Yang Jwing Ming off to the Woods for 10 years

[Dana Sheets]

Amazing...

Bostom Globe article:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living ... next_move/

The master's next move
A local kung fu legend aims to take the study of martial arts to a higher level

By Kevin Galvin, Globe Staff | August 16, 2005

An ancient Chinese proverb holds that boasting about wealth or virtue will bring your demise.

Maybe that explains why one of the top martial artists in America has operated in Forest Hills for two decades without attracting much attention around town.

Inside Kung-Fu magazine inducted Yang, Jwing-Ming into its Hall of Fame in 1990, calling him ''one of the most respected kung fu practitioners in the world." His Yang Martial Arts Association has 60 affiliated schools in 17 countries, from Argentina to Poland to Iran. In 1984 he founded YMAA Publication Center, which has since published two dozen martial arts authors.

Yang's own books about chi kung, tai chi chuan, and kung fu -- he's written 32 of them -- bear the organizational rigor of a man who also happens to hold a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Seminars he conducts at his dojo on Hyde Park Avenue draw students from the world over.

''He's one of the greats of all time," said Dave Cater, editor of Inside Kung-Fu, which also placed Yang on its list of the 100 most influential martial artists of the 20th century, along with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Lee. ''Because he has published so much and his business acumen is so great, many people forget he's such a great technician and clinician."

Boston hasn't so much forgotten as it has never really noticed. The only time Yang remembers being contacted by the local media was for an interview with a Chinese language newspaper.

Now, at the age of 59, Yang has an ambitious plan for the final stage of his career that he hopes will help restore the study of martial arts to the level of an earlier generation.

''When I come here, I have big hopes -- I say, maybe I can teach foreigners to reach the level. They try. It's not easy. And then finally, I wake up," Yang said in an interview at the spartan offices of YMAA headquarters. ''Society is too much a distraction. Their mind cannot concentrate. Their life is not easy. So that's why I say, OK, to train, I need to be like ancient times. Take them to the mountains."

''Take Them to the Mountains" isn't one of those evocative descriptions of a tai chi move, like ''Grasp Sparrow's Tail" or ''White Crane Spreads its Wings." Yang has sold his publishing company, purchased 240 wooded acres in California's remote Humboldt County, and built a cabin. He has formed a private foundation and, if all goes as planned, two years from now the master will lead a small group of students into the mountains to study. For 10 years.

Explaining ancient secrets
A three-day tai chi seminar with Yang begins improbably enough with doughnuts and coffee in the basement dojo of YMAA.

The students, some from as far away as Panama and France, mill about in loose-fitting clothing, talking quietly and picking through the remaining honey-dippeds and chocolate-covereds until Yang is ready to begin.

There is no hint of the severe Chinese master from kung fu films about him. The students sit on the floor as Yang pops the cap off a marker and begins to sketch on a white board.

In the kung fu world, Yang may be best known as an expert on chin na, the Chinese system of joint locks that is a forefather of jujitsu. But much of his work has brought his training in physics and engineering to the study of the ''internal arts" of tai chi and chi kung. He has attempted to explain to the West the secrets behind ancient practices that cultivate chi, the vital energy which, according to traditional Chinese medicine, flows throughout the human body.

''No one else is trying to bring the ancient experience and the Western rational mind together to further understand and develop the field," said Ian D. Bier, an acupuncturist and doctor of natural medicine from Portsmouth, N.H., who studies with Yang. ''Dr. Yang is the only person I know in the chi kung/tai chi arena who is asking the questions that will need to be answered if we are ever to truly understand how these arts work."

Tai chi is typically portrayed as a kind of moving meditation. But Yang explains that tai chi was developed both as a fighting discipline and as a way to circulate chi throughout the body.

''The West says the mind and the body are connected by nerves. Chinese say mind-body connected by chi," he says, his meaning clear through what he jokingly calls his ''Chinglish." ''One is from energy point of view, other is from material point of view. But they [are] always talking about [the] same thing."

The lecture on theory over, Yang is ready to demonstrate. The five dozen students in the room fall still as he begins, intently following every move: Ward Off, Grasp Sparrow's Tail, Single Whip. His movements are a delight to behold -- graceful and soft, yet so strongly rooted that the power for a potential kick or strike is always evident.

The books Yang has written at the rate of roughly 1.5 a year since the 1980s are rich with details translated from documents penned by ancient tai chi and chi kung masters -- documents that until recent decades had been closely guarded by tradition.

''That is really his triumph," said Dr. Thomas G. Gutheil, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who has studied kung fu with Yang for 20 years. ''He's really broken out of that restrictive mode and is actually helping to translate this material so that Western readers get it."

While rigorous scientific study of the health benefits of tai chi and chi kung is lacking, evidence has been mounting for the efficacy of acupuncture, which is based upon the same principles of chi.

