Scholar Warrior - April 2005

There is a saying that goes something like this:

"If you learn Kung Fu form but never develop force then your Kung Fu will be futile, even if you study for the rest of your life"

Force or skill refers to a student's ability and efficiency in using technique. It is formless, invisible and involves accuracy power and speed. Shaolin Kung Fu is rich in methods to develop force.

It is understandable today that many Martial artists are either amazed at internal force or sceptical about it. There are a number of reasons for this. There are very few Masters who have the ability to teach correct methods and of those who do, very few are willing to teach them to the public.

It is an unfortunate truth, but in many Kung Fu schools today the correct application of Kung Fu form for combat is not taught. From my own experience "sparring" become a humiliating experience where I believed it was my fault that I was unable to defend myself. It was years before I learnt that it was not me that was at fault but the method I had been taught. I was taught that by free sparring you would, over a matter of time, gain the skills necessary to fight effectively using kung fu. But this is simply not true. Free sparring is meant to test your skills, techniques and fighting ability. Free sparring does not teach you these skills. This is a common misunderstanding in many kung fu schools today. The correct method for learning sparring methodology can be found in this excellent article written by my Siheng (Elder brother) Anthony Korahais.

This July 2005 Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit will be teaching an Introduction to Kung fu Internal Force and Combat Application course. Over 4 days (16 hours) he has agreed to share with you the "secrets" that will enable you to experience internal force and know how to apply kung fu patterns for combat. If you don't you can ask for your money back! Read more details

Only 89 days to go to the UK's first Shaolin Wahnam Summer Camp. It gives me great pleasure to announce that this event will be hosted by the University of Kent in the historical city of Canterbury. I am so happy to have secured access to the Dance Studio for the duration of the courses and they tell me that if the weather is nice we can even practice outside. Seeing as how the campus is situated on 300 acres of parkland there should be enough room! I'm looking forward to visiting Canterbury, it's only 56 miles from London and easily accessible by road and rail.

There are also over 1600 rooms available on campus, so you can make your stay even easier by staying within walking distance of the venue. Maps, directions, details and phone numbers can be found at the University's website

I look forward to meeting you there in July!
Full details about the summer camp