Found an interesting video that I wanted to share. Its a three part series so make sure to watch the following segments as well. Please enjoy:
Monthly Newsletter - January
CMAA Monthly Newsletter - January Please enjoy this month’s newsletter and get important information about the following:
CMAA School Closings and Class Cancelations CMAA Holiday Party Recap Kungfu Sash Test Recap Tai Chi to CrossFit Journey- Bob Colluci Chinese New Year Celebration- CMAA’s Performances CMAA Welcomes ‘New Student’- Martial Arts Master Tom Collins Chinese Community Center ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’ recipient: Shifu Lucas Geller
Chinese Language Essay about Shifu Geller
CMAA Holiday Party Recap: WOW! What a special evening. The weather may have tried to deter us but in true CMAA fashion we braved the elements and came together. Once inside and warmed up it was definitely an evening of eating, drinking and being merry. Although not everyone could make it, it was wonderful to get our long time students together with the new generation just beginning at CMAA. In the spirit of the holiday season, it was very special to spend our time together with our other family – the CMAA family. I look forward to celebrating with you all again next year.
CMAA School Closings and Class Cancelations: Kungfu class will be canceled on Saturday 1/25. Please come to the Chinese New Year celebration in Clifton Park to support your team and enjoy the event!
Chinese New Year Performances -CMAA is in high demand! CMAA has been invited to showcase our talents at several Chinese New Year celebrations. We have organized a small group this year to perform at several Chinese New Year celebrations. We will be performing in Clifton Park on Saturday 1/25 and at SUNY Albany on 2/2. We are in the process of organizing a third performance at the East Greenbush YMCA to be held on Sunday 2/9. Please stay tuned for more details!
Kungfu Sash Test Recap:
As always I wanted to say great job to those of you who participated in December’s Sash Test. Although it was a regularly scheduled quarterly sash test, due to our month long competition preparation in September, we did not start new forms training until October. For this reason we had less time than usual to prepare. For those of you who put in the extra work over the last two months, congratulations to all of you!
In addition, I would like to congratulate those who chose NOT to sash test. You too demonstrate self-control. I know you too were excited to get your next sash and move on to something new but with an honest self-assessment, decided to wait until you knew you’d truly mastered your form. Keep up the hard work, we will test again soon and you will be all the better for having waited.
Master Tom Collins: CMAA is proud to welcome a “new student”- Tom Collins to our program. Tom Collins is a black belt with over 11 years of experience. As a high level martial artist, he specializes in jump kicks. Make sure to say “Hi” when you see him in class (you’ll recognize him as the new student who can touch the ceiling- with his feet).
Tai Chi to CrossFit Journey- Bob Colluci “To mark my one year anniversary (in CrossFit)I want to share my life experience with weight training. You can read about my exercise experiences over the last six decades at my blog”- Bob Colluci
http://rjclooch.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-personal-health-and-fitness-crossfit.html
Excellence in Teaching Award – Chinese Community Center On January 6th, Shifu Lucas Geller was the proud recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Capital District Chinese Community Center and Language School. “Just three years ago, I walked into the Community Center and asked if I could teach Kungfu. I wasn’t sure how they would react to me as I am clearly not Chinese. I know it was awarded because of my efforts on behalf of the program but I am also very proud of the award as I feel it’s a symbol of acceptance by the community.” - Lucas Geller.
Chinese Language Blog about Shifu Geller by former mentor at The Ohio State University http://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog/60107/201401/1650.html
Summary As always, stay tuned for more exciting action at CMAA!
Best,
Shifu
Monthly Newsletter – December
Dear Students,
As always, there’s a lot happening at CMAA! Please review the following information on: School Closings Holiday Dinner Kungfu Sash Test Chinese Martial Arts is the Best Sport – Essay by Schuyler Wang
CMAA Holiday Dinner With all the holidays and family time this time of year, we would like to organize a time for us to be together outside the school. Please join us for a holiday dinner celebration! Date: Saturday, December 14th Time: 6:30 PM Location: Dragon Buffet, 1881 Central Ave. Albany, NY 12205 (518) 452-6963 Price: $16.50 for adults and $11 for children (under 10 years old). Please pay in advance by check or cash at the school as we have reserved a room for our group. Deadline: Please register by Saturday, Dec. 7th. Kungfu Sash Test Date: Sunday, December 15th. 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.
