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I was last in China August 2004. Here is the diary of my last trip which is worth reading if you fancy
going. If you fancy going to China to train, give me a shout and I will do all I can to help you on your way.
Also if you are interested in going to Yong Chun I have put some information to help you on this page. Training in the orient in general is very interesting not least as it dispells much that you might think. It also forms the basis for my attitudes to training. It is fair to say that if you turn up at a club and are interested in what they are doing you will be shown all kinds of wondrous stuff. However if you ever see anyone moving anything without touching it then please let me know as the most mystical I ever saw was the retracting testicles trick which turns out to be a lot easier that getting them back down again..!! I have travelled looking at crane related systems in Japan (Haku Tzuru form , Euichy Ryu or any of the Okinawan styles ) , China ( Bai He ), Singapore ( Fu Jian Bai He ), Indonesia ( Bangau Putih ), Taiwan ( Wing Chwun ). People who run clubs tend to be enthusiasts and are eager to compare differences in style. Only ever in one club have I had to fight a student on entry. In this instance it was a very short fight, not sparring. This was not so much a club as one teacher with his main student. A club has rarely stops you from joining in an activity if you know how to do it. Training starts when the students arrive not when the teachers arrive. Most clubs are eager to get their students to demonstrate for you. Most teachers have full time jobs and charge only to keep the club running. The training is very tactile i.e. no concept of invasion of body space when some bloke grabs your arse to check your tesion! Teachers often train with the students. More talking means less excercise! Warm ups are moves from the arts not circuits.
The white crane training in china / Singapore In the white crane training in Yong Chwun I have never seen sparring. All the training was in the forms work and body conditioning. The training took place mainly in the morning in terms of people doing their forms much in the same way as we imagine Tai Chi being done. The younger men also played with a punch bag and with weights - however this was never part of the lesson. They also played with more kicks and jumps. We did Tai Chi excercises to warm up.
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