TESTIMONIALS
1) Nilima Raichoudhury - Hung Leng Kuen Student and Qi Gong Teacher
A Female Student's Perspective
I first started training with Sifu Myles Dunlop in Hung Leng Kuen Kung Fu nearly 4 years ago when I turned 40! I had waited for quite a few years to find the right kung fu form and maybe indeed the right teacher, so it felt like a real birthday gift when I discovered the Hung Leng Kuen system. Straightaway I experienced such a freeing of some joyful spontaneous spirit in the style of HLK Kung Fu which moves the body in big, open, free expressive ways.
I was conscious at the time of wanting a more 'classical' approach to teaching that understood and could develop further my root practice and long term training in Qi Gong (Chi Gung.) I had spent many years developing the body and Qi (Chi) through the soft Wu Wei (effortless doing) principle and was not interested in starting a new practice that ran contrary to this way with a hard and external approach. I think turning 40 also had something to do with wanting to learn in an efficient and energy conserving way!
The Art of the Soft Way
Sifu Myles completely seemed to understand and consciously cultivate this approach to training. By example his kung fu looks so effortless, fast and soft yet the 'bite' of one of his strikes is punishing! He doesn't even look like he is hitting, being so relaxed, yet the aftershocks reverberate inside for ages afterwards. Ouch!
As a woman this way of energy discharge (Fa Jing) interests me in self defence, the effortless way of disabling opponents without going into some kind of muscle based body strength competition. It means that your weight, height, size, gender, is completely irrelevant in aiding or holding you back. In HLK Kung Fu it is possible to develop a highly effective fighting style independently and you are encouraged in self defence to explore this. Nobody is too weak, too old or unsuited to start.
Sijo, the head the HLK lineage is a master to watch this way. He somehow manages to look lightning fast as well as 'lazy' when he demonstrates, because of his phenomenal levels of relaxation. He has the full spectrum of his body's possibilities. Of course is this is very advanced kung fu and beyond self defence.
To develop the artistry demonstrated by the likes of Sijo and Sifu Myles needs long term patience, perseverance, dedication and a huge love of the Art of Kung Fu. As a beginner I was inspired to see how quickly we get down to learning the practical skills of self defence as well as the embodiment of Kung Fu as an art form in long term cultivation.
'Seeking the Free Spirit' in Beginners work
My first introduction was a Hung Leng Kuen seminar in London where I was introduced to my first stance and set form (Ma Sing) by the head of our lineage Sijo Dutton.
I fell in love with the beginners' introduction to the animal forms of tiger, dragon, snake, the skimming action of a swallow flying over the lake, and the ingenious foot and hand work that flowed from form to form, animal to animal. It felt like my body was learning to move, turn, spin and sink all over again, in ways I had never imagined.
The qi gong inherent in all forms in general in the HLK system are incredible for developing the body's internal alignment in a way I recognised but had not experienced in this moving way. The constant shifting, flowing physics of the body in movement develops a flexibility, tendon and ligament power, posture, rooting and strength as well as an artistry that gives a total beginner doing Ma Sing, something really amazing to start with... which is kind of cool! It's not all about drudgery and monotony at the beginning of a kung fu journey which can dim the spirit! Although I study other forms now, I still feel Ma Sing to be a phenomenal form that one could work on endlessly. It made such an impression on me!
Fareham Classes
An Inner/Outer Conducive Atmosphere
My first impressions of the Fareham classes were how calm, quiet and meditative the atmosphere was. In training with Sifu Myles over a number of years, I have come to realise this steadiness is very much the core signature of his own personality as well as the quality of cultivation he brings to his kung fu and life.
Longevity, Stability and Focus
This quality of stability and focus also shows in his students' and their work. The Fareham classes attract a certain sort of person I think; students who particularly blossom when taught in a certain unpressurised way. A meditative way, Sifu has taught us, bypasses the pitfalls and dangers in any training which may show themselves up as out of control ambition in training, unrealistic expectations and fantasies, self competition and burnout. Sifu Myles advises us by his own example and experience of practice, that thorough training will have ups and downs, highs and lows, obstacles and inspiration and to get to know how best we can keep steady throughout it all and learn from all.
By the way he teaches us, Sifu guides his students to find calmness, relaxation and an undistracted meditative mind to open and understand the rigorous, disciplined training he sets before us. Sifu is a great believer in drilling in the fundamentals and not skipping foundational work, so much emphasis is placed on opening the body through stretches to express our art, developing stamina through holding and meditating in forms and stances and training in self defence with a light quick touch that bites!
Senior Black Sash Experience and Contribution to Class
The black sash senior students and trainee instructors Tom Newman and Alex Bazely are an inspiration to the rest of the class in the quality and standard of their Kung Fu. They have cultivated over dedicated years their own unique interests and styles in different aspects of HLK Kung Fu and are a real joy to be helped and instructed by. They have absorbed and made their own so many of the qualities and exacting standards that Sifu teaches, it makes me feel it is possible!
I find them generous, understanding, and patient. Their experience is a really useful resource when struggling with something. I feel they can really understand and empathise with students' frustrations' in the training journey; better than Sifu sometimes, having gone through it all more recently! I for one find them both invaluable to turn to for guidance and tuition and both are so genuine in helping out and giving time to students in class. It's great to hang around Alex and Tom when you are having an "I can't do this, I'll never be able to get it" moment, moan or tantrum as I tend to sometimes.
In summer months we have taken to doing some training seminars outside in the fields, farms and beaches around Fareham and often it provides our club with a chance to train, hang out, have fun together. We all try to make an effort to get together in the summer and I so value the people I have met and the friends I have made in my club and time in training so far in Hung Leng Kuen Kung Fu.
Nilima Raichoudhury
Fareham HLK Kung Fu Student