Our last class of 2022 has been held and we have drawn the final curtain on this year.
It has been a strange one, recovering from the legacy of covid and trying to maintain the momentum of various projects we have started, as well as continuing learning, developing and practising. We have had some very memorable moments, starting with our Chinese New Year Celebrations returning to Inverness after an absence due to covid. We also returned to the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival and the Tartan Heart Takeover at Eden Court.
Thanks to the continued efforts of Si-dai Gung – Frank Yee – we have been able to continue our learning experience online. Schools from all over the world have been able to learn directly from the man himself via the magic of modern technology. We have also had the opportunity to continue with grading tests online too. This has enabled all students to move forward and continue to progress when they’re ready.
We have also had the honour of Si-dai Gung visiting Scotland and learning and testing with him “in person.” In October he was able to travel to Peterhead and Edinburgh to conduct tests, seminars and Bai Si ceremonies. You can read more about his visit in our post – Great Grandmaster Frank Yee Visits Scotland
We are very excited to see what is in store for us in 2023. Our regular timetabled classes will begin on Tuesday 3rd January. New students are always welcome to come along and try our Form class at 6pm or Qigong class at 7pm on Tuesdays. Our kids classes will begin again on Monday 9th at 6.15-7pm. Children aged 8-12 are always welcome and encouraged to attend this class. Your first class is free and our online options are still available to everyone too. At 7-8pm on Mondays we also have our lion dance classes. If you are interested in learning and performing with our lion dance team, you’re welcome to attend these sessions and practice with us. On Sunday 22nd of January we will be celebrating Chinese New Year with a lion & dragon dance performance and traditional shop blessing procession at the Eastgate Shopping Centre, beginning at 11.30am. Please come along and join in with our celebrations. All money raised at this event will be donated to Cash For Kids. You can support by donating on the day or via our fundraising page:
All donations, no matter how much, will be gratefully received and make a big difference to this amazing charity that supports families all across the North of Scotland. ❤️
May we take this opportunity to once again thank you for your support and wish you a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year.
Great Grandmaster Frank Yee Visits Scotland
After 3 years Great Grandmaster Frank Yee has finally been able to return to the UK to conduct tests, seminars, Bai Si ceremonies and presentations. He spent a weekend in Peterhead from September the 10th-12th and then travelled to Edinburgh to repeat the same timetable of events the following weekend.
GGM Frank Yee last visited the UK in 2019. He was due to return a year later in 2020 but Coronavirus put a stop to those plans. Now, 3 years later, we finally had the honour of meeting again, in person, and learning more knowledge from this exceptional man.
Despite just arriving from a New York flight, with a 13 hour delay and only 5 hours of broken sleep across 3 days, GGM Yee was still his bright and characteristically energetic self. He also appeared to have not aged a single day since we last saw him. GGM Yee wanted to begin proceedings by presenting all the senior students in attendance with a special calligraphy scroll that he had personally penned himself. He had the original intention of presenting the calligraphy to us all on his planned visit in 2020. Not only did he have the kindness and patience to inscribe each scroll individually for each student but he also had the foresight to preserve them for the duration of the pandemic, knowing that better days would once again unite us all together again.
Next on the agenda were junior and senior grading tests. Students train for a long time before they are eligible to take these tests, sometimes for years. As you can imagine, many students were very nervous. Not only performing in front of their Sifus but also the watchful eye of GGM Yee. This round of tests saw many students achieving great success, including the first Jo Gow (black belt equivalent) for the branch in Ellon. Congratulations to all students who succeeded in passing their tests. Following the tests GGM Yee gave a speech on the importance of correct practice and practicing for the excellent health benefits that Hung Ga can provide.
After a brief lunch break GGM Yee conducted two separate seminars. We have been lucky over the last few years where we have been able to further our knowledge with seminars online. Nothing can beat being there, in the room, learning the precious knowledge which GGM Yee spends months preparing. His notes for each of the seminars are rolled onto huge scrolls of paper and draped over chairs so that every small detail can be articulated to all the attendees, both in person and online.
The end of the seminars concluded the first day of GGM Yee’s visit to Peterhead. A banquet was held at the school for students to enjoy some celebratory time together after a long day of tests, practice and learning.
The next day began with many students taking Bai Si ceremonies. These are traditional discipleship ceremonies where the student is formally accepted as either an ‘in the gate’ or an ‘in the room’ disciple. You can read more about these ceremonies in our previous article, “Ceremonies in Edinburgh.” GGM Yee explained in great detail the significance and symbology of the altar and table set up for these ceremonies. This ensures that future generations of students can benefit from the rich culture of Traditional Hung Ga Kung Fu and that these traditions are never forgotten.
The finale of a memorable weekend was a senior seminar on advanced pole techniques. All attendees have been learning these techniques online over the past year. The chance to cover fine details and corrections in person was extremely beneficial, however, and demonstrates how important close contact learning is, especially after such a long period of time studying online.
After an eventful weekend in the North East of Scotland, GGM Yee then travelled to Edinburgh, to continue his comprehensive teachings of the complete Hung Ga kung fu system. It was only a short period of time but an incredible wealth of knowledge and many treasured memories spent with GGM Yee. We hope it won’t be so long before we can meet again.
Return to school activity
From the 31st of August, Scottish Government guidance states that gyms and sports facilities can open their doors to welcome the public once more. This is great news as we have pre-tests, tests and seminars just around the corner. This will be a new experience for everyone and we will be testing the water tentatively.
At YHGinverness, students are welcomed back on Tuesday the 1st of September. We will continue to run classes every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6pm until such a time that we feel we can add more to the timetable. There will be a few changes to the regular routine which we have outlined below.
Before You Train
It is crucial that you remain at home if you:
• Have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
• Have been overseas or exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
• Have COVID-19 symptoms (self-isolate for 7 days) or are feeling unwell.
• Have been told to self-isolate as part of the contact tracing measures in place.
Physical Distancing & Hygiene
• Refrain from handshakes and high fives. The traditional sun and moon bow should suffice.
• Keep 2 metres away from other people at all times.
• Do not share food, towels, and drinks.
• Clean your hands weapons and equipment frequently.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes and dispose of any used tissue in your own bag and take it home with you. Wash your hands for 20 seconds or sanitise afterwards.
• Bring a bottle of sanitiser for your own personal use.
• Avoid touching your face.
Booking Process
• For private 1-1 tuition, please use our booking system on the Classes page or contact Sifu Hepple
• New students, or students returning after a hiatus, must now join our waiting list by contacting Sifu Hepple. We will be in touch in due course when there is an opportunity for you to attend classes safely.
• Current students should inform Sifu Hepple of their intention to attend each class.
Procedures At The School
• Arrive in good time.
• Please sanitise your hands upon entry and wait in the changing area for the class to begin.
• Sifu Hepple will direct you to your training station for the duration of the class.
• Stations should be sanitised by students before and after each class. Any weapons or equipment must be sanitised in the same way.
After Class Advice
• Once training has finished leave promptly and maintain physical distancing.
• Hands should be washed and/or sanitised as soon as possible.
• Ensure personal kit and equipment is cleaned thoroughly after use.
• If you become unwell after training, you should first contact your GP/NHS 24 and then inform Sifu Hepple.
Student Spotlight Emma Archer
In our Student Spotlight series, our students have the opportunity to tell you about their training in their own words. Emma Archer has been training since 2015, participating in demonstrations and lion dance displays. Due to working life, Emma’s progress has been more gradual than some other students, however she enjoys committing her leisure time to training and gaining a deep appreciation for the style. Emma is currently learning the famous Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen (Tiger & Crane Double Fist) form for her Yee Cup Junior level (1st test of 2nd level). Here Emma tells you about her experience of training at Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy in Inverness.
What made you want to train in martial arts?
Originally, I was inspired by my father who practiced Lau Gar Kung Fu in his teens. He taught me some stances and techniques. These share similarities with Hung Ga. Of course, films starring famous practitioners were also an influence.
How did you hear about the school?
There was no Kung Fu school in my hometown, so growing-up I practiced Shotokan Karate off and on for several years. While I did enjoy the training and think it is a great style, something about Kung Fu always appealed to me more.
In my 3rd year of University, I desperately needed an alternative focus to my dissertation, and decided that it was time to look into Kung Fu again. Miraculously, there was a school across from my flat (Yee’s Hung Ga Aberdeen at the time); guess it was just meant to be! When I moved to Inverness for work, I knew of the school here and began training under the instruction of Sifu Simon Hepple.
What was your first class like?
Just as nerve wracking as my first class in Aberdeen. However, I had met Sifu Simon and some of the Inverness students before at tests and events, and they were very welcoming.
Did it live up to your expectations?
Exceeded them.
How did you feel after your first class?
Pumped with motivation to train again and after a few more classes, felt right at home.
What do you think of your training so far? Is there anything you’d change?
Enjoy every minute of it. If I could train all day every day, I would.
What are your hopes for your future in martial arts?
Apart from maintaining my own fitness and well-being, eventually I would like to help others on their Hung Ga journey.
Anything else that you wish to add?
I have trained at a few branches, and each has a positive and friendly atmosphere. While it is not common for a student to change schools, branch instructors have been very accommodating of my working situation. I feel accepted and enjoy training with everyone. Sifu as well as my Hung Ga brothers and sisters are always encouraging and help to improve my skills.
It is also nice when we join other schools for seminars and events. Not to mention our predecessors are very skillful, knowledgeable and approachable. Always an honour to learn from them.
Kung Fu truly improves your fitness and self-confidence, which has helped me in other areas of life.
Come try Hung Ga and join our awesome family.
1st March News & Updates
We have a busy week ahead of us at YHGInverness. Our public Qigong classes are due to be reinstated to our timetable. We have students undergoing pre-tests on Saturday morning and we also have our exciting seminar, available to anyone, on Saturday afternoon.
Highland School of Qigong
Our public Qigong classes make a welcome return this week. Our syllabus has been developed further to add extra sensitivity for our students. Springtime is traditionally a time of year for cleansing, renewal, creativity and inspiration. We have developed our Spring Qigong Routine especially for the Spring months to help balance and encourage growth in these areas. We will also harmonise energy in the physical body to boost health and productivity.
Qigong Classes
Our public Qigong classes are due to return to our Inverness Academy this week. On Thursday the 5th of March we will hold regular public Qigong classes. These will continue every Thursday evening at 6.15pm. The classes are open to anyone, of any age, who are interested in learning the art of Qigong.
Classes will be priced at £5 per class. There is also the option to buy a loyalty card for £30. This will grant you a 7th class for free. They will follow a similar format to our previous Qigong classes where we will practice a set routine. A Qigong exercise will then be taught to individual students to practice throughout the week. Comfortable, loose clothing should be worn with flat trainers or plimsoles. If you would like to enquire further about these classes, you can email us directly to ask any questions. We will also post updates on our Facebook page:
If you prefer to learn privately, we still have 1-1 tuition available. These sessions can easily be booked with our online booking system. Just select a day and available timeslot that is suitable for you on our calendar below. Fill out your details and you will then be taken to PayPal. You can securely pay for your session with any debit or credit card at this stage. We currently have availability all day on Monday this week.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Spring Qigong Routine
Continuing from our previous Autumn and Winter Qigong routines, our Spring Routine is due to be released this month. This will follow a similar format, with everything that you need sent out to you, completely FREE, in an email. This will include a warm up, main practice and cool down. Each exercise will have a video of it being performed. It will also contain brief instructions, an explanation of any theory and a list of the main benefits. A workshop will also be held a few weeks after the release of the routine. This will aid you in your practice and help to clarify any questions that might arise after practicing it for a short time. Any notes from the workshop and general feedback will then be compiled and sent out to everyone, which should aid further practice and development.
All this information will be completely FREE of charge to anyone who is interested in learning the art of Qigong. To receive this information, you only need to complete the form below. Once compiled, we’ll send it all out to you at the email address that you provide.
Rent Out Our School
If you have thought about running your own martial arts, yoga, meditation or exercise class but you’re put off by the high charges for renting space out, we have a great solution. Our Academy has a fantastic central location in Inverness. It is available throughout the day Sunday to Saturday. We also have Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights available for you to run your classes. If you wish, we can even designate space for your marketing and help get the word out on our social media platforms. It only costs £12 to rent out our school for an hour. If you need more time, speak to us about what you need and we can come up with a fair arrangement. As always, you can email us directly or read more about what we can offer you in this article: Space Available
Classes
Our classes this week see the return of our public Qigong classes on Thursday evenings at 6.15pm. We also have our Forres classes on Friday evenings at 7-8pm for kids & 8-9pm for adults. New students who wish to start are more than welcome at either of these classes. If you wish to begin in Inverness, the best class to start with is Tuesday evenings at 7pm. See the following page for further information: How Do I Join?
