Ok....I have the honour of attending my first ever Lau Gar lesson next week and wondered if anyone could offer suggestions on preparation for it? Apparently your stances are very different, pictures and descriptions of the basics would be appreciated! Do you have pre-planned sparring like we do (Shotokan) - like one step, three step, etc? Do you greet each other or address the Sifu with any particular acknowledgement? We say Osu a lot - just wondered? Do you count in a foreign language for moves or techniques? If so what language and how far do you count to? What is normally covered in a first class? Oh and can some one please explain why you have a penchant for black clothing? Makes us in white clothing look like the good guys and you in the black clothing the bad guys (I am so gonna hurt next week for that remark! But it was my poor attempt at humour - not bad for 2:15 am I think!)
Good Guys Wear Black...I think it was a Chuck Norris film, not a bad one, think he did a flying side-kick through a car window as it tried to run him down, got to get someone to try that someday. Black just plain looks better.
and you can hide in the shadows Back to your question. I have no experience with Kung Fu but I think you should just rock up with no pretensions about what you should do. Ever had someone come to your Dojo and act like they know what they are doing in an attempt to fit in straight away, without any previous experience with it? It just looks cheesy to me. Go there ask the instructor what is expected of you and tell him you have no experience and he/she should be fine with it. But go in thinking you know anything about it and start using titles, greetings, languages and other things like that then you may offend he/she. There is small chance of that happening but why risk it? and there is also the aspect that all this extra knowledge about the rituals and such without any knowledge of the art (from a technique veiw) will also look a bit silly (to me at least). I would just ask all those questions to the insturctor (maybe turn up early). Knowing these things before can't hurt but trying use them before they explain why could also have you missing out on some background information (the instructor assuming you have had it explained to you before).
First lesson May i just say, Mel, it will be an honour for us to recieve you at the club. We have cleaned the red carpet and the canapies are just as you requested. If you are wondering what preparations to take, i would suggest the following: 1. Get your life insurance up to date. 2. A couple of Ariel ultra tablets to get the footprints off your Gi 3. Make sure that you are able to back flip from horizontal to standing 4. The ability to bleed and bruise internally would be advantageous( I forgot...KARATE men bruise on the inside) 5. Practise the phrase..." please get you toe out of my ear" 6. The counting goes like this.....wan, twa, shree, foor, five, sux, seeven, eicht, nine, two bob. 7. If you say Osu...we will instantly assume you have found some dust. 8. Being female does not excuse you from full press ups. 9. When we ask for crunchies...do not reach for the chocolate stash in you kit bag. 10. Never panic...the smell of fear just excites the other students. And some of them may not have fed.!!!! have fun.
Hi Mel, You have nothing to fear except that which you bring with you. We are still working on a Photo Gallery for our website, but basic stance is explained and justified in moments Yes, you could call it that. We do use pre-arranged sequences of attack and counter, though we feel those to be less important than Form work and Sparring. All that is asked is undivided attention. You should be courteous to every member, regardless of Grade, if you wish the same in return. Sifu is an optional term. The best way to describe it would be to say; Refer to your instructor as Sifu, only if you have comitted to their teachings without reservation. I believe that once you have acknowledged someone as Sifu, they can never be anything else to you. I can count to 99 in Cantonese, but we only ever use 1-10. As a rule, if you hear a funny noise, you should probably be doing something. Forms have thir own pace, and are not counted as such. 1/ Full body warmup, 10-15 minutes. 2/ Stretching 10-15 minutes 3/ Basic Kicks 4/ Hand Blocks 5/ A Self Defence technique. In your case Mel, we'll quickly analyse your strengths/weaknesses and find something 'interesting' for you to do. It takes courage to 'empty your cup' and train in an unfamiliar environment. Good for you! The most important thing to remember, is that you have the choice to believe or ignore everything you are told. Regards Andy
Hi Melanie, i noticed you're from East Sussex and was wondering where you were training in Lau Gar? I lived in East Sussex for a year and wasn't able to find lau gar all that time! Colin
Hiya Colin, I am going to Andy Murrays place in Scotland to attend a class on Lau Gar. To my knowledge - there is no where in East Sussex to do this. Would love to know where you train though? I do Escrima too - but have only just started really. Your welcome to PM or email me
