Junior Student’s Corner
by Sifu Charlie Romeo
Fu For You Fall 2025
In my previous article, It’s Summertime, Relax! But Not Really, I discussed the importance of continuing your training throughout the summer. While recommended, this is not always possible or practical. Many families take the summer to travel, explore, or otherwise get away, which can result in spending a few weeks or months away from Kung Fu. While we encourage students to practice on their own during time away, it’s not quite enough to keep improving your knowledge and skill. Rather, it’s better for maintaining and refining the progress you’ve made so far. For the students who are returning this fall from weeks or months of being away, this article will focus on how to re-integrate Kung Fu into your schedule.
The key to a successful return is to start a consistent routine right away. This means attending classes regularly and frequently, as much as realistically possible. The worst thing you can do is to ease your way back into attending classes; an on-and-off routine is actually harder to fix than being away completely. You don’t need to attend 5+ classes per week, but returning to your “2-class per week” schedule will quickly help you re-establish a consistent training routine. Be mindful that your body will need some time to readjust to the challenging and intense environment of Kung Fu training. To balance this, stick to a regular schedule, but listen to your body and pace yourself appropriately until you’ve re-adjusted.
It’s important to set realistic goals when returning from a break. Returning with unrealistic goals can result in feeling unmotivated and discouraged, so be sure to discuss with an instructor what goals make the most sense to start with. The most common example of an unrealistic goal that we see in returning students is the expectation of testing for their next rank in the upcoming fall grading. While instructors acknowledge and admire this ambition, it’s not a feasible target. A single month is not long enough to re-develop your strength, cardio, and technical skills that get lost during an absence. Particularly for intermediate/advanced students, take the following as a good rule of thumb: for any extended time away, expect at least double that time before you’re ready to test. So, if you are away for 1 month, you should attend classes consistently for at least 2 months before even thinking about grading. Keep in mind, this is a minimum! There is no such thing as staying at a particular rank for too long—every student has their own journey.
Staying consistent over the summer is the best way to keep improving without losing momentum. At the same time, many families take the summer as an opportunity to travel and visit friends and family—which is great! Your instructors will be understanding of these opportunities, and what matters most is returning with a realistic, positive, and determined mindset about your next steps forward.
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