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Welcome to the Homepage for
3 Nations Gathering
Brighton - January 2006
This one web page covers a lot of information about this event. So sit back, get comfortable and take your time. There are pictures and videos to discover as you read through this page.
Students from England, Northern Ireland and Scotland gathered in bright and sunny Brighton for the first of this event on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of January. The event was very successful by the result of so many smiling faces and new friendships made.
Testimonial :
Barry |
“ living a life of vitality; being a great therapist,
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father, husband and friend; being loving and kind even when it is difficult. These things light me up and the more I realise it the more I see opportunities to live them . . . ” |
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Testimonial :
Nick |
“ I had great fun all weekend! It was lovely to meet so
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many Wahnam brothers, sisters and instructors and I feel my practice will improve greatly as a result of this weekend! . . . ”
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Testimonial :
Mike H |
“ Thank you to everyone for a fantastic weekend.
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The time spent was full of knowledge, respect for each other and fun . . . ”
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Testimonial :
Chris Holmes |
“ I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new
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ones. It was a great opportunity to explore our art from many different angles, and it was good to sit down and discuss things . . . ” |
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Following is an index of what you can find on this page :
(click the links below if you wish to jump down this page)
Introduction To Training Program For The Weekend
A balanced training program was put together to explore existing skills and techniques that students have already practiced, so that students could deepen their abilities with what they have already learned. This wasn't a case of going through the same motions as before, as many students remarked at amazing new discoveries having had the chance and guidance to do so.
To complement the program, particular emphasis was put on such important aspects like setting useful and practical Aims & Objectives with your training, some Do’s and Dont's in your practice and The 10 Shaolin laws.
The purpose of the gathering was to :
- Reap the benefits of training in a larger group.
- Follow a well balanced training program taught by 4 instructors
and 4 assistant instructors of Shaolin Wahnam.
- Make new friends and improve old ones.
- Enjoy the pubs, restaurants and socialising in Brighton.
- Deepen the skills of genuine Shaolin Arts.
The 3 Nations Gathering is all about strengthening relationships
throughout the Shaolin Wahnam Institute.
At the 3N weekend, we used combat sequences 1-4 to train some crucial elements in kung-fu application. Here is a brief synopsis of the 'tools' we used.
The first being the 'three arrivals' :
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1. Arrival of the heart, being 100% committed to your move. Being mentally and spiritually prepared.
2. Arrival of the feet - making sure you arrive in the correct place to be able to apply your technique.
3. Arrival of the hands. Maybe more obvious but make sure you train the techniques diligently, so that you can apply them effectively. Make sure the intent (heart) is there!
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The next factor was the importance of 'Lohan asks the way’. This may seem obvious but all to often, especially in a friendly class environment, people get lazy with this. It is just as important as whatever technique you are going to follow up with. Can you open them up, or are you going to have to move in differently?
With the above in mind we started with combat sequence 1, just using spacing. By doing this you can build up a mental picture of where exactly you need to be and exactly how much you need to move to get there. Then, using these principles, we brought in combat sequences 2,3 and 4.
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Shaolin Wahnam firmly believes in using stances as they have traditionally been trained for combat. Over centuries, past masters refined stances and forms to give us the best benefit in combat. This clip shows students focusing on one small part that leads eventually to free sparring. By focusing on a few key points, we have the chance to actually practice combat skills rather than fight erratically. |
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To conclude, whilst combat sequence 1 may appear to be the most simplistic of our sequences, if you can master all of the above and apply it combat sequence 1 you will have an invaluable foundation. More complex techniques will come easily.
Every set, sequence or drill works to teach a number of principles. New students, who may only have learnt the first set, can add a great deal of variation and interest to it by keeping the principles but changing the form. Experiments can be made with changing directions, pattern order, repeating patterns, mirror image and different stances.
