Chee Soo interviewed on BBC One in 1973

[GrahamB]

https://www.facebook.com/seahorsearts/v ... _video_set

Some people here might have been taught by this master, back in the day.

It's amazing to see this preserved so well from 1973 - that was a long time ago! His chair demo is a nice bit of theatre.

He doesn't know when the last ice age was, but bear in mind that this was pre-Internet, MMA and all the rest of it.

[willywrong]

https://www.facebook.com/seahorsearts/videos/vb.19929383259/10153273266058260/?type=3&video_source=pages_video_set

Some people here might have been taught by this master, back in the day.

It's amazing to see this preserved so well from 1973 - that was a long time ago! His chair demo is a nice bit of theatre.

He doesn't know when the last ice age was, but bear in mind that this was

pre-Internet, MMA and all the rest of it.

Are you talking about there being little or no respect for past masters nowadays?

[GrahamB]

Not really....

I just meant that the 'sparring' the two guys are doing at the start in the background looks kind of embarrassing by today's standards, and some if the 'facts' he talks about (like when the ice age was) are clearly wrong. These days it's so easy to look up stuff like that on the internet.

You just have to remember that this was 1973 when you watch it. I also think that you have to view the demos as a nice bit of theatre. Everybody enjoys a magic trick!

I love the way the interviewer really wants to know if it works and get involved - also Chee says nothing about chi being the reason he can do the chair demo and instead points out it is structure and redirecting force.

[wayne hansen]

Most people back then didn't spar like that
Chee soo was always looked upon with mirth
I might be wrong but wasn't his real name Clifford Gordon and he was raised in a bernardos home and never went to china

[GrahamB]

His daughters account probably has the most accurate biography:

http://www.taoistarts.org/wp-content/up ... Feb.08.doc

(The Chinese girl in the background in that video I linked to is quite possibly his daughter)

I don't know about China but I've seen a picture of him and his second wife on holiday in Hong Kong.

[GrahamB]

I take your point that most people didn't spar like that back in the '70s Wayne - it's a good point. That sort of sparring is typical of the style. Far from unique even today though - for example, I went to my kids school fair on Saturday and there was a local group doing a Tae Kwan Do demo looking to recruit more kids - the sparring looked almost exactly like what they're doing in the video above - just dancing about in each other's general direction and throwing kicks that miss.

[hodmeist]

Clifford Gibbs was his other name. I trained with his son in law years and years ago in the family style of Kung Fu and Tai Chi. I think Chee Soo splits the UK Tai Chi community from that time down the middle. Some say charlatan and others say genius.

[wayne hansen]

Grahame you don't see any holes in his daughters account

[GrahamB]

Oh it's full of holes, but I only said it was the best.

And you can't spell my name.

[wayne hansen]

I'm old lots of things I can't do

[willywrong]

Oh it's full of holes, but I only said it was the best.

And you can't spell my name.

I think Grahame is a cool name, ever thought of taking as a nickname. Oh you can just call me Fat Willy.

[Andy_S]

He was a very big name in the UK MA community back in the day (before my time). But I have read that his main art was Aikido, and what he shows here - in terms of both the "attacks" and the defenses - looks more like Aikido than CMA. And given the demo, I can only assume that "Saturday night punch ups" were less violent then than they are now.

BTW, if Willy Wrong is to called "Fat Willy" may I be addressed as "Plump Cock?"

[GrahamB]

How about Golden Cock, old chum?

[willywrong]

How about Golden Cock, old chum?

I think Limp Dick would be more apt.

[Chuangzu]

Here's another video of Chee Soo from 1975. It was filmed as a schools documentary on Martial Arts, three popular martial arts were filmed from London at the time, boxing, hard style kung fu and Chee Soo's was soft style kung fu.
https://www.facebook.com/seahorsearts/v ... 587528260/