Bruce Kumar Frantzis interview pt.1

[CaliG]

Hi Mike,

I've tried before but the clip is too long for youtube because it includes the out takes.

I tried to have someone trim some of it down but for some reason it slowed it down and it looks kind of strange. But I'll see what I can do.

Does anyone know of any good software for editing video clips?

[cdobe]

I liked his comment in the first clip where he said that a lot of the bad Tai Chi out there today would not qualify as either "internal" or "martial art".

I like the way he points out that hard taiji, taiji as a martial art, requires different training.

Although I'm not why he says the Wu is slow, because it has fast stuff too.

Simply, because he doesn't know better.

Frantzis claims that his teacher stayed with Wu Jianquan and learned directly from him. He also wrote somewhere that his teacher had known Quanyou. And he could have beaten both of them with his Bagua I have been told however that his teacher has learned from Wu Gongyi.

I've tried before but the clip is too long for youtube because it includes the out takes.

I tried to have someone trim some of it down but for some reason it slowed it down and it looks kind of strange. But I'll see what I can do.

Does anyone know of any good software for editing video clips?

I like to use VirtualDubMod. But why don't you just upload it to megaupload or rapidshare (max. 100 MB) ?

CD

[mixjourneyman]

I'd love to see the xingyi sparring clip.
Greg, if you can do it, you'll be everyone's personal hero for a week.

[shawnsegler]

Hey man, - post the Young Kumar Xing Yi clips ...

... if they are out there on the interweb already.

Here you go.

[edededed]

Nice videos - thanks for posting! I especially like Bruce's baguazhang. (I do wish his NY accent was a bit stronger, though!)

[CaliG]

I'd love to see the xingyi sparring clip.
Greg, if you can do it, you'll be everyone's personal hero for a week.

Does anyone have video editing software for Mac?

[fuga]

can't you just do it in iMovie?

[CaliG]

Youtube has a 10 minute limit. The vid is about 15 minutes but 6 minutes is of outakes and I want to cut those off because with the exception of an nasty fall Kumar's partner takes, they kind of take away from the overall theme and the flow of the vid.

[CaliG]

Here's the rest of that interview from YZP.

[kreese]

Thanks yzp and Greg. He really states thing very clearly and his enthusiasm is good. I like how the ponytailed taiji teacher keeps asking him to take it easy

[JessOBrien]

Frantzis claims that his teacher stayed with Wu Jianquan and learned directly from him. He also wrote somewhere that his teacher had known Quanyou. And he could have beaten both of them with his Bagua I have been told however that his teacher has learned from Wu Gongyi.

Please cite your source there cdobe. I've trained with Bruce doing his Wu style tai chi on many occasions. He demonstrated nothing but respect for Wu Jianquan and the founder Quanyu. He told me that his teacher was friends with Wu Jianquan's sons and that's how he got to learn from Wu. The statements you are making go against everything I've heard from Bruce in person. Not that he didn't say it, but it sounds quite out of character, and perhaps your memory of it wasn't exactly precise.

Thanks,
Jess O

[cdobe]

Frantzis claims that his teacher stayed with Wu Jianquan and learned directly from him. He also wrote somewhere that his teacher had known Quanyou. And he could have beaten both of them with his Bagua I have been told however that his teacher has learned from Wu Gongyi.

Please cite your source there cdobe. I've trained with Bruce doing his Wu style tai chi on many occasions. He demonstrated nothing but respect for Wu Jianquan and the founder Quanyu. He told me that his teacher was friends with Wu Jianquan's sons and that's how he got to learn from Wu. The statements you are making go against everything I've heard from Bruce in person. Not that he didn't say it, but it sounds quite out of character, and perhaps your memory of it wasn't exactly precise.

Thanks,
Jess O

Hi Jess,
I guess the part of my comment that you dispute is this one :"And he could have beaten both of them with his Bagua "
I've read this a while ago either on Frantzis' website (energyarts.com) or in his book "The Power of Internal Martial Arts and Chi". I've checked his website and found that it has changed in content since my last visit. I also found that the stories about Mr. Liu's abilities to manipulate Mr. Frantzis with his Qi from a fair distance have also been removed. I know that there are people who "cached" the internet for many years. If someone would mind posting the link to their website again, I'ld further investigate this.
I only borrowed Frantzis' book, so I don't have it right now to look it up. But I will look into that and cite it for you.

I don't think that my memory has played a trick on me. For now let me paraphrase the passage I have in mind.
Frantzis writes that Mr. Liu was already a master of Bagua during the time he met Wu Jianquan and Quanyou. He wrote that Liu was impressed by their deep knowledge and ability in the field of energy cultivation and therefore wanted to study with them. He goes on saying that all of them knew that the WUs could not defeat him martially, so they had a special relation of mutual respect.

There are many problems with this story. For example, Liu was born in 1905 (Source: http://www.energyarts.com/About-Us/About-Bruce/Liu-Hung-Chieh.html) and Quanyou died in 1902 ! This is only one of the many fishy aspects of the story.

I'll get back to this, when I can cite the passage

CD

[CaliG]

I like how the ponytailed taiji teacher keeps asking him to take it easy

As Fong says, "That's the 'Oh SHIT!' response."

[qiphlow]

great clips.

[JessOBrien]

cdobe,

I see where you got that, but you are remembering it wrong. Liu Hung Chieh met the sons of Wu Jianquan, and wasn't impressed with their martial skill. When he met their father, he was highly impressed and was lucky enough to become his student. Liu never met Quanyou and Bruce's book never claims that.

I guess that's that!

Thanks,

-Jess O