Wing Lam kung fu and other video reviews??

[JJMantis]

I am interested in kung fu videos, and would like some opinions from people who have actually seen them. I understand the general pitfalls of video training. I have been formally training for some time now. When I move away from my sifu, I do not intend to start a new system with a new teacher, so I am just looking for stuff to play with. Among things I am looking at:

Wing Lam - Shaolin or Hung Gar animal sets
Shaolin (vids offered by a few vendors, incl kung fu mag.) - drunken boxing series
Paulie Zink - the new series from unique publications

[little chain monkey]

If you are looking for a recommendation for some good instructional videos and are interested in Northern Style Shaolin Kung Fu I would recommend the following website- www.Kungfu-Wushu.com. This school offers a distance learning video program that I am currently taking and would recommend it highly. The instruction is clear and easy to see and understand. They also furnish a workbook with the tapes that helps explain forms and techniques. I hope this helps.

[HuangKaiVun]

I love the KWL series, doing the Northern Shaolin sets.

I don't always agree with the moves, but that's part of kung fu training even with a live sifu.


The Northern Shaolin series is not for the faint of heart or limited in physique.

I'm working through Level 3, and there are full splits in several of the sets. There are also one-legged squats that I may NEVER be able to do, and there are tons and tons of weapons and sets to learn.

I've had tons of prior training, so I'm learning this system. Even then, it took me about 3 years before I began to really feel comfortable with the Northern Shaolin system. I can't tell you how many times I've learned a set and then quickly forgotten it - and I've tried all the solo sets in the first 3 levels.

I'll be testing, but my goal is to get through all 4 levels on my own first. I've gotten all the way through Levels 1 and 2 SOLIDLY and am now starting 3 all over again.

[CrossTrainer101]

Does anyone know if the video series by 34th generation Shaolin Temple monk Shi Goulin (Shi Yansi) which advertises in Kung Fu mag each month is traditional material or PRC wushu, by any chance? The ads read like it's the traditional stuff, but I've read a lot about fraudulent "monks" passing off wushu as Shaolin Kung Fu and was just interested in what's covered in this particular series.

Also, my background is WC via JKD, and I've noticed conflicting posts on whether WC is a Shaolin art or not. Could anyone clear that one up for me, please?

Thanks in advance,
Kevin McGuire

[illusionfist]

I have been told that the drunken sets are very wushu-ish.

Peace :D

[JJMantis]

First, I truly wish people would read and understand Bruce Lee, and not use JKD the name at all. He was writing for his time, and he has influenced all martial arts. Right now, almost any teacher is looking at absorbing more techniques and seeing what works. JKD is really the master's philosophy that you could apply to any art. And you are also right, that JKD is mainly WC, although applied at a mastery level.

I could ramble on much longer on that, but I won't. Go read it for yourself. Wing Chun was created to <em>beat</em> shaolin kung fu, by a shaolin nun Ng Mui. She passed it on to a female student (non-disciple) Wing Chun. She used it to beat a man trained in shaolin arts. So it was created in shaolin, but developed outside to expose it's weaknesses. Kind of like a double agent, if you ask me!

[SifuAbel]

I have trained with KWL, he is a very good teacher.
The shaolin vids are very wushuish and are mostlty the sacntioned shaolin wushu that is current today. It looks nothing like the trad. stuff over here.
Paulie Zink? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Go with Chan sao Chung, if he ever gets his vids out.

Its dangerous to think you are immortal.
sifuabel@aol.com

[GeneChing]

I wrote the bulk of the Wing Lam videotapes. Sifu Wing Lam is my teacher; I helped him build his company prior to working here at Kungfu Qigong. In fact, I was his first full-time employee.

Wing Lam actually had three video series. The first series was by another company - 10 shaolin and 10 hung gar videos shot in one weekend (when my Sifu was sick, no less.) Wing Lam was never happy with the production quality of the first series, so as soon as his ten year exclusivity contract expired, we began to make our own. (There was also another independant video that came out about Shaolin #6, but that company folded after making only one video - video production ain't easy, especially at start up!)

The Wing Lam series was a massive undertaking - to capture his entire curriculum on video. We included reverse angles, slow motion, the traditional names of the movements, and at least one application for each technique (there are more, but we usually opted to show the simplest one, given our production schedule.) Ultimately, the overall response to that work was positive and those videos still do well. I hope you enjoy them and am always intersted in your commments on them.

Shi Guolin's series is very interesting. The drunken videos are not actually by Guolin, the are by some of his disciples. They do have a wushu influence, but his Shao-Hong Chuan and internal videos (where he demonstrates) are traditional. Guolin is most renown for his iron body, so his internal stuff is particularly intriguing. Personally I like his routines videos. It's all demonstration stuff by an array of monks and disciples - a lot of wushu, but some really amazing moves.

