Monthly Newsletter – May Dear Friends,
It seems that spring is finally here! From seminars, to competitions, demo’s and parties, you won’t want to miss out on the action!
School Closings Kungfu and Tai Chi Competition Kungfu- Tai Chi Seminars Student(s) of the Month – Martial Arts Brothers Jay and Jamin Sim Kungfu Sash Test Recap Chinese Community Center Party Recap CMAA Team Jackets Now Available! Kungfu Tai Chi Flexibility
As usual please stay tuned for more exciting action at CMAA!
Best,
Shifu
School Closings
We will be closed for Memorial Day, Monday May25th. All classes are cancelled.
Regular Tai Chi Class is cancelled on Saturday May, 30th for our Kungfu/Tai Chi Seminars! See below for the details.
Kungfu – Tai Chi Competition If you are interested in competing, this is a great opportunity. CMAA will be organizing a competition team to participate in the 2015 New Jersey International Wushu-Kungfu Tournament. Yellow sashes and above are encouraged to compete. Everyone is welcome to come and support your team!
Just like sash tests, the true value of competition is still self-improvement. All the fun and team bonding is just a nice extra!
2015 New Jersey International Wushu-Kungfu Tournament Date: Sunday May 24, 2015
Location: Moorestown High School 350 Bridgeboro Road, Moorestown, NJ 08057, USA
Divisions by age, gender and experience in Traditional Kung Fu, Taiji and Contemporary Wushu. Team and combat form categories as well. Competitors invited from USA, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Check-in begins at 9:00 am and competition starts promptly at 10:00 am. Spectacular performance features Chinese and American Masters and Chinese National Champions.
Please get more information under “Competition” @ http://zhaochangjun.net/en/
Kungfu and Tai Chi Seminars Sensitivity Training for Martial Arts Instructor Steve Juman through his year of training traditional Kungfu, Bruce Lee’s JKD, and Kali has a deep understanding of sensitivity and how it can be applied practically in martial arts. Come learn about what it means to sense someone else energy and how you can redirect that energy and use it most efficiently to your advantage.
Weapons Applications In addition, as a Kali (Phillipino Weapons) specialist, Master Juman knows how to quickly present weapons basics in a very practical way. You don’t have to learn more new forms to realize just how much you already know about the weapons you already train with! From staff to sword, the techniques and philosophies are universally applicable.
Sensitivity Training For Martial Arts and Weapons Applications
Date: Saturday May, 30th (5/30) Time: 9:15am-10:15am and 10:15am-11:15am. Cost: $30/Seminar or both for $40 ($20 each). The class will be limited to the first 18 people who sign up to ensure students are given proper attention and instruction.
Tai Chi and Kungfu Seminars with Shifu Ching Yin Lee coming in June!
Chinese Community Center Kids Kungfu Party Recap
What a blast! Everyone knows CMAA’s “work hard, play hard” motto. While we did train first, we still had plenty of time for lot’s of games, lot’s of food, and lot’s of fun! Thank you for another great year at the Chinese School! Our last day of class at Chinese school is 5/10. Please make sure to come visit CMAA and keep up your Kungfu practice!
Kungu Sash Test Recap
Great job to those of you who participated in April’s Sash Test. Due all the Chinese New Year preparations and performances we didn’t have as much time to spend on our new forms. With less time to prepare, you all seemed to rise to the occasion and bring you’re A game to the test. Congratulations to all of you who worked hard and performed your best- keep up the good work!
Student(s) of the Month – Martial Arts Brothers Jay and Jamin Sim.
Last year two brothers joined CMAA. Having just moved from Texas to upstate NY, they quickly assimilated and became a part of our martial arts family. They’ve been consistent with their training, and made steady progress. Let’s get to know them a little better. Shifu: When did you initially get involved in martial arts? Chinese Martial Arts? Jamin: I started martial arts around 10 years ago with Taekwondo. I started kung fu about two and half years ago after we moved from Texas.
Jay: About seven years ago.
Shifu: What drew you to martial arts? Jamin: At first, martial arts was a culture thing, something cool that a lot of parents have their kids do. After a few years, I quit training to focus on school. Then in middle school, I got into a few... situations that made me want to restart learning to defend myself.
Jay: I first went (I think) cuz my brother went. But as I got older, I wanted to get stronger, be able to protect myself, and learn cool, new things like how to use weapons.
