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by Sifu Charlie Romeo
Fu For You Summer 2026

I’ve recently been re-watching the Netflix show Cobra Kai, which is a continuation of the 1984-1989 Karate Kid movies. If you haven’t seen these films, they’re classic examples of an underdog rising to the top through hard work and determination. In watching martial arts shows and movies, you’ll see impressive technical skills that make you think “I want to do that!” What you might not notice are the unrealistic details added to make fight scenes more intense. Yes, they’re “just movies” but we’re going to dissect them anyway.

Have you ever noticed that the heroes in martial arts movies never seem to get tired or even break a sweat? The protagonist will fight ten enemies for ten whole minutes, only getting stronger as the fight progresses. Ten minutes may not seem long but consider how you feel after a one-minute 1v1 sparring round. If you’re in a fast-paced round while moving, punching, and kicking consistently, one minute is enough to gas you out. Now imagine that round with ten times the people and ten times the length. The odds of winning that fight are slim, to say the least. I don’t have any advice for defending against ten people at once, but to quote Cobra Kai, the defense is “don’t be there.”

Almost every fight scene in a martial arts movie will have at least one outrageously fancy technique meant to make the viewer go “whoa!”. In reality, throwing a 720° jump-turn roundhouse kick in a fight is not only a huge waste of energy, but also a great way to telegraph your kick—allowing your opponent to evade and counter. Advanced techniques can work well in sparring when controlled and used strategically, but having a good foundation of the basics is the real key to holding your ground. With a strong guard and a balanced stance, you don’t always need to be flashy to perform well. Remember: fancy moves fail when you’re tired.

Perhaps the least realistic aspect of martial arts movies is one that nearly all of them are guilty of, and that’s the image of a newly trained martial artist defeating the big, bad, lifelong fighter. Let’s face facts: a person who has only been training for six weeks has very little chance of defeating someone who has trained for decades. Developing your martial arts skills takes much longer than these movies will imply, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t perfect something right away. Instead, put in the time and effort necessary to build a solid foundation before building on top of it.

The point of this article is not just to highlight flaws in martial arts media; rather, it’s to set realistic expectations for your real-life training. These movies and TV shows are meant to be exaggerated—that’s the fun of it! Still, if you’re watching with the intent of learning more about being a martial artist, be sure to consider what is realistic and what might be played up for the screen.

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We consider our in-house tournament an important part of our curriculum.

Regardless of belt level, we steadfastly train our Kung-Fu so that we can be our personal best. The tournament allows us as a Kung-Fu family to celebrate the effort we put in together by individually presenting our forms to the school and to the family and friends who join us.

While we do mark each student and award medals accordingly for those that place the highest, the real reward is knowing that you can perform your Kung-Fu individually and be recognized for the hard work you have put in.

Our sparring, horse and crane stance, and agile staff competitions offer another way that we can encourage each other to do well under pressure—a valuable lesson at any age!

We look forward to sharing this experience with you!

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by Sifu Charlie Romeo
Fu For You Spring 2026

As you advance in your Kung Fu journey, the time will come to adopt a leadership role within the academy. A great way to do this is through our decades-long tradition of students helping students, called the Leadership Team (LT). This team is composed of knowledgeable, motivated students who commit their personal time to assist with weekly classes. Becoming an LT member is a crucial step towards earning your Black Sash. It’s a requirement for our Adult Brown Sashes, but is open to students starting at Junior Blue Sash. Joining the team comes with great benefits as well as responsibilities.

The Leadership Team provides a great opportunity to gain teaching experience through regularly assisting with classes. This role involves quietly correcting or assisting students individually, leading small groups through specific activities, and eventually, leading a full class through a well-planned warm-up. We don’t expect anyone to lead a full warm-up right off the bat; remember: gaining experience is a process, not an ON / OFF switch, and the skill of teaching must be learned over time. By regularly helping with classes, receiving feedback from Black Sashes, and attending the monthly Leadership Team meeting, you’ll gradually build the confidence and skills needed for Black Sash.

As an LT member, it’s important to know your roles and responsibilities when assisting with a class:

• Follow the instructions of the Black Sash teaching the class. They may give you direct instructions, or you might need to stay alert and watch for details while the instructor is teaching.
• Show up every week, 15 minutes early. If you know you’ll be absent, find coverage immediately. Treat this commitment like a job.
• Be helpful and non-interruptive. Don’t draw the entire class’s attention to you when assisting an individual student.
• Show your experience. Use your knowledge to best help the students. If you’re asked a question and you don’t know the answer, find out and get back to them.

You also have responsibilities beyond your designated class:

• Manage the weight room. Keep volume levels low before class, and ensure nobody is using equipment who is not supposed to.
• Make sure belts and sashes are tied correctly. You should know how to teach sash tying and know how to tie a belt on somebody else.
• Keep the foyer clear. Remind students to neatly put their shoes and coats where they belong (never on the floor!)
• In the winter, shovel the entryway. The walkway in front of our main entrance must be clear, and if it needs to be shoveled, use the shovel in the foyer to clear it.

Black Sashes and Leadership Team members each have designated responsibilities. It’s important that we all do our part to keep the Academy in good and safe order for students and families. Most importantly, we must lead by example. Always be attentive and never be careless. Younger students look up to LT members, so be the role model that they need to succeed.

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