to dangerous I think in low horse stance, so I’m not even going to try it.
I hope that this inspires you to train more! Good luck!
Smiles away,
FajinMay 22, 2006 at 1:26 pm #14069farooqParticipantttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
May 22, 2006 at 2:56 pm #14071singing oceanParticipantFarooq,
you might try Diane Kehoe in Delta (Riverbank Taichi), she does not look like a typical martial artist, but has the best push hands and structural training of principles out of anyone I have met. Don’t make any judgments about her until you’ve checked out how solid her root is, and listening power. Her and John have been practicing for over thirty years from the best Chen and Yang style masters on the west coast, they both focus on the 8 yang style push hands forms, cheng man ching 37 move short form, the two person combat form and yang long form. It is a telling point that Kelly, one of SYL’s best students goes to her for push hands training (and is actually not that good to begin with). SYL’s main thing is sanshou and wushu.
http://www.thewushucentre.ca/whatsup.htm#this%20month
If you are interested in joint locks (Qin na), check out sam masich.
There is also a guy who teaches wudang gong fu in richmond, maybe taiji?
Wudang Cultural International Association
Phone: 778-892-8488, 604-273-3828, 778-862-5092 or 778-862-0652
Email: admin@chinawudang.org
Enjoy!
May 22, 2006 at 5:40 pm #14073singing oceanParticipantI for got the link, here it is:
May 22, 2006 at 6:10 pm #14075FajinParticipantIt’s nice you showed this the last day I was here.
I can’t understand the chinese text so I don’t know if they teach what I learned. If it has roots from Grand Master Zhong Yun Long, then it is.
Anyway, I’ll demonstrate my Wudang forms to you and Farooq one day, and show you around with Wudang push hands and hunyuan qigong and other nifty things, I think you’ll like them. Wudang goes very internal unlike other styles.
‘Til one day,
JinMay 23, 2006 at 5:01 am #14077farooqParticipantHi singing ocean,
Thank you very much for the info on Diane Keyhoe. I live in Surrey so a school close by is ideal.
Will let you know how things go with her.
Regarding the Wudang school, I will try to contact them too, although I would prefer to learn Wudang from our friend Fajin;0)
btw do you attend classes anywhere?
Peace and smiles
Farooq
May 24, 2006 at 3:23 am #14079singing oceanParticipantI train privately with this guy in QE park who does a root form similar to both taiji and bagua (bei kuen), the family that brought it here still lives in richmond, but is not active with classes right now. I have been training 1 year and a half, and have only learned the first third of the set.
I took classes with SYL, Victor Fu, and Diane Kehoe. There is also a 70 year old guy from beijing out by SFU that does old style Bagua. A lot of old school guys from vancouver who have done taiji with tchoung ta chen practice with him. I don’t know how to contact him, but if you email mike juzenas, he can hook you up:
http://www.thewushucentre.ca/canadian.htm
You could probably learn something useful from SYL, but would have to be in for the long haul, and learn wushu and shuai jiao to get in his good books so he will show you something, as his school is quite large with many students. He does not focus on practical applications much for the internal arts.
May 25, 2006 at 3:08 am #14081farooqParticipantHi Singing ocean,
Thank you for your reply, that wushucentre site is very rich with what is avalable on the vancouver scene…thanks.
I have some major exploring to do;0)
You’re very lucky to have found a good teacher. Private training is a treasure.
I have spoken with SYL, but have to admit my schedule is such that I know I would not be able to go regularly to his school in Chinatown.
Ideally, I would like to train long term at a good school here in Surrey. In the meantime, I will continue with the Bikram Yoga classes to at least lose some weight.
Also, even though Fajin is ingognito, whenever it is convienent for you, feel free to email me at farooq88@telus.net and we can meet at QE or anywhere else you like. I would really appreciate some feedback on how I do the Primordial set. No pressure, no rush, when ever you like:)
peace and smiles,
Farooq
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