Category Archives: Shaolin

Self-Study: The New Form

by
Brea Shaolin Kung Fu - Forms Practice

Brea Shaolin Kung Fu – Forms Practice

As you train, new forms are taught to advance the number of techniques you know and develop your physical abilities.  These forms are an essential part of the art and each movement contains many techniques for fighting.  As mentioned in a prior post, it is not enough to know the form.  You must really know the form.   So much so that there must be no chance to get it wrong.  That is when you truly “own” it and are able to utilize the techniques inherent in it.  This may take hundreds – even thousands – of repetitions and many evolutions of the form for it to become ingrained in your body.

Besides attending class every day, a simple way to develop mastery of your form is to practice your newest form(s) at least once or twice every day.  As there is usually a good space of time between learning new forms, you will have the opportunity to practice this form (or perhaps the last few forms) at least dozens of times.  Maybe it’s when you wake up, before you leave for work/school, after dinner or sometime before bed.  Practice it slowly – on count – at first and then do it again at full speed.  Make a habit of it and your forms and your martial skill will improve faster and you will test for your next rank with much more confidence.  Don’t forget – this does not take the place of attending class regularly!  Take as many classes as you can to maximize your progress in the art!

Taking Up Exercise At Retirement Triples Rate Of Healthy Aging

by
Brea Shaolin Kung Fu - Senior Health

Brea Shaolin Kung Fu – Senior Health

Taking Up Exercise At Retirement Triples Rate Of Healthy Aging

NOVEMBER 26, 2013 • BLOOMBERG NEWS

 It’s never too late to start exercising to improve your health, even if you’re about to retire, according to a study.

People who took up exercise over a four-year period were more than three times as likely to be healthy agers as those who did nothing, according to the study of 3,454 people in England whose average age was 64. Active adults who continued to exercise during that time were seven times as likely to be healthy agers as those who were consistently inactive.

The study, published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, is one of the first to focus on how exercise affects health in the elderly. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for premature death — after smoking, excessive drinking and obesity — causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization.

“This study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age,” the researchers, led by Mark Hamer at University College London, said in the published paper.

Participants, taken from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, described the frequency and intensity of regular physical activity from 2002 and every subsequent two years until 2011. Any participants with existing chronic disease were excluded.

Healthy aging was measured through absence of major disease and disability, mental health, cognitive abilities and ability to maintain social connections.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and a consortium of U.K. government departments coordinated by the Office for National Statistics.

The Path

by

Boy:  Master?

Master:  Yes?

Boy:  What is Shaolin Kung Fu?

Master:  Shaolin Kung Fu is the unity of Zen and the Martial Arts

Boy:  How does one achieve this unity?

Master:  By dedicating yourself fully to the practice.

Boy:  Master?

Master:  Yes?

Boy:  Will you take me to the Shaolin Temple to watch the training?

Master:  Of course.

(The master takes the boy to the Shaolin Temple)

Boy:  Master?

Master:  Yes?

Boy:  I think I understand now.

Master:  Yes?

Boy:  Shaolin Kung Fu builds moral character, strengthens the body, and celebrates life.

Master:  Yes.  You need only practice with all of your heart and all of your mind.