Hi guys -- I'm new here. I've visited these boards now and then in the past when I research stuff and get a link to a post, but here I am proper with a username and stuff, haha.

I'm curious about the posters in this particular forum (being a Chinese stylist myself). What does each person practise ? For how long ? Thoughts ? Why do people practise what they do ? Are they more interested in contemporary performance ? Or the gritty, hard and bitter training of real fighting Chinese arts ?

I've only been practising for about 6 years, began with a few months of wushu then moved countries (Australia to New Zealand) and found a master from with whom I studied a blend of northern shaolin on a staple of tan tui and a few yin qin/mi zong forms.

No longer with that school, I have been breaking down a couple of forms into single movements, etc. mainly tan tui and lien zou duan da. I also practise single moves that I've favourited and feel are effective for entering, etc.

I have just moved to Australia but before I did I had been training traditional shuai jiao and qin na, very intensive and painful and sorely missed. Trying to find people to practise with before I forget too much of it.

Why do I train ? Self defense, trying to perfecting oneself, psychological, fighting ....

Please post about yourself !

troll?

Hi there, Northstar.

Welcome to the board; nice to meet you.

Okay, here's my background.
I only recently moved to Chinese styles. My first contact with martial arts was through capoeira, then I swapped it for jujutsu (that's when I joined the forum two years ago, hence the Japanese sounding pseudonym), and at last Chinese MA, not quite two years ago.

My instructor teaches 6 classes a week if I remember right: taijiquan for beginners, advanced taijiquan, qigong, competition wushu, traditional gongfu, and sanda. My schedule only allows me to attend the traditional gongfu class. The instructor usually teaches a new taolu every month, switching styles frequently, the students being left free to stick to whatever style they like if they find one they particularly enjoy (I personally keep following the general teaching, for the moment, since I want to try as many styles as possible before making up my choice). My instructor, probably the best in France, is Chinese-Vietnamese, and is a State-certified instructor in over 30 different styles, with both Chinese and French certificates. His base arts, with which he is clearly more proficient, are Chen-shi taiji-quan, wing-chun anf Hung-gar. So far, I've had the chance to have a brief taste of: Shaolin-quan, qixingtanglang-quan ("7 star mantis", or "Big Dipper mantis"), bagua-zhang, baji-quan, tongbei-quan, plus a staff form.

Three months ago, I moved to Beijing to try and improve both my Chinese and my gongfu. Unfortunately, the job I do here for a living takes pretty much all my time so that I've been without instruction for the while, and my personnal training has had a nasty tendency to decrease over time. As a result, my gongfu not only hasn't improved, but has got worse.

I intend to change job soon, so as to be able to give MA my priority again.

From the few posts I've already read from you, you definitely seem to know your stuff.

Looking forward to read more from you.

Once again, welcome among us!

Hey northstar, how goes it? I am new here as well. Loving it, though!!!

Since you asked:

I, much like Tashigae, started in japanese arts, at age 4. Namely Wado-Ryu. Having moved around a lot as a child I had the opportunity to 'try' several styles of MA.

When I was 9 I had my first chinese style class. It was Do Pi founded by master Chan Dau. A Year later I began training with a new sifu in a traditional 5 animal shaolin style. From about age 15 I have concentrated primarily on a unqiue southern style coming from Master Choy Li Fut focusing on Monkey, Crane, Dragon, and Long Fist. Love the fluidity of the Chinese arts and they make an excellent compliment to tradiitonal karate. For the last eight years I have also studied JKD concepts. Love my Chinese arts though!

Also, glad your here.

I'm going to assume you're genuine in your interest in other CMA members here, and that you're not a troll - thus I will expose myself to an extent. I come from a very flippant MMA/FMA background and am now a fully dedicated Wing Chun student (Ip Ching lineage). I came to this because my MMA instructor had trained in southern Tiger shaolin kung fu since he was 5 years old and i really liked the integration of chinese teaching in our curriculum. Through WC, I found a street-worthy toolkit that matches my personality in fighting and just about everything else I do day to day. It is hard stuff to learn, which keeps it interesting for me and IMO I think it has greater long-term benefits. And I plan to live for a LONG time. It has also opened doors to qigong and chinese medicine, which I have seen and felt the effectiveness of in the last year enough to make me seriously question western medicine (not like I haven't before). HMO=
heh.
Welcome to the boards.

Thanks for all the replies guys, very nice to meet you all. Yes I do have a genuine interest in other CMA members here... not sure how I was percieved as a possible troll.

Good to see a wide and deep range of experience on this board!

Regards