Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Yoga and More The Peaceful Dragon For the Contemporary Mind, Body and Spirit www.thepeacefuldragon.com February 2018 704-504-8866 At a Glance What The Peaceful Dragon Offers Inside Upcoming Events Peaceful Dragon School News Did You Know? Children s Program News Students of the Month Students Ask Master Sbarge Classifieds Adult Programs Tai Chi Kung Fu Zen Meditation Yoga Asian Culture and Philosophy Children s Programs Kung Fu and Leadership Classes Other Services Seminars and Presentations School Field Trips Community Demonstrations Corporate Team Building 2014 and 2015 Winner of TWO Charlotte Observer Reader Awards! Best Martial Arts Studio Best Yoga Studio Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thepeacefuldragon
Message from Master Eric Sbarge Body, Breath and Mind In my very first lesson with new students, I point out that each art taught at The Peaceful Dragon tai chi, yoga, all the kung fu styles focuses equally on the development of body, breath and mind. Like the three legs of a stool, the three components of body, breath and mind support all of your development and progress in learning these arts. That s not to say that the goal is to develop the body and mind to the same level a developed body with an undeveloped mind is of little value, while a weak body is not necessarily a barrier to someone with a strong mind. But in terms of getting to a strong mind, the breath and body serve as important tools, and so should be paid attention to as equal legs of the stool. Some people totally focus on their body development in these arts, wanting to have a great physique or wanting to be strong athletes, leaving the greatest prize from these arts mental awakening on the table. Others become intrigued with meditation and the mental practices, but don t build a strong and healthy enough body to support these practices, or don t realize how the body and breath can be used as tools to strengthen the mind. But in my observations, the leg of the stool most neglected by the majority of practitioners is the breath component. Sure, you may do a couple of minutes of breathing exercises at your every-otherday yoga or martial arts class if the instructor fits it in, but then you ignore breathing the rest of the time. When you regularly work on the three categories of breathing exercises greater volume of air, greater endurance to hold the air, cleaner air you are directly working on improving your energy (chi, prana). Chinese and Indian masters discovered millennia ago how breathing not only gives you energy for physical fitness and health, but also how the breath impacts your mental fitness and health. So I highly recommend that you take the various breathing methods you learn in your classes, and create a systematic routine of daily breathing practices that you make as routine as brushing your teeth or eating lunch. You don t need to spend hours on this a few minutes of dedicated breathing exercises is all that s needed to see tremendous benefits. Sure, everyone breathes all day. But do you just breathe, or do you really breathe? 2
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. Thích Nhất Hạnh If you are not a current student of The Peaceful Dragon, there are many ways to improve your mind, body and spirit through the programs available at The Peaceful Dragon. Visit www.thepeacefuldragon.com and click on Adult Classes or Children s Classes. You can then register for a Free Semi-Private, No- Obligation Introductory Class and an Introductory Tour. The Peaceful Dragon s Pickup Truck is for Sale The Peaceful Dragon is selling its very good, reliable pickup truck 2001 Toyota Tundra 4x4 with leather interior, off-road package, towing package, new tires and battery, and a truck cap. Good mechanically, with 125k miles. Kelly Blue Book for fair condition is $6400. Price Reduced asking just $4700 make an offer. Upcoming Events Chinese New Year Festival Saturday, February 10 th, 11am-2pm The Peaceful Dragon is hosting its 21st annual Chinese New Year s Festival on Saturday, February 10, from 11am to 2pm. Admission is just $5 per family, or FREE with a donation of a non-perishable food item for Loaves and Fishes charity. Fun for the entire family, come celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dog! The festival will begin with the colorful ceremonial Lion Dance and Dragon Dance, said to bring good luck to everyone for the coming year. Then throughout the festival you can enjoy exciting demonstrations of Chinese martial arts and health arts including Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Yoga, and performing arts such as traditional Chinese dance and music. 3