While this may be a way for beginners to add a little spice to their training, for the more senior students it is a way to 'keep their art alive'. Not only can patterns and principles be explored at greater depth but we also train ourselves to deal with the many variations that may occur in real practice. |
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Stances are held in high regard in Shaolin Wahnam. They form the foundation for our future progress and development in Kung Fu. Along with our foundation we aim to keep our stances alive through flexibility and freedom. |
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Most children are naturally flexible when they are young, their bodies and minds are quite care free as happy children should be. As we grow older we loose this natural flexibility through poor living habits. Particularly poor posture, general physical inactivity, poor eating habits, increased stress from work, relationships and our environment. With out us realising it, this negative life style becomes our normal daily routine, we actively practice stress and tension without even noticing.
Just as a smile lifts spirits and breaks the doldrums, stretching, relaxing and enjoying yourself frees the body of tension, aids the clearance of rust and dust and improves circulation. The class covers the 6 patterns of 'The Art of Flexible Legs' from the Shaolin Wahnam program, along with additional stretches as an extra bonus for enjoyment and variety. The aim of this class is to gain the skills of 'listening to your body', 'perseverance' and 'relaxation'.
During the class, and gradually throughout, smiles, laughter and deeper levels of relaxation were attained. Quite a few people remarked how they particularly enjoyed "Turning Head", an exercise from the 18 Lohan Hands, which really helps release tension in the neck and head region, clears the mind and nervous system. No surprise this one was popular. |
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Aims are general and long term. Objectives are specific and short term. My objectives for my presentation were:
- Convince students of the benefits obtained from setting targets
- Introduce a S.M.A.R.T. method for setting exciting aims and objectives.
- For everyone (including me) to have fun in the process.
Setting yourself aims and objectives allows you to focus on what you decide is important. They enable you to get the most from your practice in the shortest time.
During my preparation for this presentation I had a major realisation and it allowed me to understand why I, and I suspect many others have failed to achieve our aims and objectives in the past. Any aim or objective you decided to set for yourself must be exciting! It must make you want to get out of bed early, to stay up late if necessary, to go the extra mile.
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Consider for example an objective of quitting smoking. Person A doesn’t go any further in their planning than thinking that it’s a good thing to do. Meanwhile person B thinks about a really exciting reason for giving up and decides that by quitting smoking they will be around longer, be healthier and more importantly be able to take an active part in their Grandchildren’s up bringing. Who do you think is more likely to succeed in achieving their objective? |
Setting exciting aims and objectives is an essential process if you wish to obtain maximum results in the quickest time.
The main objective was to have an interactive, informal group discussion focused on the 10 Shaolin Laws, what they meant, how others interpreted them and how they can actually be applied to our daily lives. I was keen to avoid standing in front of the students and talking at them for an hour!
I have taught Shaolin Kung Fu to students for over 2 years and as I began my presentation I quickly realised that teaching practical applications is a lot easier than hosting a “theoretical” based debate for an hour! It was an incredibly powerful experience for me as I sure those who attended will testify. I’d like to thank you all for your kind words and support.
The Ten Shaolin Laws are non-religious, and transcend all cultures and races, i.e. people of any culture and race would agree that they promote values that are worthy and desirable. Laws, in the Shaolin tradition, are not meant to be punitive or restrictive, but as practical means to help followers achieve set aims and objectives; in this case to help them attain the best possible results in practicing Shaolin Kungfu for combat efficiency, joyful living, mind expansion, and spiritual fulfillment.
There is no legal binding on the Ten Shaolin Laws; one cannot be prosecuted in a law court if he breaks these laws. The binding is moral. But they are not forced upon the follower; the follower accepts them because he chooses to, because he believes they are helpful to him in his physical, emotional, mental and spiritual cultivation. If he breaks the laws, despite sufficient warnings, he may be asked to leave the Shaolin training, not as a punishment, but because the training is not suitable for him. |
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I was overjoyed to watch students getting involved and sharing their thoughts on what the 10 Shaolin Laws meant to them. There were some very interesting revelations made.
