edited for content

ummmmm....Helooooooooo? Is there anyone in there?

Come on isol8d.....Put a little more into this please.

"Edited for Content"? There is no content, WTF!?!

I know Wah Lum has multiple schools but I thought they also had a full contact program?

Northern Praying Mantis forum @ Kung Fu Magazine:

http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=7

Do a search for Wah Lum, and you will find loads. Here is the low down:

1 - The Orlando school, the one that looks like a temple, is the main one. All other Wah Lum is strictly regulated (some say in an obsessive way) so much so that if you get to see their kung fu in one school, it should be the same across the board.

2 - Wah Lum is not your typical mantis. They do mainly TMA, but most northern mantis styles, while different from school to school, lump themselves together on one side of the fence, with Wah Lum on the other.

3 - They do add some wushu in there for effect and demonstration. Wushu is acrobatics and gymnastics, not kung fu.

4 - These guys do train very seriously, though I have never touched hands with them. I have both a respect and an odd distrust for the secrecy. While on leave from the military, for example, I could not train at their school for one week without going through a whole process to include signing waivers, joining the class, buying the uniform, etc. Most of the times when I have been on leave, I could pick up a week of training anyplace I went. Walk in, show respect, and train for a few days, no harm done. This includes karate and tae kwon do schools as well. But with a Wah Lum school, it was all distrust. I wasn't about to sign up for a month of classes just to work out twice.

5 - The Orlando school is supposed to be a functioning temple as well. I visited once, never attended, heck I'm not a Buddhist.

I know it's not much, but better than the non-existing review above. Cheers.

Wah Lum is a good school but they don't have a full contact team. We compete against them in Baltimore every summer and in the forms division they're always first, or second. Mimi Chan has taken over from her father GM Pui Chan and has kept the quality high.

Very athletic but they have added modern wushu to traditional forms. They're the only school I know that's put butterfly kicks into mantis forms.

For better Wah Lum, check out Raymond Fogg in Dallas, Texas. I have never trained with him, but he is my teacher's teacher (Sigung) and the quality of the students he has produced is very high.

For better Wah Lum, check out Raymond Fogg in Dallas, Texas. I have never trained with him, but he is my teacher's teacher (Sigung) and the quality of the students he has produced is very high.

Tell me...how the hell does this help some one looking for Wah Lum in Florida...never mind, don't post...ever.

check the central texas Kung fu exchange.(Kfedallas.com) there is a kung fu exchange school in south florida, while talking smack here is fun, remember to be respectfull when you go there. I had 2 nhb fights under my belt the first time I walked in to a kung fu exchange school (boy I'm glad I was not cocky with the instructor), the ground work taught by my late sifu was concise and efficient and after earning my blackbelt I succesfully used the techniques as a bouncer in killeen tx. wah lum mantis is a good base art, the principles (key words) of mantis kung fu apply between each step of the forms, so in a form a follows b follows c, while in a fight a single step from the middle of the form might make an oppening for a single leg take down, or a shove down conviniently placed stairs. hope this helps.

Ahhhh, I love my school. I've never heard it was a functioning buddhist temple... Where'd you get that? I haven't heard a word about that since I've been going there.
An example of our workings:
Today, we had line drills. Basics first of course. The normal. Then, we kicked it up on the more advanced side. This was a progression drill (add a move each time we go back and forth). Toe Kick, Heel Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Spinning Side Kick, Whirlwind Kick, Backward Sweep, Crane Kick*, Cut Eyebrow Kick. In average martial art terms... Front Snap Kick, Stomp Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Spinning Side Kick, Flying Inside Crescent Kick, Back Sweep, Crane Kick*, Outside Crescent Kick.

*Crane Kick- The kick from The Karate Kid where you raise one leg and jump but kick with the other. I don't know it's name.

crane kick: from crane stance do a jumping inside crescent kick some people call it a jumping inside crescent kick :D

Well, it's not an inside crescent kick... it's a flying front snap/slap kick I guess.

While I am no longer an active student at the WahLumTemple, this is only because there are no Wah Lum schools in Arizona. I still claim Wah Lum as my style because I am still loyal to the temple. As such I have a few points to make.

1) Much like Mantis_Fist I had a similar incident when I first joined. I was a minor at the time and my mother had to go to work before anyone could come to the front and help us. When I asked to train no one would let me until Simu Suzy Chan gave them permission to. The reason for this however is that the Chan family is dedicated to preserving the traditions upon which the WahLumTemple is based upon. There is a curriculum of history, genealogy, terminology and philosophy that is taught in addition to the physical kung fu.

2) I found it odd there was no weapon rating. While I admit it has been a few years, the thing most vivid about the temple was the many weapons in which one was able to be instructed in.

3) While there is no full contact team, the outward pointing feathers means we accept challenges. I have always taken this to extend to challenges for full contact sparring.

4) The reason it is called a "temple" has nothing to do with Buddhism. (This said we do honor the teachers who came before us before and after each training session.) While there is a Buddhist temple in Orlando, the WahLumTemple is able to be called a temple because is build in a traditional style and had living facilities for full-time students. The Wah Lum Temple's website explains is thus:
He (Si Gung Pui Chan) allows instructors from all over the country to live there and undertake intensive training in an atmosphere free of distractions. Chan has done this in order to preserve the traditional ways of Kung Fu training, and to provide serenity and sincerity in the modern world.


http://www.wahlum.com/visit_temple.htm (http://www.wahlum.com/visit_temple.htm)

This is because, when I was a student there, the Temple had a deal with an apartment complex across the street to provide living quarters for professional students of Wah Lum.


I am glad to hear Sifu Mimi is continuing the Wah Lum tradition. One day I intend to return and complete my training.

Also, I would like to mention Sifu Tom Hasse, who is probably the reason I joined the Marines. From day one he put me through the paces (when he was a Si Hing) and now I found out he has a school in Tampa. If any one in the Central Florida area is looking for a school I always recommend the WahLumTemple.

heh. crap. I had written a new review a long time ago, but I guess all that saved was edited for content, never came back to the thread.

The "crane kick" you are describing sounds like a jump toe kick. I studied for about 9 years under Sifu Kee in Orlando. I do not understand why some on this site say they are secretive. Of course you have to sign a waiver, people are sue crazy in the US. Everyone wears the same uniform, you can observe a class, but to participate you wear the uniform that everyone else wears. They have a very family oriented atmosphere and the people that go there are awesome. The instruction is top notch both for adults and kids. The schools are regulated to insure the continuity and preservation of the system. If you are looking to learn a traditional style with lots of weapons the school is for you. There is also a full contact group that meets periodically.

This is a great school with a great atmosphere.

This is a great school with a great atmosphere. If you are looking for traditional school with great values and world class instruction this is it. My family attended for about 9 years until we had to move. The school is the thing we miss most about Orlando.


The fact you said the Full Contact Group only meets periodically drops the school down in aliveness. If the striking category doesn't even get a rating it means that aliveness can't be a ten.

Instead of being angry read the rules about the rating system. Ratings and You - Read This Before Posting Your Review - No BS MMA and Martial Arts (http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=69466)