Chan Tai San stories

[BAI HE]

That says a lot about the man and his character considering
the times he lived in and the things he saw.

[ChinoXL]

Hey sifu ross, i was just reading your forum and I realized I killed 6 hours from 12:30 - 6:30 a.m. O man no sleep for school Anyways I really have to say your stories inspired me, I have been very open to kung-fu but theres alot of fakes trying to make money, I remembered when I was a kid living in Chinatown I use to learn fake tiger claw in those ghetto chinatown apartment hallways; after a few lessons of that I haven't wanted to study kung-fu for a long time. I always have a passion for fighting; And always intersted in the "best" art even though there really isn't; but you know quickest way to take somebody out is fine with me. anyways when summer comes I'm probably going to one of sifu Parrella's schools or your San-Da school maybe summer camp?? I'm very intersted at the same time a little bit intimidated.. am i going to lose a few teeth?? But it would be a hornor for me to learn under you or sifu Parrella

[lkfmdc]

I don't speak for anyone else, it is up to you to ask them or investigate them. As for me, I have been doing this a long time, as some posts by Chris attest to. We surprisingly have had very few injuries over the years, certainly none very seious..

My door is open to anyone who is interested www.NYSanDa.com

[lkfmdc]

I was hoping Chris would be back with some more stories

[Vash]

Question about CTS sifu:

How often were solo forms trained sans partner?

In terms of non-technical conditioning, what did he encourage?

[lkfmdc]

Since often, it was Chan Tai San and you, forms were a way for him to get you to do the techniques over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.... they became muscle memory... when I first met him for example, even before we did forms, he had us do single techniques up and down the floor. I am not exaggerating when I say that I may have done like Paau Choih for 45 minutes until he told us to switch...

Also, Chan Tai San felt he was not going to live forever (who is?) and wanted to get the techniques "out".. he felt once he showed you technique in the forms, it was up to you to develop it...

That being said, when people were around, he encouraged a lot of partner work and sparring... also, he knew I was running a group class with such things, so he knew that everyone was getting that already

His conditioning approach is similar to mine, condition with the technique. As I said, we did the same technique over and over again. My fighters may do a pad drill for 4 minutes with only a short rest, followed by a "step up" on that same drill next for another 4 minutes, etc etc etc

That is to say, we did both cardio and resistance training while doing the technique, as opposed to other ways

[Vash]

Cool, thanks.

In regards to the finger-weighting for striking, was that type of conditioning common-place, or just something extra?

[FatherDog]

sorry guys - I was over on the Training Forum correcting some strange ideas about muscle physiology...

As a side note, I'd like to thank you and say how welcome you are there - it's a nice change from the influx of retards we seem to have had recently.

[Mo Lung]

Not everyone there is a retard. A careful reader should be able to sort through the chaff.

However, let's not let this thread get derailed.

[lkfmdc]

ah, Sahp Lihn Dahn, the looks you'd get with a little vial of an unidentified white powder

someone in my dorm at NYU almost snorted the stuff

funny that you mention it, since I took TWO VIALS of it before our "challenge match", because gosh darn it, it took all the pain away... I never needed the Yi He Quan's spirit posession to be invincible, just two vials of Sahp Lihn Dahn....

I got hit in the ribs with a baseball bat once, and Sahp Lihn Dahn made it all go away...

But I digress.....

I made a comment on another thread, the one about the spiked ring and groundfighting, about living like an old Chinese tough guy or living a "normal life"....

I think by the time of my challenge, Sifu Chan had had enough of the old life, he seemed to want no more part of it. Which is fair enough, the man killed tons of people, had a bad life, even lost family to his "underground" connections...

[Zaveesha]

Great thread mr Ross,very informative and a great read.

I have a few questions - what was Chan Tai-san opinion on wooden dummy training ? Did he practise it a lot?Were they more Lama or CLF dummies ?

Did he see any application for traditional weapon training in modern world like specific strength developement e.g. heavy Gwan Doh training or improvement of ones reflexes ( flexible weapons)?

Did Chan Tai-San know about muay thai vs. kungfu matches and their outcome ?What was his opinion on styles like muay thai or similar from Burma and Cambodia?

My last question - is there anything special in kungfu knife fighting e.g. special tactics ? what kind of knives where used in kungfu circles - single bladed or double bladed -is this departament of chinese weaponary anyhow developed?

Thanx in advance for replies

[lkfmdc]

Sifu Chan had designs for literally hundreds of different kinds of dummies, we set up a few, but space, and other practical considerations prevented all from getting set up....

(see attached pic)

knives, sticks, chains, etc all have practical applications, sword work can be used with a knife, machete or even stick..... the biggest difference was HOW we trained weapons... most train just forms, totally disconnected from reality. Chan Tai San taught how to FIGHT WITH WEAPONS. The man would f- up anyone with a staff.....

Sifu saw everything having both strengths and weaknesses. We fight Muay Thai all the time, both in San Da and under their rules. We use Sifu's assessment of it's strengths and weaknesses and that is why we win most of the time

[lkfmdc]

Well, I finally decided, I AM going to write a book, but I will probably self publish it....

It will be a collection of Chan Tai San stories, a history of Lama Pai, some general historical stuff pertaining to TCMA, and my personal observations and theories on training, TCMA relevance in the modern world etc... I will include old pictures from sifu and our training days, some new pics relating to points in the text... but it will not be instructional in any manner...

any thoughts on this?

[Vash]

You taking preorders yet?

[BAI HE]

I'm in. Did my guy ever contact you? He was going to, but I don't
know what his schedule is like or when he planned to.

Either way, I'm glad it's getting done. I look forward to it.

Best,
Pete