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By focusing on a few particular aspects of combat, we deepen our skills rather than learn new techniques. What good is a load of tools if you don’t know how to use them. Skills practiced by beginners here are timing and spacing, yielding and “listening” to your opponent. |
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The Three Nations Gathering gave many students and teachers an opportunity to explore the depths of Shaolin Kung Fu. One aspect of the art that has always fascinated me is the development of internal force and its use in our daily lives.
We are fortunate in Shaolin Wahnam to have a generous Sifu who is willing to openly pass on many secrets, secrets that were closely guarded in the past. One of these secrets is how to build internal force.
If any of you have had the opportunity to watch Sifu (Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit) give a demonstration it is quite simply astonishing. What is more outstanding though is when you have the opportunity to feel first hand how much internal force Sifu has developed. When asked how Sifu came to develop so much force he said it was through continuously and progressively practicing the stances.
Sifu also said he at first practiced the stances more externally; it wasn’t until much later on in his training that he learnt to practice the stances at a more internal level. Luckily for us we don’t have to sit in our horse stance for 1 hour at a time for 6 months before we start to develop internal force, all we need to do is relax.
This was the aspect of force building I covered at the Three Nation. Through Sifu’s teaching we are shown how to relax and let go of tension, in fact relaxing the body and mind is introduced to new students in their first lesson. Once the student learns how to relax and let go of physical, mental and emotional tension he/she will make greater gains in their progress. But why is developing internal force such an important part of our training, surely it would be easier to just practice the forms and look good!
Kung Fu masters have always advised "if you only practice Kung Fu form, but never develop force, your training will be futile even if you practice a life time". |
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We train Shaolin Kung Fu to not only enhance our lives but to also become combat efficient. Even if you started training the arts just as a way to get healthy, fit, focused or confident you can’t help be amazed at its efficiency as you progress.
So why do many of the martial arts, including some Chinese based arts, find it so difficult to use their traditional stances effectively in combat?
Correct methods of training is often missing, force is also an invisible aspect and perhaps a significant reason why many students neglect the force training. From personal experience I have found that many of the martial arts still retain the form of the stances in their system. Normally the stances are practiced during sets or katas, however, without actually having a methodology in place for using the stances in combat scenarios it is likely that the practitioner will revert to a more upright stance.
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Our stances do at first appear to be a little unnatural, and certainly physically demanding, but as you progress in your practice, learn to relax more, sit in your stance and develop internal force; you will begin to appreciate the many advantages they possess.
Take the false leg stance for instance, your weight is predominately on your back leg, but in order for you to use this stance effectively you need to sink down and relax into the stance. For a beginner this stance can be extremely demanding and they will often find it difficult to relax for more than a minute or two at best. At a later stage a student will be able to relax for a good five minutes in this stance and be able to feel the benefit as they practice. You should not only be relaxed but feel solid and rooted as well.
Now lets say you were unable to relax into this stance for more than 30 seconds or a minute, and as the time passed you felt fatigued or unstable, a good opponent would seize the advantage of your instability as you slowly rise up in your stance. Rising up in a stance is a common mistake with beginners and will not help you progress in your training. What will help is sinking and relaxing into your stance for a little longer and then move into another stance with a smooth transition. This is something we covered at the weekend with great success.
If only 2% of your Shaolin Kung Fu practice is learning and 98% practice, it is important to make sure that your practice, especially outside classes, is efficient, practical and fun. From my personal experience I have found that when my own home practice has been lacking efficiently in achieving my aims and objectives or not practical in gaining gradual progress in the Shaolin arts. It is usually because my practice is dead.
When my own practice is dead I move in stances in a straight line and move around aimlessly, and I gain little benefits. The way I have personally found to improve my practice is to be creative. As cited in Sigung's 'The Art of Chi Kung' Leonardo da Vinci said "staring into ashes and at shadows gives you the most marvelous inventions"
Surrealist artists discovered their creativity from methods like simple shapes made by scattering sand onto their canvases. These shapes became their starting point from which to create. These artists enjoyed the challenge to create something from nothing. |
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In Shaolin Kung Fu we can use this helpful advice. When moving in stances first move in a straight line. This alone gives you a creative starting point. You can use the straight line to correct your form or to practice moving from standing into a stance.