Local experts will be on hand to exhibit various Asian arts and cultural practices such as feng shui, calligraphy, acupuncture and Chinese medicine. There will be a fun game room for kids, a bounce house, plus face painting, arts & crafts and more. Free introductory mini-classes in tai chi, yoga and kung fu will be offered for both children and adults, and there will be special festival-day discounts to enroll in The Peaceful Dragon s ongoing classes. Catered Chinese noodles will be available to purchase for lunch. Additional festival highlights include ongoing raffle drawings and door prizes, and FREE shuttle parking. The festivities are all held indoors so the festival takes place rain or shine. Chinese New Year Banquet Saturday, February 17 th, 6:30pm Open to Peaceful Dragon students and their families, this is the most important event of the year at our school. In accord with wu-de and the customs of a traditional Chinese martial arts and health arts school, this banquet affords our entire martial arts and yoga family the chance to welcome the new year together to show support and bring good luck to each other. This always-exciting annual banquet includes Student, Disciple and Teacher-level promotions; special awards ceremonies; raffle prizes and more. Family and friends are welcome! The banquet dinner will be catered and held this year right here at The Peaceful Dragon, and will include appetizers, multiple entrees, dessert, and soft drinks. For spirits it s BYOB. Tickets are on sale now at our front counter on a first come, first served basis. Seating is limited and tickets may sell out so don t wait. Last day for purchase is Wednesday, February 14 th sorry, no exceptions for latecomers. Adults tickets $49, children 12 and under half price. Tensegrity and Tristana for Transformation Quarterly Yoga Workshop Saturday, February 24 th, 1-5pm Yoga is a spiritual practice cleverly disguised as a physical workout. Do it for your body and you will get fit. But do it for your mind, and your body automatically follows expanding your experience beyond your current physical capacity. This workshop is about discovering the link between your physical and subtle body, between your mental issues and your physical tissues. 4
We will explore binding the senses, the body and the mind, so that you can create a safe harbor for practice, reverse the consumption of your mind (pratyhara) and begin to control the trajectory of your practice. Lecture will be followed by a two hour practice. Perfect for beginners. CACMA Tournament Saturday, March 10 th, 9am Sifu encourages all students to compete or attend the CACMA Queen s Cup Tournament. There are divisions for all age and skill levels, so even beginners should try. Many of your instructors will be judging the competitions. This is an excellent opportunity to see other school s martial arts styles. For more details about the competition including divisions, rules, and preregistration, please see the official CACMA website at http://mhkungfu.com/cacma/. NOTE: BECAUSE ALL OF OUR INSTRUCTORS AND MOST OF OUR STUDENTS WILL BE PARTICIPATING, THE PEACEFUL DRAGON WILL BE CLOSED FOR CLASSES ON THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT. Our updated 2018 Special Events Calendar is available at http://thepeacefuldragon.com/specialevents.shtml. Mark your planning calendar now! FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS 5 th David Mullin 19 th Jessica Webb 5 th Bryan Tan 21 st Rick Towell 13 th Susan Smith 22 nd Kieyanna Morgan 14 th Gretchen Kelly 22 nd Aditya Vetury 16 th Jared Harris 23 rd Jason Price 16 th Danielle Sanders 25 th Micheal Heflin 18 th Madeline Rutzell 27 th Alexander Japit 5
Monthly Classes, Seminars and Discussion Groups Yoga Seminar Thursday, February 1, 6:30-8:30pm Topic: Intro to Ashtanga - Surya Namaskara B and Standing Postures Presented by Yogini Mara Healy. Open to all teens and adults: FREE for Peaceful Dragon students, $29 for guests. Note: There will be no regular yoga classes on the evenings of the monthly yoga seminars. Jr. Mastery Program Seminar Saturday, February 3, 12-1pm Topic: Time Management Open only to Junior Mastery Program students. Mastery Roundtable Discussion Tuesday, February 6, 8-9pm Topic: Mastering Your Time to Master Yourself Open only to Mastery Program students. Lecture and Discussion Thursday, February 15, 6:30pm Topic: Meditations from Venerable Sheng Yen, Our Meditation Grandmaster Presented by Master Eric Sbarge. Open to all adult and teen students. Future Instructors Saturday, February 17, 11am Open only to Junior Mastery Program students. Mandala Cross-Mat Yoga Class Sunday, February 25, 11am-2pm Open to all adult students with a suggested donation of $10. Open to the public for $25 Equipment Needed for Classes Adults Shaolin Full Sparring Equipment Tai Chi none Kids 4-12 year olds: White, Yellow, and Orange Sash: Single Short Stick 8-12 year olds: Green Sash and above: Double Short Stick 6