Private 1-1 Tuition
Many students prefer to learn in private, with 1-1 tuition from Sifu Hepple. Perhaps you feel anxious about learning in front of other students or just want to learn at a faster pace. These classes are an invaluable tool for any students who wish to perfect their art. Whatever your reasons might be for learning solo, they’re easy to arrange. Simply select a date and available time slot, fill out your info and then pay securely by PayPal with any credit or debit card.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]An Interview With Sifu Frank Yee
If you would like some insight into what Hung Ga training is like, or want to weigh up the options of contemporary vs traditional, perhaps you’ve been training for some time but need a little direction, then this interview with Grandmaster Frank Yee is extremely insightful. It was published almost 20 years ago, in 2001, for Kung Fu Magazine. It discusses the history of the Hung Ga style, Grandmaster Yee’s own background, how he started in Hung Ga, training requirements and some really good, solid advice. You can read the full interview here: An Interview With Sifu Frank Yee
Inverness Pre-Tests
This coming Saturday (7th March) we have scheduled pre-tests for our students. These help our students prepare for the rigorous grading procedure, which we are quite proud of at Yee’s Hung Ga. We ensure that our students are fully capable for the level that they are testing. Simply attending a grading does not guarantee a pass in the Yee’s Hung Ga system. A student must undergo a number of tests to pass each grading. This ensures that the art of Hung Ga is passed on fully for future generations. It also means that our students are under no disillusions about their strengths and capabilities. The pre-testing stage also helps to settle any anxious feelings that our students might have about the main grading.
Hung Ga Techniques For Combat Sports
On the same day at 1pm, Yee’s Inverness will host a seminar, suitable for anyone, students and non-students, to attend. This seminar will be delivered by Sifu Michael Rose, instructor from Yee’s Hung Ga Peterhead and Vice President of Yee’s Hung Ga Europe. The seminar is all about the Hung Ga fighting system and how it can be used for various combat sports including; MMA, Sanda & Kickboxing. Sifu Rose can also advise on correct stance, positioning, stretching, diet & nutrition in preparation for competing. Boxing or MMA gloves are suitable for this workshop. A limited supply is available at the school but we recomend that you take your own.
If you’ve ever thought about competing or would like to know more about the training involved, this is your chance to gain the knowledge you need to take it to the next level. The seminar lasts for about 3 hours. It is suitable for both men and women, basically anyone interested in learning. For students of Yee’s Hung Ga it is priced at £30 and non-students £35. Tickets can be pre-booked, to avoid disappointment, here:
Hung Ga Fighting System for Combat Sports Tickets
Facebook event page for seminar
Coming Soon
The notes for our Winter Qigong Routine have now been compiled and will be ready to send out shortly. You can find out how our students got on in our Qigong classes, pre-tests and combat sport workshop next week.
23rd Feb News & Updates
You can find out how to rent our school out for your own classes, workshops or groups. Our new Qigong classes are due to commence at the beginning of next month. We also have an exciting seminar workshop to coincide with our scheduled pre-testing at the beginning of March. This is available to Yee’s students and non-students to attend.
Spring Festival/Chinese New Year Video
One of our students has created a fantastic video from footage of our performance at this years celebration in Inverness for Chinese New Year. We welcomed in the Year of the Rat at the end of January with a large lion & dragon dance display across the city centre. This was the result of three Yee’s schools from across the North East, collaborating together for one big celebration. You can see the video below and subscribe to our channel for more:
Hung Ga Fighting System for Combat Sports
On the 7th of March we have scheduled pre-tests for our students. These help our students prepare for the rigorous grading procedure which we are quite proud of at Yee’s Hung Ga. We ensure that our students are fully capable for the level that they are testing. Simply attending a grading does not guarantee a pass in the Yee’s Hung Ga system. A student must undergo a number of tests to pass each grading. This ensures that the art of Hung Ga is passed on fully for future generations. It also means that our students are under no disillusions about their strengths and capabilities. The pre-testing stage also helps to settle any anxious feelings that our students might have about the main grading.
On the same day at 1pm, Yee’s Inverness will host a seminar, suitable for anyone, students and non-students, to attend. This seminar will be delivered by Sifu Michael Rose, instructor from Yee’s Hung Ga Peterhead and Vice President of Yee’s Hung Ga Europe. The seminar is all about the Hung Ga fighting system and how it can be used for various combat sports including; MMA, Sanda & Kickboxing. Sifu Rose can also advise on correct stance, positioning, stretching, diet & nutrition in preparation for competing. Boxing and MMA gloves are both suitable for this workshop. A limited supply is available at the school but we recomend that you take your own.
If you’ve ever thought about competing or would like to know more about the training involved, this is your chance to gain the knowledge you need to take it to the next level. The seminar lasts for about 3 hours. It is suitable for both men and women, basically anyone interested in learning. For students of Yee’s Hung Ga it is priced at £30 and non-students £35. Tickets can be pre-booked, to avoid disappointment, here:
Hung Ga Fighting System for Combat Sports Tickets
Facebook event page for seminar
Highland School of Qigong
Our Spring Qigong Routine is due to be released in March. Springtime is traditionally a time of year for cleansing, renewal, creativity and inspiration. We have specifically developed this routine for the Spring months to help balance and encourage growth in these areas. We will also harmonise energy in the physical body to boost health and productivity. Our public Qigong classes will make a welcome return next week. Our syllabus has been developed to add extra sensitivity for our students.
Spring Qigong Routine
Continuing from our previous Autumn and Winter Qigong routines, our Spring Routine is due to be released at the beginning of March. This will follow a similar format with everything that you need sent out to you, completely FREE, in an email. This will include a warm up, main practice and cool down. Each exercise will have a video of it being performed. It will also contain brief instructions, an explanation of any theory and a list of the main benefits. A workshop will also be held a few weeks after the release of the routine. This will aid you in your practice and help to clarify any questions that might arise after practicing it for a short time. Any notes from the workshop and general feedback will then be compiled and sent out to everyone, which should aid further practice and development.
All this information will be completely FREE of charge to anyone who is interested in learning the art of Qigong. To receive this information, you only need to complete the form below. Once compiled, we’ll send it all out to you at the email address that you provide.
Qigong Classes
Our public Qigong classes are due to return to our Inverness Academy on the 5th of March 2020. We will hold regular public Qigong classes every Thursday evening at 6.15pm. These classes are open to anyone, of any age, who are interested in learning the art of Qigong.
Classes will be priced at £5 per class. There is also the option to buy a loyalty card for £30. This will grant you a 7th class for free. They will follow a similar format to our previous Qigong classes where we will practice a set routine. A Qigong exercise will then be taught to individual students to practice throughout the week. Comfortable, loose clothing should be worn with flat trainers or plimsoles. If you would like to enquire further about these classes, you can email us directly to ask any questions. We will also post updates on our Facebook page:
If you prefer to learn privately, we still have 1-1 tuition available. These sessions can easily be booked with our online booking system. Just select a day and available timeslot that is suitable for you on our calendar below. Fill out your details and you will then be taken to PayPal. You can securely pay for your session with any debit or credit card at this stage. We currently have availability all day on Monday and Tuesday this week.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Rent our school
If you have thought about running your own martial arts, yoga, meditation or exercise class but you’re put off by the high charges for renting space out, we have a great solution. Our Academy has a great central location in Inverness. It is available throughout the day all week. We also have Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights available for you to run your classes in private. We can even designate space for your marketing and help get the word out with our social media. It only costs £12 to rent out our school for an hour. If you need more time, speak to us about what you need and we can come up with a fair arrangement. As always, you can email us directly or read more about what we can offer you in our article:
Classes
Our classes continue at our academy in Inverness and at the swimming pool gymnasium in Forres. Anyone wishing to begin their martial arts journey at Yee’s can attend our Tuesday evening beginners class at 7pm in Inverness. Both our classes in Forres are suitable for complete beginners. We have a class at 8pm for adults or 7pm for kids. Anyone is welcome to come along and give it a go.
1-1 Tuition
We have private 1-1 tuition classes available for anyone who would prefer to learn solo. These classes are easy to arrange. Simply select a date and available time slot, fill out your info and then pay securely by PayPal with any credit or debit card.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Coming soon…
We will shortly be releasing our notes from our Winter Qigong Routine. The notes give further information about each exercise and Qigong practice in general. We will soon be announcing further details about another seminar based on Hung Ga techniques. This should take place towards the beginning of April. To keep up to date with announcements, make sure that you sign up to our email alerts below.
9th Feb News & Updates
Our first classes in Forres kicked off this week. We also have a blog article on the “Ecology of the Dancing Chinese Lion,” from one of our Inverness students. We have updates to our classes for the week ahead and an exciting announcement about regular Qigong classes beginning soon.
Forres Classes
Our first classes in Forres began this week. It is great to see an interest in traditional Chinese martial arts here. We appreciate everyone who has shared our posts and helped us advertise these classes. The hard work is just beginning though. Please keep helping us to spread the word so more people can find out about us.
If you are interested in joining us in Forres, just come along to one of our classes. Both our current Forres classes are on every Friday evening in the swimming pool gymnasium. We have one at 7pm for 6-12yr olds. They are open to both girls, boys and any parents who want to join in. They are only £4 for an hour.
Our adult class is at 8pm and only costs £5. It is open to anyone, men and women aged over 12 years, who are willing to give it a go. You dont need to be mega fit to do these classes. They are designed for anyone to follow along to. You practice at your own rate and get fit as you practice. The more you practice, the better you get!
If you are interested in coming along but a little anxious about attending your first class, don’t worry. You can give us a phone or email and we can set your mind at ease before you attend. For pointers on what to expect, check out our page, “How Do I Join”
You can also check out our Forres website page here:
And our Forres Facebook page here:
Ecology of the Chinese Dancing Lion
A Yee’s student from Inverness has written a fun blog article about the Chinese Lion Dance. You can read it here:
Ecology of the Dancing Chinese Lion
Emma Archer, the author, begun her Hung Ga journey at our academy in Aberdeen and has been training for a number of years now. She is currently training for her Yee Cup Junior level.
Classes
Highland School of Qigong
We are happy to announce that we will be reinstating our public Qigong classes at our Inverness branch. These will begin on the 5th of March at 6.15pm until 7pm. Each class is priced at £5 or £30 for a loyalty card which will give you a 7th class for free. There will also be updates to the curriculum we previously taught in these classes. The Qigong classes will take place instead of the Hung Ga kids class for ages 8-13. The older kids class will now be incorporated into our kids class on Monday evenings.
Hung Ga, Inverness
As mentioned above, our kids class for 8-13 yr olds will now be incorporated into our Monday kids class, to allow room in the schedule for our refreshed Qigong classes. This will take place immediately, however the Qigong classes will commence on the 5th of March.
Our Monday kids class at 6.15-7pm will now be for 6-12yr olds. Anyone interested in attending, within that age bracket, is welcome to join us. Anyone outside that age bracket, who would like to join, is welcome to attend our Tuesday evening class at 7pm.
1-1 Private Tuition
We have full availability for 1-1 training sessions on Monday and Tuesday this week. There is also some availability in the evenings after the public classes. These are ideal if you wish to improve, at a faster rate, on what you have already learned in class. If you wish to learn out with the public classes then these are also your best choice.
They are simple to arrange and pay for. All you need to do is complete the form below with your required dates and times. You will then be taken to the PayPal site where you can securely pay for your chosen class, even if you dont have a PayPal account.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Space Available
Do you wish to start your own yoga class or meditation group? Perhaps you already run a martial art class, excercise club or group and are looking into other locations?
We currently have space available (out with our regular timetabled classes) where you can rent out our school. Check out our article here:
Or you can email us to find out more.
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 in January. 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.
Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations 2020
Our Spring Festival/birthday celebrations for Inverness has now been and gone. The dust has, just about, settled and our students have returned to their regular practice routine. We had a real blast with our lion and dragon dance parade and, if you came to see us, we hope that you did too. We performed displays at various locations across the city centre including Jimmy Chung’s Restaurant, The Eastgate Centre, The Victorian Market, Blacks Outdoor Retailers and outside our very own premises on Inverness High Street. We are honoured to have taken part in the blessing of so many stores around Inverness. It was quite a large undertaking but, with the help of our other schools across the North East from Ellon and Peterhead, we were able to complete around 50 blessings. This is sure to clear the city of evil spirits, at least until next year when ‘Nian’ is set to return for the ‘Year of the Ox’. These blessings are traditional “Choi Chang,” blessings. You can read more about them in our article about Chinese Lion Dance. The Spring Festival lasts for about two weeks so there will still be many more celebrations besides our own. You can check out photos and videos of our parade, blessings and performances on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Please feel free to tag us in your own posts, so we can see them all, with the tags #yhginverness #yeeshungga or #invernesscny20 You can also see many other performances and demonstrations from our Lion & Dragon Dance Team throughout the year. You can even book us for your own celebration, wedding or event.