Shifu: What are a few of the main things you have taken away from your time training?
Jamin: What I got from training is, I think training in martial arts is the greatest form of exercise. You gain strength, speed, power, flexibility, and strategy. It also helps your mind and spirit. You somehow become more confident in yourself and more at peace. It's a great workout, and at the same time you learn to defend yourself.
Shifu: What’s your favorite part of training? Jamin: My favorite part of training is when I've been working hard to get a move right, like a jump kick or something, and it's your turn in the line, and I go and do it perfectly, or as close as I can get. Also, I like the feeling of flying for that half-second in the air during a jump. I sometimes practice getting higher jumps, so I get more air during my jumping front slap kicks.
Jay: Using weapons and learning new forms.
Shifu: Jamin, Can you tell us more about what you’ll be doing next year? Why you chose that school/program and why you’re interested in this field of study? Jamin: Next year, I'm attending the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) campus in Albany for Nanoscale Engineering. I was originally planning on majoring in mechanical engineering, but I also wanted to be closer to home. Nowadays, everything's getting smaller, so nanoscale engineering seemed like a good idea. Now I can go to college and still go to kung fu! As for why I chose engineering, I dunno. I have a knack for technical things. I've just always been interested in technology. Some people are kind of forced into the engineering programs 'cuz it makes a lot of money, but for me, it's something I like doing.
Shifu: What’s your favorite part of being a brother? Least favorite?
Jamin: My brother's 4 years younger than me, and I have a sister who's 7 right now. She always mimics us after seeing us do kung fu, but she won't join classes (For some reason). The best thing about having siblings is that you have people to have fun with. The worst is that sometimes (or most of the time) they get really nosy and annoying. I think Jay annoys me on purpose.
Jay: Being with him and talking with him makes me happy. Being with him when he's mad
Shifu: If you could give any advice to someone who has a passion for martial arts, what would it be? Jamin: Advice to other martial arts enthusiasts: the mind controls the body. Stay in school, learn as much as you can, and increase your mental abilities. That's crucial in martial arts, or even fighting in general. You need to strategize and adapt to every situation, and you can't do that without a quick mind. Speaking of school, after high school, go to college. It doesn't have to be a big fancy school that costs $50,000 a year, but go learn about something you're passionate about. Use what you learn in school and in martial arts to be the best you can be. And no matter what, you should be true to yourself, have a pure heart, and stand up for what you believe in. If you get in arguments, use violence as a last resort; try to talk your opponents out of it. But there are always some people who go around looking to cause trouble. If you encounter one of those guys, take 'em down. But try to be gentle. If you need to take someone down, don't give up without a fight.
Whatever you're doing, you should always give your best.
Jay: Just give it your all, learn and have fun.
Shifu: Anything else about yourself you’d like to share?
Jamin: In my free time I like to make or build stuff, watch videos or movies, play video games (if I can), or train in other ways, like watching martial arts videos and kind of increasing my martial arts repertoire.
Other stuff I'd like to say: I'm pretty certain I'm going to be famous, so everyone be nice to me! Haha! I'm slightly kidding. Slightly. I'm also pretty certain what my future's gonna be like. I'd like to use technology to help people. Maybe become a real life Iron Man to fight crime and stuff! Haha!
"Always expect something to go wrong. If you're wrong, you're not disappointed. If you're right, you're ready for it." -John Flanagan
Jay: I like to have fun (in general).
Thanks Jay and Jamin! Keep up the hard work guys. CMAA Team Jackets Show off your CMAA pride in style (and comfort!). The new “soft style” CMAA jackets are now in and available in all sizes. They are $64.99. The CMAA warm up jackets (wind breaker material) are now on sale from $75 down to $59.99 and available in sizes Adult Extra Small and up! If you are interested please speak with Shifu ASAP as quantity is limited and once we’re out of a size we need to wait until all the jackets are sold to reorder!
Kungfu Tai Chi Flexibility New Challenge. Head to toe flexibility challenge issued. Individual must have head to toe on at least one side or foot over head side split balance by July 4th. Penalty is 500 V-Ups in 1 Hour. If you don't complete the V-Ups in the hour, you have to restart the next time you come to practice. I lost my head to toe a few years ago and accept the challenge.
Summary
As usual please stay tuned for more exciting action at CMAA!
Best,
Shifu