School Closing: Please note, CMAA will be closed Dec.23-28th. We will re-open Monday Dec. 30th.
Chinese Martial Arts is the Best Sport By Schuyler Wang, age 9
Chinese Martial Arts is the Best Sport
This is because Chinese Martial Arts is good exercise, a fun activity, and you also have the chance to be famous.
It is good exercise because it focuses more on the skill, than the intensity. You start with beginner’s form. It teaches you the basic “stance” instead of physical drills. The intermediate forms are just like the first levels of gymnastics. Advanced forms are like the more advanced kind of gymnastics because of the jumps. The kicking is like in taekwondo or karate. Since Chinese Martial Arts is made of different types of sports, it could even help you learn different sports better! The beginner forms are the first three forms you will learn. The intermediate forms are the next 3. And the advanced is everything else. In my school, you are always moving around in 3 different places. Where I train, there is two different mats, and small place to rest or stretch. So you are either on the main floor or the black mat or stretching. It’s not as intense as basketball or soccer, but it has enough movement to keep you sweaty.
It’s a lot of fun. You could make long-term friends. Not like the other sports, (unless you’re in a high level) every year you have new people on your team and it’s kind of hard to cooperate together. In Chinese Martial Arts, you have the same teammates unless someone joins or quits. And many people are willing to help. All of the people are so nice!
You can get famous because there are lots of competitions and if you’re really good, you could go to the world or national games. (They are really big) Even the Olympics are considering putting it in. It’s not harder to win even though there is less people because the people from China, are really good. The competitions are different from many sports because you can’t exactly “score”. You have to do a form, and the four judges will give a score. They take the average and that’s how well you did. There is a very large mat in the big games. Otherwise, it is hardwood. It sometimes can hurt very much. The other sports have tournaments and stuff like that. They beat one team they move on. In Chinese Martial Arts, it depends on how many points you get. You don’t have to do it many times to get your place.
And that’s why I think Chinese Martial Arts is the very best sport. Summary: I look forward to an exciting month! Stay tuned for more news of upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations and performances!
Best-
Shifu
Monthly Newsletter - November
Dear Students, As always, there’s a lot happening at CMAA! Please review the following information on:
-School Closings and Class Cancellations - Longfist Kungfu Seminar - Why is Wushu My Life Today? By Benoit Denolle - CMAA in the ICMA National Rankings - Chinese Medicine Seminar Recap - Kungfu Sash Test
School Closing Please note the following school closings and class cancellations:
All Kungfu Classes will be cancelled on Saturday for the Longfist Kungfu Seminars on Nov.23rd.
CMAA will be closed for Nov. 28th/29th (Thursday and Friday) for the Thanksgiving holiday. Saturday classes will be held as regularly scheduled.
Longfist Kungfu Seminar What: Individual Longfist Combinations (Beginner/Intermediate and Intermediate/Advanced). When: November 23rd. Beginner/Intermediate 11:15-12:30, Intermediate/Advanced 12:30-2pm. Why: Take advantage to train with an amazing Martial Artist and International Champion right at our very own school! Learning individual combinations and movements will become increasingly important as we advance in our training and look to earn our black sash which will require you to choreograph your very own individual Longfist and weapons routines! These are the exact movements you will look to include. Cost: $20 for Beginner/Intermediate, $30 for Intermediate/Advanced with pre-registration by Nov.16th. $25/$35 respectively for registration after the 16th .
*Note: The classes will be limited to the first 15 students who register for each of the seminars. If you’re not sure which seminar you should take (or if you’re interested in both- just ask me and I will clarify what the major differences will be.)
