Ah-ha! Something I can chip in on at last. I've been studying Wu Shu Kwan (presuming it's the same Wu Shu Kwan) for coming up to a couple of years in and around the South-East of England. It takes its roots from a number of different areas, but the forms at least are taken from Shaolin Longfist, while a lot of the techniques are traditional northern kung fu with (ahem) taekwondo elements thrown in. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you'd like to throw at me about it, having met the Grand Master on several occasions as well as associating with a fair number of different ranking black belts over time. Sooo...well, hit me if you want. Didn't know there were branches in...actually, yes I did. If memory serves, the Grand Master's out in Penang on holiday at the moment, either doing an international grading or just taking a rest from things. ...anyway, any questions you've got, feel free to hit me with them. I'm here to help. ^_^ Take care, Stalks
Basically, although some might argue that it's due to the roots in Northern Kung Fu, it contains a significant number of Taekwondo kicks, without resorting to the extremely impractical ones. To run through the ones we drill every lesson, off the top of my head: Front Kick (Front Push Kick) Side Kick Turning Kick Back Kick Front Hook Kick Reverse Hook Kick Jumping Front Kick Jumping Turning Kick Jumping Side Kick Then there's a few others that come in at higher grades like jumping back kicks (!), which are...kinda complicated to do, but kinda impractical in sparring. So...basically the mainstays of most kicking arts, but I refer to them as Taekwondo kicks simply because...well, I believe that's where they come from. However, I have no doubt someone will inform me that all of these kicks are included in their style of Kung Fu and I'm wrong. ^_- I just don't think I am. Ahem. I might have also missed some off of the list, but none spring to mind. Anyhoo, hope that helps at least a little, and again, um, any more questions don't hesitate to ask. Take care, Stalks
Well it's a very small class run by Paul Gadd, who is from London. It's all official though. I'm doing my first grading when I get back to Malaysia. Got to go through Low Han Chow and fixed sparring Got a diagram to help for Low Han Chow ?
I've been told that some of the LouHan forms in WuShu Kwan are the same as in Wuzuquan? Anyone had experience in both to verify this?
Sadly, due to the rules of Wu Shu Kwan, there aren't allowed to be diagrams or videos of any of the forms (yes, even the basic ones). I can't give you all that much advice on the form in general, but since you have a strong background in other arts, I'm sure you'll be fine as soon as you learn it, and by the time you're eligible to grade in terms of lessons, you'll nearly always have the form down anyway. Only the really complex ones take a significant amount of extra time, and those are a couple of grades away yet. Don't know Paul, I'm afraid, but...good luck with your grading, when it comes up. And, well, if there's anything you're not so sure about I can always answer specific questions in forms and fixed sparring. Just can't describe the whole thing. Y'know. Sorry I can't help more, Take care, Stalks
I once visited a Wu Shu Kwan class in London that was taught by the founder C. K. Chan. Everyone was wearing Japanese uniforms (white jacket with black trousers) and practising Shotokan Karate moves. I find it difficult to believe based on what I saw that this system is derived from any Chinese system. Beyond that, I have no knowledge of or opinion about Wu Shu Kwan. Regards, Declan
Weeeeeelllll...I'll say you're half-right and half-wrong. Whilst the moves are, in fact, very similar to Shotokan, they aren't actually Shotokan. And the uniforms aren't karate uniforms, although they also look similar. Out of interest, did you sit in and watch the class, or did you take part? I must confess I've never actually attended one of his classes, but as I mentioned earlier, I've met him several times and been training on and off for a while now. I'd rather not get into detailed discussion of something like this on a public forum, but...I think my previous post pretty much covered what was going on with the art in general. Also, if you're interested, you might want to try this site for some more background: http://www.sunion.warwick.ac.uk/zsk/Origins.html ...that pretty much covers it, even if not all the literature does, and it seems like a fairly good explanation of what really happened. Although perhaps some of the accompanying general martial arts history may be a little suspect - I'm not an expert on these arts and thus can't confirm whether everything said is correct or not. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who's curious. Any more questions, I'm, uh, always here. Take care, Stalks
May I ask why you are using Lee Koon Hung's picture as your avatar? Are you a brother in Choy Lay Fut? Thanks
Please, no bumping. Its against the TOS: 4.8 "Bumping" Threads: "Bumping" a thread is when you make a post for the purpose of making the thread appear on the "View New Posts" option, or light up as forums with new posts do. This is not allowed at MAP. If you simply bump without contributing, then you risk the ire of the mods. - Matt
Sorry about that mate. I just thought I would bump it up, hoping somebody from WuShuKwan would see and contribute.
Not a prob. Its my job as mod to post those types of "love notes." Next time just use a few more words than "bump." - Matt
I have done Wu Shu Kwan for nearly ten years now, its a great style that teaches you good technique, balance, power, agility and speed. Its not an acrobatic or gymnastic style of Wu Shu and is very focussed on technique. The lessons are indeed delivered in a way similar to other styles including shotokan, where everyone regardless of grade practice the same moves, but obviously to varying effectiveness. However it differs to shotokan in several ways which make it a much more serious and effective style. 1. Shotokan has no age restriction on black belts. 10 year old blacks, bah ! thats just rubbish. 2. Shotokan has no grade restrictions. You could probably become a black belt inside a year if you trained regularly. 3. Shotokan permits the retail of books and video's detailing their various kata's. This makes it possible for someone to study the moves without proper instruction (to ensure your doing them correctly) and pass gradings much quicker (hence get to black belt very quickly). Styles that allow this are much less effective. They teach you no patience and give you a false confidence. Prior to Wu Shu Kwan, I studied Kyokushinkai for a couple of years, and that is a proper karate style. It shares many of the same ethics as Wu Shu Kwan, no black belts under 16, a rigid grade structure that ensures you need to train for *at least* 3 years before you can qualify as a black belt. The main difference between Kyokushinkai and Wu Shu Kwan is the emphasis, Wu Shu Kwan focus mainly on technique and speed, Kyokushinkai focuses on power and stamina (I once had to stand there and do 300 kicks to the face). Declan's post about Wu Shu Kwan showing 'no signs of being derived from any chinese system' just outlines his lack of knowledge on martial arts. Chinese and Japanese martial arts are indeed similar, but differ in several fundamental ways if he'd known what to look for. Chinese martial arts practice their blocking by bringing the fist down from the shoulder because its quicker. Japanese martial arts block from the ear...Chinese martial arts tend to practice punching with the fist in a vertical position, so, yep you guessed it, the Japanese practice theirs with a horizontal fist. Also, Declan FYI, black trousers are indicative of a chinese kung fu style, white trousers and top are indicative of a japanese karate style. Basically, I can recommend Wu Shu Kwan to anybody as a good quality martial art. No-one gets to black belt within 3 years and you have to really work hard to get there. All the black belt gradings are taken by the Grand Master himself C.K.Chang in London. There are only four black belt gradings a year and they're at set intervals (so you can't fail one weekend and then go to another grading somewhere else the weekend after). Its a proper style. If thats what your after, go for it. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do. Alan.
Have you ever actually seen any Chinese martial arts? I find it hard to imagine that you would be making these statements if you have. There are tons of video clips and photos posted on the web showing many different Chinese martial art styles. What I can find of Wu Shu Kwan is a few pics of people dressed in Karate uniforms doing Karate poses with Karate postures. Unless you can come up with something that actually looks anything like Chinese martial arts, I'd have to say that Declan pretty much nailed it.
