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We are in full swing now getting ready for the ICMAC Championship in Orlando Florida.  We have 7 competitors heading to Florida so far, and we're ramping up our practice now. The tournament will be from June 30th -July 2nd, 2023. One of the highlights of May  2023 was a visit from Eagle Claw Grandmaster Leung Shum, seen here posing with students. 

Note, we're planning for the summer now, so if you've been thinking about trying Kung Fu, now is a great time to start. We'll be updating our schedule as people leave for vacation with more opportunity to private and semi-private classes.

We had a wonderful evening with our Sifu, Grandmaster Leung Shum, last Saturday down at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. Over a hundred of his students, family, and friends gathered for the event. It was a great evening and Sifu Dario and Sifu Julie were  glad to  to see our extended Ying Jow Pai family.

UPDATE: We had a great visit last weekend,  from our teacher's teacher – Grandmaster Leung Shum. What a great experience for our students who got to have the father of Eagle Claw in the US watch them practice. 

We had a great class on Sunday. When people attend our Sunday self defense class regularly, we can really get into  details, like how top work with vulnerable points on the body. We also practiced combining techniques, because once you start, you have to be ready to continue! Our self-defense class meets every Sunday at 1:30. Of course, we also work on self defense in our regular weekday kung fu classes. 

Hannah, David, Nathanial and Quincy worked hard and earned their yellow sashes and white sash respectively (shown above) in Eagle Claw Kung Fu. They brought an impressive display of skill and power to their performance, given that they're beginners. Kids today! And right above, Sifu Julie and Sifu Dario are showing off some weapons gifted to them recently by a Sifu leaving town. They promise to give the staffs, rope darts, nun-chucks and tiger hooks a good home.

It looks like New Yorkers are ready for Kung Fu, as students old and young return to class, and new people join us. It's been a great September so far, and in October we'll be adding some new offerings. First, we now have a group of teens on their way to an advanced level. We're introducing a black belt club for them where they can focus on higher level challenges. We're also adding a Fight Conditioning Class in October which will offer a serious training and fitness workout for martial artists of all stripes. We are also working on a new self defense program. Stay in touch by joining our mailing list, and we'll keep you in the loop. (Email us at info@northskykungfu.com) 

Sifu Julie and Sifu Dario enjoy being in the studio on holidays. We feel good at the end of the day, and you can too, if you join us. Today we're working on Eagle Claw joint locks, fitness, and forms. So drop in! We're there for class at 4, 5 and 6pm.

Many of the young folks have left for camp, so we're going to have a little more free time this summer. That means it's a good to time to start your kung fu journey. Call us and stop by for a free trial class.

We're pleased to see students returning to our evening classes. Our classes are "Family Style" --- meaning all levels work together on basics and warmup, then break out to work on techniques at their level. 

Recently, we've been working on self-defense techniques and practical application of our unique style. Try one of our evening classes, and if you want to build up some stamina, fitness, and basics, call us about private classes or daytime classes.

Warmer weather means it's a perfect time to start Kung Fu. There's nothing like working out when our joints and muscles are free from New York's chilly weather. Summer is on the way, and Kung fu also helps us get in shape, get healthy, and build energy. As New York continues to return to normal, classes are getting busier -- but there's still plenty of room. So join us for Kung Fu or Tai Chi. Try a group or give yourself the total attention of a private class.

Whether it's because of pressure and anxiety in the world, or an effort to get healthy as Spring arrives, we notice there's a growing interest in Tai Chi. In response, we're adding an evening class, Wednesday  at 6:15. We offer several options now, both online and in the studio - take a look at our schedule. With our more advanced Tuesday class, we are working on Tai Chi Sword, a beautiful -- and challenging --form. Give us a call if you would like to start a journey into Tai Chi.

The season for belt or "sash" tests continues, and we took an entire Saturday afternoon to give tests to some of our most dedicated students. They worked hard for weeks reviewing forms and fighting techniques, and they all did great. The forms were among our most challenging with techniques like Butterfly kicks and two-person forms. Max, Ann, Felix and "Big Max" earned their red, blue, and green sash tests respectively. We congratulate them.

As you can imagine, with what's going on in the world, it's a great time for Tai Chi & Qigong. These practices help you get centered in your body, by uniting body, mind and spirit in slow, relaxing movement. We find they really help relieve stress and anxiety. It's a different way of working on health; the depth and slowness of the movement lets us work on coordination and balance with low impact. And in our warmup, we pay attention to abs and core strength as well as posture. And the movements themselves are....interesting. So stop by and try a class for free. We have both online and in the studio classes. See our schedule, we just updated our offerings.

We so enjoyed working out in the park every Thursday. In particular it was so great seeing the young people working out together. With the time change, it's dark at 5pm so we're now back in the studio. We're making Thursday at 5-7 pm a self-guided open house. Members can book time to come in and work on their forms. We are observing strict safety guidelines, and limiting attendance. With that, Sifu Dario and Sifu Julie are doing everything they can to create an opportunity for members to work  on their kung fu and stay healthy.

We had a great outdoor workout last week, in nearby Chelsea Park. We are now there every Thursday, 5-7pm. Look for our yellow banner; we are close to the 27th Street and 10th avenue corner of the park. Beginners and novices welcome. 

We brought a staffs and some sabers, and joined the other runners, boxers, and martial artists practicing outside. It's a huge park with plenty of space for group forms and long weapons. We highly recommend it, there's nothing like practicing under the big New York sky.

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