Shaolin Kung Fu Centers

Chinese Martial Arts At Its Best!

Newsletter January 2018


Shaolin Kung Fu Centers

School Newsletter - January 2018

About The School
We are all excited and looking forward to our
Annual Chinese New Year Celebration
which will be held on Saturday February 17th.

All Kung Fu and Tai Chi students should plan to attend.

Please click on the link below for more information and for your free automatic registration to be processed. Registration must be completed by every Kung Fu & Tai Chi student attending in order to get an accurate head count for food and special event souvenirs.
Register Now
About Kung Fu
It is known that kung fu training, especially Shaolin training, is a great form of exercise, but why is that? What makes kung fu training such a great source of exercise?
The answer lies in the purpose of kung fu training. Yes, it is a form of self defense but it's main purpose is to make the body strong and develop true kung fu power that is needed to make the self defense techniques actually work.
There are two principles that all traditional kung fu styles follow:

Principle #1 - "If you practice forms without fundamentals, you will have nothing in your old age." Good training must start from the very beginning with the focus on the fundamentals of stances, stretching and kicking. Students must strive to perfect their stances, flexibility and kicking abilities. This takes constant practice to achieve. It is extremely important because as the body gets older the waist and legs become stiff creating pain to the lower back, hips and knees. The greater our flexibility and range of stances and kicking, the less pain there will be in your older years. Fundamental training also works on building a strong body. Exercises like snake turnovers, punch and push and chi building, enhances the bodies strength dramatically. Our line drills and reps and steps training builds tremendous endurance, cardiovascular and strength. Strong bodies feel better, get sick less, recuperate faster and don't get injured easily. These are the jewels that fundamental training in kung fu will give you that will be appreciated in your old age.
- to be continued...
About Tai Chi
It is said that "in order to calm the mind and steady the energy, one must first learn to take a breath."
Today, many people hear about the great benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong practice, but what is the difference between the two? Is one better than the other? Which is the best one for students to practice?
Well, to answer that we must understand what qigong practice really is. In modern times, qigong always seems to be cloaked in a veil of mystery. Whenever the topic of qigong comes up, people tend to associate it with "energy healing," and even supernatural abilities. The average person has no real way of grasping what qigong really is. When it comes to the Chinese martial arts and the practice of qigong, outsiders tend to either view it as a form of complex exercises, or some kind of mystical power. Qigong is neither complex or mystical. As a matter of fact it is as simple as breathing. The Chinese word "Qi" translates as air or breath and the word "gong" translates as strength. Therefore, together "qigong" means to breath in the air to strengthen the body. Qigong exercises are fundamentally simple to do and can be done anywhere. Tai Chi practice has qigong training in it and is considered to be more advanced than simple qigong exercises. Qigong exercises are very good for people who are weak from illness or too elderly to do Tai Chi, since Tai Chi practice requires much more movement and strength.