The Chinese Martial Arts AcademyMonthly Newsletter September
Dear Friends,
It’s that time again. Please visit our website to get all of CMAA’s exciting news!
School Closings and Class Cancelations All Kungfu and CrossFit Classes are canceled Sept 28th as Shifu will be traveling with CMAA competitors to Boston for the International Chinese Martial Arts Competition.
Tai Chi will be held as regularly scheduled.
Sash Test Please note that we will be holding our quarterly Sash Test on:
Date: Sunday, September 8th Time: 11:00am (Remember early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable! Teach your child the VALUE of being on time for important events they have committed to. Whether is a competition, SAT or job interview it in important to learn these lessons now!).
You know exactly what we will be testing but if you have any questions, check the Sash Requirements page on the website and feel free to clarify things with me during class. http://www.martialartsalbany.com/kungfu-sash-requirements/
If you are unsure whether or not you (or your child) are ready to test, please speak with me before or during class, via email at AlbanyCMAA@gmail.com or by phone (518) 755-7512.
Register in Advance Please register and pay your testing fee by Sept.6th. By signing up on at the school you will agree to pay by Sept. 6th or have it charged to your account.
White/Yellow/Green/Blue: $25 Red/Purple/Orange: $50
Remember, you will not “get” your sash at CMAA – you will EARN it! There is a big difference. It’s important that your child (you) learns the value of their sash- the value of hard work! Let’s stay focused and step up our training so we’re fully prepared for the test!
Tai Chi Push Hands Seminar What: Tai Chi Push Hands Seminar with Shifu Jiang Jianye When: Sunday, September 22nd at 11:00am-12:30pm. Cost: $35
Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. Health oriented TaiChi schools may teach push hands to complement the physical conditioning available from performing solo form routines.
Pushing hands is said to be the gateway for students to experientially understand the martial aspects of the internal martial arts: leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Push hands allows students to learn how to respond to external stimuli using techniques from their forms practice. Among other things, training with a partner allows a student to develop 'ting jing' (listening power), the sensitivity to feel the direction and strength of a partner's intention. In that sense pushing hands is a contract between students to train in the defensive and offensive movement principles of their martial art: learning to generate, coordinate and deliver power to another and also how to effectively neutralize incoming forces in a safe environment. Competition Recap
CMAA enters students in first competition and dominate!
With ten students participating CMAA brought home 6 Gold Medals, 3 Silvers, and 4 Bronze. Lead by team leader Scott Beiter, CMAA participated in the The 1st Annual Kungfu Wushu Tournament in Hadley, MA. Congratulations to all the competitors. It takes a lot of courage to get out there. Win or lose I hope everyone drew inspiration from the experience. Just like sash tests, the true value of competition is still self-improvement. All the fun and team bonding is just a nice extra!
Jump Kicks
With our recent success in our first competition it was obvious that our foundation in basics wins gold medals. The foundation of Kungfu is rooted in stances. However, as we progress we will continue our jumping skills as a way to showcase our talent in the advanced divisions. In an effort to works toward new heights, we had a master of jump kicks Master Tom Collins come visit CMAA for a great jump kick seminar. Take a look at a video of the highlights of the action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvML74J7xFo
Chen Taiji What an experience! With over 20 years of experience in the martial arts, years of training in China, and a decade of teaching Tai Chi and Pilates, Peter brought to CMAA a wealth of information presented with a unique perspective of Tai Chi and kinesiology. From ideas of transverse balance exercises and qigong relaxation we certainly got more than just an 8 posture Chen style Tai Chi routine. Chen 8 will be continued and refined in our Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday Tai Chi classes.
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.
Summary
There is so much happening right now. With so many seminar, tests and competitions right now, I look forward to planning some more “fun” activities (potlucks and movie nights) this October. Please stay tuned for more details.
Best-
Shifu