i started kung fu (chang chuen) about a month ago, but in around 5 months I'll be moving to japan for a year. i want to keep up my training while i'm there, so does anyone have any idea if there'll be kung fu schools there? with all the japanese arts, is there a market for a chinese one? what would be even better is if there's someone here who knows where one is... at the moment i'll be moving to tochigi prefecture (in kanto). any help would be much appreciated. or do you think i should just do a japanese art for the year?
You've got the rest of your life to study kung fu and you've got the opportunity to study Japanese martial arts in Japan for a year. Use it.
There is such a wide variety in the Japanese martial arts, you must be able to find something to suit. Jiu Jutsu, Ninjutsu, Karate, Judo, Shorinji Kempo, Ai Ki Jutsu, AKiDo, Kempo and that's even before you start on the weapon arts. Have a break from KF and try something new in your year in Japan.
heh. there is also my small concern about starting a martial art in it's country of origin... looking like a total **** in the beginners class full of 8-year-olds! i have been considering karate, but my first love is really kung fu, and if i can find a place that teaches it there, i'd love to do that.
But think of the kudos when you come back to the UK and take up kung fu again. When you meet somebody who say's their karate is th3 d33dly you can say "well I studied under (insert famous karateka) in Japan and I still think kung fu is better".
haha. well, going back to the UK wouldn't be an option, cuz i'm from South Africa... but i get your point.
Why would you go halfway across the world, to study a style whose power generation is completely reverse from what you know now? Try google man. Theres bound to be one decent long fist boxing teacher in japan... I don't understand the mentality of "Well if you're going to *insert country name here*, you should study their indigenous martial arts." I believe that statement only applies to native spoken languages..
i did try google. i found a school in tokyo, but nothing in my area (which is very rural). and i'm going to have a look around when i get there, but i thought maybe i could get a head-start on here. i'll probably have more luck with a japanese art anyway, and it may even be cheaper.
Chances are yes, you will have more luck finding an indigenous martial art, and chances are it will be cheaper. But you'll find the attack and defense principles from one style to another are very much different. Why spend a year building up habits you're going to have to work just as hard to get out when you make it back to S. Afrika?
as i said, i'd prefer to do kung fu. but if i a) can't find a school or b) there's a large price difference (i can't afford to be fussy on a teacher's salary), i'm probably going to go with a japanese art, mostly to keep the fitness levels up.
Do something different, go for a grappling or throwing art to complement the great striking power of long fist styles.
The only kung fu club I know of in Japan is this club, its Hung Sing Choi Lee Fut. But I don't think its in your area. http://koushoukan.jp/choi_lei_fut.htm Ian
Why would you go halfway round the world to possibly the first/second most famous martial arts producing country and NOT try one of their styles? Power generation is not that difficult: it involves using a good base on your feet and connecting that pushing/stepping up through your hips and issuing it out through your hands/striking point. WTF is reverse? Standing on your hands and kicking someone?! Try the capoeira forum! OK, sure the power generation is different, but having done Japanese and Chinese striking arts I don't think it's Einstein material! There are bigger differences between some Chinese arts than some Chinese and Japanese ones. Not gonna help much unless he can read Japanese. Nice to know. Which countries have you lived in? Practised MA in? To the poster: There are lots of good dojos over here. There are lots of dojos. There are also lots of bad ones. There are some good CMA over here. There aren't many options. There are also some bad ones. Go for the one (Chinese or Japanese) that's near you, that has a teacher and students that you like, that doesn't have too many communication problems, and that isn't teaching BS. Most small towns in Japan have an aikido teacher, a kendo/iaido teacher, a judo teacher and to a lesser extent a karate teacher. They can be a better standard than the big city hombu-dojo ego types. See what's around. BTW, there is a lot of CMA in Tokyo and Tochigi is only about two hours away (depending where in Tochigi of course), so if you wanted to come up and practise at the weekends there may be some options.
BTW if you can find a koryu they are the styles that probably have power generation closer to many of the Chinese styles and they are the oldest, most traditional, rarest and coolest in Japan!
which "he", who is actually a "she", can do. she just hasn't found anything in her area yet. thanks. yeah, i'm looking at going into tokyo over weekends. i'll just have to see how much money i'm able to save up before i go. i'm not worried about communication problems, as i can speak japanese. i am worried about cost, because i'm not being paid much. but your suggestion of a japanese art during the week and kung fu over the weekend is a good one. thanks!
DOH...! Yeah, that figures with a name like Succubus! :bang: Cool! I would guess that most foreigners can't, including most that come over here, and most that have been here for years unfortunately! And in that case what you may be needing is to ask some qs on some boards on this site. There are a lot of CMA and JMA and MMA and all sorts of boards over there. Are you coming over here for photography?
haha. thanks. i'll have a look at the site. well, i can read hiragana and katakana, and so far have about 150 kanji in my vocab. the rest i just look up in babelfish. it seems to do the trick. partly going over for photography, in the guise of english teaching as a day job. but yeah, i'll be trying to go into tokyo over weekends to take pics, so i may find some time to squeeze kung fu in in between.
Well, if you need any help, get in touch and I'll see what I can do. On that site, put a search in for 'kanfu' in katakana, or something like 格闘技 (kakutougi = fighting skills).