Instructor: Benoit Denolle
As you may have noticed, there has been a new student training at CMAA since September. He’s the one who’s spear movements you miss if you blink, doing jump front kicks to aerial twists, and 720 tornado kicks. He’s the French native, national and international wushu kungfu champion, Benoit Denolle.
Why is Wushu My Life Today? By Benoit Denolle
“After years of training and competitions, I began to understand the true meaning of competition and devotion. It took me years to realize that winning wasn’t the goal of competition. Receiving a medal is not the point. Two or three days after, you don’t feel any difference in your life. I know because I experienced both defeat and victory…” To read this article and learn more about Benoit click here:
http://www.martialartsalbany.com/why-is-wushu-my-life-today/
ICMA National Rankings -CMAA Still On Top!
The International Chinese Martial Arts (ICMA) tournament is a national martial arts tournament circuit that holds competitions throughout the United States Tournaments in cities such as Houston, Miami, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, LA, St. Louis, Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago and Boston.
CMAA did exceptionally well in the Boston tournament. Now that the year has finished and the scores have been taken from across the country, CMAA remains at the top!
Empty Hand Ranking in North America: Schuyler Wang 1st, Suzy Diehl 1st , Heidi Diehll 1st, Zackery Diehl1st, Cindy Pang 2nd, Emily Gao 2nd, Benoit Denolle 3rd, Renee Zhang 6th, Brenna Paxton 7th, Eli Wein 8th, Lia Nevo 9th, Liv Nevo 12th, Shawn Paxton 14th, Jason Gao 15th.
Weapons Ranking in North America: Schuyler Wang1st/1st, Zackery Diehll 1st/1st, Heidi Diehl 1st/2nd, Suzy Diehl2nd/4th, Benoit Denolle 2nd, Cindy Pang 4th/7th, Lia Nevo 4th, Renee Zhang 2nd/5th, Eli Wein 5th, Brenna Paxton 6th, Micah Juman 6th, Liv Nevo 8th, Jason Gao 10th, Emily Gao 11th, Kyler Pang 9th/12th, Caleb Juman 14th.
Congrats to you all. I am so proud to see my name listed as your instructor as you beat out students from the top martial artists from China! Seriously though, the competition was a huge success and I hope you are proud of your accomplishments as an individual and as a school!
Chinese Medicine Seminar Recap A healthy dose of professional insight, relevant information and fun! Although we had some technical difficulties, in true CMAA fashion we worked around things and proceeded to have a fun, relevant and interesting presentation. I got a lot of positive feedback with very specific accounts of how accurate Dr. Gao’s descriptions of various health conditions we are dealing with. I was initially worried that language might be an obstacle in the presentation. However, I think it’s safe to say we were all was very impressed by Dr. Gao’s enthusiasm, professionalism and ability to convey complex concepts in a simple way. I look forward to scheduling another presentation in the future. Also, over $200 was raised for the CMAA Kids Fund! Thank you for your support!
Kungfu Sash Test It’s that time again! Mark it on your calendars. CMAA will be holding our next official Sash Test on Sunday December 15th at 11:00am. Look for more information about registration in next month’s newsletter.
As always, stay tuned for more exciting information about seminars, sash tests, and Chinese New Year performances and practices coming up soon!
Best-
Shifu
Why is Wushu My Life Today?
Why is Wushu My Life Today?By Benoit Denolle
My first step into this world…
I always wanted to play fight with my brother after watching Dragon Ball Z anime. Since then, I knew that one day I was going to practice martial arts. Even though it was not part of family traditions, like tennis, football, sailing.... After my brother began learning wushu in Rennes (France), I was so impressed by what he was doing that I had no choice but to do the same.
In 2007 I began training 4 hours of wushu a week with 2 hours of Taolu (forms training) and 2 hours of Sanda (sparring).
