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2nd February News & Updates

The dust has settled after our Spring Festival/birthday celebrations in Inverness last weekend. We really had a blast but now back to our regular training routine. Our sale has ended but there are still a few bargains in our store. There are updates to our classes for this week and we also have a new branch opening in Forres this week.

Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations

Chinese New Year Celebrations in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness. January 25th 2020

The Spring Festival, known as Chinese New Year, is a big event in China and many parts of Asia. It is gaining more and more popularity in western countries too. It comes at a time of year when a flash of colour and excitement is much needed to bring us all out of the gloom of Winter. Our celebrations in Inverness definitely did just that. Our troupe is forged from the bond of three separate Yee’s Hung Ga schools that are spread across the North East of Scotland. All three schools descended upon Inverness on the 25th of January to celebrate the Year of the Rat. Our lions performed displays across the city centre. We also performed around 50 traditional ‘Choi Chang’ blessings at retail and business premises. It was a very tiring day for all the students who took part but a hugely successful and enjoyable experience for everyone. You can find out more in our article:

Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations 2020

We have already announced next years dates. You can find our Facebook event page for it here:

Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations 2021

Hung

Our sale has now ended. We hope that you managed to grab a bargain while our prices were so low. There are still a few bargains in our Fu-kit Store. Just have a wee browse.

Training Aids

Training Aids

Find our liniments and care kits here.

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Classes

Current classe timetable

Our classes at Yee’s Hung Ga are always open to new students. If you are interested in attending a class, all you need to do is turn up and try your best. We’ll take care of the rest. For more information on starting, see our webpage: How Do I Join? The best classes to start with are as follows:

Men, women & children are always invited to come along and try our classes

Kids Class every Monday evening at 6.15pm. If your child is between the ages of 5 and 8, this is the right one for them.

Older Kids class every Thursday at 6.15pm. This is for older kids between the ages of 8 and 13.

Big kids Tuesdays at 7pm. This is for “adults” basically anyone over 13.

The line up

Come along and try out a class for free and see how you get on. If it’s not for you, no problem. You don’t need to sign up for regular classes or fill out forms or give us your bank details or any of that stuff. If you like the class, come back for more. If you want to learn, then we want to teach you.

Our Troupe ready for the Chinese New Year Celebrations

We also have regular classes on Mondays at 7pm for Techniques, drills & applications this is where you learn to develop your skills. Tuesdays at 6.15pm is our Lion Dance class. If you have seen us perform and would like to get involved, come to this class. Thursdays at 7pm is our Traditional Training & Sparring Sessions. It is recommended that you have regularly attended a few classes before you attempt to spar, however the traditional training is open to all students.

If you want to learn, we want to teach you!

We also have private tuition classes available. This week we have slots available all day on Tuesday and also on some evenings. For these, you can easily book and pay for them with our calendar below. Simply select a day and time that suits you best, pop your details in the form and then you’ll be taken to PayPal where you can securely pay for your booking, even if you dont have a PayPal account.

If you would like to discuss any requirements, intentions or ambitions. Please feel free to email us directly.

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Yee’s Hung Ga in Forres

Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu in Forres

A new branch of Yee’s Hung Ga will open this Friday in Forres. Sifu Hepple is excited to announce the first classes to begin in his hometown of Forres will commence on Friday the 7th of February. There will be two classes every Friday evening starting at 7pm in the swimming pool gym.

The first class from 7-8pm is for 6-12 years old. It is £4 per session.

The 2nd class from 8-9pm is for adults. This is £5 per session.

Classes begin in Forres

All are welcome to attend. No experience is necessary. No special equipment, no sign ups, no bank details. Just turn up and we’ll take it from there.

If you are feeling anxious about attending your first class and not sure what to expect. Have a look at our page: How Do I Join? You will find lots of information and it may set your mind at ease.

Coming soon…

More on it’s way….

Highland School of Qigong

We shall soon be releasing our Winter Qigong Routine notes. This will accompany the routine we developed last year and the workshop which we held in our school. The notes give further information about each exercise and about Qigong practice in general. Don’t miss out, sign up to our email alerts below.

