Newsletter 2023-3

Chans Martial Arts News

CMA 23-03 13 June 2023 

Tournament Weekend Seminars

We started with the topic of how to train Tai Chi Chuan efficiently. It was similar to what was mentioned in our last newsletter except it was classified into the basic, intermediate and advanced levels of training. We discussed the internal benefits of the 6 & 5 exercises. We picked on several moves to look into detail in the 42 and 37 forms. We managed to practice a couple of Fixed Pushing Hands exercises. 

The Tai Chi Chuan Instructors continued with a few more Fixed Pushing Hands exercises before working on important fundamental skills of Tai Chi Sword technique. We ran out of time after addressing questions on various aspects of training and did not go over the Tai Chi Broadsword or Free Pushing Hands. However, it was more important to make sure that the material covered was understood properly. 

The Shao Chi Chuan seminar began with a discussion of training on how to focus and calm the mind. In the basic drills, we practised eye control, breathing, accuracy and total balance. We also spent a lot of time on the new side kick drill for relaxation, alignment, rhythm, speed and efficiency. We discussed the purpose of training for breaking, the techniques, angles, mental aspects and conditioning.

The Black Belts worked on trapping hands theory, solo exercises and partner double tap drills. We will have more follow-up drills on these at camp. We also discussed the fundamental pressure points theory regarding unnecessary fear with pressure point training, and how to train without hurting training partners. We covered useful arm points as well as a few head points. We shall follow up on this with more hands-on training at the annual camp.

Annual Tournament

Even though Master Lord was overseas and unavailable to help this time, Mr Thompson stepped in as his replacement and ran things with Mr Clarkson without a hitch. Master Kinney and Mr Morrison were also on the jury panel to help with decisions. Mr Wai Hoe Chan directed the tournament very well and made frequent rotations of referees and judges to share the workload more efficiently. The officials and assistants were excellent and ran the schedule like clockwork. 

We had the same number of entries as last year despite a spike of Covid-19, gastro and flu infections in the country. It was great to have competitors and instructors participating from Canterbury, Auckland, Tasman, Wellington, Blenheim and Invercargill. It was a full house at HQ with family and friends of the competitors enjoying the event.

We are very proud of the competitors who conducted themselves with great spirit and discipline. It was great to see our young ones overcome their apprehension and compete bravely. We should see them progress through the years and ranks, just like the young champions that preceded them. The youth, adult competitors and Black Belts competed very well too. The competition will be even better when we have a few more entries next year. 

We should use events like these to test our performance under pressure, conduct ourselves with discipline, and dignity and particularly keep our ego in check. If we have learnt from it, we should do things even better the next year. 

Tournament Results

Pattern Competition:

Children's White/Yellow sash:

Champion: Briar Jarman - HQ

2nd: Zlata Tartarchuk - Lincoln

3rd: Ruby Seinafo - HQ

Children Intermediate:

Champion: Chase Clarke - Blenheim

2nd: Anamika Speck - Blenheim

3rd: Sabrina Li - HQ

Adults:

Champion: Torrin Squires - HQ

2nd: Anton Spencer - Invercargill

3rd: Damaris Warnick - Blenheim

Advanced:

Champion: Mr Antony Pyers - North Canterbury

2nd: Scott Goodsir - North Canterbury

Fighting:

Children <8yrs <35kg:

Champion: Violet Marr - Parklands

2nd: Ruby Seinafo - HQ

3rd: Archie McPherson - Lincoln

Plate: Khalid Alghobari - HQ

Children <10yrs <38kg:

Champion: Sam Tarjomi - Lincoln

2nd: Louis Connell - Lincoln

3rd: Jake Harris - HQ

Plate: Oliver Mitchell - HQ

Girls <11yrs <49kg:

Champion: Kaitiana Speck - Blenheim

2nd: Tiffany Norriss - Lincoln

3rd: Briar Jarman - HQ

Boys <14yrs <58kg:

Champion: Ollie Glover - Lincoln

2nd: Oliver Seifert - Lincoln

3rd: Nathan Roy - Lincoln

Girls <14yrs <62kg:

Champion: Anamika Speck - Blenheim

2nd: Olive Harris - HQ

3rd: Sabrina Li - HQ

Boys <13yrs <74kg:

Champion: Hafez Safa - Lincoln

2nd equal: Daniel Fick - HQ

2nd equal: Ayden Todd - HQ

Youth <16yrs <80kg:

Champion: Janno Pieterse - North Canterbury

2nd: Brylie Ross - Papanui

Youth <17yrs <54kg:

