1. Age / Fitness / Experience |
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| How old do I need to be to join your school? |
Any age. Whether 6 or 60, you are not too old or young to join and train.
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| How much experience do I need to join your school? |
None. We do the teaching!
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| Is there a base level of fitness expected? |
No. Training is structured to help build fitness, even if you have none. If you have any medical / health problems, you should first consult your doctor and then let Sifu Patrick know before you start training.
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2. Timetable / Classes |
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| What times do you train? |
Please click here for our current class timetable.
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| Do you have any seminars or short courses? |
These may be arranged for OH&S instruction and other events. Please click here for contact details.
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| Do you provide and private or one-on-one tuition? |
This may be arranged in specific circumstances. Please click here for contact details.
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| Do you hold tournaments? |
No. However, we are affiliated with a number of schools who do. Please click here for the latest promotional details.
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3. Costs |
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| How much does a kung fu seminar / short course cost? |
Costs are not placed on this website as they are subject to change from time to time. For prices, please click here for contact details.
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| How much do kung fu lessons cost? |
Our fees are extremely reasonable. We do not charge for membership, yearly fees, or grading fees. The Shaolin Chow Ka Kung Fu School is a non-profit school. Fees are used solely for the upkeep of the school. For pricing, please click here for contact details.
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| What is the method of payment your school accepts? |
Cash or cheque.
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| Do you provide any student or concession / pensioner discounts? |
Yes. To discuss these, please click here for contact details.
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| Does your school provide scholarships, fellowships or assistance programs for international students? |
No. We are not a government funded educational facility, and we are not a tertiary educational institute.
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4. Location |
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| Where is your school / training hall located? |
Our school is located in Perth, Western Australia. Please click here for further details.
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| How do I travel to your school? |
Please click here for the details of our address. If you do not have a car, then you should consult the public transport system in Perth.
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| Can you help me arrange transport to and from the training hall? |
If you are unsure where our school is, you may call us for directions. However, we cannot arrange your transport to and from our school.
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| Can you arrange for other students to provide my transport to training hall? |
If you are having difficulties with transport, then you should get a lift with friends or parents.
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| Do you have any schools / branches outside of Australia, WA? |
Please be informed that we only have one school in Perth, Western Australia.
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| Do I need to come to Australia to learn Chow Ka (Jow Ga, Zhou Jia) kung fu? |
No. There are many other schools around Australia and the World that teach the Chow Ga (Jow Ga, Zhou Jia) style of kung fu. In order to locate a school in your area, please consult the Yellow pages, Google, or chat to the lion dance teams that perform during Chinese New Year. Alternatively, please click here for a list of schools we are aware of.
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| Do you know where schools of your Sifu's school brothers are located (such as Ley Yiu Gwun)? |
We are only know the location for two of Sifu Patrick's school brothers. Please click here to find them on our links page.
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| Do I need to come to Australia to learn at your school? |
Yes. Sifu Patrick's only branch is in Perth, Australia. If you wish to travel to Perth to study kung fu with Sifu Patrick, this will be entirely at your expense.
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| Can you help me get a visa to learn kung fu in Australia? |
No. We can not do this as we are not a government funded educational facility or tertiary educational institute.
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| Can I live at your training hall / school premises? |
No. We do not have such facilities. Our school is just a training hall for the purpose of teaching and training kung fu.
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5. Attendance |
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| Can I come and watch or try out some lessons before joining? |
Yes. Everyone is encouraged to come and watch or join in to see if they enjoy learning at our school.
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| Is it ok to train only once or twice a week? |
Yes. Sifu Patrick recognises that most people lead busy lives with committments to studies, work and family. You can attend as often as you are able.
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| Is it ok for me to come back once I have stopped attending lessons? |
Yes. Students are encouraged to return if for some reason they were unable to attend. We are always happy to see familiar faces return.
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| Is there a minimum time I must attend? |
No. You can stay as long or little as you want. However, attendance is for your benefit as the more you attend the faster you will progress.
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| Can I join your school as a part-time and continue my day job or studies? |
Yes.
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| How many students are usually in your beginners class? |
This can vary greatly depending on time of year (holiday vs exam time) or weather. We have 40 enrolled beginners and approx 50-70% will attend classes regularly.
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6. Dress Requirements |
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| What do I have to wear? |
A plain white shirt or school t-shirt, black loose pants (tracksuit or kung fu pants), a red sash / belt, and lightweight shoes (such as joggers or kung fu slippers).
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| How much are uniforms? |
The only components of the uniform that we sell are the school t-shirts and red belts / sashes. The prices for these items are equivalent to the price of a plain white t-shirt from K-Mart or other department store. You can use your own pants and shoes if you have them already, or you can purchase them from any store you wish. Make sure they are comfortable, lightweight and flexible.
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7. Rules |
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| What are the rules / ethics of your class? |
Please click here for the class ethos and rules.
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8. About Our Style of Kung Fu & Training |
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| Do you teach Wu-Dang kung fu? |
No. There is much debate as to what Wu-Dang kung fu is. The Chinese Tourist Ministry has decided to promote Wu-Dang as the home of soft internal styles such as Tai Chi or Pa-Kua. However, there is some debate whether this is true. Firstly, some say tai chi originated outside of the temples. Secondly, some think that the hard style of Wing Chun originated from the Wu-Dang temple.
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| Do you teach Tai Chi? |
No.
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| What areas / skills / styles do you teach? |
We teach Shaolin style kung fu (including animal forms, lohan, drunken style, etc), chi kung (qigong), meditation, weapons, lion dance and unarmed combat. Please click here for more information on the styles we teach.