We also have a Facebook Event Page for our 2021 celebrations. Feel free to like and share this to help us spread the word for next year.
Here are a few photos from our Year of the Rat Celebrations on Saturday the 25th of January 2020. 恭喜发财 (Gung Hei Fa Choy)
Chinese Lion Dance
Chinese lion dance is a tradition which is at least 1000 years old. It is a fun, colourful way to bring a party atmosphere to any happy occasion. Weddings, festivals, parties, blessings, shop openings and, of course, Chinese New Year. Lion dance is huge in Asia and in many other parts of the world. As with most Chinese traditions, there are many myths, legends, symbology and folklore attached to these practices. We’ll take a look at the significance of the different lions and explore some of the hidden meanings behind them.
Chinese lion dances can be split into two main groups or styles, Northern and Southern. The Northern style is sometimes called Beijing style. It can be very acrobatic. They usually appear in pairs and have long, ruffled, shaggy orange and yellow hair. Dependant on whether the lion is male or female, it will have a red or green bow on the head. Male lions have a red bow and the female has a green one.
The movements of Northern lions resemble those of a Pekingese or Fu Dog. Stunts and acrobatics such as lifts, jumps, walking on rattan poles, or balancing on giant balls are common. They sometimes appear as a family, with two large “adult” lions and a pair of small “young lions.”
Southern lion dance is usually performed as a ceremony or blessing. The ceremonies are performed to bring luck and good fortune. The Southern lions are decorated in many different colours and they have a very uniquely shaped head. There is a mirror on the forehead and a horn above it in the center. The performers animate the lion by flashing the large eyes and flapping the ears. The mouth also opens and closes.
Southern lion dance is also known as Cantonese style. There are two main groups within the Cantonese style. Fat San (Buddha Mountain) and Hok San (Crane Mountain). There are other groups too, such as Fat-Hok (a fusion of Fat San and Hok San), and the Green Lion (Qingl Shil – popular with the Fukien/Hokkien and Taiwanese).
Fat San is common amongst many Kung Fu schools. The movements are very powerful and require considerable strength. The lion represents each individual school and demonstrates a lot of the stances and footwork involved. It also shows how strong the students are. When performing, the most senior students are therefore chosen to represent their school with the lion. It is a great honour for students to be given this privilege.
The Hok San style combines a Southern lion head with Northern lion movements. Hok San focuses on life-like, realistic movements, and acrobatic stunts. The tail is shorter on this type of lion. Many lion dance troupes that perform pole (jong) jumping, use this type of lion. You will often see Hok San lion dances using three different coloured lions. A black, a yellow and white lion. The black lion is the youngest of the three. The movements of this lion are performed fast, like a young child with lots of energy. The yellow lion is the middle child, it’s movements are energetic and lively. The white lion is the oldest. You may see many other colours too. A red lion is common at weddings because the colour is considered to be lucky. The red lion also symbolises courage and strength. The green lion, however, represents friendship.
There are also three lions which represent three brothers in arms from the classic, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” The characters are Liu Bei, Guan Gong and Zhang Fei. Together they swore a blood oath to restore the Han dynasty. You can read more about Guan Gong and this classical Chinese novel in our article, “Who’s the guy with the big sword thingy!”
The Liu Bei lion is the eldest of the three brothers. Yellow is the main colour of his face with a white beard and fur. The imperial yellow colour is significant because it shows that he became the first emperor of the Shu-Han Kingdom. The white beard and fur shows that he was very wise. He has a multicolored tail with a white underside, representing the five elements. He also has three coins on his collar, to show that he is the eldest. The Liu Bei lion is used by kung fu schools or organisations to show that they are well established. He is also known as Rui Shi or ‘Auspicious Lion’.
The Guan Gong lion has red as the main colour of his face and a long black beard. His tail is red and black coloured with a white underside and white trim. He has two coins in his collar and is referred to as the second brother. He is also known as Xing Shi meaning ‘Awakened Lion’.
The Zhang Fei lion has a black coloured face with a short black beard. His tail is black and white, also with a white underside and white trim. He has bells attached to his body too. He has a single coin on his collar, showing that he is the youngest brother. This Lion is known as Dou Shi or ‘Fighting Lion’. This is because Zhang Fei had a short temper and liked fighting. Kung fu schools that are just starting out or those wanting to make a challenge might use Zhang Fei.
Choi chang
Choi chang is a Chinese New Year tradition. Shopkeepers, restaurants and business owners attach a red envelope filled with money to a lettuce and hang it above the doorway of their premises. Kung fu schools visit the premises with their lions and perform the choi chang. The lions approach the lettuce inquisitively, with cat-like movements. They will jump up and eat the lettuce, keeping the money, and spitting out the chewed up lettuce leaves around the doorway. This brings good luck to the store during the forthcoming year. “Choi chang,” literally means picking the greens. It is seen as especially auspicious for the lettuce leaves to land on you. Sweeping the lettuce leaves up however, rather than picking them up, is seen as sweeping away the good luck and therefore unlucky.
Sometimes the lettuce is hung quite high, 15 to 20 feet. The prize in the envelopes of these lettuces can be quite considerable. Only the most skilled martial artists are able to obtain these lettuces, whilst dancing with a heavy lion head and in front of a watchful crowd. The higher the lettuce, the bigger the challenge and the greater the reward, in the red envelopes and from the crowd. Kung fu schools gain notoriety through this practice and therefore more students too.
Many kung fu schools would take part in the choi chang. Occasionally more than one school might approach the same lettuce. If this is the case, the lions must fight a duel to decide a winner. The battle that takes place is not a street fighting brawl but one that uses the lion’s movements to impress the crowd. The greater the style and finesse from the performers, the greater the audience’s praise. The lions with the highest praise and cheers wins the right to complete the choi chang. The reputation of the schools are at stake during these duels so the performers must act with the highest respect and decorum.
There are other types of challenges that a lion dance troupe may be confronted with instead of lettuces. Pineapples, bananas, oranges, pots, benches etc have all been used as barriers for the lion to overcome.
Our own new year celebrations in Inverness will begin on Saturday the 25th of January 2020. We start out at Jimmy Chungs restaurant at 1pm, then on to the Eastgate Centre for about 2pm. We then proceed to the Victorian Market for 4.30pm and finally back to Jimmy Chungs for about 5.30pm for a final dance and some food. We would love for you to come and enjoy our celebration so that we may continue to honour this wonderful festive experience year after year. As always, we value your feedback so don’t forget to tag us in your photos #yhginverness #invernesscny20. You can also email us and let us know what you thought.
19 Jan 20 News & Updates
This is our final week of preparation before our Chinese new year celebrations begin. Our latest article explains some of the traditions, myths and legends surrounding the two week Spring Festival. We also have new classes beginning in Forres and updated times and info for our regular classes too.
Chinese New Year 2020
We now have less than a week before the beginning of the Spring Festival, commonly known as Chinese New Year. The two week festival is a busy time for kung fu schools all over the world. Yee’s Hung Ga are no different. We perform traditional lion dance displays and blessings to bring good fortune for people, businesses and organisations. You can find out what plans we have in store, plus learn about myths, legends and a Chinese/Scottish culture fusion called, “Gung Haggis Fa Choi,” plus loads more in our latest article, “Chinese New Year 20 – Year of the Rat.”
You can follow our Chinese New Year Celebration Event to keep up to date with our own celebrations here in Inverness. Our Facebook page, “Yee’s North of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team,” will also give you updates on all of our performances throughout the year.
Classes
In the North of Scotland, Yee’s Hung Ga has schools in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and we are now excited to announce that we will be running classes in Morayshire too. From the 7th of February we will be be running two classes every Friday evening in Forres. There will be one class for kids aged between 8 and 12 at 7-8pm and also a class for ages 12 – adult from 8-9pm. All classes will be held in the boys gymnasium at Forres Swimming Pool. We have a page on this website just for Forres classes and we have also set up a Facebook page to share content. Please feel free to share either or both:
New members are always welcome to attend our classes in Inverness as well as Forres. Tuesday evenings at 7pm are the best classes to start off with. You can find out more information about joining on the, “How Do I Join?” page of this website.
Private tuition classes, for the week commencing 19th-25th January, can be booked and paid for online via this website. We currently have full availability on Monday 19th plus a few other evening timeslots. Use the following calendar to pick a day and see availability.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Highland School of Qigong
If you wish to book a private tuition slot for Qigong, you can also use the appointment calendar above to arrange a suitable time.
If you registered to receive our Winter Qigong Routine, this has been sent out. If you would still like to receive it, completely free, or it didn’t arrive in your inbox, you can still sign up to have it sent out to you with the link below:
The Winter Qigong Routine Workshop was also held on the 4th of January. Notes from this workshop will also be compiled and sent out shortly. This should aid practice and give you further information about the philosophy, theory and practice of our routine.
We will release our Spring Qigong Routine, mid to late February, so keep an eye out for more information regarding this. If you have signed up for our Winter Qigong Routine, you will automatically be sent the Spring Routine too.
We have set up a Facebook page specifically for all our Qigong information and events. Feel free to ‘like’ this page. Any shares are also appreciated:
Hung Sale
Despite all the Hints you dropped over Christmas, you STILL didn’t get the hoody that you really wanted. Don’t stress it! Our sale continues throughout January in our online shop. Pop in to see what bargains we still have available.
Coming Soon…
We have a lot to look forward to this year and a lot of practice to crack on with. We have already kicked the year off on the right foot with our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop. We are planning to introduce our Spring routine around the middle to late February. Keep an eye out for updates on this exciting, and completely free, qigong routine. If you’ve already signed up to our emails then it will be sent out to you automatically. If not, it’s easy to do, just enter your details below.
Chinese New Year 20 – Year of the Metal Rat.
Chinese New Year is celebrated by more than 20% of the world’s population. It’s the most important holiday across China and most of Asia. There are lots of festivities from people, businesses and organisations all over the world. Yee’s Hung Ga are no exception, we have organised a free Chinese New Year Celebration for Inverness, performing lion dance displays, parades and demonstrations. You can find a link to our Facebook Event Page here:
Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations Facebook Event Page
If you would like to get involved, promote your business or would like us to perform a lion dance, please email us directly. You can keep up to date with all our displays and demonstrations on our specially created Facebook page:
Yee’s North Of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team.
The Chinese New Year of 2020 falls on January 25th (Saturday), and the festival will continue to February 8th, about 2 weeks in total. 2020 will be the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac. The Rat is the first of all the zodiac animals and represents the beginning of a new cycle. In Chinese culture, rats are seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples used to pray to them to bless them with children. People born in the Rat years are likable, charismatic and energetic.
In China, you’ll hear Chinese New Year being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival. It can still be very wintry, but the holiday marks the end of the cold, short days and the beginning of the days getting longer. People welcome spring and all that comes with it: planting and harvests, new beginnings and fresh starts.
At Yee’s Hung Ga, we celebrate with lion and dragon dance parades. Yee’s displays in New York Chinatown are world renowned. Here, in Scotland, our displays gain ever increasing popularity and media coverage. We travel all over the North, performing at galas, highland games, weddings, festivals, special occasions and events throughout the year.
Lion dance displays play an important role in Chinese mythology. They represent joy and happiness and symbolise power, wisdom, and superiority. The lion dance is one of the most important traditions of 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 evil spirits. It is performed nowadays to symbolise 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.
There are many legends surrounding the customs and practices of the Spring Festival. According to one such legend, a monster called Nian (年) would appear every New Year’s Eve and terrorise the local people. Everyone would hide away in their homes from the creature. The legend tells of one boy who was brave enough to fight off Nian using firecrackers. The next day, people celebrated their survival by setting off even more firecrackers. That practice has become, forevermore, a crucial part of the Spring Festival.
In modern times we use firecrackers to make a lot of noise for celebrating and to welcome in the new year. It is customary to stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the new year and bring good luck. The most amount of fireworks are set off at this time, more than any other time of the year, anywhere in the world. Due to safety reasons and concerns for air pollution, many Chinese cities have banned fireworks. Over 500 cities also have restrictions in place too. Beijing banned fireworks for 13 years. The ban was lifted in 2006 due to public pressure. If you’re in China during this time, you’ll probably be able to hear and see the explosions for at least 3 nights (and it can go on for weeks).