One day I heard my teacher say that he could only send two guys to competition, one who began much younger than me and another who began wushu at the same time as me. I could not believe it, I thought to myself: “I’ll show my teacher I can be one of the best!” Then I asked to train as if I was a competitor, learning special forms away from the group, and just focusing on it. This was my first step in what was going to be the craziest journey of my life!
I began to train gymnastics at the same time to improve my jumps where I randomly met a guy from the French national Wushu team… That was when I learned what “a training partner” was, and became highly motivated. I wanted to prove I was a competitor, which meant training in cold weather, on rainy days, or when I was sore muscles, injured, sick… (When you really love something, being sick is not an obstacle even with a mum wants you to stay at home to rest).
Three years later in 2010, I went to my first competition (Marseilles), and won a gold medal in the beginner division. I saw that all the training had paid off. My older brother who’d brought me there, in a 20 hours ride was proud of me. It also gave my other brother the motivation to continue kung-fu.
Afterwards began the journey of the competitions, I wanted to be the best, no matter how much time I had to train, or how much money I had to spend. I even sacrificed the time I could spend with my girlfriend so I have more time to train.
My dream of being a world champion was born, I thought “if one person can do a butterfly twist with split landing, then why can’t I do that? I wanted to win more gold medals and be able to prove to everyone that “I am awesome, I am a champion”!
Wushu Maturation
After years of training and competitions, I began to understand the true meaning of competition and devotion. It took me years to realize that winning wasn’t the goal of competition. Receiving a medal is not the point. Two or three days after, you don’t feel any difference in your life. I know because I experienced both defeat and victory.
In 2011 when I first challenged tougher competition, the result was empty hands (last), sword (last), and spear (last). It made me realize the true sense of never giving up. I also experienced victory in 2013 with gold medal in Madrid. After spending time training with people from different countries, it appeared to me that I could never be among the best in the world. With that thought in mind, I asked myself “what is the point in competing?” For me, competitions are a way to make progress, to be good at what I am doing. The main point for me is to surpass myself and my own limits. Nowadays, when I am on the carpet, I just want to show everyone, the results of my hard training and the reason why I spend so many hours at the gym. If you do your best in competition, and lose, there is absolutely no shame in saying, “This guy is just better than me, but, that’s fine, I’ll train harder so I can try to defeat him next time!” So, how do you get better? New competitions lead to new goals (new moves, new jump kicks (“difficulties”), and a new desire to show everyone your best).
I became aware of that as I trained hard to meet all the expectations of the corrupt French Wushu Federation and get to the side of the French National Wushu Team. Even if you do great things, they do not care and choose to focus on people they know. This big disillusion led me to the true understanding of competition. Compete for yourself and not for the others!
Where Does My Motivation Come From?
First, my motivation comes from the love of the sport, “As long as you do what you love, it worth the effort”. This quotation from a motivational video reflects well my spirit well. Why do I love wushu? This sport is very complex, and combines power, peacefulness, explosiveness, rythm, and flexibility. It is a beautiful art, a beautiful sport and it requires a good state of mind. I love the feeling at the end of training, when I can hardly move because I took my self beyond my limits… This is why I am passionate about wushu. I love this sport and I love to give 110% of what I have.
Thanks to this activity, I’ve met many people. Although it is an individual sport, we all share the same passion, the same goals, victories and failures… We all share this incredible connection which make the friends with train like family. When I heard the name “wushuonefamily” (W1F), it made me laugh but now I get the meaning!
Competition is a way for me to make progress and to prove of my devotion to this sport, to my friends, to my family and to people I meet. One of my goals today is to become a member of the French Wushu Team, even if I know that convincing the federation is hard even if I am good enough. But why? I can I assure you that it is not to get higher scores in the national competitions through connections with judges or anything like that. I want this status so that one day, when my mom, dad, brothers, sister, talk about me, they do not just say: “He does kung-fu” but say: “he is a real athlete” and be proud to.
