January 2010 – Volume 3, Issue 1 THE DRAGON’S LAIR NEWSLETTER OF THE IRON DRAGON KUNG FU AND KICKBOXING CLUB 91 STATION STREET, UNIT 8, AJAX, ONTARIO L1S 3H2 “IRON SPIRIT, IRON WILLPOWER, IRON BODY ” JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1 (905) 427-7370 / [email protected] / www.iron-dragon.ca COMMENTARY 2011 is here! If past New Year’s resolutions have come and gone, make this the year that you break all limitations be they mental, physical or spiritual! Set realistic goals and then stick to them “come hell or high water”! It is my personal experience that the most successful years have been those where I set realistic goals at the beginning of the year and then passionately followed through on them. Most successful corporations operate in precisely that manner. Their budgeting departments set realistic goals and expectations and then the operational departments do their best to follow through and achieve those goals. They are held accountable if they do not meet expectations! We are our own corporation’s! Set your budget and then make the operational decisions to achieve those goals in 2011! Hold yourself accountable if you do not meet expectations! Start with your Martial Arts and Physical training budget! If you can only get your leg as high as your waist, plan on getting it to shoulder height by the end of the year. If you are only able to perform 50 situps at the present time, shoot for 100 by the end of the year! In martial arts and physical training we call this “progressive resistance”. Apply this principle to all areas of your life and you will be astounded by the results!!!! I hope you will enjoy this 3 rd year of newsletters! I have been thrilled to share the experiences and knowledge that I have gained through 37 years of training in the martial arts. I have met some awesome and often hilarious characters and January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 2 personalities along the way and hope to share some of their stories in the upcoming year! Enjoy! Karl, Sifu TRAINING AT IRON DRAGON A REVIEW OF 2010 AT IRON DRAGON KUNG FU KICKBOXING CLUB JACKIE’S DEATH I was forced to put down my faithful, loyal and loving friend of 12 years, Jackie “Dragon” on March 22, 2010. That little dog had seen me through some of the most trying times of my life. I will remain indebted to her forever! “Lassie” movies were my favourite films as a kid. I was fascinated that there was a miniature version of the Collie! I first encountered a Shetland Sheepdog (aka Sheltie) during the making of the film “Twin Dragon Encounter” in 1984. We frequently went into the town of Parry Sound to pick up supplies and every time we were there I would see the same little dog. I was taken by the extreme loyalty this dog showed to its owner as it January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 3 followed her all over town. Occasionally it would wait obediently outside of a store for its owner with no sign of a tether to keep it in place. It was love at first sight and I was determined to someday have a dog like that! In the fall of 1998 I acquired a beautiful little Sheltie. I named her Jackie. Many of you will remember what a loyal and obedient dog she was! I will forever miss that Lil’ Dog! SHAWN NANAY FIGHTS 2010 marked the competitive debut of Iron Dragon’s own Shawn Nanay! Shawn had trained extensively for a fight in 2000 but was injured a week before the event and was forced to withdraw. In 2010 Shawn made a triumphant return with a KO victory at the Twin Dragon Fight Show on June 3, 2010. January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 4 Shawn went on to fight in Peterborough where he lost a close decision to his opponent on June 19, 2010. His last fight on the Twin Dragon Show on November 21, 2010 saw Shawn lose to a much bigger opponent by TKO. Shawn will make a triumphant return in 2011! SUMMER PARTY The 14 th annual Iron Dragon Kids Summer party was a smash success with Sifu winning the annual water gun fight as usual. Just look at all the soaked Lil’ Dragons and Young Dragons at the end of the fight! These young whipper snappers have a whole lot more to learn about the ancient art of Water Gun fighting! LOL! January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 5 NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED Iron Dragon successfully launched its new website on September 1, 2010. After over a month of nightly web designing duties and with much help from my very patient student Mike Hasson, I was finally able to put up a website that will truly reflect Iron Dragon and the kind of club that I would like to build! www.iron-dragon.ca HALLOWEEN PARTY Our 