Preparing for an intensive Kung Fu course in Malaysia

[Molly]

Oops, by the way, I forgot to mention, before this I'd no courses with Sifu, just my good Wahnam brother Josh. Don't suppose you want to share with the world what you did to get ready for your first course with Sifu eh Josho?

[drunken boxer]

Thank you Molly, I found your last couple of posts humbling, inspirational, and a joy to read.

[George]

For me, the best preparation was learning the combat sequences and sets that are covered in the course. Sifu has generously provided exhaustive information on these here.

Prior to the course I was familiar with the first 3 sets and the first 12 combat sequences. This made a massive difference during the course as I could focus on learning skills, rather than trying to remember the form. Sequences 13-16 were totally new to me and were the most difficult. I really felt like I achieved so much less while working with those sets, compared to the ones I was familiar with.

Other than that, if you are learning from a Wahnam instructor then just follow their instructions - it really is that simple. Give your instructor as much notice of your intention to attend the course as you can and ask them for advice. They will have attended this course in the past, probably several times.

Reading Sifu's excellent books will also be very beneficial. The Art of Shaolin Kungfu is an easy book to read and is nice preparation for the Complete Book of Shaolin which will take a fair bit more effort. When reading the books focus on the principles covered, rather than getting distracted by the practical excercises.

Oh, and don't worry about it. Sifu is an excellent teacher and will get you through the course in one piece (although you may not feel like it at the time.) However, the better your preparation, the greater the benefits that you will take away from the course.

[Maxime]

Dear all,

From my personnal experience, I would recommand to newcomers to learn beforehand at least Combat Sequences 1 to 12 and their respective sets. Even if they do not have practiced the variations and applications, this will be of great help during the course, yes focusing more on skills.

Anyway, it is also true that one will benefit tremendously from Sifu's teachings even without that preparation.

In such a case, prepare yourself with Combat Sequences 1 to 4 and Lohan Asks The Way set.

Just some personnal thoughts

Maxime

[Charles David]

No Fuss

Just a quick note to concur with what my brothers (and sister!) have said.

Unfortunately, I did not spend enough time learning the combat sequences in advance and now feel that the effort I spent trying to remember the sequences during the course, and the detriment of "worrying" if I would remember, prevented me from really flowing with it and learning some of the finer points. So heed the advice and learn the sets!

Mistake made, I move on and practice the sets dilligently in preparation for the next Intensive I may be fortunate enough to attend.

I look forward to meeting all of you in the future!

With Shaolin Salute,

[Charles David]

I should mention that I did have three years of Martial Arts training. One gruelling year of Wu Shu, with plenty of painful stretching and after that two years learning Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts and Shaolin Kung Fu forms.




Still,

[Molly]

I'm going to have to agree with Maxime and Cha Muir here. At several points throughout the course, I thought of how lost I would be if I hadn't learned to the combat sequences beforehand, and was extremely grateful I had. Knowing this stuff before helped me to deepen my skill in a way I never anticipated (and I'm just getting started ). So even if you just familiarize yourself with the outward forms before the course, you'll have a tremendous advantage. Even better still, you'll benefit even more from Sifu's fantastic teaching skills! Hope this helps any prospective applicants!! Grinning from the heart, Molly

[Andrew]

I guess that some of you will now start to realise how the courses were before Sifu had the idea of sharing all of this material on the internet or regular classes were available with Shaolin Wahnam Instructors. The courses were different then. It's nice to see how they have changed.

It's also nice to see how students have profited from learning from Shaolin Wahnam Instructors (or at least from Shaolin Wahnam internet material) before the courses.

Andrew