It would also be a way for me to thank them for all their patience for the time they endured my rambling on about wushu, and for the efforts they’ve made on my behalf so that I can train. For a long time, overtraining has been source of conflict in my family (affecting my schoolwork) but they never prevented me from practice and for this, I am thankful.
Sharing this experience with my brother is also what helped me to keep the faith, as we are always pushing each other to be better.
I want to do great things in my life. Just as I was inspired when I began, I want to do my best so that later I can inspire others and show them the way. I have never been gifted for this sport but thanks to passion, I got to where I am now. I want to represent possibilities and show that anybody can do great things! Most people, they raise a family, they earn a living and they die. I do not want to live that way; I want to accomplish things by doing wushu. A lot of people complain but they don’t do anything to change their life. My passion taught me to always go forward and never quit, even when I am faced with adversity.
Watch this to see more of Ben in action! (Not sure which one he is? Hint- he's the one who wins;)
Newsletter - October
CMAA Newsletter - October With so much action at The Chinese Martial Arts Academy (CMAA) I’m a little late getting this one out. However, I didn’t want anyone to miss out on all the exciting news!
School Closing: We will be closed Monday, 10/14 for Columbus Day.
Kungfu Sash Test: Great job to those of you who participated in September’s Sash Test. Many of you practiced all summer for the test and rose to the occasion. Also, with so many of you taking summer vacation, I was equally impressed by those of you who were not at CMAA as much this summer, but kept up with your training and didn’t seem to miss a beat! I heard from a number of parents who felt this was our most impressive sash test to date. Congratulations to all of you!
In addition, I would like to congratulate those who chose NOT to sash test. You too demonstrate self-control. I know you too were excited to get your next sash and move on to something new but with an honest self-assessment, decided to wait until you knew you’d truly mastered your form. Keep up the hard work, we will test again soon and you will be all the better for having waited.
International Chinese Martial Arts Competition (ICMA) Recap: I know many of you were excited to begin learning your new forms and weapons routines. However, it was important that we not be distracted in our training with anything we would not have been competing in at the ICMA. For those who sash tested but didn’t complete, you too were required to wait until your teammates had finished competition before moving on to new forms. This is because we are a team and even if you don’t compete you are still a huge part of our competition preparation.
The ICMA was a much larger tournament than the first. However, team CMAA made a very impressive showing with students placing top in the top three for every single division. I hope it was exciting to see just how good, and learn how hard other people and schools train to get to the levels they are at. I know that personally, it was a great learning experience. With years of competition experience, it was all a very different experience as a coach.
I asked everyone who competed to tell me what they learned from the experience and got so many different answers. JG “It’s so cool to make new friends at competition!”, EW “Winning feels great!”, BP “Hard work and preparation pays off”, SW “Different competitions have different rules and systems for judging”, “It’s not about winning medals, it’s about doing your best.”
Again, congratulations on all your success! Team CMAA will spend the winter in training hibernation, looking at sash tests and the many upcoming Chinese New Year’s demo’s as opportunities to showcase our rising talents. We will begin looking for competition venues again in the spring and summer.
More pictures from the tournament here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayen_vantage/sets/72157636031982344/
Chinese Medicine Seminar: Topic: Chinese Medicine in Tai Chi and Qigong. Date: Sunday, October 27th 10:30-11:30am. Presenter: Dr. Hui Gao Cost: $20 or FREE! (Write a Google or Yelp review for CMAA and not only can you attend the seminar FREE, in addition CMAA will donate $30 to the CMAA Parents Organization on your behalf!).
Stay tuned for more exciting info about Kungfu seminars with a National Champion at CMAA!
Newsletter - September
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
Newsletter - August
Dear Students and Friends, School Closings:
Saturday August 31st and Monday Sept. 2nd: Please note that we will be closed for Labor Day Weekend.
Seminars!