14 th annual Iron Dragon Halloween Party on October 16/10 was a great success. There were many very scary monsters to be seen this year. Vampires seem to be making a big comeback and even the ghost of Michael Jackson was seen at the party! ANNUAL PICTURE Our 14 th Annual Picture day on Nov.13/10 was the most successful one we have ever done. So many members attended that we had to break our group shots into 2 portraits. One for the Adults and one for the Kids! January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 6 ANNUAL LUNCH Our Annual Club Lunch at Rotilicious Caribbean Restaurant on November 13/10 was a huge success as well. Iron Dragon members of all ages had a chance to sit down and “break bread” err… Roti’s at this great establishment, one of our first “Business” friends in Ajax. I first started bringing our members there in 1997!!! CHRISTMAS PARTY As usual our Kids Xmas party on Dec.4/10 was a blast! What a perfect way to start into the Christmas season!! Thanks to everybody for making it a great success! January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 7 ANNUAL XMAS LUNCH Our 14th Annual Christmas Lunch on December 11/10 was a great success. So much of a success that I forgot to bring my camera!!!! LOL! No worries…I look forward to bringing our club there again for many more lunches!! TRADITIONAL HUNG GAR TRAINING GUNG GEE FOOK FU KUEN – THE TAMING THE TIGER SET Forms are a series of offensive and defensive moves that are memorized by practitioners of the various Kung Fu Styles. The intention of such training is to preserve and transmit the complete knowledge of a system to succeeding generations of students. Because Kung Fu was banned at various times throughout Chinese History, training was often conducted in secret. The fighting techniques and applications of complete Kung Fu styles and systems were thus preserved and taught through memorization of forms. Here we discuss the oldest form in Hung Gar Kung Fu - “Gung Gee Fook Fu Kuen” – The Taming the Tiger Fist Set. The founder of Hung Gar Kung Fu was Hung Hei Goon, a tea merchant who had taken refuge in the Southern Chinese Shaolin Temple after a dispute with some local Ching Government officials. Hung trained extensively with the temple Abbott Gee Sin, a master of the Tiger Style. “Gung Gee Fook Fu Kuen” is generally translated as the “Taming the Tiger Fist Set”. It is the oldest form in Hung Gar and is believed to have been choreographed by Hung Hei Goon, the founder of Hung Gar Kung Fu sometime after the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple around 1768 AD*. *The southern Shaolin temple was destroyed by Ching government troops around 1768 AD because of accusations (probably well founded) that it was being used as a rebel base to overthrow the Ching . January 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1 8 Some assume that this form is a beginner set since at one time it was the first form taught. This could not be further from the truth! In fact this form served as a sort of gatekeeper that was used to root out unworthy students! The form is extremely long. Students with poor attention spans, those that were physically weak and or lacking in patience were rooted out early in their Hung Gar training. Breath control, stance work and correct hand development are emphasized in this form. The form features a lot of Tiger movements since it represents a body of learning passed down to Hung Hei Goon from Abbot Gee Sin, a master of the Tiger System. Because this form is so old and has been revised and re-choreographed by several different lineages of Hung Gar it is probably the form that is most dissimilar from lineage to lineage. Most of the other Hung Gar forms date from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s and more closely resemble the alternate versions found between lineages. While the 3 other modern pillar forms of Hung Gar all share similar techniques, Gung Gee has a distinct flavour all its own! Here are a number of different versions of the form: Wing Lam version (an offshoot of the Chiu Kao Lineage yet somewhat dissimilar to the version practiced at Iron Dragon): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUICMfHaiVk This appears to be Chiu Kao Lineage very similar to the one practiced at Iron Dragon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9GzKjQkUk If I have peaked your interest, why not attend one of our Traditional Hung Gar classes and see the form demonstrated and taught! Kung Fu Kickboxing Techniques THE FRONT KICK – TWIN DRAGON KICKBOXING SPECIALTY The Front Kick is probably the least regarded kicking technique in a martial artist’s arsenal of attacks.