Sifu Lloyd Fridenburg

Editorial

‘Twas the night after sparring and all through the school, not a creature was stirring; not even Sifu. The students had crashed and were rubbing their heads, while visions of gradings danced in their head. Their t-shirts were hung from the mirrors with care in hopes someone would wash them and bring them back there.

Bala with his sword, and Karthik with his sais, were still a bit shaky from Christmas sparring class. Then up on the roof there arose such a clatter they sprang from the floor to see what was the matter. Away to the back door they flew like a flash, tripped over Niaz and came down with a crash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of mid-day to objects below. Then what to their swollen black eyes did appear but our own Sihing Tom, with big box of cheer. As they drew in their heads and were turning around, they were smacked from behind and were back on the ground.

Bala rubbed his ribs and they picked themselves up, when Sifu Adam said, “you really must focus!” He was dressed all in black from his head to his foot. His hair was hidden beneath a black hood. A bundle of weapons was flung on his back, he said, “Down, give me ten or I’ll give you a whack!”

“My ribs are so sore?” Bala said with a frown, as Sifu Adam grabbed a large kick-shield and started dancing around. He jumped, and he spun like a tiger gone mad, and then turned to our friends and said, “Back to your drills, and don’t look so sad.”

Just as they thought their end must be coming, they forced their eyes open and felt their hearts pounding. Drenched all in sweat from their head to their toes Karthik and Bala just bowed and went home.

Shaking her head, Niaz gave a cold shiver then turned to the sky with a bit of a fright and said, “Merry Christmas to all; man what a night!”

It has been an honour to teach and train with such dedicated, inspirational, group of martial artists over the past year and I hope everyone of you has a great holiday season and continued success in your Kung Fu journey. In time you will see that Kung Fu is not just something you do; it’s something you are.

If you have an idea for an article or would like to become a regular contributor to Fu for You, just let me know.

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Sifu David Moylan, Owner, Waterloo Kung-Fu Academy

Sifu’s Corner

“Have no fear of perfection—You’ll never reach it” ~ Salvador Dali

I recently went to Princess Cinemas and had the pleasure of watching a new award winning film from National Geographic called Free Solo. It features Alex Honnold’s unaided ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan, a 3,000 foot vertical granite wall.

Patti-Lynn and I once travelled to Yosemite and hiked up the iconic Half Dome. Climbing up the cables to the summit was one of the most terrifying and rewarding feats in my life. The first time I saw footage of Honnold scaling the cliff side of it—with no ropes, I was floored! This drew me to follow him in the media and eventually led to my interest in seeing this film.

Free Solo holds lessons that can be applied to the study of Kung Fu. Honnold visualized this ascent for over ten years; to succeed, he had to overcome physical, psychological and emotional challenges. The film documents a lot of the planning and practice that went into making the climb possible, as well as how he dealt with these challenges. With the aid of ropes and peers, he studied and repeated the route up countless times, making meticulous notes about where and how to move his hands and feet along the various features of the cliff. This reminded me of memorizing the details of a very long form (just add the consequence of death for performance failure—no biggie). Essentially, Honnold said that he had to practice to the point that when he attempted to free solo climb, it would feel like a walk in the park.

For Honnold, climbing is his Kung Fu. His art demands complete focus. He doesn’t view it as a sacrifice, but as an opportunity to live out his passion. He practices and practices, making incremental improvements over time, all the while soaking in the beauty of his surroundings and the sheer pleasure of his chosen craft. Essentially, he rehearses the movements until he has no fear.

After free soloing El Capitan, Honnold muses that he feels delighted to be perfect at something in life for a moment in time. The word “perfect” always makes me reflect on how we define it in Kung Fu. I think he felt that his ascent was perfect in the sense that if he failed, he would be dead. His achievement is one of the greatest in recorded human history; I certainly don’t want to take anything away from that, but I would term it as a success. To me, perfection implies a limit on improvement. In Kung Fu, we believe that you can always strive for more: higher, faster, stronger, more fluid, more mindful. Depending on your perspective, this concept of perfection can be frustrating, or endlessly inspiring. That said, it is important to celebrate our victories and use them as motivation towards further striving. For Honnold, he did exactly this, using his success to start a foundation.

I hope his story inspires you. Happy training!