Champion: Ethan Franks - Parklands

2nd: Ishaan Boon - Invercargill

Men Intermediate Heavy Weight:

Champion: Jaco Pieterse - North Canterbury

2nd: Anton Spencer - Invercargill

Women <57kg:

Champion: Sophie-Lee Broome - Hornby 

2nd: Damaris Warnick - Blenheim

3rd: Caitlyn Norriss - Lincoln

Women <75kg:

Champion: Hannah Wylde - HQ

2nd: Sam Sivertsen - West Melton

3rd: Heather Darby - University of Canterbury

Men <70kg:

Champion: Torrin Squires - HQ

2nd: Matt Newby - North Canterbury

3rd: Ollie Thompson - Parklands

Men <80kg:

Champion: Tiger McRae - West Melton

2nd: Leon Chambers - North Canterbury

3rd: Benjamin Graham - HQ

Men <85kg:

Champion: Jackson Allred - HQ

2nd: Richard Beddie - HQ

3rd: David Kingsley - Lincoln

Women Open:

Champion: Stephanie Hill - North Shore, Auckland

Women Black Belt: 

Champion: Zahra Shatamasebi - North Shore, Auckland

Men Black Belt Open: 

Champion: Anthony Pyers - North Canterbury

2nd; Lance Curtis - Lincoln

3rd: James Day - West Melton

Training Shao Chi Chuan 

Success in Kung Fu requires the right information and the right training. The instructors must have the knowledge and skill to pass that on to the students. The students must have the right attitude to learn and practice regularly.

Even with the right information, the students must be able to accept and assimilate it. The students must understand the techniques and practice them till they become conditioned reflexes. They will need to train carefully and patiently to achieve this.

If there are any technical questions, the students should ask them politely during tutorials. The instructors have to work hard for a long time to gain that knowledge and skill. Therefore, instructors will appreciate it when students respect their teachings. 

Students should not assume that once they have learnt a technique correctly that it is the end of it. There are always higher levels of refinement and improvement. They should always be open-minded and humble.

Fear of failure as it restricts one from experimenting with new techniques. One should concentrate on the methods rather than the results. Remember that even when the student understands the theory, the body still needs time to adapt. If the method is correct, the results will always come in the end.

Try to be polite, patient, and focused and train regularly. Have faith in the instructors and let them guide you safely through the grades.

Sydney Camp

https://forms.gle/AdrJue2if7tZBgKT7

Check out the details for the Sydney seminars. 24th - 25th of June. It is always a very enjoyable event.

Annual Kung Fu Camp

Check the enrolment form for more enrolment details:

https://forms.gle/FJKPJN3xbsxRPdkTA

It should be a great camp on August 25th, 26th & 27th, the previous camp in Nelson was a great success and no doubt this one will be too!!

The confirmed camp list is already starting to grow: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PfNwZkZNcgHI28vSOz9_OIjRC0s-TRQV3VEnGfjTjyY/edit#gid=0

May Qi be with you,

Grandmaster Chan

Chans Martial Arts

Newsletter 2023-2

Chans Martial Arts News

CMA 23-02 22 May 2023 

Tai Chi Camp & Auckland Seminar

We had a huge attendance at our Christchurch Tai Chi Camp. Tai Shi (Professor Yek) explained three fundamental points: 1) the importance of defining Yin & Yang for stability and relaxed movements. 2) the harmonisation of breathing to have balance, round, continuous and natural movement. 3) using ‘Yi’ to motivate ‘Qi’ and the body. He also discussed the three sounds used in discharging ‘Jin’ energy.

Although this topic had been discussed many times before, Tai Shi talked about ‘movement & stillness’ at a deeper level at the Auckland seminar. He explained how breathing should be practised for skill advancement and enhancing good health. He made it very clear that we should not exert ourselves excessively once we are passed our youth if we want longevity.

I found the information most timely, as it is just what I needed to take me to the next level of Tai Chi Chuan.

Women Self Defence Course

We had over a hundred participants at this event, not counting the Black Belts who came along to assist. Special thanks to Mr Dave Joker for the advice as an experienced ex-Police officer, and Dr Mairin Taylor for her Clinical Psychology input regarding bullying and harassment. 

We are considering organising a follow-up session soon, just for practising the various self-defence techniques.

Annual Seminars & Tournament

At the upcoming annual seminars on the 3rd of June, we will practice some of the Fixed Pushing Hands exercises and the 42 & 37 Forms at the Tai Chi Chuan seminar.

The Tai Chi Chuan Instructors will work on Sword Form, Broad Sword Basics and Free Pushing Hands.

