Hopefully someone is still paying attention to this group.
I apologize in advance if this question has been covered; between this groups and all the websites I found I couldn't really ascertain a definitive answer:
I am wondering how much it would cost to live and study in Chen Village for about 4 months. I read Mr Poon's quote at about 1000-1500/ month for tuition, but does this include residence? Is there a discount with 4 months?
One of the school websites quotes costs for living at 30 US per day... that's like 900 US without tuition expenses. Is it really that expensive? I don't need to live right in the heart of the action as long as I can get there comfortably, and I speak functional Mandarin so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm willing to teach English in direct barter for lessons, but I assume tons of foreigners have the same idea....
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.... I don't know where to go short of emailing schools directly in shaky Chinese.
On 09/10/2007, Damien Zielinski <bizz.na...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> Hopefully someone is still paying attention to this group.
> I apologize in advance if this question has been covered; between this > groups and all the websites I found I couldn't really ascertain a > definitive answer:
> I am wondering how much it would cost to live and study in Chen > Village for about 4 months. I read Mr Poon's quote at about 1000-1500/ > month for tuition, but does this include residence? Is there a > discount with 4 months?
The last I knew, this sum contain the residence. You could probably find somewhere to live by yourself though. I have heard some people have rented houses or rooms.
One of the school websites quotes costs for living at 30 US per day...
> that's like 900 US without tuition expenses. Is it really that > expensive? I don't need to live right in the heart of the action as > long as I can get there comfortably, and I speak functional Mandarin > so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm willing to teach English in > direct barter for lessons, but I assume tons of foreigners have the > same idea....
That sounds expensive for just a room and food. For 30 bucks, you could get a hotel room in the nearby town, which is a 20 minute taxi ride away. The costs of hotels and taxis should be about the same as anywhere else in China. Another alternative - rent a room in a different tai chi school than the one you are learning in (Wang Xian's school is nearby, and looks plush, and Zhu Tiancai has a training hall too). China is all about the free market now, so don't let the thought of breaking a bit of etiquette stop you using a bit of common sense.
As for teaching english - I have heard of at least one person who has done that in exchange for tai chi lessons successfully. Not all 'foreigners' have the time or inclination to teach english there.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.... I don't know where to go
> short of emailing schools directly in shaky Chinese.
Has anyone heard of Cheng, Jin Cai. He lives in Houston, TX USA. If you live in the United States, I suggest you look him up. You don't have to travel all the way to China to study Chen Style Tai Chi.
On 09/10/2007, Damien Zielinski <bizz.na...@gmail.com> wrote: Hi all,
Hopefully someone is still paying attention to this group.
I apologize in advance if this question has been covered; between this groups and all the websites I found I couldn't really ascertain a definitive answer:
I am wondering how much it would cost to live and study in Chen Village for about 4 months. I read Mr Poon's quote at about 1000-1500/ month for tuition, but does this include residence? Is there a discount with 4 months? The last I knew, this sum contain the residence. You could probably find somewhere to live by yourself though. I have heard some people have rented houses or rooms.
One of the school websites quotes costs for living at 30 US per day... that's like 900 US without tuition expenses. Is it really that expensive? I don't need to live right in the heart of the action as long as I can get there comfortably, and I speak functional Mandarin so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm willing to teach English in direct barter for lessons, but I assume tons of foreigners have the same idea.... That sounds expensive for just a room and food. For 30 bucks, you could get a hotel room in the nearby town, which is a 20 minute taxi ride away. The costs of hotels and taxis should be about the same as anywhere else in China. Another alternative - rent a room in a different tai chi school than the one you are learning in (Wang Xian's school is nearby, and looks plush, and Zhu Tiancai has a training hall too). China is all about the free market now, so don't let the thought of breaking a bit of etiquette stop you using a bit of common sense.
As for teaching english - I have heard of at least one person who has done that in exchange for tai chi lessons successfully. Not all 'foreigners' have the time or inclination to teach english there.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.... I don't know where to go short of emailing schools directly in shaky Chinese. Have you tried calling them?
Cheers
Dan
--------------------------------- Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.
...and if you're terribly keen on coming to China then why not train in somewhere like Yangshuo? Master Fu Neng Bin, one of the four preferred disciples of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, has a school there.
Master Fu often teaches with Chen Zhenglei during his Tai Chi seminars in China.
Yangshuo is way more 'foriegner friendly' and substantially cheaper than Chenjiagou.
> Has anyone heard of Cheng, Jin Cai. He lives in Houston, TX USA. If you live in the United States, I suggest you look him up. You don't have to travel all the way to China to study Chen Style Tai Chi.
> On 09/10/2007, Damien Zielinski <bizz.na...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi all,
> Hopefully someone is still paying attention to this group.
> I apologize in advance if this question has been covered; between this > groups and all the websites I found I couldn't really ascertain a > definitive answer:
> I am wondering how much it would cost to live and study in Chen > Village for about 4 months. I read Mr Poon's quote at about 1000-1500/ > month for tuition, but does this include residence? Is there a > discount with 4 months? > The last I knew, this sum contain the residence. You could probably find somewhere to live by yourself though. I have heard some people have rented houses or rooms.
> One of the school websites quotes costs for living at 30 US per day... > that's like 900 US without tuition expenses. Is it really that > expensive? I don't need to live right in the heart of the action as > long as I can get there comfortably, and I speak functional Mandarin > so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm willing to teach English in > direct barter for lessons, but I assume tons of foreigners have the > same idea.... > That sounds expensive for just a room and food. For 30 bucks, you could get a hotel room in the nearby town, which is a 20 minute taxi ride away. The costs of hotels and taxis should be about the same as anywhere else in China. Another alternative - rent a room in a different tai chi school than the one you are learning in (Wang Xian's school is nearby, and looks plush, and Zhu Tiancai has a training hall too). China is all about the free market now, so don't let the thought of breaking a bit of etiquette stop you using a bit of common sense.
> As for teaching english - I have heard of at least one person who has done that in exchange for tai chi lessons successfully. Not all 'foreigners' have the time or inclination to teach english there.
> Any insight would be greatly appreciated.... I don't know where to go > short of emailing schools directly in shaky Chinese. > Have you tried calling them?
> Cheers
> Dan
> --------------------------------- > Building a website is a piece of cake. > Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.
Renato's suggestion may be worth considering. Even if you want to eventually go to Chen Village to train, you may find Yangshou a good 'warm-up' for the full immersive experience that living in a Chinese village, like Chenjiagou is. I lived in Beijing for a few months before going to Chen Village, just to get aclimatised to China. The Tai Chi in Beijing is not bad either :-).
Dan
On Oct 12, 2:07 pm, renato <renato.quar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> ...and if you're terribly keen on coming to China then why not train > in somewhere like Yangshuo? Master Fu Neng Bin, one of the four > preferred disciples of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, has a school there.
> Master Fu often teaches with Chen Zhenglei during his Tai Chi seminars > in China.
> Yangshuo is way more 'foriegner friendly' and substantially cheaper > than Chenjiagou.
> On 10 Oct, 11:49, King Lam <kinglam1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Hello,
> > Has anyone heard of Cheng, Jin Cai. He lives in Houston, TX USA. If you live in the United States, I suggest you look him up. You don't have to travel all the way to China to study Chen Style Tai Chi.
> > On 09/10/2007, Damien Zielinski <bizz.na...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi all,
> > Hopefully someone is still paying attention to this group.
> > I apologize in advance if this question has been covered; between this > > groups and all the websites I found I couldn't really ascertain a > > definitive answer:
> > I am wondering how much it would cost to live and study in Chen > > Village for about 4 months. I read Mr Poon's quote at about 1000-1500/ > > month for tuition, but does this include residence? Is there a > > discount with 4 months? > > The last I knew, this sum contain the residence. You could probably find somewhere to live by yourself though. I have heard some people have rented houses or rooms.
