Advice on which seminar to take?

Stop junking up multiple threads with this. It does not belong here.

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I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

get over it.

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Mark
Liberalism is a mental disorder. -M. Savage

“	Originally Posted By: Solera Shouldn't put yourself down aaradia, Intermediate is close to advanced and would give you something to work towards and on for further skill improvement. When I was a beginner I had the chance to try out an advanced form, other than seeing I couldn't do it it gave me a foresight on what I would need to work on and what not. When I hit Intermediate I found it less hard to do Advanced level stuff and gained a better comprehension and vastly improved my skill sets. I'd say go for the seminar that isn't taught as much and will give you something to work on and reach for(#1).	”

Very good advice -thanks. I will rethink taking this form without selling myself short.

I worried about it because I only took one seminar before. It was with GGM Wong Gong and it was the coiling dragon double ended staff. It was REALLY advanced and way beyond my ability to study it at the time. But I was a beginner at the time too.

Then again, as a beginner I took a CLF fan form in weapons class and learned that ok- it was tough, but I learned it.

Thanks everyone for your very good advice. It is much appreciated!

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I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Yeah I would go with the push hands. If you can get to touch hands with DFW himself, that could be a valuable lesson.
There was a saying I read somewhere along the lines of....." the student hopes to steal the hand of the Sifu''.
What it means is by hands on transmission and feeling a masters hand, you can learn many things about power, sensitivity and bridging in general.

Yeah you should know all about that over there! lol

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"It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought the fool, than to open it and prove it so." KungFuTze
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." T. Geisel

I appreciate everyones advice! Thanks to all who responded. After careful consideration I decided to take the Elephant form.

What Beknar and others said about the push hands made me determined to make sure I can do the push hands seminar next year.
So, I am going to set aside a bit of money every month over this year so I can definitely take the push hands seminar next year, even if there is a form I also want to take.

I did not let my thinking the dragon cudgel form was too advanced hold me back. That was good advice I will remember in the future, but I just like the elephant one more.

The top deciding factors were.......

• When I mentioned my dilemma to some of the instructors at my school, they encouraged me to take the form, because they said I will probably never get another chance to learn it in my lifetime. Our GM has never taught it before in a seminar, and it is unlikely he will again. (Banditshaw, I really liked that quote! But the chance I would get to touch hands with him much is slim. There will be a lot of people at the seminar.) Also, my personal instructor said his seminars tend to be more at a beginner level, and while I would learn some valuable stuff, a good part of it would be stuff I already knew.

• The fact that I have waited a couple of years for a hand form I can use in the open hand forms division in our tournament (and maybe other tournaments in the future).

• What CLFsean said about the forms that come from Lau Bun. Like I said before, we don't have as many forms from that lineage as our GM's other two lineages. Plus, I like the idea of a form that focuses on in close fighting techniques.

I will tell you all about the seminar after it is done.

As I mentioned in another thread, I had to postpone a minor surgery, because they scheduled it the day before this seminar originally! I told the nurse I was attending a long awaited seminar, but I didn't tell her it was a MA one, because I have noticed that people who don't have the MA bug, just don't get how important it is to MAists!

Thanks again for everyones input.

__________________
I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

I had my seminar this weekend and it was fantastic! I am really happy with what I learned. Although I can't claim I have it down perfectly memorized. We get follow up classes at our school though, and my instructor will have her own follow up classes for the three of her students who took this form.

It is just as CLFsean said a Lau Bun set would be. Not flashy, but full of good practical techniques. It is actually a shorter form than I thought it would be as Lau Bun's sets are usually long- or so I have been told. The hardest part is the fist you use with both hands throughout the form. It is a unique fist, sort of like a leopard fist, but with your thumb tucked up underneath. And your wrist is at an angle. It is not a comfortable position and I will have to stretch out my wrist tendons to be able to do it properly. It is very different from any other CLF form I have thus far learned.

