Wednesday 4th, Saturday 7th, and Monday 9th of December

I'll be unavailable on these three days.

Your seniors, Mike and Brent, will be in charge while I'm away.

A phony kung fu man shoots out his hand ferociously, but his punch contains no true strength. A master is not so flamboyant, but his touch is as heavy as a mountain.

- Chueh Yuan

Karen Armstrong

I bought this book in Australia in 1997.

Freedom From Fear by Karen Armstrong

It's an excellent all-round self-protection guide. It was also, for me, a primer for wing chun kung fu, because the fighting principles and techniques demonstrated by Karen Armstrong in the book are based on her expertise in wing chun.

Not long after buying this book, I started my own training in ving chun kuen.

Kevin calls Karen Armstrong "wing chun's leading lady," and he has written about her here: http://www.earleswingchun.com/women-in-wing-chun

"Her petite 5'2" frame was dwarfed by her passion, enthusiasm, and obvious skill in Wing Chun. A supreme example of the power of Wing Chun."

"As skilful in her practical application of Wing Chun as she is in her effectiveness as a promoter, manager, and teacher of the art, she has rightly earned the title, 'Wing Chun's Leading Lady'."

A couple of notices, and..... Kevin.

• My own sifu, Kevin Earle, was in town for one day on Thursday the 14th. I spent a bit of time with Kevin on Thursday morning, then he attended Thursday evening's class. Present were: Brent, Ange, Mike, Hadrian, David (Kevin's travelling companion and an old training partner of mine from way back), Rachel, Pete, Sean, Ben, newcomer Shane on his first night in class, and me. We so enjoyed having Kevin and David there. 
• Thursday, 21st of November will be the last time we train on a Thursday at our present hall. We will train on Wednesdays instead, the first Wednesday training night being 27th of November. So, from then on, our classes will be Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. 
• As a one-off, there will be no training on Saturday, 30th of November. The landlord wants the use of the hall on that day.

Self-defence in the News - No. 50

100 Years Ago

The more things change.....



Reprinted in Otago Daily Times, 1 November 2013.
Original article 1 November 1913.