From a straight line you can turn 90 degrees to another straight line, the turn gives you a chance to try different methods of transitions. If you continue you will have formed a square with your stances. This simple method gives you a framework on which to focus.
Like the surrealist and da Vinci you can find great inventions and the marvelous in a simple thing like a square. From the focus on the square you can train agility, solidity, imaginary partner or multiple partners, one particular pattern, one stance, all stances. The opportunities become endless and so the practice becomes alive and fun.
The limitation of movement in the square frame ironically frees and expands you from daunting endless possibilities and so forces you, with some imagination, to enjoy the subtleties of movement. From that point on you can throw away the tool of the square and continue to explore unlimited movement. |
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This tool is used to lift you out of fixed ways of thinking and break down barriers of only moving on the level of form. Another Leonardo da Vinci quote that sets the mood for creativity in home practice :
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” Leonardo da Vinci
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Here students are practicing moving in stances. Creativity is encouraged, by first starting with moving inside of an imaginary square, then exploring the unlimited different ways to vary what they have already learned. This deepens skills and opens the mind to the possibilities in often overlooked “basic” training. |
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Aim - 'Keeping Your Kung Fu Alive'
Objective - 'Exploring Varying Applications Of Lohan Ask The Way Patterns'
I wanted the students to break free from robotic thoughts and movements. To enhance the 'Artist' in the Martial Artist. To show that we express ourselves using the martial movements. To explain we do not need hundreds of techniques, that we can use only a few for many situations.
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Guidance In Your Training
Presented by Instructor Marcus Santer on behalf of
Instructor Joan Browne ( >> click for Ireland class ) |
This presentation focused on how to avoid the most common forms of practice deviation. Deviations in Form, Breathing and Mind. Warning signs for each were explored so students are able to recognise and adjust their practice if necessary. This was followed up with “The 10 Do’s in Chi Kung Training”. There isn’t enough space to include them all here, but my favourite one was this:
Be kind and generous in your dealings with all people. This advice has been given by many great chi kung masters in history. Because our universe is intricately and organically interconnected, being kind and generous to others will result in being kind and generous to yourself.
Truly words to live by.
Testimonials From Students
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“ living a life of vitality; being a great therapist, father, husband and friend; being loving and kind even when it is difficult. These things light me up and the more I realise it the more I see opportunities to live them . . . ” |
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Great to meet some old friends and put faces to the names of new ones.
I had a great time being a novice doing the combat sequences. Practising Tai Chi Chuan and then coming to Kung Fu is an interesting experience. Learning lots about what I can and can't do, do and don't know. I don't get much of a chance to practice the Kung Fu patterns with others, but when I do it really brings them to life - the potential fierceness of the tiger claw and the importance of Lohan asks the way .
Thank you to all of the instructors for sharing your experience. I got something out of all of the sessions. Only sorry I couldn't be there for Sunday but family duties called.
Very useful to focus back on aims and objectives. I try to do this regularly anyway but I got a new slant on it during the day. "What lights my fire?", "What inspires me to take action and practice?". Great questions and helped me to really focus. I realise that having the ability to physically defend myself isn't really high on my list. It comes as a secondary gain for me, something that comes along with the package . So, for me it is: living a life of vitality; being a great therapist, father, husband and friend; being loving and kind even when it is difficult. These things light me up and the more I realise it the more I see opportunities to live them. Now I need to reflect and get help in looking at what best to practice to achieve them.
Thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible.
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| Nick |
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“ I had great fun all weekend! It was lovely to meet so many Wahnam brothers, sisters and instructors and I feel my practice will improve greatly as a result of this weekend! . . . ” |
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I would like to add my thankyous for what was an awesome experience! I had great fun all weekend! It was lovely to meet so many Wahnam brothers, sisters and instructors and I feel my practice will improve greatly as a result of this weekend!
