The post So, What is Rote Rehearsal? appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

The post Advanced Gradings: Making Kung-Fu Your Priority appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

The post Honour Your Uniform appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

by Sifu Charlie Romeo
Fu For You Fall 2023

We are quickly approaching autumn, which means that we can soon expect to see more rainy days and cooler weather. While many people see a rainy day as an opportunity to stay in and relax, I prefer to see it as an opportunity to get ahead. In this article, I’ll discuss the benefits of seizing the opportunities given by rainy days with the hope that you can benefit as well.

Don’t look at rainy days as an excuse to kick back and relax, turn on the TV and enjoy. This may sound great, but it’s a very surface-level pleasure. Instead of following the majority by relaxing on these days, why not take the opportunity to get ahead? While everybody else is being unproductive, you could be working your forms, blocks, or push-ups. Alternatively, you could be working on a potential essay for your next belt or sash. There are so many things you could be doing at home to improve your Kung Fu while the rest of your friends and family waste the day away.

If you usually take advantage of outdoor space to practice your Kung Fu, rain can present an interesting challenge that will make you have to think creatively. Try to find a place in your home that you’re able to practice, even a small space. Doing this will develop your creative thinking skills, as you’ll have to work through the challenges of training with little room to move. Alternatively, you could also take advantage of the challenges raised by enduring the rain and practicing outside. This can help to develop discipline and improve balance and stability, by having to navigate through the wet and possibly slippery area. The ability to endure through rain is one that I’ve personally developed through both Kung Fu and work, and it’s a skill I encourage you to develop.

Rainy days are the perfect opportunity to get the most out of your Kung Fu classes. In my experience, very rainy days have significantly lower student attendance than the average class on a sunny day (this goes back to the idea that people like to relax on rainy days). However, this fact can work in your favour. Many people don’t see the extreme benefits of attending a small class, the primary benefit being more one-on-one time with an instructor. While we always do our best to assist every student in classes, it’s not always possible to work with students one-on-one every class. This one-on-one time you can receive on a rainy day is extremely valuable and can help you to progress much faster than if you had simply stayed home. Attending class regularly is important, but attending when many others are not willing can result in immense improvement.

Rain may be inconvenient for things like practicing your Kung Fu, but it shouldn’t halt it. Developing good practicing patterns, rain or shine, will help you to progress in your journey at a faster and more effective pace, so don’t let the weather slow you down!

The post Rainy Days appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

by Sifu D’arcy Langois
Fu For You Fall 2023

At its core Kung Fu stems from an incredibly practical place, a need to defend oneself. It is important to remember that every movement we practice while training has some real-world application. This idea brings us to the third Focus Point found above the mirrors in the Kwoon: Train as if it is real.

Continuing the concept of mental training, this Focus Point urges you to consider how you approach training the various techniques that we work on. There are three questions to ask yourself as you home in on this point: What am I doing, where am I, and is it real? Seeing as our Adult curriculum is broadly divided into four main categories, let’s take a look at some ways to apply this Focus Point across each of them.

Self Defence

Likely the curriculum with closest link to real life application, self defence is best learned with a touch of reality. Caution: this does not mean performing all releases at full power and speed. Some movements (Chin Na, for example) can result in severe damage to your partner if applied too quickly. Reality, in this instance, is applied by properly applying the attacks to your partner. Choke hold attacks are required to threaten your airway, so a correctly applied choke hold should do this. This grants you experience in two important ways: one, the releases only work on a true choke hold; and two, you then get to experience what it feels like in a controlled environment, which may ease the shock of experiencing it somewhere else.

Sparring

Our partner exercise of sparring offers some insight in how to use our techniques against a real live moving opponent. Caution: we are not trying to use techniques at full power in sparring, as we are not trying to put our partners on the ground. Instead, use this opportunity to assess the accuracy, range and timing of the techniques that we learn in Kung Fu. Using them against a moving opponent gives you an excellent chance to truly test how effective your techniques are.

Technique & Forms

These two categories belong together in this case, as our Forms are simply a set grouping of techniques that we learn at each rank. Looking at your current rank’s forms, and sequences, you will find they contain every technique in your syllabus. As you are often practicing your techniques in the open air, or with equipment designed to be hit, you can truly experiment with your power, speed, and accuracy. Caution: recognize the equipment being used and adjust your training to that (for example, focus mitts are not designed for full power techniques, whereas heavy bags are). The addition of movement, as in forms practice, opens up the opportunity to test your balance and stance work as you move through a variety of techniques.

Keep the real-life applications in mind to enhance your Kung Fu journey. Stay focused, and I’ll see you in the Kwoon!

Explore all of our Kung-Fu Focus Points.

The post Focus Point #3: Train As If It Were Real appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

by Sije Veronica Sas
Fu For You Fall 2023

Martial Arts Gradings are a way for a student to demonstrate to their instructor their knowledge of the curriculum. The first sash or belt your child will receive at Waterloo Kung Fu Academy comes after an in-class assessment. All other rank advancements will happen on a specific grading day. Your child will be tested on both their current and previous rank requirements. There is never an expectation for anyone to grade. If your child doesn’t feel they’re ready, there is no issue with them staying at their current rank and gaining more confidence in their techniques.

So how do you know when your child is ready to grade? The easy answer is that you don’t!  Your child’s Sifu will let your child (and you) know when they are ready to test for their next rank, you don’t need to ask. Several weeks before a scheduled grading, Sifus start looking at their class to see who might be ready to advance. As grading day gets closer, they will then perform in-class evaluations to see who knows and are confident in all their requirements. Evaluations happen up to a week before a grading, and sometimes even the week of the grading. Just because your child isn’t on the grading list, doesn’t mean that they won’t be!  If they’re not invited to test, that’s okay too. There will be plenty of gradings held throughout the year.

