A Compliment on the Tiger Fork

There is an old Chinese man who is the grandfather of one of Noah's old classmates. The sibling of that classmate still goes to BCNC though the old classmate does not. I see him quite often, almost everyday. He usually is doing Tai Chi in one of the playgrounds. Actually the first time I watched him I wanted to blog about the typical Chinese workout because after he was done he immediately pulled out his cigarettes and lit up. I started a conversation with him about Kung Fu, but instead we ended up talking about the fact that I could speak Chinese, how it is that I came to be watching the children, and how he never sees American grandparents picking up children from daycare, but almost always sees Chinese grandparents picking up children from daycare.
Since then we always say hi and on occasion he will ask me a question he will ask me a question about English, or why I am carrying a child's lion head.

Today though as soon as he saw me he immediately said, "So it was you who did the Tiger Fork!"
I just said yes.
Normally you would think I would have to ask a few questions like, "Where did you see me perform the Tiger Fork?" or maybe say, "I do ocassioanally perform the Tiger Fork."
These questions did pas through my mind but not out of my mouth. I knew he was talking about me.
First of all, he called the Tiger Fork, "Fei Pa" (flying paddle) which only old Chinese people who at least grew up watching Kung Fu in the village style (if not practicing it) will call it that. Even Chinese people that say, grew up in Tai Cheng, which is the main city in Taishan, will probably only know what a Fei Pa is because they heard a parent talk about it or happen to go back and visit their ancestral village.

Also, there are a lot of people who perform the Tiger Fork. There are probably a lot of white guys that perform the Tiger Fork. I've seen them. A lot of them might do a lot of cool tricks with it and cool looking moves. Moves that you can do with any pole arm. They practice a lot, and perhaps they have been doing Kung Fu for a while.

My form is more or less Free styled, just making sure certain key moves are in there. I tend not to do the fancy moves because I feel that I have to do them, at least as well if not better than my simpler moves in order for them to be worthy of the form. That means a lot of practicing something that doesn't necessarily give me a work out, and which is extremely dangerous to do around children. Although, like juggling, once you get the move, it's not all that hard to do, and doesn't take a whole lot of strength to do. Unlike say, pushups, which are pretty easy to do but are designed to be a workout.

He continued as he brought his grandkids into their classroom, "Jun hai sai lei, Jun hei number one. I thought and thought and I realized it had to be you."

Basically, the way I do Tiger Fork, will make an older Chinese man take note because it will be something familiar to his childhood, and something he may not have seen in a while. But the way I perform it will not make an impression on an adolescent or even a middle aged Chinese man other than, "Yo, you look like you're mad dangerous with that pokey thing. What do you call that?" or "Hmmm you're form looks kind of powerful." There are no tricks or other type things that they will want to mimic. The moves are simple because they are for fighting a tiger, an animal that will jump on you and impale itself on the fork, because it doesn't know better, and which weighs a lot.

The Fei Pa, also has ritual and spiritual significance when it is performed. It is a Spirit Weapon that can kill of chase away, evil (pic che) and is used for New Year, Housewarmings, and to end an event.

Still I'm curious as to how he sees me everyday, more or less, and how it was that he recognized that I must have done the Tiger Fork for.. August Moon?.... Spring Festival??.. because that's the last time I did it. IS there a Youtube video he just saw? Maybe I should take a look.