''The issue is not about so much if it's working; the issue is whether the theory being used in the East [to explain how acupuncture works] is something the Western practitioner is comfortable with," Gutheil said. ''A certain amount of acceptance is growing."

There are scores of books on the market with glossy photos showing teachers moving through the tai chi or kung fu forms, but Yang's work goes deeper.

''Taijiquan Theory" offers text from classic Chinese teachings in the original Chinese, straight translations, and interpretations that make sense of the often vague meanings of Chinese characters. Then, in separate books, he examines the divergent practices underlying tai chi. In ''The Root of Chinese Qigong," he offers detailed descriptions of breathing practices and meditative exercises. In ''Taiji Chi Na," he shows in words and photos how the graceful moves of the tai chi form can be effective counters to an attack. A gentle, stretching motion like White Crane Spreads its Wings, for example, becomes a splitting move that neutralizes an opponent's arm. Diagrams show the relevant acupressure points that the moves rely on to control an attacker.

Finally, in a series of DVDs, Yang demonstrates with painful precision the effectiveness of chi na on a series of hapless assistants.

Teaching from the heart
Yang grew up in Taiwan in a struggling family of nine children who collected bottles and cans to sell for food. A quiet child, he was picked on by other kids, so a classmate introduced him to a kung fu master when he was 15. He studied the White Crane style for 13 years, and began tai chi training during the same period.

Yang studied physics at Tamkang University and in 1974 he was awarded a teaching fellowship by Purdue University. He married his wife, Mei-Ling, before leaving his homeland.

He switched majors to receive his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1978. A job at Analog Devices in 1982 brought him to Massachusetts. But he felt hemmed in as a middle manager, quitting within years and dedicating himself full time to YMAA.

''I tried to figure out, how can I survive? . . . I have a scientific background. I learn martial arts for many years, and I learn chi kung for many years," Yang said. ''Put them together, I have a [unique] discipline."

The first six months were difficult for Yang, who was supporting his wife and three young children. But gradually, the school began to flourish, his writings began to sell -- he has sold 250,000 books, according to YMAA Publications -- and in 1986 he bought the commercial property across from the Forest Hills T stop where the school still operates.

''When I turned 50, one day I was meditating and I realized, everything I think of was the past," Yang said. ''That's when I say no, I have to create another dream."

Another 50-year-old might have dreamed of a Florida retirement. Yang is in the final planning stages -- and readying a fund-raising drive -- for his YMAA California Retreat Center.

If he can secure about $450,000 in annual funding by the end of next year, Yang will winnow a list of 100 finalists from around the globe to between 10 and 15 students, ages 17 to 20, who will accompany him to the timberland he has purchased near Garberville in Northern California. This select group will receive scholarships to train nine months a year with Yang for the next decade.

Any student who drops out in the first five years will be required to reimburse the foundation for a large part of their training.

Yang is trying to remove monetary considerations from the student-teacher relationship, just as he is trying to block out the distractions of an Instant Messaging society.

When money is involved, Yang said, ''very few teachers will teach from the heart, and the students -- they won't respect the teacher as sincerely as in ancient times."

''I [will] try to recover Chinese martial arts to the same standard as when I was young, or even my master's level," he said. Yang's White Crane master studied with his own master every day for 23 years. ''I am willing to spend my 10 years to train students."

[Stryke]

editor of Inside Kung-Fu, which also placed Yang on its list of the 100 most influential martial artists of the 20th century, along with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Lee.

Kind of destroys the credibility of the article a little , but good read none-the less

[f.Channell]

I have at least 3 of his books I bought for a $1.00 at a used book store.

Although they enlightened me to fantastic levels of awareness and I now can type without using my hands I will begin the bidding for these books at 1 billion pesos.

Always run away when a martial arts instructor who teaches his class on a blackboard instead of sweating on the floor with you.

Didn't Van Damn get his but kicked in a strip joint in New York when he was drunk? I remember the guy telling the story on the Howard Stern show.
They should be more careful who goes in the Hall of Fame.

There is also zero evidence of Chinese martial arts influencing Japanese Jujitsu. This is why there was no striking Karate art in Japan until Funakoshi brought it in. Given the constant state of one war after another in Japan it's safe to say they had ample opportunity and need to develop their own art.

F.

[jorvik]

Well i was part of this guys organisation, until I got dissed......so I never went on his seminar, have to say his daughter was once very good but is now cr*p
He is quite good in many ways.the stuff is there and it is like very good Aikido but you have to look at it and work at it..........or it doesn't work ...what can I say.......I know that he has said that some of his American Students are better than he is at Tai-Chi.so that is pretty cool in my books ..let's hear an Okinawan tell us that the Yanks are better at Uechi than they are...............and they may well be .it was an imported art to Okinawa.......and it is an imported art to america.................Soo the American masters may be light years ahead of their Okinawan counterparts

butI digress ....his stuff is ok

[Dana Sheets]

Don't take the article as an accurate portrayal of Dr. Ming's accomplishments. I have his chi-na text and his white crane texts. I find them to be full of useful material. Yes he is what these forums would call a chi-ster but he is also hugely dedicated to promoting the Chinese martial arts and is very open to teaching Westerners.