I would also just like to add special thanks to:
Simon and Laura for their hospitality and Simon's memorable quotes
Marcus Sipak for his organisational dexterity and for a number of kind words over the weekend. It is a wonderful feeling to be complimented by someone you look up to!
Sifu(Jordan) For sharing the Shaolin arts with me! I reached a new understanding of the reponsibility it must be to teach these arts this weekend!
Finally I would like to thank all the instructors and assistants who shared their knowledge!
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| Mike H |
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“ Thank you to everyone for a fantastic weekend. The time spent was full of knowledge, respect for each other and fun . . . ” |
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Thank you to everyone for a fantastic weekend. The time spent was full of knowledge, respect for each other and fun.
1st Networking -
To have the opportunity to train with so many other Wahnam students and instructors was great. To be able talk and train with others of varying size, backgrounds and ability was of great benefit to me. I now feel part of a much larger family. Just don't all expect a present at Christmas I'd also like to thank some of you for your patience. The whole weekend was open and full of smiles.
2nd, Nourishing -
"From a solid foundation the rest will flow"... said the springing horse riding Sifu!
Thank you again to all the instructors for providing us all with the opportunity to learn. I found all the classes of great benefit and I am sure it will provide me with hours of fun thinking and making variations. And thank you for showing me how to be able to relax more. Courage has many sides, it shows strength of character and a great way to end a fantasic weekend. Thank you
3rd, Well, it's got to be Noodles -
To all involved in the preparation and execution THANK YOU . To those that attended, I'll look forward to seeing you again. It would be good to see some of the photos and vids. It's just a shame we have to wait a whole year to do it again. By the way, for those of you that weren't there why noodles? Well, the Chinese meal on Saturday night was so good that at that price "EVERYONES A WINNER" a Simon?
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| Chris Holmes |
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“ I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It was a great opportunity to explore our art from many different angles, and it was good to sit down and discuss things . . . ” |
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It was indeed a wonderful weekend.
I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It was a great opportunity to explore our art from many different angles, and it was good to sit down and discuss things.
I very much hope there'll be another one.
Thank you very much to the instructors and to my fellow students.
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3 Nations Memorabilia
Photos
There is a photo album which contains all the photo's that were taken over the event which you can save to your computer to remember those moments.
T-Shirts
At the moment we are looking into the possibility of getting some T-shirts designed with your picture from the photo album above, printed on them. Hopefully you can build a nice collection from all the events that you attend in Shaolin Wahnam. This all depends on how big the demand is for such an item.
If you are interested in having a picture placed on a t-shirt to wear proudly, then please forward your interest to michael.durkin @ shaolinwahnam.co.uk, along with the picture(s) you wish.
Conclusion
Shaolin Wahnam Instructors and assistant instructors from across the UK taught classes throughout the weekend period while students got to meet fellow “brothers” and “sisters” from other schools. This resulted in some great training experiences for those that attended who were able to make new friends with a whole bunch of new people. The socialising in the local bars and restaurants of Brighton at the end of the day also increased the sense of camaraderie and friendship, important aspects of Shaolin Wahnam’s training.
The 3 Nations Gatherings are only available to Shaolin Wahnam Institute students. If you wish to take part in next years Gathering in Manchester, you need to join a class or take part in UK Summer Camp 2006
We look forward to meeting you.
With Grandmaster Wong
Chi Kung - Kung Fu - Tai Chi Chuan
5th - 17th July -
City Of Canterbury
- Introduction to Kungfu Internal Force and
Combat Application
- Advanced Tai Chi Chuan
- Generating Energy Flow
- Shaolin 18 Lohan Hands
- Shaolin 18 Exercises for Health and Vitality
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> > Click Here For Full Details <<
Looking For Classes In Your Area ?
The Shaolin wahnam Institute is steadily growing and going from strength to strength. Originally born in Malaysia, classes have now spread literally around the world.
If your not quite ready to take a step into the big wide world of Shaolin Wahnam, you may like to look a little closer to home for a regular class :
>> Click here to view a list of Shaolin Wahnam Instructors
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