Instructor Spotlight: Sifu Justin Cardwell

Sifu Justin Cardwell is one of the new breed of Wing Tsun instructors that has come up through the ranks here at City Wing Tsun.  I am very proud of Justin as he has made a tremendous amount of progress in so many ways since starting with me in CT back in the day.  At that time Justin was a very shy and quiet student, barely standing out in the class.  But Justin worked hard, training much more than many of his classmates.  I fondly recall when the owner of the dance studio we were teaching out of told me that Justin was renting the space for his own training outside of the class.  That type of dedication is rare, especially among new students.  

A few short years later, Justin relocated to NYC after he realized he was spending more time training in NYC then he was in CT.  He officially became a New Yorker and part of the midtown CWT crew.  Since that time, Justin has been a permanent fixture at City Wing Tsun.  His training ethic hasn't waned, he still spends countless hours training at the school in the off-time.  On top of that he has accompanied me on a number of my trips which include Hong Kong and San Antonio.  Justin has had the rare opportunity to train with high level WT masters from all over the globe.  While in Hong Kong he did private instruction with Sifu Leung Koon (9th Level) as well as attending the instructor class with Grandmaster Leung Ting.

In the summer of 2011 he passed the tough examination for 2nd TG.  Due to his many years of teaching, Justin was also thusly qualified as a "Sifu of Wing Tsun", making him the youngest Sifu to date at CWT.

Stay tuned, there is much more to come from Justin in the future!

Job opening: National Instructor :)

This just in!  A job opportunity in this difficult economy: National Instructor for the collapsing US section of a martial arts association. Requirements: Don't be the guy who caused the collapse!

Being the "one of the most senior" and "one of the most respected" sifu's won't guarantee you the job either.  You have to actually be qualified in Wing Tsun or at least deemed so by your dwindling peers.

My how the wicked and lazy have destroyed what others worked so hard for!

恭喜發財 Gung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year from City Wing Tsun!  This year is the year of the Dragon and the element is "water".  The water dragon year hopes to be one of prosperity for America, at least according to some top feng shui masters.  Dragon is the most sought after sign in the Chinese zodiac as it is as sign of royalty and prosperity.  While many Chinese argue about certain superstitions on Chinese New Year, these generally tend to be the most widely accepted tradtions to follow (thanks to my Chinese brother Shing Ka for this):

Curious about CHINESE NEW YEAR DO’S & DON’TS: While Chinese New Year customs vary widely, here are a few traditional superstitions we've been taught to adhere...

1. DO clean your house before New Year’s Eve to rid of the previous year’s bad luck.

2. DON’T sweep or clean your house on New Year’s Day (this could sweep away good fortune).

3. DON’T wash your hair on New Year’s Day.

4. DO wear reds and yellows, bright and happy colours that will bring good fortune.

5. DON’T curse or speak of death. This could bring bad luck.

6. DON’T use scissors or knives on New Year’s Day (this could cut off good fortune).

7. DO settle your debts before the New Year.

8. DO eat whole fish (abundance), chicken (prosperity) and dumplings (health and fortune).

9. DON’T cut noodles (they represent long life).

10. DON’T cry on New Year’s Day or you could end up crying for the rest of the year...

CLASSES CLOSED TODAY SAT. 1/21 DUE TO SNOW

Take a day off and enjoy the snow!  Avoid the MTA, it is a mess!!  See you Monday :)

Advanced training at CWT

I had a great time today teaching a round of private lessons to some of my senior students.  I'm almost finished teaching the Biu Tze form to Sokha (pictured) and she is making fantastic progress.  Sokha is one of our coordinators for our women's classes (along with Sifu Nicole) at CWT.  Not only is Sokha very skillful in WT, she is also a very patient and effective instructor.  Sokha joins the rank of many of my seniors who have learned Biu Tze and beyond.

I also taught my weekly private lesson to one of my most senior students Paul (64 years young!).  He has been learning the wooden dummy now for a few weeks during private training.  I taught him my special 10/10 training protocol which I use for my own training.  The 10/10 protocol is one of the fastest ways to learn technical movements (especially form) with accuracy and coordination in a very short period of time.  The jump in skill of his positions and the important transitions has been amazing.

As I had mentioned in previous postings, we do not charge any section fees or program fees for advanced training in WT. At CWT programs are taught by instructors qualified to teach those advanced programs.   These "section/program fees" can add thousands of dollars to the cost of one's WT education and the are as unnecessary as they are oudated.  Like the group WHAM and other products of the 80's, section fees are a thing of the past.

But I am most excited about teaching the long pole to my senior students in March.  I have gone through a lot of training and research to create what I believe to be the most comprehensive and professional WT long pole program available today.  Stay tuned!