Lastly, I met Master Chan yesterday for the first time. I was most impressed by his height - he's really short. Personally, I like the old and the small masters. Big fighters are always impressive, but they're big and can just outgun you. I've known a lot of bouncers and bikers who never trained in martial arts, but they were formidable just because they were big. When they aren't big, well, it's got to be skill. Grandmaster Chan must be on to something to have developed such a reputation, given his height.

And, wow, did they give me an earful on Paulie Zink....

Gene Ching
Asst. Publisher
Kungfu Qigong Magazine & www.KungfuMagazine.com

[JJMantis]

Thank you both for your replies. Mr Ching, I believe we spoke via email about a year ago, same subject. As is too many times the case, money is in the way. As soon as I'm able, I'm sure I'll be placing an order. And even though I haven't, it makes me appreciate the personal replies even more.

A question for you both. What's the beef with Paulie Zink? KungFu magazine normally features him in a good way, and this month's article about master Chan very much stressed him as the "real" taishing-pekkwar master. But reading the histories and training methods of them both, they seem identical. Now, I do own 5 Paulie Zink videos from Panther Productions. I have always been intrigued by his unique flexability and stance work. I have mixed feelings about them. Yes, according to their training methods, they teach the entire pek kwar system first before you even see monkey. Yet the series is called "mastering monkey kung fu". This I feel is misleading. While I didn't get as much from the videos as I thought I would (ie, there are not 5 complete monkey forms on the "mastering monkey kung fu forms" tape) I understand why they put out only x-amount of material. I just wish they had been more straight with the marketing. That is why I had some higher hope for the new series from unique publications.

I have a few of Lam Sifu's tapes from the N. Shaolin series and I am quite satisfied. They are the only MA training vids I have ever bought however, so take my opinion as you will. It is very clear and easy to follow the movements (well, as easy as any Northern Shaolin movements can be I guess :p ). I already knew some of the forms, but even the ones I didn't know I was able to pick up.

The only criticism I can offer is that some tapes are clearer than others. Not a big deal, but when you go in slow-mo or still frame some can be a little fuzzy. I'm just being nitpicky though. :p

I reccomend the Tam Tui tape as best value. That can be one wickked training exercise. I like to do it several times a day, sometime very slowly, almost Taiji like. Feel the Burn!!

Mr. Ching, it's nice to have one af Lam Sifu's students around!
20 tapes in a weekend!! WOW!!
I'd like to ask you a question. Have you met any of the correspondence students? I'm just wondering how they tend to measure up in your opinion, in general of course, I'm sure it varies widely. I'm debating weather or not to begin the actual correspondence reviews and was wondering how it works. The info on the website is a little vague. I appriciate any help you can give.

P.S. It's nice to see a Shaolin board here now!

A wise man speaks because he has something to say, A fool speaks because he has to say something.

[GeneChing]

jj scanell: I think a Chan Sau Chung/Paulie Zink feud may be brewing. Chan now has a firm base in North America and his group is getting ready to rumble. They were really interested in information about K-1 and other NHB events, but they will certainly encounter the same difficulty that Cung Le has - They are not heavyweights.

A lot of questions are raised aobut Zink because his stuff looks so strange; his hyperflexibility borders on contortionism. Any flamboyant figure in the martial arts is subject to criticism.

sho-nuff: Actually, I have met many of the correspondence students. Most are fairly good, barring a few exceptions. It takes a lot of disipline to learn from video. In truth, the better students already had a solid foundation in the martial arts, so they could learn from video. It would be really tough to start from the beginning using video. However, anything can be a vehicle for transmission of the teachings. If our ancestors could learn from watching birds and bugs, we can certainly learn from video (although personally, I prefer the bugs ;) .)

Gene Ching
Asst. Publisher
Kungfu Qigong Magazine & www.KungfuMagazine.com

[This message was edited by geneching on 03-07-01 at 03:06 PM.]

[GeneChing]

BTW Chan's website is www.TaiShingPekKwar.com. Ask him about Paulie.

[BigDude]

Sheng Chi-

I also study through Sifu Scott's Northern Shaolin distance learning program (from WWW.Kungfu-Wushu.com). I checked into a number of videos before I settled on this one, and find it to be very well done. How far along are you in the training?

Also, I have heard from numerous people that Wing Lam's videos are of excellent quality. I would say either of these is a good choice (provided, like me, you can't find a good instructor in your area)

Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone, it's that pitcher that gets hurt

[bamboo_ leaf]

This site is just starting up, for those interested.

www.kungfumaster.com.hk

they are based out of hku.

as I said they are still getting thire site together, but seem to have a good program set up.

enjoy life

bamboo leaf

[frosh2786]

i encourage everyoneto echeck out that kungfu master site. it isnt ready to go yet, as he said but it looks like it could be useful. they have a free trial up and it is very good, try it and see if you like it.

what is all this stuff about pek kwar? isnt that monkey kung fu? seems interesting...so do you guys think any of those videos wing lam or panther or espy or whatever is good to learn from to establish a solid basis in an art if i may be able to go into them with a sifu in a while? thanks in adance for replies!