Monthly Newsletter
My Promise to You! You will love every minute of your experience at the Academy. My friendly and professional staff will keep you motivated and work with you one-on-one so you never feel out of place or uncomfortable.
Table of Contents
Master's Notepad
During your Master Club classes, you'll be surprised with special classes such as a two-person set, Locking Self-defense, and Ground Fighting. You can add these to your self-defense arsenal. This month is the Nunchaku. This class teaches you the basic spins, strikes, and self-defense techniques.
Valentine's Day is coming, and we offer a special night for parents. Bring your child and friends in for a fun class, games, and movies.... while you go out for a nice relaxing dinner. Check the posted flyers at your school for times.
Chinese New Year started on January 29th and runs for 15 days. Happy Chinese New Year (gong hei fat choy ) in Cantonese (Congratulations and be Prosperous). It is the Year of the Dragon.
Hey! Don’t forget that any friends or relatives who start a new program will get $100.00 this month. So encourage all your friends to do something different this month. BRING THEM IN TODAY!
Don’t forget your Valentine this month. Do something special for them, your loved ones. We are offering a FREE (no obligation) Class and Starter Kit. Register here: https://www.rothrockskungfu.com/trial/
"When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new."
Keep Training,
Master Rothrock
Kid's Corner
Animal of the Month - The Crane (Hou)
White Crane Style is a Southern Chinese martial art that originated in Fujian province. According to oral tradition, Fang Qīniáng, a female martial artist, developed the style. It is associated with traditional fighting techniques, including long-range, but is most like close-quarter or hand-to-hand combat. It is most recognizable when the fighter imitates a bird's pecking or flapping of wings. While some white crane styles make use of traditional weapons, others have discontinued the use of weaponry. The Crane develops control, character, and spirit. Techniques develop the mind through concentration on one-legged stances.
Who was the most dangerous cookie?
The Ninja-Bread man.
What is a Ninja's favorite drink?
Punch
Year of the Snake
This is a year for reflection, planning, and searching for answers. It is also a good time for shrewd dealings and political affairs. People will be more likely to scheme and ponder matters before acting on them. The snake likes to resolve his differences one way or another. If he fails and things cannot be peacefully settled, then he will declare war.
Looking back through history, we find that the Year of the Snake has never been tranquil. This may be because it is the strongest negative force in the cycle and follows the Dragon year, which is the strongest positive one.
Tread lightly and be more cautious this year. Gambling and speculation are strictly taboo. The consequences will be overwhelming. The Snake is not merciful.
Philosopher, theologian, political wizard, and wily financier, the Snake is the most profound thinker and enigma of the Chinese cycle. He is endowed with an inborn wisdom and a mystic in his own right. Graceful and soft-spoken, he loves good books, food, music, and the theater and will gravitate toward all the finer things in life. The most beautiful women and powerful men tend to be born under this sign.
By nature, the Snake is skeptical, but unlike the Tiger, he keeps his suspicions to himself. He treasures his privacy and will have many dark secrets locked up within him.
Elegant in speech, dress, and manners, the Snake person does not like indulging in useless small talk or frivolities. He can be pretty generous with money but is known to be ruthless when he wants to attain an important objective. He has no qualms about eliminating anyone who stands in his way.
Joint Flexibility
Joint flexibility keeps your joints healthy and loose. Inflexible joints can lead to arthritis, nerve damage, stiffness, and joint damage. Healthy joints require rotation, flexibility, and strength.
The full-range circular moves +of Kung Fu and Tai Chi rotate the joints as you build strength and improve your flexibility. That keeps your joints healthy and increases blood flow.
Since everything on your body is circular, circular movements are the best way to keep your body healthy. Plus, this is the way your body moves naturally. Therefore, straight and linear actions are less beneficial for your body.
As I mentioned, the Yin/Yang has two components: light and dark, strong and flexible. Therefore, a healthy body requires that you keep these two opposites in harmony.
The Lion Dance
Lion dancing originated during the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD). Legend has it that the emperor had a dream of a strange-looking animal saving his life one night. The following day, the emperor described the dream to his ministers. One minister told the emperor that the strange animal resembled a creature from the West, a lion.
Since the strange animal saved the emperor in his dream, the lion quickly became a symbol of good luck throughout China. It was believed that a dancing lion chased away evil spirits. Lion dancing is still the most important opening ceremony for Chinese events and businesses today. It's also a necessary business ritual during the Chinese New Year, for lion dancing evokes good luck in the upcoming year. Lions are not native to China, which explains why the "lion" in the dance acquired Chinese Dragon and Phoenix characteristics.
Lion dancers are always kung-fu practitioners. First, lion dancing requires the dancers to develop strong stances since the lion's head is heavy and the tail position of the rear dancer is awkward. Lion dances can be lengthy, requiring the dancers to possess excellent physical conditioning and stamina.
1) The first part of the routine is the ‘Lion Wakes Up.’ This part shows the lion sleeping, then slowly waking up with heavy yawns and eyes fluttering. At different points in the routine, the lion stretches his leg out and falls back asleep on his paw.
2) ‘Lion Chases Its Tail’ After the lion wakes up, he looks around and spots his tail. The lion then chases his tail several times.
3) ‘Pi San (Bowing)’ - In the third part of the routine, the lion shows his admiration and respect by rushing toward the audience and then circling and bowing with his head as a sign of good luck greeting. This is always repeated three times and always to the left side first, to the right side, and then to the center.
4) ‘High Walk’ - the high walk shows the lion stretching out, taking a leisurely walk.
5) ‘Low Walk’—This walking is a complicated stepping routine that shows the lion stalking its prey and ready to eat. The prey, in this case, is lettuce. However, it can be almost anything that the lion dance team decides to do.
6) Choi Chiang ("get the green") is the ceremony where the lion begins to eat the lettuce. After chewing the lettuce, the Lion spits leaves out of his mouth. If the lettuce lands on you, you’ll have extremely good luck and fortune in the coming year.
7) At the end, the lion takes another walk to work off his large meal and goes back to sleep until his next adventure.
Welcome New Members
Wanda DiPaolo
Jeff Dipaolo
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