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| What are the chi kung (qigong) forms you teach? |
Chi kung can either be practiced with movements or motionless (sitting with cross legs in lotus position). When chi kung is practiced with movements, any kind of movements will work if practiced in slow motion with correct breathing and mental discipline. Yang style tai chi is an example of a kung fu form practiced in slow motion to cultivate chi. In addition to all the regular kung fu forms which can be practiced to build chi, we also have a number of specialised chi kung forms and exercises.
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| If I am only interested in one area / skill (eg. qigong or combat), do I have to learn the other areas? |
No. You can choose to learn just chi kung, just lion dance, or just unarmed combat on their own. However, we will not teach weapons without first teaching unarmed combat.
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| Do you study movements on the wooden dummy? |
Yes. However, we do not use Wing Chun techniques. Chow Ka has its own dummy forms which resemble the Choy Li Fut dummy forms.
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| Does your school teach the original Shaolin techniques? |
Yes. This is why we call it Shaolin Chow Ka Kung Fu School. Chow is the name of the family who practiced and protected the Shaolin techniques which were eventually passed on to our Sifu. Please click here for a history of Shaolin kung fu and our school.
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| What are the fighting principles, philosophy, approach or concept of Chow Ka (eg. centreline, etc)? |
For our combat philosophy, please click here.
For our forms, please click here.
For the techniques which we use, please click here.
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| Do you rely on memorizing techniques or training them until second nature? |
Both and more. We also require students to understand the techniques and to nuture the ability to adapt or create new techniques to overcome new challenges.
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| How long does it take to learn your style of kung fu? |
Studying any martial arts is not like getting a degree in university. There is no set time. You can spend the rest of your life learning kung fu, always getting better and better. To see what forms are required for different ranks / grades click here.
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| How did you come about the Chow Ka system? |
Please click here for Sifu Patrick's history.
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9. General Enquiries & Sales |
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| Do you have any ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, or MSN messenger so we can chat? |
No. Please direct all questions via the email address. Click here to find our contact email addresses.
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| When will you put up more movies? |
Additional movies will not be placed until late in 2004.
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| Can you send me information and photos about Buddhism, the shaolin temple monks and Dalai Lama? |
Please help yourself to the materials and resources on this website. If it does not appear on this website, then we can not provide it.
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| Could you send me some information about training kung fu in China? |
Sorry, but we are unable to do this. If you wish to learn more about training kung fu in China, please search the internet with Google, using the keywords 'china, study, kung, fu, shaolin'.
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| Can you help me find somewhere to learn the Bokken, Tai Chi, Eskrima, Kali, Arnis, etc? |
Sorry, but we can not provide anything further than the information which already appears on this website.
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| Do you sell Dit Dar Jow? |
Although make tit dar jow, we do not sell it openly to the public. We produce dit dar jow only for the purpose of healing and training. We provide this service free of charge to all of our school's students.
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| Do you sell, or do you know who sells: weapons, instructional videos, dvds, books, exclusive leopard fist videos, or lessons on drunken style, or tiger style? |
Until we are able to set up an online martial arts shop, we can only suggest you continue to look around at other martial arts stores / suppliers. Click here to follow links to our affiliated shops.
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| Do you know where to buy lion dance equipment? |
We are currently considering the possibility of importing and distributing lion dance equipment. However, until such time we are unable to advise anyone for the best place to buy lion dance equipment.
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| Is there any way I could learn martial arts online at home? |
Yes and No. Although it may be possible, we do not currently provide the resources for such an option.
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| Could you send me a list of fighting moves that would help improve my skills? |
No. There is no such list of moves which will improve your skills. Only understanding and practice can do this.
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| Can you give me guidence to find inner peace? |
Yes and No. We are here to instruct in Shaolin kung fu only. However, this may help you reduce stress, increase energy levels, gain a sense of confidence and mastery, and therefore help you achieve greater calmness and serenity.
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10. Tricky / Academic Questions |
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| Why do you use the masculine term 'SiSook' (meaning uncle), for Sifu Patrick's younger sister Vanessa, instead of the feminine equivalent 'SiGu Mui'? |
Many practicing Buddhists (including 3 generations of our school's Sifus) associate the term 'SiGu Mui' exclusively with Buddhist Nuns. Using such a venerable title to describe kung fu students was therefore seen as disrespectful to Buddhist traditions. The term 'SiSook' on the other hand is not used exclusively for monks. As a result, our school's ancestors adopted the convention of applying 'SiSook' for both males and females.
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| What is the correct side to tie a sash according to tradition? |
Strict tradition requires males to tie their sash on the right, females on the left, and instructors in the front. Our school does not make this differentiation as it may be interpreted to be politically incorrect by modern student.
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| What is the philosophical meaning of the "Dragon" in Chinese culture? |
This will depend on whether you are looking at the astrological significance of the dragon, or the associated historical usage of the dragon symbol. Because this question is quite complex, you should search the internet with Google, using keywords such as 'chinese, astrology, dragon, heaven, magical, emperor, symbolism', etc.
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| What are the main differences between the styles of "White Tiger" and "Black Tiger"? |
Black tiger is thought to be a Southern style whereas White tiger is thought to be a Northern style. The techniques of Black and White tiger are essentially the same, with some minor differences. Both styles use similar techniques of the tiger claw and apply the same analogy of a tiger's personality in battle. Differences between the styles may be due to the climatic differences of North and South. White tiger being named after the northern snow and black tiger being named after the southern black earth. Such climatic differences could have affected tiger claw training and fighting.
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