Tim,
Any advice for those interested in studying matial arts in China or Taiwan as you did? I know a vague question, but I have already begun plans to stay in China, but have little idea what to expect!

Sorry guys... anyone else with any relevant info would be very welcome to lend their two cents. Thank you very much.

Jason,
I'd recommend being clear on what you want to learn. And then I'd research where you can find a teacher willing to teach what you are looking for.

Also, if you can't speak Mandarin (and your teacher isn't fluent in English), you'll have to factor in a translator (maybe the teacher has other bilingual students for example). The visa is also a consideration. You also need some way of staying in the county for extended periods (as an academic student...).

I would add another bit of practical advice: watch your wallet. By that I mean I have heard fairly reliable stories of folks going to the PRC to study martial arts and being separated from large amounts of cash and getting little in return. I realize that kind of thing is not limited to the PRC but can happen anywhere.

I sometimes fear that the rule is: the fraudsters are many; the skilled are few.

Another bit of advice, realize that there are many skilled internal teachers in the United States (many of them non-Chinese). For the amount of money and grief you are going to expend on going to the PRC you may be better off simply spending the summer with some skilled teacher in the United States.

Take care,
Brian

Has Anyone specifically heard anything regarding the Northern Shaolin Martial Arts Academy? (www.shaolins.net)

Thank you for your input gentlemen- What appeals to me most about studying overseas is not that the quality of teacher will necessarily be better, it is the environment. The cost of living allows me to be a full-time student of only the martial arts for several months or more. The training regimen offered at this Northern China Shaolin Academy consist of nothing but training 6 days a week for several hours a day, plus additional instruction in Buddhism or Mandarin if I choose. This intensity of training would mean a great deal more to me than taking classes 3 times a week for an hour per here in the states. There don't seem to be teachers here in the states inviting you into there home or making disciples like the kind of experience that someone like Tim Cartmell took advantage of. My question is two-fold. If anyone has info on the aforementioned shaolin school I'd love to hear it, and second, how do you get in on an experience like being someone's personal full-time student? Where can one find training of that intensity?

MY opinion is that you've got it round the wrong way, quality of teaching IS what counts, not intensity. We're only capable of absorbing and processing limited amounts of info at a time, can't force yourself to take in more, no matter how sincere your intentions or motivation; can be detrimental to long term progress.

As for the training environment, i've heard it said that when you travel you are more open to things, but that can often just mean, easier to get sucked in. Intensity in training is what YOU make of it, and hard work and pain is the same the world over. Finding ways to be able to train while juggling work, family, study, social committments etc, day in day out, year in year out, is what most of us have to do in order to succeed.

The disciple thing 'smacks' of someone who has watched too many movies and/or read too many books/comics.

Not against you going or predicting the outcome or results of such endeavours,.... just think the reasons you stated for going are lame.

This is Sophia, I am a Chinese and working for a Kung Fu school. The introduction as follows. If anybody is interested in it, please contact me: shaolinsch@yahoo.com.cn

Zhengzhou Shaolin Cultural Specialized School from Zhengzhou city,Henan Province of China, it was set up to meet the enormous demand from all parts of the world. It is a regular large-scale training school. The establishment of the school has got great support by Shaolin Temple of Song Mountain and various circles of society.

The international institute of our school was set up for promoting Chinese and foreign Wu Shu exchange. It is a comprehensive cultural center including international teaching and international Wu Shu performance. About our teachers, we specially engaged elites and representatives of Shaolin, Wudang and Chinese other facets. Till now, we have sent many Kung Fu talents to the abroad. Meanwhile the government, Kung Fu organizations and many corporations think highly of our school.

We will very glad to welcome you and your friends if you come to our school. We can arrange the international teaching, the international show and Kung Fu touring around world.

We want to establish a long relations with you. We hope you can introduce many excellent friends for us. And I will be very happy to receive your e-mail. Please feel free to contact me if you have any question. Thank you very much!

When I first heard Mr. Seaby's response, I was little down and a little miffed, thinking he was just being too negative. I still kind of think that he was... But i appreciate his opinion. I did attend that school, and some of what both Chris and Brian said were true. There were many attempts made to separate me from my money, and the teachers weren't specifically better. You can find teachers in the states, but my point remains. It was the environment.

You can't live here in the US on a few hundred dollars a month. So, unless you are sponsored or teaching at your own school, you can't train 5-7 hrs a day as I did. I cannot replace that experience or replicate it here in the states. I will never forget it. I plan to return in the near future. I will definitely learn more mandarin before I go!

Every white face in China looks like money, but my actual instructor was different. A child who grew up in the Henan schools, as a teenager he became an amateur competitor in San Da. I learned things from him that I never expected to. And I learned fast, and well. When it takes you 60-70 training hours to be shown and practice Wu Bu Quan (five stances form. Really. Just five stances, then your done...) you learn stuff at a different level. I don't know. I think that it was a really unique experience. Am i going to step into the Octagon, or was my training the most realistic or practical? Not when we were learning the traditional shaolin forms, no. But it's still shaolin, i think that it's important that it stays alive and people carry on the tradition. When we were practicing San Da, yes. It was awesome, and now I know how to train to fight in a ring. Which is something that I've never seen really in a Chinese martial arts school in America. I definitely feel like Tim's material is different, but I can't afford to live in LA and pay him to train me 5 times a day, 60-90 minutes a session, 5 or 6 days a week.
Anyone who's interested in going to China for training, don't go to the Northern China Shaolin Martial Arts Academy. It's not a rip-off, but they do want to rip you off. Go here instead. This is run by a Hsing I master and a young ex-monk who used to do the performance type shows and stuff.
here's the link: http://www.chinashaolins.com/index.htm

check it out- it's an amazing exeperience
thanks!
Jason