Wushu Jump Kicks
What? Jump Kicks Seminar Where? CMAA When? August 18th 11am-12:30 pm Who? You! (CMAA StudentsJ) How Much? $35/person (before 8/12), $45/person (after 8/12). (Minimum 4 people –Maximum 12 people)
One of the most important and exciting elements of our training is without a doubt the jump kicks. As we progress, jump kicks and their combinations will get more complex and serve to separate the best of the best. http://www.youtube.com/
CMAA has invited a master of jump kicks to teach our students the tips and tricks to better jump kicks!
A black belt with over a decade of training, Tom Collins, will be working with our students on the basic jump kicks. From tornado kicks (right leg landing) and aerials, to butterfly twists and back flips, Master Collins will provide the highest quality instruction and individual coaching to each of the seminars participants.
(Meet Tom Collins - https://www.youtube.com/
Many of the concepts and corrections Master Collins will offer our students are things they will be able to keep in mind and apply to their training for years to come. Of course I hope everyone will come away with some new jumping skills, but I also hope they each come away with a newer understanding of exactly what they can do to improve whatever aspect of each kick they need particular assistance with.
Master Collins will be working with each student individually so this seminar is limited to 12 people. Please sign up ASAP to reserve your spot!
Chen Style Taiji Short Form: The Chen 8
What? Chen 8 Where? CMAA When? August 17th 9:30am-11am Who? You! (CMAA StudentsJ) How Much? $30/person (before 8/12), $40/person (after 8/12). (Minimum 6 people –Maximum 16 people)
Equivalent to learning the Yang 8 before traditional Yang 108, Chen Taiji includes a simplified short routine known as the Chen 8. This form teaches the basic Chen postures serves as a great stepping stone to learning longer, more advanced routines. If you don’t yet practice Chen empty hand but you practice either the 42 Sword or Chen straight sword, then your routines include, or are based on the Chen style. If Chen is entirely new to you, this is the perfect intro to Chen or exposure to stylistic characteristics which make Chen unique. In any case, this is a GREAT opportunity to learn from a very sophisticated practitioner- Peter Wolf.
Peter Wolf: 2002 Collegiate All Around Champion 2001 Nationals 1st Chen, Sun, 32 Sword 2002 and 2005 Berkely All Around Internal Champion 2005 USA Team 1st place "Open" Taiji, 2 years Beijng Sports University, 2-1 Mixed Martial Arts Cage Fights Certified personal trainer, TRX trainer, Pilates Mat Trainer
One year ago, I reposted an article written more than 10 years ago by Peter Wolf. It is an interesting article on “flavor” and worth the read: http://www.
Kungfu Competition
What: The Chinese Wushu Kungfu Academy’s 1st Annual Wushu Kungfu Tournament When: Saturday August 17th, 8:30am-4:30pm (Pre-Registration ends July 31st) Where: Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Massachusetts Who: All Levels Welcome
Team CMAA!
1. Zack Diehl 2. Heidi Diehl 3. Suzanna Diehl
4. Schuyler Wang 5. Emily Gao 6. Jason Gao
7. Brenna Paxton 8. Sean Paxton
9. Renee Zhang
10. Eli Wein 11. Scott Beiter (Team Leader) Everyone should register for the appropriate age, level (beginner) and event (empty/long weapon and/or short weapon). Please find the forms being forwarded along with this email. It’s an all-day event, so bring food (snack bars, pb+j, and drinks (water/gatorade/juice), bring some music, or books, maybe even a pillow to rest on. This tournament should be small (though the beginner divisions will be the biggest) and move quickly, but it’s also the organizers first time and there could be a lot of confusion and delays. So, be prepared and have whatever you need to be more comfortable! Now we'll start competition training and organizing the logistics of our traveling up (maybe we can coordinate several groups going together).
From goal setting and learning to perform under pressure, the entire competition is a great learning and team building experience!
In addition, there will be another bigger tournament on Sept 28. I think this could also be a great option for us! http://www.
Summary Stay tuned for more exciting news (including a Push Hands Seminar with Shifu Jiang Jianye and the next competition in Bosto, both coming this September!).
Best-
Shifu