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Sifu Anne Vandrus

Youth Student’s Corner

When we do Kung Fu we are stretching our bodies quickly to extend out techniques. If we want to kick higher or have more control of our strikes, then we want to improve our flexibility—and we achieve that by stretching. Since Kung Fu is an all-season activity, we need to be aware of how to take care of our bodies so that we are still training safely and effectively, whether it’s hot or cold.

We start every class with a 30-minute warm up so that we can heat our muscles up before stretching them out to prevent injuries while training Kung Fu techniques. In the winter, when it’s colder, this warm up is even more important.

To understand why this matters, think of your muscles like cheese: if you take a cold piece of cheese and try pulling it apart, you will probably just break off a chunk. If, however, you heat up that same block of cheese first, you can slowly pull it apart without it breaking—it will stretch. Our bodies aren’t made of cheese, but they’re similar in that, if our muscles aren’t warm when we try stretching them, they’re more likely to just tear. When we warm up first, and stretch slowly, we’re less likely to hurt ourselves.

Once you’ve warmed up, you need to make sure you’re stretching correctly. If you’re holding a stretch and it starts to hurt, then you’ve gone too far; the slight tug is the stretch, but it should never feel painful. Especially when you’re flexible, it can be hard to know what muscles you’re supposed to feel the stretch in, or if you’re doing it correctly, so make sure you ask! Chances are that one of your classmates is also wondering the same thing, so you’ll be helping everyone learn by asking questions.

Remember that stretching is individual, and some people are just more and less flexible in different ways. For example, you could have really flexible hamstrings (splits), while someone else could have flexible Achilles tendons (squatting stretch/knee-tuck), and another person could have really flexible quadriceps (standing/laying down quadricep-stretch). So don’t try extending your stretch to match someone else—listen to your own body!

You might find many stretches easy, but it’s still really important to keep practicing your stretching now, so that when you hit a growth spurt you don’t lose that flexibility. As we get older, we need to stretch even more because growing our bodies and building our muscles makes them tighter. If you ask your parents, they will probably tell you that they’re not as flexible as when they were kids… and this happens to everybody!

While the warm summer is the best time to improve your flexibility, you can still safely stretch in the winter! Kung Fu is an all-year activity, so keep your stretching goals alive all year too!

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Sifu Jeremy Norris

Junior Student’s Corner

At the Waterloo Kung Fu Academy, we take pride in the evolution of ranks, and the time it takes. As a junior student, it is important to consider planning and time management when setting the course of your Kung Fu journey. Our student creed states “I must know how to advance, in order to learn progressively and not carelessly”. This statement is reiterating the fact that each and every student must know how to progress at their own pace. To do this successfully planning plays a crucial role.

In recent months the grading process for the youth and junior programs has changed. You are now required to meet a grading deadline. This deadline was put into place to help students better prepare for the grading. As a whole, this new procedure has an effect on how juniors plan for a grading. So, what is the best method for a junior to prepare?

The most effective method to properly prepare for a grading all comes down to how you manage your time both inside, and outside of the kwoon. While training in class you must make your time worth it. Try your hardest, and always use others around you to challenge yourself. This concept of always pushing yourself in class makes grading day less stressful. You will be used to operating at your very best, and the grading will seem less of an unorthodox environment. It is also crucial in class if you do not understand a movement or sequence, be sure to ask! If you do not take that opportunity you will regret it on grading day. By planning to use your time wisely in class, you will for sure be ready to make that grading deadline. Those who ignore the deadline, and do not plan, will find themselves behind in their preparation.

In terms of managing time outside of the kwoon, it is vital to create a training routine. There are many ways to create a routine. You must find the method that best fits you as an individual. For me, preparing for gradings in the Junior program was always about balancing school and Kung Fu. A great way to do so is to add Kung Fu into your homework. An example of this for me, was I used to hold a horse stance instead of sitting in a chair while on the computer. Implementing Kung Fu into my homework routine for me was the most effective way to train outside of the Academy. Finding your routine may take some trial and error; but implementing a training routine is an essential part of planning for a grading.

For every student at the Academy, the time taken to plan and manage your training is a controlling factor of how you move through the ranks. This factor can be managed, and it is up to you to plan and manage your time according to your needs and expectations.

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Sifu Rebecca Knapp

Adult Student’s Corner

I’m noticing a trend: recently, fewer people are coming out to class regularly.

