Monthly Newsletter – February
Dear Friends,
Happy Chinese New Year! As always, there’s a lot happening at CMAA! Please review the following information on:
School Closings Kungfu Sash Test Recap CMAA Open House Recap CMAA in High Demand for Chinese New Year Performances Interview with Martial Arts Master Steve Juman CMAA Wall Scrolls – Beautiful and Meaningful 1 Year FREE at CMAA – Referral Program!
As usual please stay tuned for more exciting action at CMAA!
Best,
Shifu School Closings Due to our Chinese New Year Celebrations we will be canceling our Kungfu classes from 11:15-2pm on Saturday, February 14th and Saturday, February 21st. A single two hour make up class will be held on Sunday Feb. 15 and 22nd, 12pm-2pm for all levels/ages! Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.
Additionally, with the winter weather looming, please stay tuned to inclement weather closings. I will post school closings on the websites homepage. However, it might not display on certain mobile devices which automatically default to the mobile site. Please call (518) 755-7512 if you are not sure!
CMAA In High Demand for Martial Arts Performances!
CMAA has been invited to showcase our talents at a few events this year, including an Open House on Sunday, January 18th, 1:30-3pm and several Chinese New Year celebrations in Clifton Park on Saturday 2/14 and at SUNY Albany on 2/21 (3-5). We may even organize a group for a performance at the East Greenbush YMCA. Stay tuned for more details! Open House Demo Review What a success! Our Open House demo went smoothly as we showcased the various disciplines practiced at CMAA. From empty hand and kungfu weapons forms, to Tai Chi, and Kali weapons, it was a high flying and hard hitting demo punctuated with a lot of laughs and fun. Our friend Ruth Brown brought in quite a few friends and it was a pleasure to showcase our programs for them. I look forward to having another open house geared towards friends of our own students this summer!
To see some of the action, check out your classmates demo’s below!
Cindy and Emily Spear Micah Southern Caleb and Brenna Spear Yunhan “Turbo” Staff Cindy and Minyi Sword Schuyler Staff Renee and Liv Long Fist
Chinese New Year Celebrations
Saturday February 14th at the Clifton Park Library and our most important demo - Saturday Feb. 21 at SUNY Albany for the Chinese New Year! For these two demo’s there is a Light Brown Sash and above requirement as we will only be demo’ing advanced forms. Note there are two Orange Sash qualifiers who know their first advanced form well enough to demo. The stage is much smaller at SUNY than the egg and performances are to be kept under 5 minutes. Those are the main reasons why we have to be so selective now. Everyone is welcome to support your team and come enjoy the show!
Check out the video below to see some of CMAA’s performance from last year.
Kungu Sash Test Great job to those of you who participated in January’s Sash Test. Due all the competitions and performances at the end of the summer, our last quarterly sash test was pushed back later than usual which meant this “quarter” was several weeks shorter. With less time to prepare, you all seemed to rise to the occasion and bring you’re A game to the test. Also, with so many of you taking a winter vacation, I was equally impressed by those of you who were not at CMAA as much the few weeks prior, but kept up with your training and didn’t seem to miss a beat! Congratulations to all of you who worked hard and performed your best- keep up the good work!
CMAA Chinese Wall Scrolls
As you know, CMAA has four large Chinese calligraphy scrolls on the wall. These four scrolls are special for a few different reasons. They are not simply Chinese scrolls bought at the Asian Imports store in the mall. I thought long and hard about what different things we emphasize in the art we practice. After months of deliberation I found a saying that I thought best encompassed our approach to training Chinese Martial Arts. On the day of our grand opening Grandmaster Shifu Jiang Jianye presented us with four beautiful, personally handwritten scrolls which read:
“Xi Wu Yi Cu Xue”
Study the Martial Arts to Promote Learning
“Lian Wu Yi Qiang Shen” Train the Martial Arts to Strengthen the Body
“Shang Wu Yi Qin Zhi” Practice the Martial Arts to Develop Will “Han Wu Yi Xiu De” Do Martial Arts to Cultivate Ethics
In this case “Wu”, or Martial Arts is the common character connecting all four lines. This is the same “Wu” symbol that adorns our school’s wall and uniforms. We are not a school that emphasizes martial arts for combat, but a school that recognizes the inherent multitude of benefits from training in the martial arts. It is for these reasons that CMAA has students male and female, spanning ages 4 to 84. It never ceases to amaze me how everyone is benefiting from martial arts for so many different reasons.