Kung fu schools have kept the traditional lion dance alive over the years. Chinese new year is a big deal for most kung fu schools all over the world over. It is a chance to demonstrate the skills of the students and promote the school, raising awareness and interest. It is a great honour for students to be involved in these celebrations. It demonstrates a high level of commitment to the school and also that their skills are worthy of such displays. It is a great way to showcase the strong stances of the students from the school. 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.
The Spring Festival also coincides, roughly, with our birthday at Yee’s, Inverness. This will be the 8th year that YHGInverness has been open on Inverness High Street. In Chinese culture, the number 8 is regarded as the luckiest number. It’s pronunced ‘Ba’ in Chinese, similar to the word ‘Fa’, which means to be prosperous. It signifies prosperity, success and high social status. We hope that this means it will be a good year for us at Yee’s. 2020 is also the year of the rat. The rat is also particularly auspicious for businesses starting new ventures.
We celebrate our birthday and the Spring Festival together by organising the free Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations throughout the city centre, performing lion and dragon dance displays. The lions and dragons are often confused with each other. Both dance traditions date back well over a thousand years. Although neither creature existed in ancient China, both are celebrated as mythical, powerful, and auspicious, especially during Chinese New Year and other important events. The main difference between the two is the number of performers. A lion only has two, a head and a tail performer. A dragon is very long and can have 10 performers operating it. Some of the larger dragon parades can have many many more performers. It also looks like a dragon flying in the air. It is raised up on poles and the performers move the dragon around in spirals, usually above the heads of the audience. The lion performers move around on the ground, using stances based around their style of kung fu.
It should also be noted that the 25th of January is Rabbie Burns Night. Robert Burns was a famous Scottish poet who was born on this day in 1759. Burns Night, also known as a Burns Supper, is celebrated the world over. Rabbie Burns’s poems are very popular in China and have been ever since they were first published for a magazine in the 1920s.
“Gung Haggis Fat Choy” is also a thing! It is an event which began in Vancouver, Canada but has since gained popularity in other countries too. The phrase, “Gung Haggis Fat Choy,” is a fusion of Scottish and Chinese words. Haggis, being our national dish and ‘Gung Hei Fat Choy’ is a traditional Cantonese greeting used during Chinese New Year. The event, which began in 1998, is a celebration of both Burns Night and Chinese New Year which includes bagpipes and lion dances. We are certain that there will be plenty of both this year in the Highlands capital. We would love for you to come and enjoy our celebration so that we may continue to celebrate this wonderful festive experience year after year. As always, we value your feedback so don’t forget to tag us in your photos #yhginverness #invernesscny20. You can also email us and let us know what you thought.
News & Updates 12th Jan 2020
Happy new year! Welcome back to Yee’s Hung Ga and a whole new decade of training with us. A new year begins and some new opportunities come with it! Classes in Inverness have returned to normal after the festive period. We also have some exciting news about classes beginning in Forres. The News section of our website has been organized to find articles a little easier. Our Chinese New Year Celebrations are only 2 weeks away and we have a bumper day planned!
Classes
Classes in Inverness have already returned to our normal schedule. New members are always welcome to attend our classes. Tuesday evenings at 7pm are the best classes to start off with. You can find out more information about joining on the, “How Do I Join?” page of this website.
Private tuition classes, for the week commencing 12th-18th January, can be booked and paid for online via this website. We have full availability on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th plus a few other evening timeslots. Use the following calendar to pick a day and see availability.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]In the North of Scotland, Yee’s Hung Ga has schools in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and we are now excited to announce that we will be running classes in Morayshire too. From the 7th of February we will be be running two classes every Friday evening in Forres. There will be one class for kids aged between 8 and 12 at 7-8pm and also a class for ages 12 – adult from 8-9pm. All classes will be held in the boys gymnasium at Forres Swimming Pool. We have a page on this website just for Forres classes and we have also set up a Facebook page to share content. Please feel free to share either or both:
News Section
We have spent a bit of time over the festive holidays compiling all our news reports and featured articles. You can now find a list of them all at the top of the News section of this website. They have all been listed chronologically, with the most recent at the top of the list. We have also split the list into two sections. One for our informative articles and another for the news reports and school updates. Have a browse and let us know what you think. Some great reading to start off with is our “Horse Stance” article or if you’re looking for some motivation to get you going, try our article “Motivation: Hints, Tips and Good Practice.” If you are interested in our grading system and the levels you can expect to achieve at Yee’s Hung Ga, take a look at our article, “Do You Have Belts?”
Qigong
If you registered to receive our Winter Qigong Routine, this has been now been sent out. If you would still like to receive it, completely free, or it didn’t arrive in your inbox, you can still sign up to have it sent out to you with the link below:
The Winter Qigong Routine Workshop was also held on the 4th of January. Notes from this workshop will also be compiled and sent out shortly. This should aid practice and give you further information about the philosophy, theory and practice of our routine.
We will release our Spring Qigong Routine, mid to late February, so keep an eye out for more information regarding this. If you have signed up for our Winter Qigong Routine, you will automatically be sent the Spring Routine too.
We have set up a Facebook page specifically for all our Qigong information and events. Feel free to ‘like’ this page. Any shares are also appreciated:
Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations 2020
The Spring Festival, also know as Chinese New Year, is only two weeks away, literally just around the corner. Our celebrations for Inverness coincides with Yee’s Inverness’s 8th birthday. We have planned to celebrate this by performing lion dance and demonstrations across the city centre.
We start off at Jimmy Chungs Restaurant at 1pm, where we will perform a traditional blessing. We will also perform at the Eastgate Centre from 2pm and we will perform displays and blessings, starting in the food court and encompassing the entire shopping centre. Our next display is at The Victorian Market at 4.30pm where we will perform lion dance displays and blessings there too.
Check out our Facebook event page below. Please share it with your friends to help us spread the word:
Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations Event Page
Hung Sale
Despite all the Hints you dropped over Christmas, you STILL didn’t get the hoody that you really wanted. Don’t stress it! Our sale continues throughout January in our online shop. Pop in to see what bargains we still have available.
- Classes, Courses & Seminars11 products
- Hung Ga Kung Fu Classes5 products
- Qigong Classes & Courses6 products
- Uniforms9 products
- Training Aids5 products
- Accessories19 products
- Hoodies5 products
- T-shirts11 products
- Mens5 products
- Ladies5 products
- Tea & Mugs3 products
Coming Soon…
We have a lot to look forward to this year and a lot of practice to crack on with. We have already kicked the year off on the right foot with our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop. We are planning to introduce our Spring routine around the middle to late February. Keep an eye out for updates on this exciting, and completely free, qigong routine. If you’ve already signed up to our emails then it will be sent out to you automatically. If not, it’s easy to do, just enter your details below.
We will also be hosting a kung fu workshop which will be open to the public as well as regular Yee’s students. If you are interested in martial arts and would like a taster of what the Hung style of kung fu is all about, be sure to subscribe to our emails to ensure that you don’t miss out.
Festive Special News & Updates
Welcome to our final newsletter of 2019. Our Winter Qigong Routine has finally been sent out and we have set up a workshop to compliment it. Our Chinese New Year preparations continue. Only 5 more weeks to go! If you are looking for last minute gift ideas, we have got you covered, with tickets to our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop and Gift Certificates. Although too late for Christmas delivery, there’s plenty of bargains still to be had in our ‘Hung’ sale. Our public classes have now drawn to a close, however the new year beckons. It is a time for reflection and new beginnings. If getting fit and healthy, meeting new friends, getting out and off the settee, learning something new and interesting that could potentially help you in a tricky situation, is high on your agenda, read on to find out how to start your kung fu journey at Yee’s.
Winter Qigong Routine
Here in Inverness, Winter has arrived. Freezing temperatures, short daylight hours, the stress of Christmas, parties on every corner. It can all take its toll on your mind and body. Luckily our Winter Qigong Routine has also arrived in time to help you relax and refocus. Refresh your mind and body with our qigong routine. We have designed it especially for this time of year.
If you haven’t signed up for our FREE qigong routine yet, simply complete the following form and we will send it to you.
Inside our Winter Qigong Routine email you will find an introduction to the routine, the routine itself with YouTube links to every exercise, a YouTube link to the whole playlist of every exercise and also a description of the physiological effects of the routine on the body. Every YouTube video has a brief description of how to complete each exercise, as well as a description of its purpose and benefits. All this information is completely FREE!! If you are interested in learning about qigong, this information is invaluable.
As well as our FREE qigong routine, we have also set up a workshop to compliment it. In this workshop we will practice the whole routine. It will be an ideal opportunity to ask any questions that you might have, or may have arisen from your practice of the routine. We will discuss the main theories and philosophies behind the routine, the organs and channels involved in each exercise and how they are put together to benefit the entire system in a holistic manner. This workshop will take place on the 4th of January 2020. Ideal to set off the new decade on the right foot. You can keep up to date with this event on our Facebook event page:
Highland Scool of Qigong, Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Facebook Event Page
The workshop costs £15. (£10 for Yee’s students) You wont need any special equipment. Just some comfortable clothing and shoes. If you would like to make notes, bring a notepad and pen with you, perhaps a bottle of water too. Filming is prohibited, however if you wish to take photographs, this is fine. You can buy tickets to this workshop on our website. Ideal for a last minute Christmas present:
Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Tickets
We would LOVE to see you practicing our routine! Follow us @yhginverness and use hashtags #YHGInverness and #HSQInverness to show us your qigong practice.
Our newsletter is still in its infancy! We could use your help getting the word out. If you know someone who would enjoy hearing from us, please forward them this email and share on your social media.
Spring Festival/ Chinese New Year 2020
Another event that is fast approaching is the Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations. There are many practices on Chinese New Year that are surrounded by legends. According to one such legend, a monster called Nian (年) would come about every New Year’s Eve and terrorise everyone. People would hide away in their homes from the creature. The legend tells of one boy who was brave enough to fight off Nian using firecrackers. The next day, people celebrated their survival by setting off even more firecrackers. That practice has become, forevermore, a crucial part of the Spring Festival.
In modern times we use firecrackers to make a lot of noise for celebrating and to welcome in the new year. People stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the new year and good luck. The most amount of fireworks are set off at this time, more than any other time of the year, anywhere in the world. Due to safety reasons and concerns for air pollution, many Chinese cities have banned fireworks. Over 500 cities also have restrictions in place too. Beijing banned fireworks for 13 years. The ban was lifted in 2006 due to public pressure. If you’re in China during this time, you’ll probably be able to hear and see the explosions for at least 3 nights (and it can go on for weeks).
While we might not have firecrackers with us, we will certainly make a lot of noise at the Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations. Our lions and dragon will be performing demonstrations across the city. You can find out more information and keep up to date with times and locations on our Facebook event page below:
Inverness Chinese New Year Celebration 2020
Chinese New Year Gala Show Aberdeen
Chinese New Year Gala Show Inverurie
Our Lion & Dragon Dance Team will also be performing at gala shows in Aberdeen and Inverurie. The Yee’s North of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team consists of three Yee’s Hung Ga schools that are spread across the North of Scotland. The chief instructors from all three schools are originally kung fu brothers from the same Yee’s school in Aberdeen. This means that we all have the same Sifu, Bruce Clark. We all share the common bond of Hung Ga kung fu and we have all pledged to spread our art, in all its various forms, as best that we can. Lion dance performances play an important roll in spreading our art. We are always looking for keen students who are interested in what we do. You can contact the other two branches below:
Yee’s Hung Ga Ellon Branch
Yee’s Hung Ga Peterhead
Classes
Although our current classes have ended, they will resume on the Monday the 6th of January 2020. We wish all our students and supporters a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. If you are considering starting Hung Ga once our classes resume, we recommend readying our page, ‘How Do I Join?’ If you think it all sound good on paper but need that extra push to get you off the settee, have a read of our article, ‘Motivation: Hints, Tips & Good Practice’ It’s a lot easier and a lot less painful to begin than you think. Just turn up and enjoy the experience. See you in the new decade….
‘Hung’ Sale
If you are on the hunt for something very last minute to give to your kung fu obsessed loved one, but ran out of ideas. We have got you covered. We can email these to you and you can print them out to give in person.
How about tickets to our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop in January. Reasonably priced at only £15‐10.
Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Tickets
Or how about some gift certificates. Gift certificates can be redeemed for Qigong & Hung Ga classes, private tuition, uniforms and clothing, weapons, sparring kit and medicines. Multiple certificates may be purchased and/or redeemed at once. And we have price options from £20‐200.
YHGInverness Gift Certificates
If you’ve dropped all the hints in the world and you STILL didn’t get want you wanted for Christmas, don’t worry. Our sale is still running in our store. You can buy what you really wanted in our online shop. Everything is on sale (excluding uniforms, tickets and gift certificates) so you can finally justify buying it for yourself!
See you in the next decade. Have a great holiday and stay safe!
15th Dec News & Updates
This week should see the launch of our Winter Qigong Routine. We are preparing for Chinese New Year on January 25th. Our sale continues, there’s still time for it to arrive before Christmas, but hurry!! Our class times and online bookings are also updated for the week ahead.
Winter Qigong Routine
We are still working on our Winter Qigong Routine but we should hopefully deliver it to you this week, as promised. If you have subscribed to our email list you will receive the information via your email. If you haven’t signed up yet, now is the time, don’t miss out, do it now!
In this routine we have carefully chosen specific qigong exercises which will keep you fit and healthy. We have targeted specific organs of the body which, according to qigong theory and philosophy, accompany and compliment each other for this time of year.
We will build on the knowledge from our Autumn Qigong Routine, to give you further insight into the benefits and practices of qigong and qigong theory. You don’t need to have read our previous article but if you have then it should compliment the information from it. As always, we would love to hear your feedback. You can either email us directly or contact us via our social media channels.
Horse Stance
Our horse stance article is still available for you to read. It has an explanation of some of the benefits and a short video to demonstrate.
Give it a try and see for yourself. Why not challenge yourself over the festive holidays and see how long you can hold the stance for by the end of them.
Again, we are are always ready to listen to your feedback and we would love to hear from you. You can either email us directly or contact us through our social media channels.
Chinese New Year 2020
Although everywhere is winding down for the festive period and preparing for the holidays, YHGInverness are gearing up for one of the busiest times of year for us, the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year.
The Spring Festival is not a public holiday in the UK, however more and more people are taking part in annual Spring Festival events that focus on many aspects of Chinese culture such as food, calligraphy, decorations, martial arts and parades.
The UK, as a whole, doesn’t have an exceptionally high percentage of Chinese or Asian people living here. Major cities such as London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester have a concentration of Chinese people living there. London’s Chinatown is especially large and quite old. Their Spring Festival celebrations are famous for being very large and colourful.
The Spring Festival is based on the Chinese lunar calendar. The holiday lasts for around 15 days in China and many other Asian countries. The Festival itself is celebrated worldwide in many other countries too, including the UK. On the eve of the Spring Festival, families get together and reunite for a traditional dinner. The last day of the Spring Festival is known as the Lantern Festival. The skies are filled with brightly coloured, paper lanterns.
The Inverness Spring Festival Celebrations coincide with YHGInverness’s 8th birthday. Other schools from Peterhead and Ellon will be joining us in the celebrations. We will be performing parades and displays in the Eastgate Centre, the Victorian Market, the High Street and at individual retailers and restaurants around Inverness City centre. You can keep up to date with times and places on our Facebook event page. Please feel free to like and share the event page. We will also be performing at events in Aberdeen and Inverurie. You can see all event pages here:
Hung Sale
Our sale continues in the Fu-kit section of our website. Everything is on sale including dresses, skirts, leggings, shorts, t-shirts, polo shirts, hats, caps, teaware, beanbags, mugs, hoodies and much more! (Excludes uniforms) If you are thinking of buying a gift for your training buddies or loved ones who have a passion for Hung Ga, there is still time for it to arrive before Christmas if you buy today. We can only keep prices this low for a short time, so get in there quick. Visit our Fu-kit shop for all sale items.
Classes
Our last class for 2019 will be on Thursday 19th December we will then open our doors to a new decade on Monday the 6th of January.
With a new year and the start of a new decade on the horizon, many people start to look at what they would like to achieve. Physical health and fitness is usually high up on the agenda. Mental wellbeing is often not as high on the list but it is becoming more of a priority. At Yee’s you can combine training both your mind and your body together. Take a look at our Horse Stance article to see just one method that we use which incorporates your mind, body and spirit. Our forthcoming Winter Qigong Routine is another excellent way to improve your overall health and mental wellbeing. Make sure you have subscribed to our email list to receive this information in your inbox!
Beginning classes at Yee’s is really easy. Take a look at our “How Do I Start?” Page. In short, just come along to a Monday or Tuesday evening class at 7pm, it is that simple. No money needed. Just a bottle of water and some comfortable clothes to exercise in. If you need some inspiration to help you take that first step, read our “Motivation, Hints & Tips” article. Nobody can make that first move for you but we’ve tried to make it as easy and painless as possible for when you do. Once you do it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it years ago when we first told you!
If you prefer a more personal touch, you can arrange for a 1-1 training session with Sifu Hepple. An hours session will cover the basic warm-up and stance training exercises. It includes a section of your first form and basic principles of our training methods. For this coming week we have full availability on Tuesday 17th Dec. There are also a few 1-1 tuition slots left in the evenings too. Use the timetable below to book an available slot. You can even pay for it all online, that way there’s no backing out. Just turn up at the right time and we’ll take it from there.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Coming Soon
We have a few plans that we are working on at the moment. As mentioned earlier, we are putting the finishing touches to our Winter Qigong Routine to send out to all our email subscribers this week. We are also busy preparing for the Spring Festival next year on 25th of January. We also have some exciting workshops that we are hoping to bring to you in the new year. 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.
8th Dec. News & Updates
We continue our preparations for the Chinese New Year, Spring Festival. Our sale continues on our Fu-kit online store. Our latest article is still available for you to read. There are updates to our private tuition and class schedule for this week. We also have more info on our future articles and workshops coming soon.
2020 Spring Festival, Chinese New Year.
We are busy preparing and practicing for the Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations next month on the 25th of January. You can see our Facebook Event here. This year we have the continued support from The Eastgate Centre and The Victorian Market as well as independent retailers across the city centre.
The Spring Festival coincides, roughly, with our birthday at Yee’s, Inverness. This will be the 8th year that YHGInverness has been open on Inverness High Street. In Chinese culture, the number 8 is regarded as the luckiest number. It’s pronunced ‘Ba’ in Chinese, similar to the word ‘Fa’, which means to be prosperous. It signifies prosperity, success and high social status. We hope that this means it will be a good year for us at Yee’s. 2020 is also the year of the rat. The rat is also particularly auspicious for businesses starting new ventures.
We celebrate our birthday and the Spring Festival together by performing displays to the public. We perform lion dance, dragon dance and kung fu displays. The lions and dragons are often confused with each other. Both dance traditions date back well over a thousand years. Although neither creature existed in ancient China, both are celebrated as mythical, powerful, and auspicious, especially during Chinese New Year and other important events. The main difference between the two is the number of performers. A lion only has two, a head and a tail performer. A dragon is very long and can have 10 performers operating it. Some of the larger dragon parades can have many many more performers. It also looks like a dragon flying in the air. It is raised up on poles and the performers move the dragon around in spirals, usually above the heads of the audience. The lion performers move around on the ground, using stances based around their style of kung fu.
You can keep up to date and find out more information about our Spring Festival display on our Facebook event page. Please feel free to like and share the event.
Hung Sale
Our sale continues in the Fu-kit section of our website. Everything is on sale including dresses, skirts, leggings, shorts, t-shirts, polo shirts, hats, caps, teaware, beanbags, mugs, hoodies and much more! (Excludes uniforms) 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 get in there quick. Visit our Fu-kit shop for all sale items.
Classes
Our classes run right through December but we take a short break over the festive period. Our last class will be on Thursday 19th December 2019 we will then open our doors to a new decade on Monday the 6th of January.
With a new year and start of a new decade on the horizon, many people start to look at what they would like to achieve. Physical health and fitness is usually high up on the agenda. Mental wellbeing is often not as high on the list but it is becoming more of a priority. At Yee’s you can combine training both your mind and your body together. Take a look at our Horse Stance article to see just one method that we use which incorporates your mind, body and spirit. Starting at Yee’s is really easy. Take a look at our “How Do I Start?” Page. In short, just come along to a Monday or Tuesday evening class at 7pm, it is that simple. No money needed. Just a bottle of water and some comfortable clothes to exercise in. If you need some inspiration to help you take that first step, read our “Motivation, Hints & Tips” article. Nobody can make that first move for you but once you do it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it years ago.
If you prefer a more personal touch, you can arrange for a 1-1 training session with Sifu Hepple. An hours session will cover the basic warm-up and stance training exercises. It includes a section of your first form and basic principles of our training methods. For this coming week there are a few private 1-1 tuition slots left. Use the timetable below to book an available slot. You can even pay for it all online, that way there’s no backing out. Just turn up at the right time and we’ll take it from there.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Coming Soon
We have a few plans that we are working on at the moment. As mentioned earlier, we are preparing for the 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.
24th Nov News & Updates
This week we’re preparing for a few future articles and events. We have some exciting workshops, Chinese new year and a Winter Qigong Routine all in the pipeline for students and the general public to take part in. We have extended our sale on the Fu-kit section of our website to include all t-shirts and now all accessories, including tea paraphernalia, beanies & hat, mugs, beanbag chairs and our famous dit da jow is now almost half price. There are also updates to our private tuition & class schedule for the week ahead.
Hung Sale Extended Further
Our t-shirt sale has been extended even further. We’ve added all our accessories, including all beanies, hats, mugs & beanbag chairs. Even all our tea paraphernalia and famous dit da jow is included. You can browse all sale items on the Fu-kit section of our website. We can ship worldwide, making ideal gift ideas for kung fu martial artists, wherever they might be, at amazing prices!
Chinese New Year
One of the biggest events in the Chinese calendar is the Spring Festival, commonly known as Chinese new year. It is the longest holiday of the year. The national holiday begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and lasts until the 15th of the first month. In 2020, the Spring Festival begins on January 25th and ends February 8th. All stores are closed during the first five days, with some not opening until the very end. Throughout the festival there are specific activities and traditions for each day which vary between regions. We’ll update you on some of these traditions as we get closer to the dates. The main day is on January 25th, which is the 1st day of the lunar calendar. It is a day for greetings and blessings. A day spent celebrating. There is an ancient Chinese practice where the weather, stars and moon are analyzed to predict the fortunes of the year. It is called zhàn suì (占岁). On this day it is forbidden to sweep or clean. It is symbolic of sweeping away the good fortune that the new year has brought in. Similarly, when the lion dancers ‘eat the green’, the leaves of the lettuce are strewn by the lion’s mouth, spreading good fortune. It is seen to be especially auspicious if the leaves land on you. Sweeping the leaves away, is seen to be sweeping away the good luck, so one must pick the leaves up carefully to dispose of them. To find out more about our plans for the 2020 Spring Festival or to book a lion dance for yourself or place of work, you can follow our special Facebook page: Yee’s North of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team. Or you can email us directly for information.
Autumn Qigong Routine
Our Autumn Qigong Routine is still available for you to try out and practice. Just follow the link and give it a go. Don’t forget to let us know what you thought. We are in the process of developing a Winter routine for you to practice too. This will further develop the theory from our Autumn Qigong Routine. If there is anything specific that you would like us to cover, just let us know, send us an email or message us on our social media channels.
Classes
Private 1-1 tuition this week is available all day on Monday the 25th. We also have some evening slots available too. Just check the following calendar for available times on specific days.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Our public classes will be running regularly, right up until Christmas. If you are looking to join our classes, or just want to see what it’s like to train at Yee’s, you don’t need to be super fit or have loads of energy and stamina. These are some of the benefits that you gain from training. If you fancy joining us, it’s really easy and your first class won’t cost you a penny! Have a read of our How Do I Join? article. If you are thinking of joining but still not sure and would like to motivate yourself to make it off the couch, have a look at our Motivation Hints and Tips article. Whatever your reason for training, whether it’s to learn how to defend yourself; gain confidence; get fit and healthy; to get out of the house more and meet new people or you would like to learn something new, anytime is a good time to start. Right now is a great time to start though. The sooner you start, the sooner you receive the benefits.
Coming Soon….
We have a few plans that we are working on at the moment. As mentioned earlier, we have over 2 weeks of preparations for Chinese new year to get ready. 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.
17th Nov News & Updates
After our gradings and seminars last week in Peterhead, it’s back to the grindstone. Practicing, preparing and sharpening those skills. We are hoping to conduct future gradings again, next year in the Spring. Students who have reached the necessary standard can attempt to take on the challenge then. In the meantime, training resumes. We have a lot to prepare for too, with the festive season and Chinese new year just around the corner.
Chinese New Year 2020
The Chinese New Year of 2020 falls on January 25th (Saturday), and the festival will last to February 8th, about 15 days in total. 2020 will be the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac. The Rat is the first of all the zodiac animals and represents the beginning of a new day. In Chinese culture, rats are seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children. People born in the Rat years are likable, charismatic and energetic.
In China, you’ll hear it being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival. It can still be very wintry, but the holiday marks the end of the coldest days. People welcome spring and what comes with it: planting and harvests, new beginnings and fresh starts.
At Yee’s Hung Ga, we celebrate with lion dance parades and martial arts displays. Yee’s displays in New York Chinatown are world renowned. Here, in Scotland, our displays gain ever increasing popularity and media coverage. We travel all over the north, performing at galas, highland games, weddings, festivals, special occasions and events. Chinese new year is a big deal for kung fu schools the world over. It is a chance to demonstrate the skills of the students and promote the school, raising awareness and interest. It is a great honour for kung fu students to be involved in these celebrations. It shows a high level of commitment to the school and also that their skills are worthy of such demonstrations.
Make sure you sign up for our email updates below to find out more about our plans over these festivities. If you wish to get involved or would like us to perform for you or your business, you can contact us through our social media channels or email us directly.
Hung T-shirt Sale Extended
Our ‘Furious Five’ t-shirt sale has been extended to now included all our t-shirts. This includes our embroidered polo shirts, now down to only £12.99, and all-over print t-shirts, such as our ‘Tiger Stripe All Over Print T-shirt,’ now only £21.99 or our ‘Ladies All Over Leopard Print Crop Tee,’ down to just £17.99.
You can also find our new kids uniform t-shirts and new adult uniform shirts on the Fu-kit section of our website under the uniform menu. They can also be purchased, in the school, from Sifu Hepple.
Autumn Qigong Routine
Our Autumn Qigong Routine has had a great response from people of all ages and backgrounds. It is a gentle, low impact, form of exercise which has a huge impact on physical and mental health & wellbeing. It is easy to follow and shouldn’t take too long to complete. Best of all, it’s completely free and won’t cost you a single penny. You don’t have to subscribe or give away any personal details. There’s a description of the exercises, a YouTube video to follow along to and a detailed description of the main benefits and theory behind the exercises. The background knowledge and theory is a great way for interested beginners to find out more about qigong and its benefits. It should also be an interesting read for more advanced practitioners who are looking to further their studies and personal development with qigong. We would like to introduce more of these practical guides and would love to hear your input. If there’s anything in particular that you are interested in or would like to find out more about, we would be delighted to hear your thoughts. You can message us on our social media sites or email us directly.
Classes
If you are interested in learning more about qigong or kung fu, or would like to get fit and healthy, perhaps drop a dress size before the christmas party, why not book a private tuition timeslot that suits your own schedule. You can book on the schedule planner below or on our homepage, Facebook or Instagram pages. This week we have availability all day on Monday 18th & 19th of November, as well as in the evenings on the other available days. Just check the calendar for specific times on certain days. Private tuition is a fantastic way to improve on your qigong & kung fu practice; whether it is learning new form, theory, meditation or a mix of everything. Whatever your goals, we can arrange a training plan to suit you.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Forthcoming seminars & Workshops
We are planning to host two practical seminar workshops at Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness. These will be open to the public as well as Yee’s students. If there is enough interest, we may also host a Winter Qigong Routine Workshop. This will be similar to our Autumn qigong routine but specific for the winter season and the theory which goes along with it. The two planned workshops should take place before the festive period and they will be an exciting opportunity to learn the theory and practical application of the five elements. One workshop will be based on qigong and the other on kung fu applications. 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.
10th Nov News & Updates
It has been a bumper week this week at YHGInverness. We have had students gradings in Peterhead with Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee. He also conducted some amazing seminars for junior and senior students. Our ‘Furious Five’ t-shirt sale continues. We have updated info for private tuition and public classes this week. Chinese New Year draws closer, it will soon be time to dust off our lions. There are uniform updates for our kids t-shirts and adult shirts.
Gradings & seminars in Peterhead
On the 5th of November, students from three of our North of Scotland branches congregated in Peterhead for gradings and seminars. Yee’s Hung Ga is an international association with branches all over the world. Inverness is one of three across the North of Scotland, along with Ellon and Peterhead. The Northern schools often collaborate together. We join forces for displays such as Belladrum and Chinese New Year, as well as fund raising events and also for gradings and seminars.
Our students train for a long time to prepare for their gradings. It can take a year or longer to achieve the standard necessary for the first grading. At Yee’s Hung Ga, we pride ourselves in the fact that we have a high standard set for the different levels within our system. Students need to train consistently with focus, passion and determination to succeed. For each grading every student is tested individually on form, knowledge, technical ability and foundation & endurance.
The form is a pattern, or routine, of fighting applications. It consists of various stances and methods to train the body and mind for combat. It creates awareness of surroundings, co-ordination, develops speed and different power applications, breath control, accuracy, endurance and confidence. It is the basic building blocks that we use to train ourselves with. Each student is asked to demonstrate the form for their level and is judged by a panel on how well it has been executed.
Knowledge is assessed by asking the students questions on the fighting applications contained within the forms. This can be tricky as there is often more than one application for any particular section within the form. Students are also asked question about philosophy, the history and development of the forms and the Hung Ga system, language, different ways to generate power and the students own personal development through their training. If the student is grading on one of the many weapons of the Hung Ga system, they are also asked about the weapon itself, its uses and limitations.
To understand how each student can use the knowledge and physical applications that they have learned practically, they are paired off with another student of the same level. They are then asked to spar with each other, using techniques of their level and ability. This is to gauge how well the students have grasped the basic principles, applications and concepts of their level.
The foundation and endurance of the students are really put to the test during the last part of the grading procedure. All students are asked to perform the basic stance, ‘sai ping dai ma,’ or ‘four point great stance.’ This stance is sometimes known as, ‘ma bu,’ or ‘horse stance.’ The length of time required to sit in this stance depends on the level the student is grading at. Jo Gow gradings, or our equivalent of black belt, can be half an hour or more. The stance can be difficult to master and the students must really focus to regulate their breathing. They must use their mind to overcome the physical limitations of the body, elevating the spirit above what is perceived as possible. This can only be done with regular and consistent practice. A break in practice, due to injury or personal circumstances, could set a student off course for years. We will discuss the ‘Horse stance’ in a future article and you can test your own endurance and stamina.
As we also have a pre-testing stage, it makes it a little easier on our students nerves when gradings come around. All our students did very well at handling their nerves though and this was reflected in their results.
Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee also conducted two seminars whilst he was visiting. One for junior and senior students and another for senior students only. The junior seminar explored the devastating elbow techniques of the Hung Ga System. The applications learned in this seminar utilised ‘inch power,’ to generate a lot of power in a small space and concentrated at the point of the elbow. This can be very explosive. It can cause serious injuries or knockout. These techniques are only shown to loyal students who have demonstrated the restraint necessary to use them if a life threatening situation arises and not to abuse the knowledge frivolously. The senior seminar was to review key points on Grand Master Tang Fong’s famous form ‘Ngauh Gwat Sin’ or ‘The Beef Bone Fan.’ This form was created by our Great Grandmaster Tang Fong. It utilizes close range concealed techniques, locks, and pressure point strikes to disable an opponent. There are many practical applications for this unique weapon.
Chinese New Year
Chinese new year is just around the corner and we have already begun our preparations for this busy time of year. Chinese New Year officially begins on January 25th 2020, and ends on February 4th. It will be the Year of the White, Metal Rat. Chinese New Year is celebrated by more than 20% of the world. It’s the most important holiday in China and to Chinese people. There are lots of festivities everywhere. Yee’s Hung Ga are no exception, we perform lion dance displays, parades and demonstrations. If you would like to get involved, promote your business or would like us to perform a lion dance, please email us directly or get in touch through our social media networks
Hung
All of our ‘Furious Five’ 5 animal t-shirts are now on sale in the Fu-kit section of our website. The prices have been discounted to give you some amazing deals such as our ‘Eye of the Tiger’ design. It comes in 14 different colours and is reduced from £20.50 down to £13.99.
You can also find our new kids uniform t-shirts and new adult uniform shirts on the Fu-kit section of our website under the uniform menu. They can also be purchased, in the school, from Sifu Hepple.
Autumn Qigong Routine
If you haven’t tried it already, we highly recommend that you give our Autumn Qigong Routine a shot. It is a gentle, low impact, form of exercise which has a huge impact on physical and mental health & wellbeing. It is easy to follow and shouldn’t take too long to complete. Best of all, it’s completely free and won’t cost you a single penny. You don’t have to subscribe or give away any personal details. There’s a description of the exercises, a YouTube video to follow along to and a detailed description of the main benefits and theory behind the exercises. The background knowledge and theory is a great way for interested beginners to find out more about qigong and its benefits. It should also be an interesting read for more advanced practitioners who are looking to further their studies and personal development with qigong.
If you’ve already tied out our routine, perhaps you’ve practiced it every day, we would really love to hear your feedback. Have you noticed any benefits? Did you enjoy the experience? Did you adapt the routine? You can email us your thoughts or leave your feedback in the comments section of our posts or on the YouTube video.
Classes
If you fancy taking on the challenge and think you have what it takes to pass our rigorous grading system or perhaps you are interested in learning more about qigong or kung fu? Why not book a private tuition timeslot that suits your own schedule. You can book on our homepage, Facebook or Instagram pages. There is also an appointment scheduled below. This week we have availability all day on Monday 11th & 12th of November, as well as in the evenings on the other available days. Just check the calendar for specific times on certain days. Private tuition is a fantastic way to improve on your qigong & kung fu practice; whether it is learning new form, theory, meditation or a mix of everything.
[CPABC_APPOINTMENT_CALENDAR]Forthcoming seminars & Workshops
We will be releasing details of two practical seminar workshops taking place at Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness. These will be open to the public as well as Yee’s students. They will be an exciting opportunity to learn the theory and practical application of the five elements. One workshop will be based on qigong and the other on kung fu applications. To avoid missing out on details of these exciting opportunities, make sure you enter your email below.
3rd Nov News & Updates
We have some awesome deals for you in our shop this week. Our students are in the final stages of prep for their gradings in only a few days time. Our Autumn Qigong Routine is still available for you to try completely free. There’s updates for classes and private tuition schedules for the week ahead. We have new uniforms for students and there’s news on upcoming qigong and kung fu seminars.
Hung
Our October promotion for £5 off a hoody and beanie has sadly ended. There are some awesome new bargains in our store though. All of our ‘Furious Five’ 5 animal t-shirts are on sale in the Fu-kit section of our website. The prices have been discounted to give you some amazing deals such as our ‘Eye of the Tiger’ design. It comes in 14 different colours and is reduced from £20.50 down to £13.99.
Or if you are a fan of winged creatures, our ‘Crane in the Rain’ design has been reduced to the same price, from £18.50 down to £13.99.
There are lots of unique, exclusive designs to choose from. Just visit the Fu-kit section to grab yours while the prices are still as low as this! They would make some great gift ideas for the martial artist in your life or a well deserved treat for yourself!
Gradings & Seminars
This week our students have been training really hard for their upcoming gradings in Peterhead. The gradings and seminars are on Tuesday the 5th of November, so only a few days left of final preparation.
Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee will be overseeing the test procedure and leading the seminars. Sifu Pedro Yee is a 9th Dan Sifu of Hung Ga. He is the eighth Senior Yup Sut (In the Room) Disciple of Master Frank Yee (Yee Chee Wai), as well as one of the first Americans to be accepted into the Yee’s Family Lineage at the New York Chinatown’s Yee Fong Toy Association and their world headquarters. At present Sifu Cepero Yee teaches and practices Hung Ga Kung Fu and Tuina as well as conducting ongoing workshops in the United States and the UK. He is also a well published author on Hung Ga Kung Fu. His article, “Hung Ga from Canton to New York”, is permanently on display at the Huang Fei Hong (Wong Fei Hung) Museum, the ancestral home of the style, in Foshan, China. He is the first non- Asian person to appear on the Cover of the Hong Kong Magazine, “New Martial Hero” (Fall 2005), in its 35 year history. He is also featured on the cover along side his Sifu in “Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine” (May/June Issue 2006).
There will be lots of photos from the day of the gradings and seminars. Look out for our future posts to find out how everyone got on at the gradings.
Autumn Qigong Routine
If you haven’t tried it already, we highly recommend that you try our Autumn Qigong Routine that we published last week. It is a gentle, low impact, form of exercise which has a huge impact on physical and mental health & wellbeing. It is easy to follow and shouldn’t take too long to complete. Best of all, it’s completely free and won’t cost you a single penny. You don’t have to subscribe or give away any personal details. There’s a description of the exercises, a video to follow along to and a detailed description of the main benefits and theory behind the exercises. The background knowledge and theory is a great way for interested beginners to find out more about qigong and its benefits. It should also be an interesting read for more advanced practitioners who are looking to further their studies and personal development with qigong.
If you’ve already tied out our routine, or perhaps you’ve practiced it every day, we would really love to hear your feedback. Have you noticed any benefits? Did you enjoy the experience? Did you adapt the routine? You can email us your thoughts or leave your feedback in the comments section of our posts or on the YouTube video.
Classes
If you are interested in learning more about qigong or kung fu. You can book a timeslot that suits you on our homepage, Facebook or Instagram pages. This week we have availability all day on Monday 4th November, as well as in the evenings on the other available days. Just check the calendar for specific times on certain days. Private tuition is a fantastic way to improve on your qigong & kung fu practice; whether it is learning new form, theory, meditation or a mix of everything.
Please note that due to gradings and seminars in Peterhead, there will be no public classes or private tuition on Tuesday 5th November.
Uniforms
We have new uniforms for kids. Please contact Sifu Hepple with your sizes. These will replace the black t-shirts for kids that are currently available on the website shop.
Our new uniform shirts are also available to purchase on the Fu-kit section of our website under the uniform menu. They can also be purchased, in the school, from Sifu Hepple.
Forthcoming seminars & Workshops
We will be releasing details of two practical seminar workshops taking place at Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness. These will be open to the public as well as Yee’s students. They will be an exciting opportunity to learn the theory and practical application of the five elements. One workshop will be based on qigong and the other on kung fu applications. To avoid missing out on these exciting opportunities, make sure you enter your email below.
27th Oct News & Updates
This week we are excited to publish a brand new article which has been specially designed for you at this time of year. Our Free Autumn Qigong Routine has been tailored to give your immune system a boost during the colder months. A forthcoming series of seminar/workshops is currently in development for qigong and kung fu practitioners too. We also have updates on our private tuition and public classes. There’s news on new uniforms for kids. It’s also your last opportunity to benefit from our £5 off ‘Hung’ hoodies and beanies. Our students are also in the final preparation stages of their forthcoming gradings next week in Peterhead.
Autumn Qigong Routine
It’s almost the end of October. The clocks go back. The darker nights and the colder temperatures are creeping in. Are you prepared?Don’t worry, Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness has got you covered…
Our latest article is a Free Qigong routine that we have specifically designed for this time of year. We’ve created a video for you to follow along to as well as a detailed description of the exercises, their benefits, the theory involved and what you can expect. Just follow the link below to go to the article and see how our Autumn Qigong Routine can help protect your body against all sorts of illnesses and diseases which are associated with this time of year.
https://www.yhginverness.com/2019/10/25/autumn-qigong-routine-to-boost-immunity/
If you enjoy this Qigong routine and would like to learn more, please let us know in the comments section below or send us an email. We would be delighted to create future posts similar to this. Make sure you also sign up to our email alerts below too. We have an exciting seminar/workshop, on the five elements, in the pipeline. If you like our Autumn Qigong Routine, and wish to develop your knowledge further, this will be a fantastic opportunity.
Classes
We also have private tuition classes available for qigong and kung fu. You can book a timeslot that suits you on our homepage, Facebook or Instagram pages. This week we have availability all day on Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th of October, as well as in the evenings on the other available days. Just check the calendar for specific times on certain days. Private tuition is a fantastic way to improve on your qigong & kung fu practice; whether it is learning new form, theory, meditation or a mix of everything.
Our evening classes run throughout the week so if you are looking for something to keep you occupied on the darker nights, lose weight for Christmas or just try something new, kung fu is an excellent choice. Not only will it keep you fit and healthy but you will also meet some great people, learn something interesting that could potentially save your life, or that of your loved ones. We also have kids classes on Mondays for ages 5-8 and on Thursdays ages 8-13.
Lion Dance
We even have a lion dance class on Tuesdays which is suitable for all ages. Our collective Northern schools (Inverness, Ellon & Peterhead) often collaborate together to perform all over Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands. We have performed at weddings, festivals such as Belladrum, shop openings, galas, Highland games and Chinese new year celebrations. You can find out more about our collaborative events, or book us for your own event, on this seperate Facebook page: Yee’s North of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team.
Uniforms
Our new uniform shirts are available to purchase on the Fu-kit section of our website under uniforms. They can also be purchased, in the school, from Sifu Hepple.
We have new kids uniforms that have also been ordered. These should hopefully arrive this week. Please contact Sifu Hepple with your sizes. These will replace the black t-shirts for kids that are currently available on the website shop.
Hung £5 Off Promotion
This is the last week to take advantage of our £5 off promotion in our online shop. Keep warm during the colder months ahead with £5 off any hoody and beanie together. Simply follow the link below then head to the Fu-Kit section of our website.
https://mailchi.mp/1389a6a4be6f/yeesautumnpromo
Forthcoming Seminar Workshops
Ensure that you sign up for our email alerts below to find out how our students get on at their gradings. They are training hard during this final week before their gradings on November the 5th. Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee is travelling to Scotland to conduct gradings and seminars for Yee’s students. This is a fantastic opportunity for all students to accelerate their learning to a whole new level. All students are encouraged to attend the seminars that are available, regardless as to whether they are being graded or not. It is an opportunity not to be missed.
We will also be releasing details of two practical seminar workshops taking place at Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness. These will be open to the public as well as Yee’s students. They will be an exciting opportunity to learn the theory and practical application of the five elements. One workshop will be based on qigong and the other on kung fu applications. To avoid missing out on these exciting opportunities, make sure you enter your email below.
13th Oct News & Updates
Gradings & Seminars
Our students have been busy preparing for the forthcoming grading tests with Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee next month. We have pre testing on Saturday the 19th, to ensure that everyone is ready and to relieve any anxious students of their abilities. In the meantime, lots of training and studying!
Mental Health Awareness
Mental Health Awareness Day was on Thursday 10th October. Practicing kung fu is an excellent way to improve your overall mental health, as well as your physical health, for many reasons. There have been many testimonies towards this fact, some of which are Yee’s students who have managed to turn their lives around due to the positive effects of Hung Ga kung fu. If you would like to know more about how Hung Ga can help you too, or would just like to talk to someone about the way you are feeling, please feel free to contact us at your nearest branch.
Classes & Tuition
This week there are private 1-1 tuition slots available all day on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. They are really easy to book from our website or Facebook and Instagram pages. You can pay directly on the website or we accept cash & card in the school. 1-1 tuition is a great way to boost your training needs, if preparing for gradings or just want to accelerate the pace at which you learn. Perhaps you’ve had a wee break from training and looking to get stuck back into Hung Ga, 1-1 tuition is an excellent way to get back up to speed.
All our public classes are still running throughout the October break. If you are interested in coming along to give it a go, theres no better time than now. We still have lots of spaces in our kids classes on Mondays and Thursdays too. These are lots of fun. They are only £4 and there’s a variety of different components to each class, so your kids won’t get bored. The class on Monday is for 5-8 year olds and Thursday’s class is for 8-13 year olds. You can drop them off, do some shopping and pick them up at 7pm or sit in and watch, if you prefer. We also have a mixed ages lion dance class on Tuesdays too.
Hung Promo
Our sister company ‘Hung‘ are running their £5 off hoody and beanie promotion until the end of October, so there is still some time to sign up. Just follow this link:
https://mailchi.mp/1389a6a4be6f/yeesautumnpromo
They have some great items in the Fu-kit section of our website, to keep you warm and cozy during the cold, chilly months ahead. They are continually updating with new designs and items to help you perform, as well as chill out, on a regular basis. This week they’ve released a selection of beanbag chairs, so you can relax in style. There’s also new Dragon Scale Capri Leggings for ladies and Athletic Long Shorts for men.
Coming soon….
Don’t forget that we have an Autumn qigong article coming soon. To make sure you don’t miss out, sign up to our mailing list below and we’ll deliver it straight to your inbox once we’ve finished it.
The Sun-Toi (Ancestral Altar)
The Sun-Toi is the ancestral altar in the Mo-Kwoon (Kung Fu School). Kung fu martial artists bow to the Sun-Toi when we enter and leave the training space using the traditional ‘sun and moon fist.’ We light incense and place it in censers on the Sun-Toi. On special occasions we pour wine in the cups and put vegetables and/or meat on the Sun-Toi. It can be a small table or it could be the whole side of a wall. They can be ornately carved wooden masterpieces or a simple shelf-style structure.
Why do we bother? What is the point? Is it religious or specific to Chinese culture or just some bizarre, esoteric kung fu ritual? In this article we’ll answer these questions and address the necessity and value of the Sun-Toi in modern Chinese martial arts schools.
The Sun-Toi serves as a place that we can connect with the previous masters of the Hung Ga lineage. It is somewhere that we can show respect to our ancestors and keep their memory alive. We are thankful for the opportunity to practice an art form which they laid the foundation to. As practitioners, students, teachers and masters, we all hope that we will do our forefathers proud as we steer the art through modern times. We all share the common aim of making Hung Ga Kuen as relevant today, and in the future, as it was in the time of the people who passed it on to us.
The Sun-Toi is placed in a prominent position within the Mo-Kwoon, so it is visible as soon as one enters the training space. They are uniquely personal to each individual school. Even in branches of the same school, such as Yee’s, you may find many differences from school to school. Despite there being so many differences, almost every Sun-Toi has a few common items that you may find upon it, regardless of kung fu style. General Gwan (Gwan Di, Gwan Yu) is a frequent figure which you will not only see in traditional Mo-Kwoons but also in police stations, restaurants, casinos, shops and even some family homes. His figure symbolises loyalty, trust, honesty and respect. He was known for his martial arts excellence and loyalty to his sworn brother. His figure is usually placed at the top of the Sun-Toi, to show the greatest respect. The Gwan Dao (The Spring Autumn Great Knife) is a traditional weapon named after General Gwan. Whilst performing with the weapon, there are many gestures which represent General Gwan. For example you may see the practitioner galloping as if he is riding his horse or perhaps composing his long beard in preparation for battle. It is also common to see miniature weapons, such as the Gwan Dao, on a traditional Sun-Toi. You may also see other figurines such as ‘Shishi’ or ‘foo-dogs,’ which guard the physical structure of the kwoon as well as the people who are part of it.
Almost every Sun-Toi will also have at least one incense holder. You may see censers for every level of the Sun-Toi or in front of pictures of the ancestors. Normally the biggest censer is placed in front of the central General Gwan figure. Many of the Hung Ga ancestors are excellent roll models, especially in today’s fast paced lifestyle of excess. They lead heroic, righteous, noble lives. Wong Fei Hung is almost certainly one of the most familiar. Their example has set a very high standard for modern martial artists to follow. Smoke from the incense is meant to cleanse the air of toxins that cannot be seen. It symbolises the connection between the ancestral spirits and our lives in the modern day. By lighting the incense we invite the essence of their positive character to motivate us in the proceedings of the present day. The smoke carries the thoughts, prayers and aspirations of the practitioner to the ancestors, or whomever they may be thinking of. As such, lighting incense can be an art form in itself. Martial artists treat the incense very respectfully and carefully, as if it were the ancestors themselves. The number of incense sticks can vary depending upon the proceedings but a common number is three, or a multiple of three, such as nine. The incense is carefully lit and fanned gently with the hand, rather than blowing or waving the sticks in the air. Two hands are always used to handle the incense and to place it in the censer. It is held above the height of the head as the practitioner bows, as if to elevate it above oneself. All these things are perceived as demonstrating awareness of the present moment, respect for tradition and appreciation of the ancestors endeavours.
Fruit, such as oranges, are often placed on the Sun-Toi along with cups filled with water and also chopsticks. These are seen as symbolic gestures or offerings to pay reverence to the ancestors. The fruit represents the results of the hard work of the school. When you work hard, you gain the fruit of your labour. This is the basic principle of kung fu, to train hard and become good at what you practice, through the practice itself. Symbolically, water represents the cleansing of any wrongs. Many cultures apply the same meaning to water, to wash away sin. Water also benefits the whole world, we could not survive without it. The heart should be like the water, clear and clean. The traditional martial artist aims to be the same in their thoughts and actions. Similar to water, you may also see candles or oil lights. The light drives away the darkness and any pesky evil spirits. It represents the good in everyone. The righteous path that all traditional martial artists attempt to traverse.
During special occasions, such as Chinese New Year; flowers, vegetables, dishes of rice, fish, chicken etc can also be placed on the Sun-Toi as a way to mark the occasion and celebrate the achievements of the Mo-Kwoon. Similar to fruit, flowers on the altar represent the hard work that accomplishes a goal or task. When you work hard your flowers will bloom. They symbolise the hard work itself, rather than the results, which the fruit represents. Wine can also replace water in the cups to signify the happy, cheerful mood of the proceedings. You may also see two chairs on either side of a traditional Sun-Toi. The right hand chair is reserved for the Si-Gung or visiting Sifus of the school. The left hand chair is for the Sifu, or Dai Si-Hing/Jai should the Sifu be away.
