| Welcome Back! |
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I dont know about you, but I am ready to get back in the game! The break went well, but too much rest make Sifu Bill a lazy guy. I am pretty fired up so I hope you are all ready to do some Kung Fu.
I wanted to thank everyone who joined me last Saturday for Sifu Ricks Seminar. I also wanted to congratulate Bridget and Patrick Fields who successfully tested into Yellow Belt that day. You guys did a great job.
I wanted to tell you all about a 3rd Degree Brown Belt in our system, Amanda Sprague. Many of you have seen me creaking and sore in class and "complain" that it is "amandas fault" (although secretly I love it). She has had a profound impact in my lifes journey, as well as many others in our school. Many of you also know the story of the "incredible shrinking steve". Steve Papadopoulos is a 2nd Degree Brown Belt and Assistant Instructor at our school. What many of you dont know is that Steve has lost over 95lbs between Shaolin-do and Amandas fitness and lifestyle training and coaching. For more information about Amanda, please visit her website at www.armbandgirl.com. |
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| Grandmaster Sin visits Austin |
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It looks like Grandmaster Sin will be visiting the Austin school to teach out the 1st Road to Golden Mountain Leopard. This is an incredible form filled with fast attacks. I will be making the trip to Austin for this form. If anyone is interested in attending, feel free to contact me. The seminar will be held Friday August 24th from 7-9:30pm. The cost will be around $100. Why not take a quick trip to Austin.
If you cant make the trip, no worries. We will getting a visit from Senior Master Gary Grooms very soon. Some time in August, he will be visiting to do a seminar on Hou Tien Shi. This is a great meditation seminar. More details to follow.
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| Are You a Hero? I wanted to share this article that my teacher shared.
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My hero is the person who balances job, home life, recreation and still comes to a couple Shaolin-Do classes a week. From the very beginning of my teaching life, I told my students I wanted them to feel successful if they could attend at least twice a week. You might feel that I am going too easy on people, but I have found that you cannot shame folks into commitment.
It would be different if they needed Shaolin training for their very survival. However, I don't think this is the case for most of you. My old saying is that if Shaolin-Do isn't making your life better, then you need to do something different. This of course assumes that you are attending enough to actually feel competent in your classes.
The attitude of "you need to be here every night" is unrealistic and would only serve to prove that your teacher lives in a "la la land" where everyone wants to commit their life to becoming a Shaolin Warrior. In this la la land, people don't need jobs or families;
just Shaolin-Do.
New students or for those that have been absent for a while.
Commit at a sustainable level. If you start out coming every day and drop out in a couple months, what major transformation have you accomplished with your life? I have taught many people over the years and have seen every type of student you can imagine. The quiet level-headed ones are the ones that stay for the long haul. They fool you every time. They say very little, but they never miss a class. If I were you , I would choose to be like these students. |
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The bottomline..
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There is no right amount of class to attend. If you can come twice a week then come to two material classes. If you can add another then come to a conditioning class. If you still want more Kung Fu then add a second program, (Kung Fu or Tai Chi).
The going advice from the martial art professional consulting world is to limit your student's attendance because they'll get burned out too quick. I find that the opposite is true. Shaolin-Do has so much material that they don't get burned out, they get even more excited. So get all you can take and when your schedule opens up, come even more. Make advances when your life permits and when things get tough, don't let a week go by without coming to at least one class. |
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