Seminars

We are currently developing a seminar which will be open to anyone interested in Hung Ga. Our seminar will cover techniques, stances & drills for some signature Hung Ga applications. It will be an ideal opportunity to find out, first hand, about the martial art of Hung Ga. Make sure that you are signed up to our email alerts to be the first to find out about this exciting opportunity.

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1st Dec News & Updates

We have a new article available for you to read this week. We also have Black Friday deals throughout our Fu-kit store. There are updates to our private tuition and class schedule for this week. There’s also more info on our Chinese New Year celebrations in Inverness and future articles and workshops coming soon.

Horse Stance

If you’ve trained in any martial arts, it is likely that you have come across the horse stance, or a version of it. It is a basic stance used for training. Many who subscribe to modern training methods may question its relevance. The horse stance is good for training the legs but is it not better to do some leg weights or squats instead of spending time sitting in one position? The length of time training this stance, especially in Hung Ga, doesn’t warrant its usage in a fight, so why not spend the time training something which will be more beneficial?

The Horse Stance

Read our insightful article on the horse stance and find out more about this, often misunderstood, training method. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think. Our article has an explanation with a short instructional video. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on our social media channels. You can always email us your thoughts too.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Our sale has now been extended further still. From t-shirts to accessories and teaware. Now everything is on sale! (Except our uniforms as these are already as low a price as we can get them!) We have dresses, skirts, leggings, shorts, t-shirts, polo shirts, hats, caps, teaware, beanbags, mugs, hoodies and much more! If you are thinking of buying a gift for your training buddies or loved ones who have a passion for Hung Ga, now is the time! We can only keep prices this low for a short time, so best get in there quick. Visit our Fu-kit shop for all sale items.

Classes

You may have noticed that we have made a slight change to our website so it is now more mobile friendly to navigate. All our features are there as normal, just the pages should be a little easier to find on your mobile or tablet device. Let us know what you think.

Current class timetable

We have private 1-1 tuition available all day on Monday 2nd Dec this week. You can book and pay for these by clicking on a day and timeslot on the following calendar.

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Public classes are as per normal. Beginners are welcome to attend on Monday or Tuesday classes at 7pm. There are plenty spaces available in our kids classes for little ones to start too. We have 2 different age groups. 5-8 year olds are on Mondays at 6.15-7pm. We also have a class for 8-13 year olds on Thursday at 6.15-7pm. All are welcome to attend these classes. Sifu Hepple has an Enhanced Disclosure with the PVG Scheme, so you can rest at ease that your little ones are in safe hands. We have a lion dance class on Tuesdays at 6.15-7pm, before our main beginners class at 7pm. Why not come along and try both?

Chinese New Year

Yee’s Hung Ga Lion Heads

The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is not too far away. Our students are busy preparing in our Lion Dance class. Lions play an important role in Chinese mythology, and represent joy and happiness. It symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. The lion dance is one of the most important traditions in the Spring Festival. They are performed with the accompaniment of percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, and gongs, synchronised to the lion dance movements and actions. People traditionally used to perform lion dances to bring luck and to get rid of the evil spirits. It is performed nowadays to bring prosperity and good luck, for instance at a shop opening, celebration or wedding. It is also a great way to create a festive atmosphere, bringing happy times and good memories. Kung fu schools have kept the traditional lion dance alive over the years. It is a great way to showcase the strong stances of the students at the individual schools. Lion dance can be quite hard work. It requires considerable strength to carry and animate the lion heads for any length of time. At Yee’s Hung Ga, these traditions have been passed on to our students so that they may carry it on for future generations to enjoy. If you are interested in our Spring Festival displays or would like to contact us regarding a private display or demonstration. You can email us directly or ‘like’ our special Facebook group, Yee’s North Of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team.

Coming Soon

We have a few plans that we are working on at the moment. As mentioned earlier, we are preparing for Spring Festival next year on 25th of January. We also have some exciting workshops and a brand new Winter Qigong Routine that we are also preparing for. To avoid missing out on details of these exciting opportunities, make sure you enter your email below. If you would like to register your interest in any of these workshops, please email us directly.

