How Many Kung Fu Styles Can You Fit Into a School Auditorium?
After a lifetime spent watching kung fu movies and even studying Wing Chun for a little while, I had never ever attended a kung fu exhibition. So when I saw the flyer advertisement in a Chinese newspaper (and I don’t even read Chinese) for the 1st annual East Coast Kung Fu Festival in Chinatown, NYC, I decided to go see what I had been missing all these years.
Exhibitions are just that, exhibitions. I did not expect to see any full contact, go-for-the-throat type of demonstrations where the practitioners go at each other with everything in their arsenal. More or less, I expected plenty of form and weapons demonstrations from the various Chinese traditional kung fu styles on display. Since this was a kung fu exhibition, none of the other Asian martial arts would be represented, such as karate or Tae Kwan Do.
The festival took place inside an auditorium at a high school in Chinatown. For some reason, the setting reminded me of all those awful school assemblies I had to attend during my elementary and junior high school days with the same uncomfortable seats. I had a fairly decent seat on the left side of the auditorium. I’d say more than three-quarters of the seats were filled. Not a bad turnout. A dozen or so schools were represented. All the Chinese ones that you could think of were there; Hung Gar, Choy Li Fut, Eagle Claw, Dragon, Wing Chun, Southern Mantis, Tiger, as well as the requisite Tai Chi. All in all, a fairly comprehensive representation of traditional Chinese kung fu.
Each school had about 15 minutes to showcase its skills. That’s not a whole lot of time, so the idea is to give the audience some eye candy as well as some meaningful demonstration of what makes your kung fu unique. This might attract new students, and if you really impress folks, it creates a buzz about your school. When Bruce Lee went around to the many venues promoting Jeet Kune Do, he created the buzz surrounding JKD by putting on his eye-popping demos that he knew would have people talking.
On that scale, the Tai Chi is just not the type of martial art that translates to attention-grabbing execution of skill sets. The forms are elongated and very drawn out. Nice to look at, but it does put you in a trance. Now, I must admit I had just run 16 miles before attending the event, and my energy level wasn’t at peak levels. That said, watching the Tai Chi folks made my eyes roll more than just a bit. The music didn’t help either. It was of the flutey I-am-in-nature ilk. The other thing, and maybe it is just me, but why are there almost no Chinese/Asian students represented at Tai Chi exhibitions, at least here in NYC? The sifu is almost always Chinese but the students are for the most part, non-Chinese. I am never quite sure how that translates when such exhibitions are performed in front of a Chinese crowd.
A major disappointment was the Wing Chun portion. I hate to say it, but it was rather dull. What I could not understand was how could it be so lifeless? They even skipped the form demo and went straight to applications which should have retained our attention considering how explosive the movements are. Alas, not even blind chi-sao could grab my attention. What they needed was some audience participation to get things going.
The Choy Li Fut demo was by far the most dynamic of what I saw as well I think the audience favorite of all the schools. You could feel the energy coming off the stage as the students went about executing their forms. What clearly stood out was the practical combat techniques on display. This is a fighting martial art. A practitioner letting fly a barrage of strikes is a dramatic scene whether or not you’re sitting in the front or all the way to the back. That, and it looks cool. You knew this school had the audience’s approval with the demonstration of one of the forms by a little girl. They roared with delight. With the power generation evident in her movements, I am pretty sure she could kick my ass if she wanted to.
I also give my props to the Qi Gong master from the Shaolin Overseas Headquarters school. He invited members of the audience to take free shots at his abdomen, no holding back. Several people tried with punches and kicks. The guy hardly flinched. That’s something you just don’t see every day.
As for the other schools, nothing really stood out bad or good. Some tried to incorporate music with their demo or use the traditional drumming. Those who used the music should have tried to sync their performance with the music. I don’t think it is a good thing when the music stops and you continue on with your performance in silence for another minute or so. What’s the point of using the music then?
According to the presenter, they are planning to hold these exhibitions once every two years. It is quite probable that sponsorship and ongoing interest will play major roles. Based on my observation of the audience, the 20-to-40 group was not represented at all unless they were associated with the schools. Mastering Mortal Kombat has greater interest for the younger generation than for them to actually learning a martial art.
Finally, I hope the next time there is better lighting. The stage was bathed in this reddish-orange hue that really made it hard to really see details. What happened to a good ol’ fashioned spotlight?
(25 votes, average: 2.80 out of 4)
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