Training

“Beginners Welcome” – Really?

 Jan 21st 2016    Training

There are as many reasons for starting martial arts as there are people. If you are thinking of giving it a go then walking into that first class can be daunting. Courage my friend, take that first step and never look back – you have nothing to fear but fear itself. But isn’t the Instructor going to be scary /terrifying/ immortal?

Chief Instructor Dennis Ngo (6th Dan but still mortal) talks about why he takes on beginners in his classes. What’s in it for them? What’s in it for him?

“I have been teaching for more that 35 years.  Although I am approaching 65 I have no plans to stop teaching, and I certainly have no plans to stop training.  I am on a lifelong journey of learning and improvement – I may never achieve perfection but I’m going to die trying.  Given that some of my students have now been training for over 30 years themselves, why do I still say “Beginners Welcome”?  Do I really mean it? Read More

New Year’s Resolutions – how to keep at them

 Jan 06th 2016    Training

Phone text enquiring about kung fu class

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Seasonal Training. 

Ah, the double-edged sword of New Year’s Resolutions.  If you make a good one and stick to it, you’ll be jolly all year.  But make one and break it, and it casts you down into the pits of despair. Most people make resolutions to eat more healthily, do some exercise and lose some weight.  Guess what, training at our Club can help you do all three – a bargain New Year’s Resolution!  But you still have to keep at it. Fear not, we know just what it’s like trying to stay motivated, and we have the knowledge and support to get you past those bumps in the road.

For those of you who want to start something new this year, here is FWC Instructor for London South, Richard Wagstaff, to show you how.

“New Year’s Irresolution

You’ve finished ploughing through the turkey sandwiches, mince pies, and Christmas pudding and you’ve just got over the disappointment of another highly-anticipated yet distinctly average New Year’s Eve party.   You have the whole year stretching out ahead of you – exactly the same as last year.

“No, this year is going to be different” you say to yourself. Read More

Winter Training

 Dec 31st 2015    Training

Winter moon shining through bare branches

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Seasonal Training. 

It’s late winter.  We’ve had the Solstice.  We’ve had Christmas.  We’ve had the mid-winter holidays. We have in fact had whichever marker it is when your culture turns from darkness and the old, to lightness and the new – if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere.

What does this have to do with training?  Well, we are primates.  Do primates hibernate?  Some ursines do.  Some rodents do.  Some reptiles do it.  Even butterflies do it.  But we do not (though I acknowledge that some historical anthropologists argue over this one).

But the real question is, how do you feel?   Read More

Preparing Instructors for the Winter – Karim Daoud’s version of events

 Oct 06th 2015    News, Travel diaries, Training

This entry is part 3 of 2 in the series Red Sea Instructors 2015. 

And now it is FWC Cambridge and London North West Instructor, Karim Daoud’s turn to tell you what it was like for him….

“Five and a half hours!  An instructor is not meant to sit for five and a half hours. It should be made law that any flight that is over two hours should come with a good Kung Fu film! Read More

FWC China Trip 2014 – Day 4

 Dec 16th 2014    Travel diaries, Training

Bronze Dragon Statue at the Summer Palace in Beijing

Up at a reasonable hour for an outstanding breakfast. All nations catered for – was almost like home, bacon, sausage, beans, egg, and toast (just missing the black pudding). Plus congee and fried devils, sushi, noodles, fresh pastries, etc etc etc.

This entry is part 7 of 6 in the series FWC China Trip 2014. 

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FWC China Trip 2014 – Day 3

 Dec 14th 2014    Travel diaries, Training

Up before crack of dawn, packed breakfast (yuck) and on bus to airport. Xi’An coming, and we’ve never been before. Our organisation has given us plenty of time to check in which is just as well. You cannot take opened bottles of alcohol in checked luggage. We had some opened whisky of the expensive and hard to come by variety and had a choice between throwing it away or drinking it. Tough decision.

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series FWC China Trip 2014. 

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