Martial arts - schools,teachers

Recreation Martial Arts
41

As to cost, you get what you pay for. James is reputed to be the best at what he does. Have you seen him/his classes? If not then an assesment that “he is too expensive” is meaningless. And anyway 3,000 to 5,000 a month is about the going rate for anything decent; Luo Laoshi is charging his students in that range for Gao style pakua.

I should add, that the rule “you get what you pay for” is not always true but in this case it is; if one is interested in hung gar then Jame’s rates are more than fair.

But of course it is up to the individual to decide what is worth what.

take care,
Brian

42

brian-> I didn’t say he is too expensive and if his lessons are good or bad and nobody should practise in this school. It was my personall opinion that at least 3500$Nt (less is for me a bit without any sense) it isn’t too little. Especially that in my country I paid 1200 NT/month with 3 trainings per week, with very good teacher.
I can’t compare prices for trainings because I just don’t know any other prices. If you have so good knowledge about prices and teachers, please share with us. Because now when I know that this price (3000 NT > ) is standart, I can consider that I want learn there, even if I think the price is high.
I tried find Luo Laoshi at Chian Kai Shek M.H. but I have bad luck and I couldn’t find him. Do you know when and where exactly he has trainings. for sure me and other people can be interested in this information.

Regards,
Hans

43

I don’t know if those prices are too expensive, but maybe that means my classes are too cheap???

Well, if anyone is interested in Brazilian or Thai Kung-Fu, you guys feel free to come down and visit my school!

Sincerely,
Andy Wang
wangbjj@gmail.com

44

Does anyone have any tips for someone (female) who is interested in learning gongfu but has never done any? I speak enough Chinese to not need an English speaking teacher.

Ideally I’d like to find a school near Mujia. :help:

45

Why do you want to learn? (Self defense, health, hobby)
Any idea of what you’d like to learn? (Bagua, Taiji, White Crane, Wingchun, etc.)
When are you availible to practice? (mornings, afternoons, evenings)

Any information like this is sure to help bring about recommendations. We do have some female students at the Jujitsu School now (4 or 5 I think.) I know a guy that teachers Traditional Martial Arts in Xindian.

46

I’m looking at it for exercise and self-defence and as a way maybe to meet people.

I’d like to learn to kick and punch and flip people (the active side of it attracts me - I want to get a decent workout from the classes), but am not really that fussy about what martial art I do. I get frustrated with Taiqi and think I might with Qigong (that’s the flapping one, isn’t it?).

I’m free afternoons and evenings.

Thanks miltownkid and anyone else who has suggestions.

47

Well, if you like flipping people around want some self self defense skills, exercise and want to meet people the Jujitsu School might be fun for you.

Our forum is here: taiwanbjj.org/forum/ (it’s near San Yet San Memorial Hall)

You’re more than welcome to come try a class for free and see if you like it. That’s where I go. Jujitsu is a really good workout (ask Namahottie, she knows :slight_smile:)

If your Chinese is good, you might be able to find a Judo or Taikwondo gym in your area.

48

[quote=“Andy Wang”]

Well, if anyone is interested in Brazilian or Thai Kung-Fu, you guys feel free to come down and visit my school!

Sincerely,
Andy Wang
wangbjj@gmail.com[/quote]

Andy, I remember reading that you studied under Dan Inosanto for a while and that you spoke very highly of him.

Would you say that he taught you JKD?

Would you say that you teach JKD?

I know your primary discipline is BJJ, but I just thought I’d ask

49

I need to pop in on the James discussion. I highly recommend watching at least one class before you agree to join. I took his classes for a few months but they were so disorganized. Completely disorganized. And he has WAY too many students for only him to teach. Especially when everyone is off doing their own things.

50

I don’t think Andy is watching this thread anymore, you might want to try emailing him.

And the TMA (Traditional Martial Arts) guy that was in Xindian now has a school on Minquan East Road and Xinsheng. There is at least one foreighner that teaches and some that take classes along with him. He has classes for competition pushhands, Taiji and some other stuff I think.

If someone is interested I’ll post the address and stuff (it’s not on hand, I’d have to look for it/call someone :P)

51

If somebody is interested in Kung-fu.
In Shu-lin under the bridge from Banqiao to Shu-lin, is Shu-lin Kung-fu school. They practise Praying mantis style,tai-ji, and recently they have on other site another shi-fu who teaches ju-jutsu or aikido.
For Kung-fu novice they charge about 1500 NT/month (very cheap compare to other 3000-4000), price depends on your skills.
Trainings are 3 times per week + some sundays (2 hours each Mon,Wed,Fri).
The only thing you have to speak at least elementary chinese(and understand much more), because shi-fu doesn’t speak english.
If somebody is serious about training (it means one has plan to stay in taiwan longer time), please pm me for details.

Regards,
Hans

52

Thanks for your considerate post. I’ll try to email Andy

53

That’s correct to some extent. I also recommend watching at least one class before you sign up. I also agree that he has too many students for him to teach effectively. He’s a victim of his own success!

Part of the problem is that he spends lots of time with people who just pop in to take a look at the class. He often taught those people for quite a bit on the side only to have them never show up to class again. Not his fault, just that many people want to take a look but few actually want to train. But teaching like that takes up a lot of time he should be spending on regular students. So that contributes to the disorganization.

He’ll need to train assistant teachers to make the classes effective but most of the foreigners and Taiwanese in the class simply don’t train intensely enough. They are there mostly for fun and fitness. He will have very, very few students willing to put in the time and effort to be any good. Of course, he would have to devote extra time to making a few select students that good as well.