This is the first I have had any live teaching from GM DFW. Although it certainly wasn't up close and personal as there was well over 100 people there. (I have some of his tapes though.) I liked his teaching style. He walked to the center of the gym and had us circle around him to see the practical applications of what we were doing a few times each day, if it was not readily apparent. He also has a good sense of humor. He would go over it, the first time, then one of the Sifu's would review the section a few times. Then we would go to the next section. Frequently we would practice from the beginning as well.

Next year I am definitely doing the push hands. I am going to start saving a bit each month to be able to do that and a form, if an interesting form is going to be taught next year.

All in all a good fun weekend! I had high expectations for this to be a really cool form and it did not disappoint me.

__________________
I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Elephant form sounds interesting. I gotta find it some sooner or later . . .

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“	Originally Posted By: KungFuMan I also learned a praying mantis fist style from watching the actual insect itself. This was before I actually learned some seven star mantis.	”

“	Originally Posted By: aaradia I had my seminar this weekend and it was fantastic! I am really happy with what I learned. Although I can't claim I have it down perfectly memorized. We get follow up classes at our school though, and my instructor will have her own follow up classes for the three of her students who took this form. It is just as CLFsean said a Lau Bun set would be. Not flashy, but full of good practical techniques. It is actually a shorter form than I thought it would be as Lau Bun's sets are usually long- or so I have been told. The hardest part is the fist you use with both hands throughout the form. It is a unique fist, sort of like a leopard fist, but with your thumb tucked up underneath. And your wrist is at an angle. It is not a comfortable position and I will have to stretch out my wrist tendons to be able to do it properly. It is very different from any other CLF form I have thus far learned. This is the first I have had any live teaching from GM DFW. Although it certainly wasn't up close and personal as there was well over 100 people there. (I have some of his tapes though.) I liked his teaching style. He walked to the center of the gym and had us circle around him to see the practical applications of what we were doing a few times each day, if it was not readily apparent. He also has a good sense of humor. He would go over it, the first time, then one of the Sifu's would review the section a few times. Then we would go to the next section. Frequently we would practice from the beginning as well. Next year I am definitely doing the push hands. I am going to start saving a bit each month to be able to do that and a form, if an interesting form is going to be taught next year. All in all a good fun weekend! I had high expectations for this to be a really cool form and it did not disappoint me.	”

Told ya...

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Terrorists aren't overseas. They're at the gas pump.
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I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. -- Kung Fu-tzu (Confucius)

Glad your seminar went well.

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Mark
Liberalism is a mental disorder. -M. Savage

Glad to see you had a good time! And learned something too!

The Elephant form sounds interesting aaradia. The fist shape you describe sounds a bit like Hung Kuens Tiger Paw shape. Which can be used as a stamping type move down the front of the face or as a defensive jamming motion up close, stopping the limb.

Would be great to see some footage of this set.

“	Originally Posted By: banditshaw The Elephant form sounds interesting aaradia. The fist shape you describe sounds a bit like Hung Kuens Tiger Paw shape. Which can be used as a stamping type move down the front of the face or as a defensive jamming motion up close, stopping the limb. Would be great to see some footage of this set.	”

There is an article posted at our school, I think it is from an article written by GM DFW for one of the Kung Fu Magazines. I am going to peruse the plumblossom website, where many of his articles are posted, and see if it is there so I can link it. Probably won't get a chance to do this until the weekend though.

In the Hung Kuens Tiger Paw, do you hold the wrist at an angle too? Man, my wrists are so sore! It was used similarly to how your first description is at times, but I am having trouble visualising your second description, so I can't answer that.

I really liked the extensive use of elbows in the form. It is something you just don't see in CLF sets. Not ones I have seen before anyways.

No chance of footage though. Apparently this is one of his most highly prized and secretive sets. We were expressly told to not tape it and to not put it on the Internet. Actually, one of the reasons I took it was to have a open hand set for tournaments, but GM DFW said we were not to do it at tournaments because people often tape stuff there nowadays. That was the only bummer as that was one of the deciding factors in my decision, but I still don't regret my decision to take it. I feel like I got a real rare opportunity to learn something unique and cool.

__________________
I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Pity.

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“	Originally Posted By: KungFuMan I also learned a praying mantis fist style from watching the actual insect itself. This was before I actually learned some seven star mantis.	”