The Peaceful Dragon is entirely too peaceful and more like a tea bar then a self defense and martial arts learning center.
Personally, I have studied martial arts of various disciplines (from Kung fu and karate to Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kun Do amongst others) for many, many years. A friend of mine had been taking kung fu at the Peaceful Dragon on Steele Creek Rd. in Charlotte North Carolina and he wanted me to check it out to tell him my opinion on it. He didn’t want to be wasting his time on the martial art if he couldn’t count on being able to defend himself.
Being that I fought numerous Full Contact anything goes fights and matches long before the UFC ever existed, that I hold numerous black belts and have over 30 years of martial arts training under my belt and the fact that there aren’t too many people walking this earth today that could even possibly challenge me from any martial art, I think I’m definitely qualified enough to give my friend a learned opinion on what I thought of the Peaceful Dragon and their kung fu they were teaching him.
So I went with my friend and took a free class at the Peaceful Dragon. It was one of their kung fu classes. I did not tell them of my previous martial arts experience or the fact that I could probably teach their head instructor. First off I could tell right away that this whole class was never going to be able to defend themselves in a real fight. There’s no way.
This felt like a tai chi class for the elderly. Tai chi is not meant to be used for self defense. Kung fu is. The actual history of kung fu is that it has all the same movements (blocks, punches and kicks) as does karate except that it’s hidden inside of more traditional Chinese cultural dances and similar. You see, back in the 1500s and 1600s it was illegal and punishable by death to practice martial arts in China.
So the Chinese went and incorporated all the same movements as karate has into their various “dances”. It’s kind of like choreography and karate next together. They have different animals and they made these animal pattern movements and hid the attacks and defenses inside of these. That’s how long list, Wing Chun, drunken fist (which takes many years to perfect its main one long kata), the five animals, etc…
in any case I have seen great tae kwon do places and bad tae kwon do places. I’ve seen great karate dojo’s and horrible ones. I have also seen great and terrible kung fu centers. What apparently has happened here at the Peaceful Dragon is that they’ve taken basic kung fu and slowed it down and made into a tea bar in massage parlor type atmosphere.
The only problem here with that is that it’s a great disservice to those taking it. The reason being is if any of them ever wants to defend themselves or needs to they won’t be able to. Even worse, they could end up putting themselves in a worse position thinking that they can actually defend themselves when they can’t.
Martial arts, regardless of which discipline you choose (and if you don’t know which to choose you should always start at the top and the best which is inarguably Brazilian jiu-jitsu), needs to be taught with respect, authority and with concern for the fact that your students might need to defend themselves with it someday. Not with the concern for a tea bar social atmosphere like they have at the Peaceful Dragon.
Now the problem with this is that they basically gone and taken kung fu and watered it down to become like tai chi. If these people that are taking it are okay with the fact that they cannot and will not be able to defend themselves with this watered-down version, then that is fine. The problem I have here is is that they are not told that they will not be able to ever defend themselves with this watered-down version of kung fu.
That’s kind of like setting gave it up against Goliath but with out the sling and the Stone and instead giving him a feather to defend himself with. It just ain’t going to happen. There are tens of thousands of people that I have practice with and worked out over the years and that I know could easily snap that instructor like a twig or anyone else in the school for that matter. Even if I took a country bumpkin that didn’t know how to fight and set him up against these guys I bet you he would win.
After this class I talked to my friend outside of the Peaceful Dragon as I was not going to be rude and stomp on their parade over there as you might say. I had to ask him why he was wasting his time learning a martial art that he would never be able to use to defend himself with – at least not the way they were teaching there. Kung fu is not something to be laughed at. It can be a very effective fighting method. Just not the kung fu that’s being taught at the Peaceful Dragon.
The other problem as they were more than twice as expensive as a far better Brazilian jujitsu school that wasn’t very far way. I personally know the instructor from the Brazilian jujitsu school and even though he’s only brown belt he could easily, easily take on any black belt level of kung fu, Taekwondo or karate. So I told him to stop taking the kung fu over at the Peaceful Dragon is entirely too peaceful and yoga like and to start taking something we could really learn to defend himself in just about any situation like Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
If you are elderly and want something to keep your body and mind in shape then the Peaceful Dragon may be just what you need, but if you want to learn a martial art where you will truly be able to defend yourself then you definitely need to look elsewhere.
It is my opinion that the guys at the Peaceful Dragon couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag, but they can probably brew a good cup of tea…
WOW! Now that is a serious put down!!!! Ouch!!!
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Wow, you sound like a total douchebag, fraud. Sure, there are plenty of so called martial arts schools that take advantage of people, like Tae Kwon Do Plus* but you went in there to disrespect that school, with no other intention whatsoever. You state that you could teach the instructor because your knowledge and experience is so vast, meaning you have absolutely no respect for him or his teachings. You sound like a total fraud. If you really did practice Jeet Kun Do you would know to empty your cup, but you don’t exactly sound like the philisophical or intellectual type. To some martial arts are about self defense, others its a sport, to this school its obvioulsy just recreation, and there is nothing wrong with that. You sound like that guy in the movie “the foot fist way”, you are arrogant pigheaded fool, with very little respect for anything but your own ego. Brazillian Jiu Jitsu is not the best thing out there, nothing is, its just a fad with rules, and only effective if you play by them, just like everything else. There is no best form. I know guys like you, I see them all the time at competitions and in bars, MMA wannabes with more balls that brains. I am a real martial artist and I know when I read a bunch of bullshit. You are a paper tiger, sir.
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There is no way a person who says this can be taken seriously.
“Being that I fought numerous Full Contact anything goes fights and matches long before the UFC ever existed, that I hold numerous black belts and have over 30 years of martial arts training under my belt and the fact that there aren’t too many people walking this earth today that could even possibly challenge me from any martial art”
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