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!