A week ago, in you can believe it, at a Friday lunch class only four people showed up! I don’t think I have ever, in 17 years at WKFA, had a free-time class Friday at noon. Over the last few weeks, my Monday class has definitely been half or less of what it usually is and at first I thought I must have done something terrible to offend a whole group of students or scare them off, but I’ve talked to others who have noticed a drop in attendance in other classes as well. I have to admit, that I am quite recently guilty of skipping class because it was “freezing” and I didn’t feel like getting out of bed! So this bit of encouragement is just as much for me as for you.

This time last year I decided to write about the challenges of getting to class when the season changes, the light changes, the temperature drops, calendars fill and festivities abound. Given the recent distinct drop in attendance, I thought it was a prime opportunity to revisit the more salient points of O Come All Ye Faithful of 2017.

So here’s the recap of reasons to Come to class, All Ye Faithful:

• You will feel better about yourself: physically, for having trained, spiritually for having given yourself the time, and mentally for being dedicated when you can think of a dozen reasons to skip it this time.
• You chose to study Kung Fu in the first place for a reason – remind yourself what that reason is.
• You get an entire hour to yourself, and you get to dump all of the day’s crap out of your head and get into the Kung Fu zone.
• You get the benefit of learning skills from a crew of lively, colourful, talented and intelligent folks, both instructors and students alike.
• You get the benefit of creating connections and developing a deep camaraderie with the same crazy crew.
• You probably wouldn’t work on all the hard stuff, the stuff you don’t like, and you wouldn’t work as hard on the things you do like if you didn’t have someone yelling at you from the front, or challenging your speed and focus while training beside you.

The reality is that Kung Fu gets into your blood like few other things do—it becomes part of who you are. It’s not just an activity, it’s a way of life. We train in Kung Fu because we love it—we love the challenge, the hard work, the pain, the gain, and the way our bodies and brains feel both while we are here, and when we walk out the door.

So, Come All Ye Faithful—despite the snow, the cold, the darkness, work, baking, holiday concerts, shopping and festivities—keep coming to class. You’ll be happy you did!

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Sifu Adam Volpe

Parent’s Column

Starting your child in a new activity can be intimidating for our children and also overwhelming for parents. I’ve put together a short list of things that may help you understand a bit of what you may see and a few Academy guidelines that you should be aware of.

In Kung Fu, as is most martial arts, respect, discipline and tradition are very important. There are various names you may hear an instructor called:

• Sifu (seefoo) – Black Sash Instructor. Every Black Sash at the WKFA is referred to as Sifu followed by their firstname (ie. Sifu Jim). In any given class, there is at least one Sifu. The Sifu who is wearing a “white” top (T-shirt or Kung Fu top) is the primary instructor for that class. Any other Sifus in that class are there assisting.
• Sihing (seehing) is an adult male brown sash; Sije (seejay) is an adult female brown sash. Both are senior members of the WKFA leadership team, on their journey to obtain their Black Sash.
• Sir (male)/Ma`am (female) – Are designations used to address any other member of the leadership team that is helping out with a class; they are Adult Green sash (or Junior Blue sash) or above.

Etiquette for watching your child’s class. You want to support your children and watch them succeed. It’s also important to do so in a way that does not distract the students in class. It is important to:

• Restrict cellphone use. Please ensure all phones are silent while in the academy and any phone calls are taken outside to help minimize the noise and distraction to the students.
• DO NOT stand at the top of the stairs by the railing. This is distracting to the class and also poses a safety hazard for people coming up/down the stairs. Parent’s waiting/viewing room is located upstairs and is the best place to view your child’s classes.
• Don’t “coach” your child while they’re in class. It is distracting to the entire class. If you wish to provide your child feedback on something you’ve observed during class, please wait until you see your child after the class is over.

The Kung Fu bow is something you will see a lot. There are a few variations of it; a formal “long bow” that is used at the beginning of every class, the “short bow” often used at various points throughout the class, and an even more condensed version that just uses the hand positions “open left hand over right fist”. It is proper etiquette to bow to an instructor when you first greet them and each time a student enters and exits the training floor to show respect for the space they are training in.

Uniforms: Once a uniform is acquired, it is expected to be worn to class clean and in good order (no rips, etc), with their belt/sash tied correctly. Also, t-shirts should be neatly tucked in.

