Bill wrote:Does anyone know of Americans who studied TCMA earlier than 1959?
Novak also began studying with T. Y. Wong in the Sil Lum Fut Gar (少林佛家a.k.a. Shaolin Buddha Clan). "We used to have a school in San Francisco, 142 Waverly Place. That's where I started with the Sil Lum system, where I took Fut Gar with Jimmy Lee. We used to go down in the basement and train. It was 1958 when I met Jimmy Lee and I started brick breaking." Novak first saw Lee's brick breaking demonstration at one of Grandmaster Wally Jay's martial arts luaus. Jay, the founder of Small Circle Jujitsu, had asked Novak to be a bouncer at his gathering.
Al Novak was one of the first non Chinese to learn kung fu in the late 1950's. Previously he had already learned judo and karate and he was allowed into the Chinese secret societies before anyone else due to his high degree of integrity. A student of legends like James Yimm Lee and Prof. T.Y. Wong, he worked with Bruce Lee in Oakland and was ever present in the Northern California tournament scene due to his work as a judge and a medic in virtually every tournament in the area. His brick breaking iron palm power was legendary and awesome to witness. For a large man, he moved with surprising speed and grace when doing his kung fu forms.
kenneth fish wrote:Sophia Delza learned Wu style Taiji from Ma Yuehliang from 1948 to 1951
Bill wrote:Does anyone know of Americans who studied TCMA earlier than 1959?
While conducting a search for Chinese newsreel footage of martial arts practice during the Guoshu decade (1928-1938), I stumbled across something much more valuable. I found perhaps the best preserved and oldest footage of North American Southern Kung Fu practice that I had yet seen. Even better, it was shot on the same New York City streets that my wife and I had recently explored. . . .
At minute 19:42 viewers will encounter footage of a New Year celebration which happened on January 10th, 1929. In addition to the more common scenes of enthusiastic crowds, fireworks and Lion Dancing, two minutes of footage was also shot of the sorts of martial arts exhibitions that accompanied these festivals. While such exhibitions are occasionally noted in period newspaper reports, this is the most complete visual record of such a performance (in North America), that I have yet encountered.
This material rewards a close examination. None of this footage has been narrated, nor are there scene cards. As such I suspect that most of this material was probably treated as “out takes.” Still, it’s a rich source. While we might lament that we only have two minutes of material, by the standards of a 1920s newsreel, two minutes is an eternity.
This footage is composed of a series of much briefer clips (most ranging in length from 10 to 30 seconds) which focus on the performance of individual martial artists, all performing on a single day in what appears to be the same crowded outdoor venue. In total 11 sequences are shown, each focusing on some sort of forms performance. Both unarmed and weapons sets are represented in the sample, as well as a few two-person weapons sets. (For the sake of clarity this post is discussing only the martial arts demonstration, and not the excellent Lion Dance footage found on the same newsreel which probably deserves specialized treatment of its own).
If we assume that most of these sets could be introduced, set up and performed in about two minutes, it seems that the original demonstration was at least 22 minutes long. Even more remarkable is that very few individuals (maybe one or two) made any repeat performances in this show. Thus it took at least a dozen martial artists to stage this demonstration.
Most of the individuals in the show were wearing regalia suggesting that they had just come from (or were headed to) Lion Dancing. The standard uniform appears to have been a white shirt, black bowtie and Kung Fu pants, but a number of individuals can also be seen to wear the typical street clothing of the period. All of the performers in this film are male (though I have seen newsreel footage of female martial artists in NYC in the 1930s). Some are dressed as common laborers, while other have the air of shopkeepers or clerks.
http://www.historicfilms.com/video/NR-29_2375_web.mp4
A detailed breakdown of the film is as follows:
19:49-19:53 Unarmed Solo Set 1 (conclusion)
19:54-20:05 Unarmed Solo Set 2 (opening)
20:06-20:29 Unarmed Solo Set 3 (opening)
20:30-20:36 Solo Weapon, Eyebrow Staff
20:37-20:40 Solo Weapon, Southern Style Long Pole
20:41-21:08 Solo Weapon, Pudao
21:08-21:22 Solo Weapon, Hudiedao (Butterfly Swords)
21:23-21:32 Two Man, Long Poles
21:33-21:52 Solo Weapon, Rattan Shield and short saber
21:53-21:55 Two Man, Spear vs. Shield and Sword
21:56-22:00 Two Man, Spear vs. Shield and Sword
wayne hansen wrote:Not sure if hers was the first book in English
Yearning k Chen may have preceded her
Hers was the first on Wu
wayne hansen wrote:I sure do have two copies both with different photos
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