For Shao Chi Chuan, we will follow up with the side kick and rhythm. The techniques for breaking at gradings and preparation will be covered in this seminar.

For the Black Belts, we will work on trapping hands and pressure points. We will address the unnecessary fear with pressure point training, and how to train without hurting your partners.

Please enrol for the seminars:

Saturday 3rd June
9:00am to 11:00am - Tai Chi Seminar
11:00am to 12:30pm - Tai Chi Instructor Seminar
2:30pm to 4:30pm - Kung Fu Seminar
4:30pm to 6:00pm - Kung Fu BB Seminar

Attendance for 1 seminar - $35

Attendance for 2 seminars - $60

Attendance for 3 seminars - $85

Attendance for 4 seminars - $100

All Seminars will be available to be attended online via ZOOM.

If you are attending seminars and do not intend on participating in the tournament then please send a message to HQ to sign up. Notify us of ZOOM attendance if you intend on joining that way.

Payments can be made to HQ directly: 03 0866 0381094 00 Chans Martial Arts Limited. Use your name and branch as a reference.

Tournament 4th June. We had a very successful tournament last year and this year should be even bigger and better. Your instructor will prepare and invite students that are suitable to participate in the Patterns or Fighting competition.

Tournament entries will be by invitation through your branch instructors. 

Sunday 4th June

9:00am Weigh-In

Patterns Competition - $30

Fighting Competition - $30

Both - $50

Register

Sign up for the tournament through your Chief Instructor by the 26th of May!

Tournament Fighting Rules

https://youtu.be/wTKGDyxf0qo

Joints Health

As martial artists, we need to keep our joints healthy to be able to sustain our training. Unfortunately, martial arts is an activity that often wears out the joints prematurely. We have evidence that kicking hard and forced stretching can damage the joints. 

It is important to change to performing striking and kicking techniques with the best biomechanics, without jarring and hyperextension (use the looping recovery). Avoid swinging the leg ahead of the body (body and leg should rotate together), and avoid using the weight of the leg like a club (make the leg light). Refrain from unnatural twisting actions, particularly with the knee joints. 

Stretching must be practised without force. Following ‘the traffic light method’ can avoid excessive stress on the joints. Listen to the body, check the activity and rest when it is sore. Do not carry excess weight as they load the knee joints three or fourfold.

The synovial joints of the body are lubricated by fluids. Therefore, it helps to be well-hydrated at training. Turmeric is useful in supporting healthy inflammation after exercise and reducing pain. Glucosamine helps the production of proteoglycans which bonds with collagen fibres to form cartilage. Collagen supplementation is therefore very beneficial. Vitamin C also is important to the biosynthesis of collagen in the body.

Training Tai Chi Chuan 

We must review our training direction periodically to make sure that we are on the right path. 

The first thing we must work on is keeping calm and focused. We then check our posture and feel for our centre in all our exercises, forms and drills. We breathe slow, long, fine, relaxed and natural. 

We then separate, ‘substantial & insubstantial’ and various Yin & Yang. The next is the continuous changing of Yin to Yang and Yang to Yin, in the various exercises and features of the forms. We follow with the cultivation of the flow from our centre to the feet and the fingertips.

We have to use the exercise and any moves we know to further refine the feel for our centre, breathing, relaxation and Yin/Yang. With a strong grasp of the fundamentals, learning more moves, drills and pushing hands will be comparatively easy. 

Try to understand new moves, rather than trying to memorise them. It is not very useful trying to remember and practice moves when we cannot understand them. When we can understand it, we only need to follow someone who knows the moves repeatedly to memorise them. We can also make more useful notes when we understand than just making descriptions of movements.

The most important thing is to enjoy your training. You also need to train constantly to develop the feel necessary for making the gradual adjustments to improve. When you train regularly, flexibility, health and skill targets can be achieved progressively. 

At the higher levels, we can generate Qi with Yi and send it throughout our body for better health or martial applications.

Sydney Camp

https://forms.gle/AdrJue2if7tZBgKT7

Check out the details for the Sydney seminars. 24th - 25th of June.

Annual Kung Fu Camp

Check the enrolment form for more enrolment details:

https://forms.gle/FJKPJN3xbsxRPdkTA

It should be a great camp on August 25th, 26th & 27th, the previous camp in Nelson was a great success and no doubt this one will be too!!

The confirmed camp list is already starting to grow: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PfNwZkZNcgHI28vSOz9_OIjRC0s-TRQV3VEnGfjTjyY/edit#gid=0

May Qi be with you,

Grandmaster Chan

Chans Martial Arts