Being on-time for class. Class schedules are tight, and one class typically ending when another is expected to begin. Students are expected to be dressed, ready and signed into the class before the scheduled start time.

These items and many more can be found in the WKFA Student Handbook. If you don’t have one, please speak with Sifu David to acquire your copy.

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by Sifu (Dr.) Rikin Patel MD

Many of you may have heard of the growing trend on the increased consumption of sports and energy drinks over the past 10 years. Due to serious health outcomes in the last few years, this topic has come into the spotlight after the Canadian Pediatric Society published a position statement on sport and energy drinks in October of 2017. https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/energy-and-sports-drinks

Sports drinks are flavoured beverages that typically contain a mixture of sugars and electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium and magnesium. They may also contain added vitamins, typically vitamin C or B vitamins. A standard bottle of 20oz Gatorade has 9 teaspoons of sugar or a whopping 36 grams of sugar. Even the newer “Organic” option for Gatorade has 29g of sugar. While these drinks are marketed to optimize health performance, the truth is that the sugar content in these drinks far out weight the benefits in most situations. In fact, most of the research done for Gatorade years ago was done on athletes experiencing heat exhaustion, training in extremely hot weather. For us that may be 3 months of the year at the most. The extra sodium from sports drinks has also been shown to lead to higher blood pressure over time.

Energy drinks have caffeine from either pure or synthetic caffeine or herbal ingredients, such as guarana or yerba mate plus a tremendous amount of sugar (glucose, fructose and/or sucrose) ranging from 1g to 43g, which is up to 10 teaspoons, similar to the amount found in carbonated pop. Marketed as the drink that boosts energy, decrease fatigue and enhances concentration what the cover won’t tell you is that caffeine can increase anxiety in susceptible individuals and may induce palpitations (from elevated heart rate) in children.

In children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD) the caffeine in energy drinks may potentiate the cardiovascular side effects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-stimulant medications. At even higher doses or overdosing, adverse effects can include altered level of consciousness, rigidity, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms and even death. In one 2011 Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program survey, upwards of 60% of Canadian adolescents report consuming energy drinks. In another survey 9% of the 741 respondents reported caffeine-related complications. On a final note, mixing energy drinks with alcohol is an absolute NO!

It’s important for parents and children alike to realize that this is a serious issue. As a plug, sugar in any type of juice, pop or drink promotes tooth decay, and is also a well-established contributor to the obesity epidemic in children. Sugar really impacts motility of your gut, and the general ethos of Chinese Medicine is that most health conditions can be tied back to poor gut health.

So where does this fit in with our Kung Fu training? With regards to sport drinks, the only situations where I can see these drinks being appropriate is intense work outs (sparing, bag work, forms) over 90 continuous minutes. Or, after the first 90 minutes of an adult grading. This would likely be intermediate/advanced students only getting ready for gradings. Or, maybe after the year end Christmas “Seasons Beatings” class 😊. Most individuals don’t work out hard enough to lose enough electrolytes to justify the amount of sugar and sodium consumption that sports drinks provide. This may vary somewhat on very hot days in the summer. The take home point is that simple water is still the drink of choice in most situations, inside and outside the kwoon.

In 1999, when me and Sifu were testing for black sash, I stopped drinking all carbonated drinks to be more conscientious about what I was putting into my body. It made a big difference in terms of trying to stay in optimal shape and fortunately it stuck; I never really brought it back into my diet. I’m not suggesting you have to stop all pop/juice etc.; just bring an awareness to how much sugar you are taking into your diet day to day. As martial artists we should be conscious of what we are eating and drinking. Not only does impact our potential as martial artists, it helps us become good examples for our friends, family and society with regards to our health. At WFKA every student, regardless of rank, is a leader in society in their own unique way.

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Christmas is whatever you conceive it to be. For some it is a deeply religious time of year; for some it is a time to spend with family and friends; to others it may simply be a few days when you don’t have to go to work or school.

I prefer to think of Christmas as a feeling; a feeling of love and peace, but most of all hope. It is a time to put personal, ethnic, and religious differences aside and come together as one spirit and share a common belief in the inherent good in mankind and a shared hope for peace on earth.

Sifu Lloyd

Peace on earth; good will toward men.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

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