Interview with Martial Arts Instructor – Steve Juman
Shifu: When did you initially get involved in martial arts? Chinese Martial Arts? I started my martial arts training at the young age of 11 in a Japanese art called Jiu Jitsu Ryu. I then ventured into Tae Kwon Do for a couple of years. At the age of 20 I began my training in the art of Jeet Kune Do.
Shifu: What drew you to martial arts? Like every martial arts kid I loved the energy and expression of the late Bruce Lee. As a kid I loved watching the old Kung Fu movies starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Bio and Samo Hung. I was intrigued by their fluent movements and strength.
Shifu: At what point did you realize martial arts were something you wanted to make a serious priority in your life? Martial arts became a priority in my life when I realized that I was good at it. I loved the education of movement, the idea of being a scholar and a warrior was appealing to me. My sifu always said to me “Gung Fu is for everybody and not for everybody” he meant it will change your outlook in life but some people will never see it.
Shifu: What are a few of the main things you have taken away from your time training? The beauty of martial arts is not about the weapons training or the cool moves it’s about how you as a person express the art…that’s the beauty of Gung Fu.
Shifu: With training in so many different styles, and tutelage under different instructors, how do you make your blend so cohesive? Great question, Bruce Lee said “unless you have three arms or three legs there are no new moves” you always open your mind “empty your cup” to understand the connections what you have learned to what you already know, then make it efficient and effective.
Shifu: As a teacher, coach, husband and father of four, how have you adapted to keep martial arts a part of your life? All four of my children grew up in a household where martial art was the norm. Micah, Caleb and Noah started playing with my Kali sticks and focus mitts before they were walking. When Micah was three years old I once lost him in Sports Authority and found him in the sports section punching the hanging bag. Welcome to my life.
Shifu: What does your family think of it? We all love training including my wife she is by far my best student.
What advice would you give to others as far as training with weights, food supplements, etc.? Train a minimum of three times a week to progress and treat your body like a temple. Work hard now so it’s easier later. Don’t rush through the basic it is the foundation you build on.
Is there anyone that you are inspired by or that you look up to in the martial arts community? Looking back all these years, who do you consider as your main instructor or influence? I have had so many great instructors in my life this is a tough question to answer. Foremost my main instructor in JKD has to be Sifu Pete, then Dan Inosanto, followed by Paul Vunak, and finally Francis Fong. These guys are legends in the arts to me.
If you could give any advice to someone (older or younger) who has a passion for martial arts, what would it be? To the younger kids I would say work hard, stay focused and have fun. The art expresses you as an individual.
To the older practitioners, keep your mind, heart and spirit strong eventually we realize it’s not about power and strength but about efficient movement and space. I was always faster than my Sifu but he always knew how to get there first.
Check out the exciting video below to see Master Juman in action!
Save Money with the CMAA Referral Program! CMAA Referral Program- Easy as 1, 2,3,4,5.
1. Earn $50 when your first referral joins. 2. Earn $100 when your second referral joins. 3. Earn $250 when your third referral joins. 4. Earn $500 when your fourth referral joins. 5. Earn ONE YEAR FREE when your fifth referral joins.
This will be even easier now with our new CMAA flyers. You can pick them up for free at the school. Just write your name on the back of the bottom info tabs and when people come in with your flyer tab they will be considered your referral!
*Please note that offer applies to annual memberships and new referrals only (as of 1/1/15).
Summary
As usual please stay tuned for more exciting action at CMAA!
Best,
Shifu