Peaceful Dragon School News (All Real!) Plan and Start Saving NOW for The Peaceful Dragon s 2019 China and Japan Tour! The Peaceful Dragon is sponsoring an Asia tour for our students, family members and friends in October of 2019 two years from now. This two-week tour promises to be a fantastic trip that will include practice in meditation and martial arts with locals, sightseeing, cultural excursions and events, and much more. Our tentative itinerary includes Japan for the first time Tokyo and Kyoto (with its ancient Zen temples) and the beautiful Chinese cities of Suzhou (called China s Venice with the picturesque canals), Hangzhou (the lake city), the spiritual Yellow Mountains, and the cosmopolitan heart of China, Shanghai. The estimated cost for this all-inclusive custom tour with 4 and 5 star accommodations, all travel and excellent meals, admissions to cultural events, and the service of highly-professional English-speaking guides is around $4000. If you can set aside $40 a week starting now, you can go it s a great investment for a lifetime of memories! Send Us Your Event Photos or Short Video Clips If you get some nice shots of Peaceful Dragon events please send them to Holly@thepeacefuldragon.com for display in our newsletter, social media pages and our new upcoming lobby-area TV! 7
Did You Know For Chinese New Year (which is not called Chinese New Year in China it s called Spring Festival) the whole country virtually shuts down for nearly a whole week while family members travel across the country to be together to celebrate, and the actual celebration goes on for 15 days? According to the scholar Mark Singleton, many of the asanas (postures) of modern yoga were borrowed from martial arts and gymnastics? So if you want to improve your strength and flexibility for martial arts, do yoga! One of the best ways you can help keep your school, The Peaceful Dragon, strong and viable is to help us promote it to others in the community? And one of the best ways to do that is to post your positive 5-star reviews online at sites such as Yelp and Google, or on our Facebook page. If you haven t done so in the past, we truly appreciate if you ll take a few moments to do so! Children s Program News A Message from Mr. George I hope everyone is having a great 2018! This month the advanced students will continue working on their Kenpo Two Person Set. Other forms are performed by one student. The individual demonstrate his or her ability to evade and counter-attack the invisible opponent. In the two person set, if one student miss a block, he or she will get hit by the partner. Of course we start with very slow speed and no contact. At the top level, the strikes and kicks will have real power behind them; however, the skill of getting out of the way will neutralize all of the attacks. The beginners group will be focusing on sidekicks and roundhouse kicks. These basic but very effective kicks will require a flexible body. During class time we will go over proper stretching and kicking techniques. Students are required to go home and practice their stretching along with kicking drills, minimal of 15 minutes every day. Just like any skills in life: practice makes perfect! 8
Student of the Month Recognition Adult Student of the Month Carolyn Newell 1 st runner up Linda Mullin 2 nd runner up David Mullin Patricia is a very consistent student. She always puts her best effort into every class. Good job, Patricia! Child Student of the Month Hurditya Katta 1 st runner up Annalise Turner 2 nd runner up Victoria Burke Hurditya has been a good example to the newer students with good focusing skills, and trying his best on the difficult kung fu drills. Keep up the great work, Hurditya! Students Ask Master Sbarge Question: I m seriously interested in joining The Peaceful Dragon s Asia tour next fall, but I wondered how my kids can come since it s in October and they have school, and also whether my wife can come since she s never done martial arts. Answer: The tour is open to any interested and nice people, not just our students, so of course your wife is welcome. She can join us for our morning tai chi, kung fu and yoga practice, too no experience is necessary. As for the kids, we ve always had some kids join our past tours in my mind the lessons and experiences they get on this trip will last a lifetime, far more than anything they will miss in school for a couple of weeks and most teachers are willing to let the kids make up any missed assignments. Mission Statement for The Peaceful Dragon Our mission is to help each of our students reach his or her fullest potential for physical, mental and spiritual development through the teaching of traditional Asian health arts and martial arts. We accomplish this by offering the most authentic and effective curriculum, by providing the best possible service to our students and their families, and by maintaining a warm and caring family environment in which every student, guest, and staff member is treated with respect, dignity and love. 9
Classifieds Your ad could be here! Text and graphics, a scan of your business card, or artwork you submit. The cost is $5 for students, $10 for the public. Send your copy to holly@thepeacefuldragon.com. Pay at the front counter. George runs two social clubs in Charlotte through Meetup.com: http://www.meetup.com/north-carolina- Mountain-Biking/ http://www.meetup.com/charlotte-pool- Shootin-Fun-Meetup/ Mountain biking, shooting pool, hiking, trying out new restaurants or cruising to the Bahamas! 10