Hi everyone, Does this look like a proper White Crane/kung fu club to you? Does anybody know about the instructor, Mark Stevenson? Any good? www.whitecraneacademy.com I should add that nothing set off any alarm bells, but I thought I'd check with more knowledgeable folks here. I saw no mention of the instructor's lineage, which is a negative for me. Though that's not unusual for White Crane instructors at other clubs in Sussex ... how come Sussex (of all places!) has several, different White Crane clubs?!?
The fact he makes no mention of his teacher, yet emphasizes the history of the art, or links to any governing body, even as a personal trainer, is a worry. He may be excellent, I have no way of knowing. I would recommend ringing and having a chat, it may settle your worries or confirm them, that's all I can say.
Lineage Thanks, that's a good call to ask about Mark Stevenson's teacher, etc. I'm guessing that governing bodies are less prevalent in kung fu, compared to 'sports' (judo, TKD, kickboxing). However, I'd like to know who authorised him to teach. The website has very little info, but then he's teaching White Crane not web design!
You know it is odd that this instructor does not mention his lineage. In TCMA that is sort of like not knowing who your father is :' P It is also odd that in the history section he describes what he does as a crane-tiger system. I don't know the style or the teacher so I can't really comment directly on what he does but it is an interesting description since for many tiger-crane is Hung gar (or variant eg Hung Fut etc). Could just be parallel development. Certainly give him a look. Maybe the best question is why are you going to a White Crane club in the first place and how much are you interested in the classical system versus just learning some form of kung fu? Do you want forms? history? tradition? to learn how to fight with a long arm style? Those are the things you should think about before you pick out any particular system IMHO. Good luck with it eh :' D LFD
Are the ''2'' ''1''? Interesting google shows 2 different guys with this name who have White Crane in their syllabus. If you look at the instructor profile on the page you show he says: ''I began martial arts training when I was seven years old with judo classes in my local sports hall. Over the years my focus has shifted from style to style and I have tried a range of martial arts such as Judo, Karate, Kickboxing and Wing Tsun Kung Fu. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon White Crane and since then that has been my primary focus. White Crane really has it all, from Tai Chi to Kung Fu, Kickboxing, iron shirt conditioning, Chinese Lion Dance a wide range of weapons to train with. After training with some of the best instructors in the UK and China, I opened the White Crane Academy, establishing classes in Mid Sussex. My theory is that is something has benefited my life so greatly, that it is my duty to pass it on, which I am very proud to do.'' http://www.whitecraneacademy.com/page11.htm 2nd guy says: ''I have been involved in martial arts since I was 7. I began with Judo and Shotokan Karate in my youth before I discovered Chinese martial arts. I have been practcing Wing Chun Kung Fu for 8 years, Yang Style Tai Chi for 6 years, White Crane for 2 years and a number of other internal styles. I am trained in chi gung and Taoist mediation. I ran the Imperial College Wing Chun Kung Fu club for 3 years and now teach at the postgraduate campus in Ascot. I have taught disadvanatged children in North London as part of the Governemnt sponsored Connexions program. I am also a qualified kettlebell instructor and conditioning coach.'' http://schoolofeverything.com/teacher/markstevenson Sounds a lot like the two guys have the same bio with the second bio saying as well that White Crane was added rather recently in his training... might still be a good instructor. It might be interesting to check out both guys (I think they both teach in the same area) and see if they really are one person. It would also be interesting if you got better details about where they had trained, who with and for how long. You can lean by going to weekend seminars etc but that is not quite the same as spending some time training regularly with your teacher/coach. FWIW LFD
Has to be same individual or one of the greatest coincidences in CMA history.Possibly the two bios were written at different times,maybe even written by 2 different people. Still odd, as is not mentioning teachers/lineages,which is very odd as has been mentioned. In the history section that's just another story (or three) variant of Hung Gar's Hung,Hee-goon of the many names. So he means Tiger/Crane,why he names it Crane /Tiger-? But this- " Our soft style Tai Chi form is called Suang Yang Bai Her Rou Ruan Chuan,which translates as Frost and Sun White Crane Gentle Art. It is a 66 move pure White Crane Tai Chi form originating from Southern China. " - had better have originated in Southern China no earlier than the 1800s and be descended from one of the 5 Families. (Hmm,sounds like the Mob).Otherwise how can it be TCC?