> > One of the school websites quotes costs for living at 30 US per day... > > that's like 900 US without tuition expenses. Is it really that > > expensive? I don't need to live right in the heart of the action as > > long as I can get there comfortably, and I speak functional Mandarin > > so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I'm willing to teach English in > > direct barter for lessons, but I assume tons of foreigners have the > > same idea.... > > That sounds expensive for just a room and food. For 30 bucks, you could get a hotel room in the nearby town, which is a 20 minute taxi ride away. The costs of hotels and taxis should be about the same as anywhere else in China. Another alternative - rent a room in a different tai chi school than the one you are learning in (Wang Xian's school is nearby, and looks plush, and Zhu Tiancai has a training hall too). China is all about the free market now, so don't let the thought of breaking a bit of etiquette stop you using a bit of common sense.
> > As for teaching english - I have heard of at least one person who has done that in exchange for tai chi lessons successfully. Not all 'foreigners' have the time or inclination to teach english there.
> > Any insight would be greatly appreciated.... I don't know where to go > > short of emailing schools directly in shaky Chinese. > > Have you tried calling them?
> > Cheers
> > Dan
> > --------------------------------- > > Building a website is a piece of cake. > > Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.
I've just come back from China where I studied tai chi for a year in Yangshuo under one of Fu's disciples, Kim Wu. We used to go out to Fu's school from time to time to hang out, eat lunch, and talk about martial arts. I have never been to Chen village, but I can definately tell you that Fu and Kim are the real deal! If you have any questions about Yangshuo you can contact me. You can also find Kim's website at www.yangshuotaiji.com. It is a good resource as well for references to the 18 and 13 postures of Chen. _________________________________________________________________ Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You! http://www.reallivemoms.com?ocid=TXT_TAGHM&loc=us
One thing, Renato: how much cheaper is 'substantially cheaper'. I appreciate that we could probably find out by scouring the web site and emailing the teacher. It's even better if someone like you could tell us from the customer's perspective. Thanks
On 12/10/2007, Tucker Percy <thirdt...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> If you have any questions about Yangshuo you can contact me.
Hi Tucker,
By 'you can contact me', are you suggesting that we contact you off-line? Training Tai Chi in Yangshou is not off-topic for this list. May I suggest you keep it on the list: the more people that can benefit from all our experiences, the better it will be for Tai Chi in the long run.
I just wanted to propose that as an option. I am all for keeping everything open to our discussion forum! I am back in the states now in richmond, virginia so if anyone is in town or is coming through let me know and lets catch up!
Wow, this is all really helpful. As I prepare for my 2nd trip to China in April 2008, I'm trying to scour as much info as possible... this thing about going to Yangshuo instead of Chenjiagou is not something I had considered at all but am now definitely going to look into.
I'm in the process of learning Mandarin (4th year university level), and so for me a 'foreigner-friendly' atmosphere is almost repulsive... as it was I was worrying that there would be too many visiting foreigners and tourists in Chen Village! You see, ideally I'd like to go somewhere that I don't have a choice but to speak Chinese, so that I'm forced to develop my language skills in addition to training taiji.
Which raises an important question I really hope someone can answer: what are the dialects like that they speak in Chen Village and Yangshuo, respectively? In all the videos I've seen of Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Bing, they are speaking in a very graceful 'putonghua' or standard Mandarin. However, I'm curious if this is just for the occasion of lecturing, and when not on camera they revert to a dialect that I wouldn't understand. Does anyone know how different the respective dialects of those places are?
Big thanks to everyone and especially to you, Mr. Poon- your website and comments have formed a totally vital resource on Chen Village for the English-speaking world.
Oh and PS, the yangshuo school really is much cheaper: 2400 RMB for a month of 4-hour a day training. That's only about 350 US/CDN, so it's a big break from the 1000-1500 of Chen village. I wonder if CV is worth the extra dosh... it definitely seems more authentic and less tourist-trafficked.