Once your child is on the Grading List, there are still things to do. One of the most important things is to carefully read the Grading Letter that was sent home. This letter contains information about how to prepare, such as practicing at home and how to prepare the envelope they will present to Sigung. The bottom portion of the letter needs to be returned to the Academy before grading day.

There are some ways that you can help your child prepare for a future grading. The most important thing is to make sure your child has the Waterloo Kung Fu Academy Student Handbook. This can be purchased from the Office and contains all the requirements for the Youth and Junior programs. You can go through the requirements with your child to see if they know everything at their rank and lower. The better they know it, the more confident they will be in a grading. You can also use the Handbook to keep track of their classes.  Each rank has a minimum number of classes and months needed at that level before they can grade. Please keep in mind that this is a *minimum*. Very likely they will far exceed the minimum number and that is normal.

Gradings can be stressful, but also an exciting time. Putting too much pressure on your child might cause more stress than needed. The most important thing to remember is that we want your child to enjoy Kung Fu. Enjoyment leads to more productive practices and hopefully they will be excited to grade when they are ready.

The post Grading Time appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

by Sifu (Dr.) Rikin Patel MD
Fu For You Fall 2023

The transition from summer to fall comes with mixed feelings depending on if you are a student, parent, or teacher. In the pediatric lifestyle clinic that I work in a few things were clear from kids and families I saw this past summer. First, routines become lax and can even go out the window. Second, almost EVERY child or teen was not looking forward to going back to school. Do any of these apply to you or anyone in your family?

In my observation of summers passed at WKFA, many students take time pursue other hobbies, camps, or interests such as traveling which takes them out of their Kung Fu class routines.

Going back to school and even getting back into Kung Fu can be daunting. It can induce stress, anxiety, and resistance. Over the last 30+ years in my Kung Fu and medical journey I have felt all of these at some point.

Here are some strategies to build motivation and confidence that our lifestyle team consistently share to help parents, teachers and kids manage stress:

1. “Baby steps” build momentum and self-esteem. One percent changes add up, and when done daily overtime, are powerful. Remember consistency crushes self-doubt.

2. Observe and affirm the positive as much as possible. Whether it’s your friend, child, student, or partner highlighting their positive intentions, actions and strengths promotes confidence and resilience, especially when they least expect it.

3. Practice self-compassion. By becoming more open, self-accepting, and compassionate towards ourselves we will more easily be able to step into other people’s shoes and relate to them. Remember sharing your own story can be a gift to someone else by building a bridge.

4. View obstacles and setbacks as a learning opportunity and as necessary parts on the path to success. My life changed when a mentor helped reframe a challenge, I was facing by telling me, “every challenging situation in life can be seen as an opportunity; BUT we have to have the vision to see it in that way.”

5. Get help. Having mentors, role models and even professionals in our life help water the seed of hope and inspiration within us.

Finally, in closing, let’s always remind each other how important our environment plays on our self-esteem and motivation. There is a powerful saying that I remember often that goes, “tell me who the five closest people are in your life are and I will tell you the person you will become.” Let’s keep looking for that positive environment to grow in and as students of WKFA be that positive company that everyone is looking for.

Parents: Check out this link for more information about a modern-day approach to pediatric health care: https://reset-pediatrics.webflow.io/

The post 5 Ways to “Side Kick” Back to School Stress appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

By Sifu Anne Vandrus
Fu For You Fall 2023

I often hear parents and students talk about how they’re “falling behind” their peers, or where they expected to be regarding their progress through the ranks. I’ll typically respond that Kung Fu is an individual journey, and everybody goes at their own pace. If you think of running a marathon, you are directly competing against the other people around you, and the first one to the finish line wins. But consider this: Kung Fu is a hike, not a marathon. Who could you possibly be falling behind? You’re not even walking the same trail as anybody else.

Upon completing a hike, you end up at the same place you started from, but many things could have changed. Did you see any flowers? Did you hear any birds? Have you turned over any rocks? Did you trudge through any mud? Were there any hills? Did you have to make any choices between different paths? If you just focused on going as fast as possible, what did you miss out on? Are you still the same person who started the hike? Have you learned anything? Did you grow?

There’s no prize for going on a hike… so why are you? What were you hoping to get out of it initially? What surprised you once you got going? Are you allowing yourself to be open to infinite possibilities along the way? Or are you too focused on your goal of finishing?

When you reach black sash – the end of your hike – you now know all this Kung Fu… but for what? What now? Will you repeat the same hiking trail again until you’ve mastered it? Will you go try different trails to see new sights? Will you try harder trails to challenge yourself? Will you just go back home?

The effort it takes to start your first hike is commendable. But truly, once you reach the “end” you are literally just back at the beginning again. If you’re hoping for a fun, new destination, you will be very confused. The “final goal” for a lot of people is a simple piece of black cloth you can find at any fabric store; if you just want that, go buy one. So why are you really out walking this path? What does it mean to you?

This is what we mean when we say Kung Fu is a journey. It’s not just a really long race; it’s not a race at all. It’s a scenic trail that keeps looping you back around the longer you travel it. Personally, I’ve been walking the same trail for almost 20 years, and I still keep finding cool new rocks on the ground and often have to push big sticks out of my path. What have you discovered throughout your hike so far? And more importantly, are you prepared to keep walking?

Happy trails!

The post Kung-Fu is a Hike appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.

The post Fear is a Wonderful Servant, but a Terrible Master appeared first on Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy.