Sunday Practice Marathon

It's Sunday and time for a marathon rehearsal. Longgui and Luxi really showed what team work is all about by giving each other the encouragement they needed to make it through the day long practice. By the evening with the hard work behind them they were laughing and joking around as if the agony of the morning was a distant memory.

By 6pm everyone was gathered around Shifu making the final adjustments to the music and checking on the timing, with a little help from Longgui's younger brother.

It's definitely a growing up process and the children are really showing that they have the determination to succeed. They really need everyone to get behind them to lift their spirits next week in the final countdown to the big day on Saturday.

Director Li Bohua Visits Chan Wu Yi

Renowned film director Li Bohua visited Chan Wu Yi today to see Luxi and Longgui and offer his encouragement. The children put on a great show for him and the practice went along a breakneck speed.

Mr Li pronounced that things seem to be coming along nicely and offered his admiration for the childrens' efforts. He also told us that he is making a film in London next year so who knows, he might have found his leading couple...

Timing is Everything

It's Friday and Shifu worked on timing with the kids tonight and making sure everything fits into the time they'll have on stage. It's a really tough process when it comes to choosing which parts of the routine to keep and which have to be left out. The children are really tired now after last week's of practice but they gritted their teeth and pushed on through the session.

Longgui's school teachers are piling on the homework and he's working on it in the car on the way home. At least the long journey can be put to some use!

Britain's Got Talent Practice: Paying the Price

Another gruelling 4 hour practice for Luxi and Longgui last night but the results are beginning to show - as well as the bruises. Both put in a huge effort yesterday to perfect some of the most difficult moves they will be doing, with Shifu Shi Henglong working on the choreography and ensuring the kids keep motivated to train hard.

The pressure is on though and the kids are doing their best to focus and ignore the pain. With everyone behind them over the next 10 days they will have the boost they need as the big day approaches.

Chan Wu Yi to compete in Britian's Got Talent

Shifu Shi Henglong today announced that Chan Wu Yi will take part in the next Britain's Got Talent competition. Competing on behalf of the school will be Luxi and Longgui, with the first audition taking place on November 21st.

Rehearsals started last week and students will see them practicing hard every day in the run up to the big day.

The children are training very hard - at least 4 hours a day after school. They are representing the whole school so everyone's support is really important to helping them get through the next couple of weeks and all the way to the finals.

Luxi and Longui 加油 !

Yoga

Chan Wu Yi Physical Culture Centre is very pleased to be able to add Yoga to the timetable. We have a fantastic teacher who has a huge experience of teaching at all levels and classes will be on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Shifu Shi Henglong recommends yoga as an excellent way of improving health and flexibility. For gong fu students it is really beneficial to developing the extreme flexibility they need for Shaolin Gong Fu and Modern Wushu.

The classes are small so the student to instructor ratio is very good and allows for plenty of personal attention during the class. All levels from beginner to advanced are welcome.

The pictures show our fabulous instructor in action!

Shaolin Drunken Fist Seminar

Shifu Shi Henglong will be holding a seminar to teach the world famous Shaolin Drunken Fist Form on Saturday 14th November 2009.

Students will obtain a unique introduction to this iconic Shaolin form from an acknowledged master of the style.

Drunken Fist is one of the most representative forms of the Shaolin Temple. It can be used for both combat and maintaining health.

When practicing drunken boxing the proponent appears to be drunk and his movements are random and apparently uncontrolled. He is, however, alert and in total control of his movements. The style blends gong fu movements with a footwork that is designed to confuse and disorientate the opponent. This makes the drunken boxer's attacks and defences highly unpredictable and allows the expert practitioner to surprise and confuse his adversary. Learning this style requires the student to maintain a clear and alert mind while feigning drunkenness and confusion.

Shifu Shi Henglong is a recognised master of this style and has performed it for audiences world-wide.

Hip Hop Break Dance Course

Summer is here and Chan Wu Yi is giving everyone the chance to have some fun and learn to dance like a New York Hip Hop Pro.

A course is going to run from July 10th until September every Friday from 7.30pm - 9.30pm. All are welcome to come along and jam.

Learn all the genuine moves like Baby Freeze, Swipe, Windmill, Helicopter, Flare, 1990, Headspin, Square Airflare, Top Rock, Up Rock, Foot Work, Three Step, Five Step, Six Step, Freeze, Back Up, Hopping Handstand, Air Chair, Back Elbow and Air Freeze.

It's gonna be fun. Come down and join in! Check it out at http://www.shaolincwy.com/specialevents.html

3rd Annual Dan Grading Exams

The latest and 3rd Dan Grading Exams to be held by Chinese Wushu Academy UK took place on Sunday 28th June. A record number of students took part and spectators were treated to an outstanding display by all the participants.

The large field of Dan I students showed how far they had come in recent months. The outstanding effort from all Dan I students bodes well for the future and there were some obvious rising stars among the participants.

At Dan II the competitive nature of everyone involved really kicked in and produced some fantastic performances. Ali showed everyone just what dedication and hard work can achieve with some really impressive sets that surprised everyone. The day went to Marc, however, who in a short time of training has really shown that he has what it takes to go all the way. His sanshou set included some superb flourishes including a jumping spinning kick that had everyone applauding.

Dan III was a white knuckle ride for the students and audience alike. A big jump up from Dan II in terms of the standards required results awaited with trepidation by the 5 students. In the end Ludo and Luxi took the honours in Wushu, with Ludo coming out on top, and Longui triumphing in Taiji. In all 3 out 5 students took Dan III showing just how tough it is if you want to compete at international level.

Alongside the exams themselves Chan Wu Yi staff put on a great day for everyone with tombola, video shows and live interval entertainment in the form of a hip hop dance show.

Shifu announced that another grading will take place at the end of the year giving all those who missed out this time the chance to catch up.

Shifu laid out his plans for the next year including the prospect of new centres and the addition of new classes at HQ.

A fantastic day was had by everyone who came and we hope that students and audience were inspired by what they saw to train harder than ever in the coming months.

Watch this space for new pictures and videos coming very soon!

iPhone website

Chan Wu Yi lanches a new website for iPhone users. We wanted to give people on the move a better experience when connecting with the website. The new iPhone site is designed to be easy to see and use without the need to resize the screen or scroll side to side.

The site has unique information, interactive timetables, facebook links and smart contact numbers that allow iPhone users to dial us straight from the website.

Although the site is designed specifically for iPhone users we are currently testing and debugging for use on a variety of other devices. Please give us some feedback on specific bugs if you are a Blackberry or Nokia user to help us speed up the process.

If you are mobile you can access the site at www.m.shaolincwy.com

China Trip Report

Over Christmas five members of Chinese Wushu Academy UK accompanied Shifu Shi Henglong on an intensive training trip to China. The group visited the Beijing Wushu Team, the Shaolin Temple and trained with the Shandong Wushu Team.

After having the chance to train with professional wushu athletes all returned inspired to lift their own training to the next level.

Check out the gallery of pictures from the trip coming soon to the new website at www.shaolincwy.com.

Henglong Shaolin Medicine Clinic Opens

Our latest addition to the ChanWuYi Physical Culture Centre launched last week.  The Henglong Shaolin Medicine Clinic is he third element of the ChanWuYi Physical Culture Centre and completes our opening program.

Medicine is an often overlooked but vital heritage of the Songshan Shaolin Temple. In the past Shaolin was a great centre of research into what is now called Traditional Chinese Medicine. In effect the Temple was a university engaged in all aspects of researching and advancing medical knowledge as well as delivering care to the local inhabitants. During the 20th Century these activities were affected by the great events that swept through China but the tradition was kept alive and today it is once again the mission of the Temple to share this heritage with the world.

As Buddhists the monks of the Shaolin Temple were and are only interested in treatments that do not harm the natural environment and the Temple's herbal formulary makes no use of animal derived ingredients.

Joining us to run the clinic is the very experienced Dr Liu . Over time he and his team will expand the number of treatments offered to include a wide variety of massage techniques, Chinese reflexology, acupuncture, cupping  and herbal medicine.

In time we will offer special Shaolin remedies to martial artists that come from the unique combination of medical and martial arts knowledge of the Temple.

Professional Wushu Team Launch

Shifu Shi Henglong today announced that Chinese Wushu Academy UK will be formally relaunching the Chinese Wushu Academy UK Wushu Team. The new team will be run along the same lines as elite wushu competition teams in China and will consist of an A Team and  a B Team.

The A Team will compete in high level international competitions including competitions in China while the B Team will gain experience for its members by competing in more local and regional competitions.

Recruitment for the Team will be held at auditions to be held in April 2009 with the first competitions scheduled for July.

All wushu athletes interested in joining the fisrt and only professional wushu team in the UKcan register their interest by contacting Shifu Shi Henglong through this Blog or via www.shaolincwy.com