Any good extended-stay schools in China or US?

Hello. I want to attend a good martial arts school for approximately 2-3 months. The style is not too important, but I think that sparring should definitely be taught, as well as forms. I would like to study a style similar to Praying Mantis Kung Fu or Mantis Boxing. It would also be nice to learn how to build enough strength, speed, and inner power to break objects, such as boards or bricks. It is a bonus if one or two weapons are taught, as well. I would prefer a school in the United States, but I have only found extended-stay schools in China.

Does anyone know of any good extended-stay martial arts schools?

I like the website of the Yantai Shaolin Martial Arts Academy (www.yantaishaolin.com). Has anyone trained at this school?

Thank you.

www.wahlum.com

The Wah Lum Temple in Orlando offers full-time, extended-stay training and has since 1980.

The website mostly lists it as "instructor training," and they do have that, but plenty of live-in students have little or no martial arts training when they come. IMO it's a great way to dedicate yourself to training for an extended period while still being in a familiar country. (Minimizing culture shock, the risk of food poisoning or being ill in a foreign country -- all a form of fun & adventure in themselves, but maybe not what you want right now.)

Many students spend a month or two in the full-time program while on their college's summer breaks (some live in the area, some travel down & stay in the dorms across the street). I know at least one student who had a part-time job so he could stay & study for several months.

You will definitely build strength, maybe some speed & inner power. You may be introduced to one or two weapons. Iron palm/iron body ("breaking") are a good ways down the road however. One or two months is not enough to build inner power.

Contact the school, tell them what you're looking for, they can give you more information.

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

Wow, Sammygirl beat me to it.


I'll just add, who wouldn't want to visit sunny florida for a few months, remember, there's a reason they thought the fountain of youth was here...

-hz

Heh heh ... I am teh winner!!111!! w00t

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

I considered going to this one in china a few years back: http://www.shaolins.com/ . I wanted to do it for my gap year before going to university but there was no way I could have afforded it. I would still love to go to one of these types of school maybe some time in the future. So, looking forward to what everyone else has to say.

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I like these calm little moments before the storm.

Also: Probably the two best general sources of info are www.russbo.com and the Kung Fu Magazine forums.

Russbo.com is a messy site, so there's a bit of a time investment to find what you need. But the site owner blogged several of his trips to Shaolin (called "Journals" because I don't think "blog" was in vogue then) and they're a nice eyewitness account of the yearly changes in and around Shaolin. There's also a forum.

On the Kung Fu magazine forums there are people posting who are currently in China, others who have been there to train. And the associate editor Gene Ching regularly travels & trains at Shaolin and has written a lot about it.

From what I've read, the cost of studying in China has gone up significantly in the last couple years. Add your travel expenses to tuition and it can be pretty costly. (However the standard of living, for foreigners at least, has increased quite a bit in the same period.)

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

First: If youre going to train in a new style, dont expect to be doing much sparring or breaking in only 2-3 months. Regardless of how much you practice every day, your body still needs time to soundly assimilate the way that you move in your new system being trained before you can really apply these sorts of things in sparring/combat.

At a point in the past I was looking at doing the same thing you are. I still am, but doing so from a very different direction: My opinion, candidly, is that youre going about things the wrong way. What I think you'd be better off doing is choosing a style, starting normal training in that style. Get decent, learn the basics, get in good with the pai, get to a point where sparring is actually using the style. When you can actually use the tools of that style with some level of efficiency (a year or more down the road) THEN talk to your sifu and let him know you would like to train live-in with someone from your lineage/style. Who knows, maybe you could do your live-in time with your sifu right there in your town. If your goal is to travel and experience/train in a different environment than what you are used to, tell your sifu you want to travel and train full-time under someone in your style somewhere else, for a few months. Im sure if you are a good student he will be happy to hook you up with others from your style...

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PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

“	Originally Posted By: Sammygirl www.wahlum.com The Wah Lum Temple in Orlando offers full-time, extended-stay training and has since 1980. The website mostly lists it as "instructor training," and they do have that, but plenty of live-in students have little or no martial arts training when they come. IMO it's a great way to dedicate yourself to training for an extended period while still being in a familiar country. (Minimizing culture shock, the risk of food poisoning or being ill in a foreign country -- all a form of fun & adventure in themselves, but maybe not what you want right now.) Many students spend a month or two in the full-time program while on their college's summer breaks (some live in the area, some travel down & stay in the dorms across the street). I know at least one student who had a part-time job so he could stay & study for several months. You will definitely build strength, maybe some speed & inner power. You may be introduced to one or two weapons. Iron palm/iron body ("breaking") are a good ways down the road however. One or two months is not enough to build inner power. Contact the school, tell them what you're looking for, they can give you more information.	”

This school looks almost perfect on paper. I also like the fact that it's in the US. I'm hesitant about going to China because if the school is not very good, then I've already spent a lot of money on a plane ticket.

I'm definitely going to follow up on this school. Thanks!

“	Originally Posted By: PlumDragon ... What I think you'd be better off doing is choosing a style, starting normal training in that style. Get decent, learn the basics, get in good with the pai, get to a point where sparring is actually using the style. When you can actually use the tools of that style with some level of efficiency (a year or more down the road) THEN talk to your sifu and let him know you would like to train live-in with someone from your lineage/style. ...	”

That's a very valid point. I have trained in Praying Mantis style for about three months, but only twice per week. So, I know the very basic-basics. I would train longer before doing it full-time, but this is the perfect time for me. I just graduated college and am single with no kids. I'm afraid that once I get a job, wife and kids, then I'll never do this. So, I figure I'll try it out, and if the experience helps, then great - if not, then it was worth a try. We'll see what happens.

“	Originally Posted By: redtiger I just graduated college and am single with no kids.	”

So, buy a ticket, get on the plane, figure out the rest when you get there.

“	Originally Posted By: Unkotare So, buy a ticket, get on the plane, figure out the rest when you get there.	”

That is great advice, there is something to be said for doing the unexpected and experiencing the unknown, sometimes you get the most out of such situations...

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Oh THAT'S how that works!

“	Originally Posted By: Mei Hua That is great advice, there is something to be said for doing the unexpected and experiencing the unknown, sometimes you get the most out of such situations...	”

I enjoyed it.