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The Horse Stance

The Horse stance, feared by some, celebrated by others! What is it, what’s the point? Let’s take a look…

Jackie Chan in Drunken Master

The horse stance (Ma Bu in Chinese), also known as the Four Point Great Stance (Sai Ping Dai Ma). It is not unique to Hung Ga, by any means, however it is of particular importance to practitioners of the Hung style. It is a basic stance for training the foundation. The foundation is the fundamental elements that support the three pillars. The fundamental elements being the strong body, including the bones, muscles ligaments, fascia and tendons. Ma Bu lowers the centre of gravity which helps the practitioner have a stable base. Practicing Ma Bu improves the structure of the body and the body’s alignment. Holding the stance can increase the stamina and determination of the practitioner, far beyond what they ever thought possible. With the correct posture, one can then focus on the breath. Having a regulated slow, deep breathing cycle has many calming benefits. It has been proven to reduce the heart rate and relax the body. With the relaxed, yet stable structure, one can then improve further with the circulation of fluids and the transportation of oxygen to the vital organs and the efficient removal of toxins, improving performance. With regular practice, the body can then heighten its performance further with the circulation of vital energy or Qi. Circulating qi around the body can have a huge benefit to physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, as well as increasing longevity, boosting energy levels and creating a barrier against diseases. This encompasses the three pillars we mentioned earlier. They are the body, the mind and the spirit. The physical body is trained by using the mind to focus and hold the static posture for a period of time. When the mind and body are synchronized in this way, over time, the spirit can elevated to higher levels.

Standing in Ma Bu takes time. It is hard. It is not the kind of practice for someone who is looking for quick results. At Yee’s, students train Ma Bu, it is a requirement for their gradings. As students advance through the system to higher levels, they must have a bigger and bigger foundation. They therefore need to train Ma Bu for longer periods of time. This is not just to pass a test but also to build the three pillars and to protect themselves from harm. This can be the downfall for many students who neglect to train Ma Bu. As students progress through he Hung Ga system, they learn more and more forms and techniques. Training Ma Bu often takes a back seat in favour of the other types of training. It can often be overlooked as it is so simple. Because it is simple, that doesn’t mean that it is easy. In fact it can be very difficult to maintain the stance for a long period of time. This is the nature of kung fu however, hard work and perseverance to achieve results. In today’s fast paced world, there are a select few people who wish to take this path. Most people try to take shortcuts or look for easier methods. For many practitioners the Ma Bu is a love/hate relationship. To succeed, you must enjoy the challenge and you must persevere through hardship.

Gordon Liu as Pai Mei in Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Are you ready to step up to the challenge? Think you can master the Ma Bu? Do you want to rise to the levels of previous kung fu masters throughout history? Good. Let your training begin….

• Stand with your feet together. Hands by your sides.

• Lift your arms up in front of you, palms up, and take a nice deep breath.

• Once you have breathed in, make fists and place them at the chamber (the groove above the hip and below the bottom rib) as you breathe out.

• Pivot on your heels and turn your toes out at an angle, creating a V shape. Pivot on the ball of the feet and turn the heels out. Pivot on the heels again to turn the toes outwards and then once more so that the toes are now pointing forward. Your feet should be fairly wide apart. Roughly the length of your lower leg.

Horse stance feet placement.

• Next, bend the knees and ‘sit’. Push your knees out so that they are above the feet. Keep your back straight and head up, with your fists in the chamber, elbows squeezed towards each other. The thighs should be almost parallel with the ground, at a slight angle. You can use a mirror to check your posture.

• Focus on your breathing. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe through the nose. Take long, slow, deep breathes. Aim for 4-5 complete breathes in and out per minute.

• Great job. You’re now in the Ma Bu. You are practising an art which every Hung Ga master before you has also practiced, for centuries.

• Comfortable?

• Time how long you can maintain this stance for, without getting up. Every time you practice, try to beat your best time, even if it’s just a few seconds.

Sifu Hepple demonstrating the Ma Bu

How did you get on? How long did you manage before you had to get up? Let us know in the comments below. Send us an email or give us a tinkle on our social media channels.

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