Why don’t you tell us a little about your martial arts background?
I started training sixteen or seventeen years ago, at this school. That's where I met instructor Linda Darrigo. I fell out of it for a while then heard that she had opened a school where she lived right next to me. So I started going to her place and studied with her for a number of year mostly doing Long Fist. After that I went to Ching Lum Temple and trained there for five or six years. I learned more Long Fist and Chen style Tai Chi. Then my group moved to Aptos and I continued there fore four or five years. There I learned some styles like Baji and Pigua and some Seven Star Praying Mantis. Then the opportunity came up to work with Boris Shi (Shi Bo Rong) . He was looking for a group to start teaching his art of Six Harmony Praying Mantis. I’ve been with him for almost seven years now.
So most of your involvement has been with Kung Fu.
Yes, since I was seventeen years old. When I moved to Oregon for a year and a half I trained with Team Quest which is a professional UFC club. It’s basically a fight club that is open to any style where anyone can spar if they have some reasonable control. And they’re into submission sparring and grappling. I did that with them.
And you have some children’s programs you have started?
Yes, two. I’m teaching our full service after school program. We pick the children up from school, bring them here, give them a snack, give them time to do their homework and then train them in martial arts. So they are doing Seven Star Praying Mantis and we are starting them with Shaolin form called Tiger and Swallow and it’s designed to develop agility and leg strength.
When you teach children what are trying to impart?
At this stage I’m really concerned with their ability to learn. I want to impart to them the learning process of Kung Fu. How to take something difficult and physical and incrementally master how to do it. I want them to learn the confidence gained from that, the discipline gained from that and the personal integrity that you find from figuring out how to move your body. That you can’t fake.
It’s a great way for kids to learn that sort of thing, through their bodies.
Yes, they are already physical and not realizing that they are putting themselves through something that’s very difficult.
What do you think are the benefits of martial training?
I think that it can change their lives, it did mine. Growing up I didn’t come from the best background . I got into a lot of trouble. Then I learned the discipline and self control to make me a successful adult. I also feel that, with child obesity coming to epidemic proportions, kids need to stop playing the videos games and get out there and do some martial arts.
Stop playing Kung Fu and do some Kung Fu?
Right. One of the things we do as well is to push the child physically, make them work hard and then calm them; have them calm down and catch their breath and just be quiet. We’re really trying to calm their minds so they can focus on tasks. They will find that focus that they may still lack or have not trained yet.
How often is this program?
There are five, three and two day options. Depending on other activities that they do. We can work around soccer schedules or music lessons or whatever in order to provide at least two days minimum. We feel that for a child to really progress in martial arts they have to work out at least two days a week. Our hours are two until six. Generally the schools get out around two o’clock. We have Jenny Roth who’s our assistant. She has ten years experience in child care and she’s also worked with developmentally disabled children. She’s a wonderful, patient person. She’s here and sets up the snack and receives the kids as I drop them off. She gets them ready for the day’s activities.
We’re also going to be two, one month long summer programs. Those will be all-day events. And they will be off-site a couple days a week where we go somewhere fun like the aquarium or the boardwalk. Also martial arts will be taught every day.
That sounds like a great program for the summer. What if a child or parent doesn’t want to take that option?
There are regular martial arts lessons. We do it five days a week 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. If you don’t want to do the after school or the summer program there’s the old fashioned straight martial arts classes.
And that can be two days a week or …?
Yes, you can sign up for even one day a week but it’s not recommended. If you want your child to not be frustrated and to progress then we suggest at least two days a week. Three days would be better.
For the parent looking around for good martial arts training what advice do you have?
I would look for a program that is clear about what they are trying to teach. I see a lot of martial arts programs that aren’t necessarily open with explaining their values. Our values are integrity, discipline and confidence. That’s what we want from our children even more than martial arts. Martial arts is a vehicle for them to gain those things. If they want to learn martial arts and stick with it then they have the opportunity here to do that. But I would rather have a hundred integrity-filled, confident young people coming out of here than one perfect martial artist.
So, for instance, the emphasis is not on competition.
No. We do have a belt system but that more in order to give the children goals and to teach them to work toward a cohesive goal. And as you get into the higher belt there are things like community service components that are required for them to gain their belt because that falls in line with our core value of integrity. And going out there and helping people is how a true martial artist should act.