All in all, he’s going to have a difficult time working out those problems. I wish him luck. He’s a good guy.

54

Class update:
I moved my class to Da-an park because of the better fengshui (that is to say, it has grass). I also changed the class times. Now it is Mon, Wed and Thurs 7:30-9:30+. The class is NT$1000/month.

We study wing chun with an emphasis on natural body movement and interaction principles. What that means in simple language is that I try to get people moving in the most natural way possible and then get them in a position to understand combat principles rather than technique. These principles apply to all martial arts (yes, even ground fighting) so I don’t really think of it as wing chun per se. The wing chun part is that we do a hell of a lot of chisao (kind of a fast push hands with strikes). What we do is not really “traditional” in any way. I only like what works in real fighting (or sport fighting) and I love muay thai, bjj and ufc. I expand to do more complicated stuff as the students need it. Right now the primary focus is on relaxing and learning to deal with non-cooperative power. Feel free to come out if you want to mess about and we will try to accomodate. We will do push hands or whatever. Lots of personal attention and believe me, you will know quickly if this is a good class for you (it very well may not be). The class is conducted in both Chinese and English.

My background is 12 years of wing chun (6 or so teaching). And a bunch of other stuff like thai boxing, boxing, judo, karate, aikido, tricycle racing, jujitsu and plenty of whatnot before that and inbetween.

If you are looking for us, go to the Jianguo side of Da-an park around 8 o’clock or so. We are about 20 meters south of the gas station about 20 meters in a lit circle area. Look for the dorky laowai. Ignore the old dancing people with the bad jambox. Call Will at 0930632213 if you have any problems.

55

Can anyone recommend a good Aikido school in Taipei city?
Cheers!

56

heaven-earth.com/welcome.htm

57

Just opened up a class in the daytime for the daytime people. Tuesday 12:00pm-2:00pm in Daan Park. Right now, there are three people. New people welcome.

Night classes still the same. Come out and check us out if you are interested in fighting or natural body movement.

Call Will at 0930632213 or PM me if you have any questions.

58

Anyone here ever study with Gao Dao-sheng (高道生)? I trained with him from 1991-1998 at the Youth Park in the mornings then in the evenings at his school just off Qingnian Road. Seven Star Mantis and Northern Longfist, mostly. Someone recently told me he’s now 97 and still teaching. I know one of his students opened a museum of Chinese martial arts weapons in Beitou and named it after him, but I haven’t been up to check it out yet. Here’s Gao Laoshi with a former student:

Getting up at first light to practice xiaohuyan, double broadsword, etc. My fondest memories of Taiwan.

59

[quote=“smell the glove”]Anyone here ever study with Gao Dao-sheng (高道生)? I trained with him from 1991-1998 at the Youth Park in the mornings then in the evenings at his school just off Qingnian Road. Seven Star Mantis and Northern Longfist, mostly. Someone recently told me he’s now 97 and still teaching. I know one of his students opened a museum of Chinese martial arts weapons in Beitou and named it after him, but I haven’t been up to check it out yet. Here’s Gao Laoshi with a former student:

Getting up at first light to practice xiaohuyan, double broadsword, etc. My fondest memories of Taiwan.[/quote]

Actually, the school/museum is in Tamshui. Here’s some info from my blog on it:
formosaneijia.com/2006/praying-m … n-museums/

Enjoy.

60

[quote=“netrealist”]Actually, the school/museum is in Danshui. Here’s some info from my blog on it:
formosaneijia.com/2006/praying-m … n-museums/[/quote]
Thanks for that, netrealist! Very informative stuff. So Danshui it is - I really have to get up there and check it out.

That article from 2005 had this to say:

[quote]As well as housing his collection of weapons the private museum, which Lin named the Taosheng Ancient Chinese Military Weapons Museum (道生中國兵器博物館), the structure also doubles as a shrine to Lin’s master and martial arts teacher, Kao Tao-sheng (高道生). Now 91 and living in Qingdao, China, the hugely influential wushu master is considered by many to be one of the world’s top martial-arts experts.

“I wanted to pay homage to my teacher and figured that the most fitting way to do this was to name the rooms in which I keep my collection after him,” said Lin. “He’s a great man and a truly honorable teacher. He might be 91 years old, but he can still knock me around like I’m a student.” [/quote]
That would make Gao 93 this year instead of 97. I knew he went back to Shandong for a while (his grandson came here from Qingdao to live with him for a while), but then I heard he came back to Taiwan. I’ll stop by his old place and see if he’s still around.

That last comment about getting knocked around hit home though. I remember when I was learning er lu, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what one particular move was all about. This after fifteen years of martial arts. I asked him, and he told me to punch him as hard as I could in the chest. He said, “Yong li! Yong li! Ni buhui da dao wo!” So I threw one as hard as I could - and he threw me over his head. The floor of the wuguan was cement, and my back hurt like a sonofabitch for weeks. One of the shixiong came over and said, “Next time you want to know about an application, just ask us first.”

Here are a few photos I took of weapons in the school circa early 90s - apologies for lousy quality. Aside from all the mantis and longfist work, I did a couple long staff sets, a few spear sets, four straight sword sets (spent a year on those alone), short staff, broadsword, and double broadsword. BTW, my understanding was that all the weapons are Northern Longfist, etc. There are no Mantis weapons per se.


Gao Laoshi didn’t speak a word of English, but he was very welcoming of foreign students (I even remember students from Belgium, America, and Israel living at the school at one time or another). The guoshuhui used to point students his way. I wonder if any are still around.