Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis

[Edwardo]

Big thanks to Doc Stier and others!!!!

I was hoping to train with the grandmaster himself in london uk, but ive got a feeling he has returned to hongkong....can anybody confirm this?

Ed

[JAB]

THE grandmaster? First of all I would be quite leery of anyone using such a title. Secondly their are several "families" of SM, so I doubt there is one single "grand" anything!
Jake

[Edwardo]

Thanks, but i was just meaning chow gar. The guy taught Paul Whitrod, who is renowned for his ability.

peace

Ed

[middleway]

Hey Ed,

AFAIK Paul Whitrods Teachers were Grandmaster Ip Shui and Grandmaster Ip Chee Keung??

Who is the teacher your looking at learning from or was it GM Ip Chee Keung? That would be awesome to learn from him!!!

All the best
Chris

[Edwardo]

Hey Chris, yeah it's GM Ip Chee Keung!!

He was teaching near where I live, but i've had no response from the email address asking about classes.

I'll wait a few more days then try again..

Peace
Ed

[middleway]

man alive!!! get there and train from him if you can mate!!

Let us know how you get on!

all the best,

Chris

[Edwardo]

Will do mate!!!

peace
Ed

[Doc Stier]

Edwardo:

Don't wait for any kind of response. Older Sifu's oftentimes want to see prospective new students make an effort to initiate contact. After all, it is you that seeks them out, not them looking for you, right?

If you have a class location address and a contact telephone number, call and visit at times when someone is likely to be there, probably in the evening after normal work schedules. Be persistent. Call and stop by again and again until someone answers your call or lets you in the door on site. Those who give up too quickly, having made only what appears to be half-hearted efforts at best, will never make it through the door to learn anything at a traditional kwoon. They figure that if you aren't willing to make a good effort in order to learn from them, why should they make any effort to teach you? Old fashioned thinking, of course, but sometimes that's just the way it is.

Like the I-Ching states: "Perseverance furthers."

Good luck!

Doc

[Edwardo]

Hey Doc, thanks for the advice!!

i'll persist!
peace
Ed

[middleway]

great advice Doc.

Thanks
Chris

[jarvis]

Hi Ed

Chris is right when he says Paul Whitrod studied with both the Grandmaster & his son. It was Ip Shui who gave Paul the UK banner in 1989 if my memory is correct. If you struggle to find a teacher go & see Paul. A few on EF have met & studied with him & can testify how good he is. The harder you work the more you can learn, he's a very good teacher.

Phil

[Andy_S]

Whitrod has an excellent rep....he seems to have recovered well from the London "mantis war" of the late 80s, while the other antagonist, Tony Leung (whose Islington school was the nearest thing London had to a Shaolin temple - had the best equipped gongfu gym I had ever seen) appears to have evaporated: last I heard he was in the mainland studying acupuncture. That is a pity, as he was very good, too.

Southern Mantis is known as a very effective fighting style, but it is a typical Hakka style: Very close, cramped kinds of stances and shenfa, which I personally find uncomfortable. But maybe that is just cos I have been doing IMA - which uses a very different shenfa - for so long.

If not the grandmaster, try Whitrod. He has a very, very wide range of material that he teaches, and is known as someone who can use it (even though he is a tiny fellow). Does anyone know what happened to his cage fight some years back? I recall it never transpired? TThat's another good thing about Whitrod: he is not a maniac about 'traditional" gongfu, he has had his students kickbox in the past, to gain fighting exp, and probably feels the same way about cage fighting today.

[Mut]

Sifu Witrod would be an excellent choice if GM Ip CK is no longer available.

[yusuf]

Andy

Paul got prepared, peaked and cut weight, i think it was, three times in a year and... all three opponents dropped out... The last time I spoke to him he said he got pissed off and gave up on the hwole cage rage thing.

I understand he is thinking of going to Thailand to try out bouts in Muay Thai... if anyone gets the chance you should go see him


yusuf

[Andy_S]

Yusuf:

I'm on the other side of the world,but I like the sound of Whitrod. He'll have no trouble getting bouts in Thailand on the local circuit if that is what he wants to do.

Do you/did you train with him?