I find the name of the Taijiquan form odd. Suang Yang Bai Her Rou Ruan Chuan First it is SHUANG霜that means frost There is no Suang Hanzi. Second it is HE 鹤 not Her, there is no Her Hanzi either. Third why is it it called Rou Ruan Quan but considered Taijiquan? It is either something Taijiquan or not. Anyway I would be skeptic based on this and would advise if you want Taijiquan to train under a style that has a proven line.
It's not Taijiquan, it's a southern soft form similar to Wujiquan. Pretty much all the White Crane groups that practice it refer to it as Taiji, probably historically people didn't understand the difference. Again, historically the White Crane guys from this line all refer to the style as tiger-crane combination, I'm not sure why.
So this group or other groups call it Taiji but it has nothing to do with Taijiquan? The website seems like it markets itself as trying to give all that it teaches Tajiquan or a branch of it. Here's another thing it is a southern style so why would it be called Shuang Yang Bai He Rou Ruan Quan? That is the Mandarin, in Cantonese it pronounce different. Soeng Joeng Baak Hok Jau Jyun Kyun would be how a Cantonese would say it if they read the Hanzi. If we are referring to it in its original origin Southern wouldn't the origins name as in Cantonese be the one most often used? Like for example if I say Baguazhang or Taijiquan you might know it but if I say Baat Gwaa Zoeng and Taai Gik Kyun you might be like whats that. I don't know maybe the guy took a Hanzi dictionary and made the words up cause it does sound odd, Interesting when I do a search on Google, Baidou using the Hanzi both traditional and simple I don't see anything on this style. Again pardon my ignorance on the subject of White Crane Kungfu my area is more in Taijiquan,Baguazhang and Xingyiquan.
Cantonese is the language of Canton, which in the grand scheme of things is the minority of southern China. Also Putonghua is the language of China, not northern China, and indeed it's increasingly common to see Cailifo, Hongjiaquan, Longxingquan, Yongchunquan etc . In this instance the style is from Fujian, so Cantonese would be inappropriate, and the lineage is through Malaysia, where Mandarin is the majority Chinese language, which is also why you have the romanisation Her.
Thank you Ben for your point of view and sharing. On some things I disagree with and I'll leave it at that And hope on further discussions we find more agreements in. Best regards,
Thanks,Ben. I've seen my friends from Chen,Hak-fu's "Tibetan" Pak Hok line perform Cotton Needle but hadn't heard of this in the Fukien systems. I wouldn't be surprised if historically these folks started calling it TC after TC became popular,meaning sometime post 1920s,especially if they began offering it as a separate course of study. I'd hazard a guess this was originally something for advanced practitioners the same way Cotton Needle is? If actual TC methods have never been integrated into this practice it would be nice for accuracy's sake if it wasn't called TC by them, not that I expect such a reformation. I can understand it from the business end-I remember how common,at least in the States, "Korean Karate",or "Kenpo Karate" were used years ago. Inaccurate,but conveyed to the potential student the message there was a martial striking system being taught.
I think because their roots are from Nam Yang pugilistic society which is based in Singapore and does Tiger Crane combination. Regarding the I think it is because their sun frost stuff looks to an outsider like TaiJi, so it is just to give people an idea of what they are doing.
dont mistake this style to tibetan. this is the southern style of crane named fujian crane which is came from the same place as fujian wing chun. it seems very original to me as ive been in the kung fu game for most of my life. but always go there, look at the class, are they well trained in what they do, are they enjoying it, and do they look as if they want to progress.
Replying to an old thread I know but I thought I'd shed a little light on this... I am actually Mark Stevenson of White Crane Academy. If there is another Mark Stevenson teaching White Crane as part of his syllabus, good luck to him.... but he's not me. The website has changed since back in 2012, there is more information and possibly answers to questions raised in this thread but if not, I'm an approachable person and more than happy to answer questions about myself, lineage or White Crane itself. All my contact details can be found on the website. There are several White Crane clubs in Sussex, we are all of the same lineage and while I won't speak on anyone's behalf, we are all 'proper' White Crane clubs. Hope this sheds a little light... Mark.