[Stryke]

hey Ive got some of his stuff and liked it , he`s not someone I`d write off

I just hate how folks can Butcher a good article ....

Lots of appropriate stuff to cross reference to Uechi

i didnt realsie he had a white crane book , that could be interesting .

[Stryke]

Soo the American masters may be light years ahead of their Okinawan counterparts

Just dont ask the canadians

[AAAhmed46]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
editor of Inside Kung-Fu, which also placed Yang on its list of the 100 most influential martial artists of the 20th century, along with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Lee.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Kind of destroys the credibility of the article a little , but good read none-the less

How does it destroy credibility?

[Stryke]

Jackie Chans not a martial artist but an Actor

how can he be one of the most influential martial artists of all time ?

Same story with Van Damne to a lesser extent , while he has competed I beleive , he wouldnt claim to be a great master I`d assume .

so what where talking is popular media smoke and mirror Martial arts .

People will argue about Bruce forever .....

So if you say he`s great in context of these martial artists , that is the bar your measuring him by .

I know better Martial artists than either of them . And I`d be surprised if there on that list .

[f.Channell]

I live within a half hour of him and have never heard anyone in the martial arts community speak of him.

But I have some Chinese martial artist friends and I'll ask what they think.

F.

[Dana Sheets]

Jackie Chans not a martial artist but an Actor

Jackie Chan went to Chinese opera school at a very young age (6 or 7 I think) where they trained in martial arts as well as dance, acting, singing, street tricks, acrobatics, etc. When he first came to the US he couldn't believe how slow the stunt people were in hollywood. He kept asking them why they didn't know how to fight.

He's more of a martial artist than many might imagine.

[JimHawkins]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
editor of Inside Kung-Fu, which also placed Yang on its list of the 100 most influential martial artists of the 20th century, along with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Lee.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kind of destroys the credibility of the article a little , but good read none-the less

How does it destroy credibility?

Perhaps Adam refers to the diverse "skills" those names bring to mind. Bruce I can dig, in terms of his mass teaching and advancement of the arts starting long ago, DR YJM also a renown teacher, while Jackie is a martial artist his impact <long career here> is mainly as an actor and I was never a big fan of Jean Claude, although I liked Blood Sport for the most part... Seems like an odd list of who’s who…

[JimHawkins]

There is also zero evidence of Chinese martial arts influencing Japanese Jujitsu. This is why there was no striking Karate art in Japan until Funakoshi brought it in. Given the constant state of one war after another in Japan it's safe to say they had ample opportunity and need to develop their own art.

Could be true but personally I doubt it.

I think it's accepted that Japanese folks came from China long ago and colonized the Japanese Islands. Martial arts have existed for many thousands of years in China so I tend to think that as with other cultural phenomena such as language, the Japanese started off with the Chinese base, like the standard Chinese characters and Japanese characters are in fact the very same. Later to differentiate the Japanese came up with their own short hand characters and unique forms of expression, still the roots were from the same place. So I think it’s more reasonable to think that the Japanese started with some Chinese MA base and Japanified it from there, as Japan itself took shape and came to be a nation.. As opposed to starting from scratch… More that that almost every martial art in Asia can trace it's roots back to China one way or another so I tend to doubt that Japan's older styles are the exception, although I am sure Japan would prefer it to be.

Indeed the Japanese interpretation of China Fist that came later is devoid for the most part of all the subtle nuances, Chinna elements and energy training that existed and exists in the parent Chinese arts. This seems to me to underscore the desire and intention to make them separate and different as opposed to seeing the similarities that could be found in true Chinese Fist and the old Japanese "Chinna" styles. IMO it's mainly politics, pride and possibly poor translation.

[JimHawkins]

Soo the American masters may be light years ahead of their Okinawan counterparts

Honestly, from what I have seen, I would say, for example Rick, in terms of the direction he is going and the concepts he believes in, I would say he *is* "ahead" of most if not all of the "Okinowan Masters" regardless of Rick's ability to take out parking meters with his toe or shin..

[Piche]

I've been to alot of Dr yangs chin na seminars in years past. Don't let the comment about the white board throw you. He is all about training. I couldn't get my wedding band off for months after my first chin na seminar.

I also found him to be quite humble. In one seminar I as at, someone addressed him as Master yang. He quickly corrected the attendee by saying he was no master. He then pointed to the picture on the wall of the hermit who was his white crane master. "That is a master," he said. On another occasion, he held up his first couple of chin na books and essentially said they were crap and you can not learn this stuff from a book.

Just my take on the guy.

Don