Maw Shu

Got a very interesting email today. Posted below with my response.

************************

Hello Ayman,

 This is interesting. I do not know if our arts are related but guessing by the name I'm going to guess there is a connection. We are of Mandarin origin and I believe the name you gave it (maw shu) is Mandarin for fighting way of the mongoose.

I know of no one else who practices the style. My instructor passed away several years ago. We carry the art on here in California, USA. I have been contacted a couple of times over the years by people claiming to practice a mongoose fighting style but I have not followed up.

Do you practice any other styles with it or Maw Shu by itself?

I would like to compare notes as much as possible if we can to determine if there is a similarity.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Phil Weaver
www.shengchikungfu.com

Ayman Arafeh wrote:

Hello there;

 

I was doing some research on the internet on the Mongoose Fighting style (some time called Maw Shu) and I came across your site.  Do you by any chance relate to this style as we are practicing this style here in Saudi Arabia , but the resources are very rare and we have had very little information except what was passed by the instructor who left the country.

 

I appreciate your assistance very much.

 

Kind regards;

 

Ayman M. Arafeh

Senior Project Manager

Tel.:                (+966 1) 472 2277

Fax:             (+966 1) 472 4772

Mobile:         (+966) 554407665

P. O. Box:      55471 Riyadh, 11534, KSA

*****************************

Very interesting. He uses the term Maw Shu. Our mongosse style is called Yon Shu, however it's not pronounced as it is spelled. Pronunciation is more like yaw shu. I have also heard it pronounced Maw shu by a native Mandarin speaker. 

The only website I find under the search term may shu is

http://www.geocities.com/mongoose_005/main.html

Although I do not believe that website is related to the same art. There is a guestbook entry which mentions the term. Might investigate that. 

I've gotten a couple of similiar emails over the last few years. I guess I'll have to dig into my archives and find them.

It's also interesting to note that I recently found a forum entry that refferenced us talking about the cobra. However the forum is in persian and my persian is a little rusty. I found it by looking through the website logs. I'll have to dig it up and post it here. I asked a translator for help but only got general information.

So I got on Orbitz to book a flight to Saudi Arabia but got vetoed by my wife

We'll see what comes of it.

SSW