The Sun-Toi is not meant to be for religious purposes. As mentioned, they vary quite considerably from school to school. You may find that some schools have religious figures on their Sun-Toi if they have religious roots. For example a Shaolin school may have a figure of the Buddha because Shaolin kung fu originated in a Buddhist temple. There are many components to the Sun-Toi which can still be seen as worthwhile, without being seen as worshipping another faith. The fundamental purpose of the Sun-Toi is to pay respect to the origins and founders of the complete martial art system that we enjoy practicing daily in modern times.
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Kung Fu Names & Terminology
All kung fu schools are very much family oriented. They are set up like a family and try to instil family values to their members. Family names are used to show respect to instructors and other students. At Yee’s Hung Ga we have many branches so it can be difficult to keep track of who is who and what the proper name should be. The following are the family names and meanings that you will commonly hear at a Yee’s Hung Ga school.
| English | Cantonese | |
| Male | Female | |
| Door Man or Founder | Jeurng Mun Yahn | Jeurng Mun Yahn |
| Lineage Holder | Si-Jo | Si-Jo |
| Great Grandmaster | Si-Tai Gung | Si-Tai-Poa |
| Grandmaster | Si-Gung | Si-Poa |
| Senior Kung Fu Uncle | Si-Bahk | |
| Senior Kung Fu Aunt | Si-Guma | |
| Junior Kung Fu Uncle | Si-Sook | |
| Junior Kung Fu Aunt | Si-Guje | |
| Teacher/Instructor | Si-Fu | Si-Fu |
| Teacher’s Husband/Wife | Si-Jeong | Si-Mo |
| Most Senior Brother/Sister | Di-Si-Hing | Di-Si-Jeh |
| Senior Brother/Sister | Si-Hing | Si-Jeh |
| Junior Brother/Sister | Si-Dai | Si-Mui |
| Student | Toh-Dai | Toh-Dai |
If you are a student at Yee’s Hung Ga in Inverness, anyone who has been training longer than you at the school, depending on their gender, you would call Si-Hing or Si-Jeh. Anyone who begins at the school after you would be your Si-Dai or Si-Mui, depending on their gender. They would call you Si-Hing or Si-Jeh. Sifu Hepple would be your Sifu and his wife would be called Si-Mo. Sifu Bruce Clark would be your Si-Gung. Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee and Sifu Yee Chi Wai would be known as Si-Tai Gung. Si-Jo is another name which Sifu Yee Chi Wai may also be known as. This means lineage holder.
If visiting another local Yee’s school, the students of that school would be your cousins. You would address them just as if they were training brothers or sisters at Inverness, Si-Hing, Si-Jeh if more senior and Si-Dai or Si-Mui if junior. The Sifu of that school would be your uncle. You would call them Si-Bahk or Si-Guma if they were Sifu Hepple’s Si-Hing or Si-Jeh. If they were Sifu Hepple’s Si-Dai or Si-Mui, you would call them Si-Sook or Si-Guje.
This might seem rather complex and difficult to learn but it is important to maintain the traditions of the kung fu school so that we can pass on our heritage for future generations. The important ones to remember are your Sifu and Si-Mo/Si-Jeong. Showing further respect to their teacher, Si-Gung/Si-Poa, and their teacher, Si-Tai Gung/Si-Tai Poa is also expected. Everything else can be worked out and nobody else is likely to take great offence if you call them the wrong name. If you are unsure, it is always best to ask, just like anything else that you may be uncertain of.
It is also worth noting that a senior uncle/aunt/brother or sister are senior only by the length of time practicing and not necessarily of a higher rank. Your Si-Hing is, and always will be, your Si-Hing. Just as an older brother can never be demoted to a younger brother, no matter how much you may wish for it to happen.
Other important terms that you may hear is the Kwoon or Kung Fu School itself. We shall look at the etiquette within and around the Kwoon in a future post. Suffice to say though, that it is important to remain respectful and uphold composure whilst in and around the Kwoon. Inside the Kwoon is the Sun-Toi or ancestral altar. We will also discuss this in a future post too. To show respect to the ancestors, who have passed down our art from generation to generation, we bow to the Sun-Toi. We use the traditional ‘sun and moon fist’ to bow to the ancestors, whilst entering and leaving the main training area. You may also hear your Sifu or instructor counting punches or kicks etc in Cantonese. The following table will help you to learn numbers 1 to 10:
| English | Cantonese |
| One | Yat |
| Two | Yee |
| Three | Saam |
| Four | Sai |
| Five | Ng |
| Six | Luk |
| Seven | Chat |
| Eight | Baat |
| Nine | Gau |
| Ten | Sahp |
Perhaps you have heard a term that you are unsure of that is not listed here. Please feel free to let us know and we can discuss. If you enjoy our posts and wish to be notified of further posts, notices, discounts and events, pop your email address in the box below and we’ll give you a shout when new posts are added. You can also like and share on Instagram, twitter & Facebook
What is Shaolin Hung Ga Kuen?
The Shaolin Monastery, or Shaolin Temple, is a Buddhist temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China. The name ‘Shaolin’ refers to the location of the temple. It is situated in the forests of Shaoshi mountain, one of the seven peaks of the Song mountains. It literally means “Temple of Shao[shi Mountain] Forest”.
The Shaolin Temple is known, not only as the birthplace of Chan, or “Zen,” Buddhism, in China, but also where kung fu martial arts originated. The temple is steeped in myths and legends. (More about these in future posts) Shaolin became a renowned centre for extremely powerful martial arts. As the teachings of Shaolin grew, other Shaolin monasteries appeared across China. From a Southern monastery came the lineage of the Abbot Gee Sim Sim See. He is recognised as the first person to bring Shaolin martial arts out of the temple and to the people of Southern China.
Gee Sim taught five founding fathers of “Southern Shaolin.” The five families of martial arts from the Gee Sim lineage became Hung Ga, Choy Ga, Mok Ga, Lau Ga and Li Ga. The “Ga,” or sometimes “Gar,” means family, in this case the Hung family. The founding father of the Hung family was Hung Hei Guen and therefore it is named after him.
“Kuen” means fist, but in this case “fist” refers to the art or system of fighting, not just the hand shape. Therefore “Shaolin Hung Ga Kuen,” means, “The fighting art of the Hung family from the temple in the forest of Shaoshi Mountain.”
In general terms, the Hung Ga art is renowned for very strong, rooted stances and extremely powerful arm movements. Training concentrates heavily on stance work, body and arm conditioning, qigong, and practicing the forms or set routines. Yee’s Hung Ga run classes for you to specifically train each of these key areas. The forms are a way of practicing fighting techniques as well as a tool for developing a strong mind and body. One of the most famous forms in the world is the Tiger Crane Double Fist (Fu Hok Seung Ying Kuen). This form is at the core of the entire Hung Ga art.
If you have a question that you would like to ask us, why not send us an email or get in touch via our social media? Just search for YHGInverness.
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Do you have belts?
A common question asked about Yee’s Hung Ga is, “Do you have a grading system or belts, like in other martial arts?”
There are many martial arts which have a grading system. As the student passes through the different grades and attains a higher level of skill, they also obtain a different coloured belt to show the practitioner’s rank within the system. Normally a white belt is given to a novice and a black belt is given to a proficient or skilled practitioner. It is said that originally all novices started off with a white belt and over the years of training the white colour turned to a dark grey/black, which is where the coveted black belt stems from. All the colours in between have been added in recent years, varying in degrees of brightness, from white to black (i.e. yellow, orange, red, purple, brown etc) to portray the idea that the student has trained hard enough for the belt to change colour. There are many other martial art systems that don’t have coloured belts but still have gradings. There is also a lot of tradition and etiquette surrounding the different belts of each martial art, for instance how they are tied, which side of the body the knot is tied on, how they are stored and looked after etc. These traditions are usually specific to the individual martial art system.
At Yee’s Hung Ga we have a grading system where student’s skills are tested regularly. The student begins with a black sash and as they pass through the different skill levels, a red stripe is added to the end of the sash to display the student’s rank.There are 3 main levels. Each level has 2 tests, a junior and senior.
When the student completes all 3 levels, they may then begin their ‘Jo Gow’ (black belt) training. Once the Jo Gow has been attained, a red stripe is attached all around the black sash.
Attaining this level is cause for a big celebration. It demonstrates that the student has mastered the basic skills of the Hung Ga system, which is a notoriously difficult level to reach. At the Jo Gow level, a student is considered an Assistant Instructor. To become a full-fledged Instructor (Sifu), 2 years of additional intensive training is required. Training does not end with becoming a Sifu. Sifus must continue their training and testing to progress through the 10 Dan (Levels) if they wish to understand the full depth of the Yee’s Hung Ga art – a feat that requires great dedication, loyalty and passion for the art.
Through these rigid training and testing protocols, Yee’s Hung Ga is able to preserve the highest levels of quality and integrity of the Hung Ga style passed down through its lineage, while simultaneously and uniformly advancing the art itself. Very few martial arts systems go to such lengths to maintain quality instruction.
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Student Spotlight
This is a picture of Sifu Hepple and John Weaver. John has been practicing for 3-4 years now and is currently training towards his Yee Cup Jr (1st test of the 2nd level) Grading. Here John tells, in his own words, of his experience training at Yee’s Hung Ga Academy in Inverness.
What made you want to train in martial arts?
I previously trained in Jujitsu when I was about eight years old. When I reached twenty four, I became very interested in practising meditation, healing arts and focusing (balancing) my mental/physical energies. I read books, became Reiki attuned and watched videos to increase my knowledge on the subject. This led me to learn versions of qi gong, from some new age teachers and other kung fu personalities. I think I was the ripe old age of thirty one before I attempted to do kung fu work out drills; I was completely exhausted and realised I knew nothing of the hard work and discipline that was required to achieve what I wanted. It was then I started looking for a teacher.
How did you hear about this school and why did you want to train there? What were your expectations before you started?
Kung Fu was the obvious choice for me based on my interests. I did a little research on the different styles, and thought about what may suit my body type. I knew already I would prefer something that would be powerful and balanced, but more hand based rather than the flippy-flappy leg kicks. I saw some videos of the Hung style online after finding out that a new had school opened up in Inverness. I contacted Sifu to see if he would accept me as a student, and the rest is history. My expectations were realistic; having tried to keep up with drills on dvds and failed, I was open to whatever lessons Sifu had for me in order to progress.
What was your first class like?
I was slightly nervous and wondered what the other students would be like. At that very first class, I mentioned some of the things I had been doing and Sifu responded “this may be a little different to what you’re used to!” He proceeded to show us Tiger techniques, specifically how to break an opponents arm. After that class, I was aching all over. My legs felt like jelly, and I thought it would be very hard to build up my fitness to an acceptable level to continue. However, I stuck with it and after a further four or five lessons I got used to doing the warm up exercises! It is quite invigorating once you have built up the stamina and I am glad I have continued with my training. My life has changed considerably in the last two years and I now have a young family and a home to maintain. I haven’t had as much time as I would have liked to train recently but as my understanding of Hung Ga grows, so does my desire to push myself further.
What do you think of your training so far? Is there anything that you would change?
So far I have learnt the full Gung Gi Fuk Fu form and am now learning Fu Hok. I have also learnt about the theory of Hung Ga and some of the additional exercises that can be done to unlock potential skills; fighting and some softer skills like balance, conditioning and strengthening. I have attended seminars in Aberdeen with Grandmaster Yee Chi Wai and our Sifu’s teacher, Si Gung Bruce Clark – both are very well respected Martial Artists. It is hard to start with, but if you try and push through it is very much worth your while. Our Kwoon (school) is very friendly, and Sifu obviously loves Hung Ga; showing us how it becomes a solid foundation in life. I would change nothing about the training given but if I could give advice to other beginners it would be to put three times as much effort in to practising at home, as you do in class. Basic drills, form and practising stances – but also looking at the ways in which Qi Gong and breath exercises can improve your general well-being.
What are your hopes for your future in martial arts?
My hopes for the future are to continue training, and to push myself further. My aim at the moment is to improve my stances, transitions between movements and get more sparring practice to apply what I have learned. I enjoy the traditional Lion Dance practice and would like to do more of that for the school in the coming years.
Anything else that you wish to add?
While studying for the Fuk Fu test, I wrote this down. ‘Kung Fu is something that cannot be bought or stolen; you cannot cheat or make it easier as it is what it is. You get out what you put into it via training – body and mind with a strong spirit.’ I am beginning to understand more on the concept of ‘martial virtue’ and can say that with Kung Fu, actions speak louder than words – so come join us.
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Motivation: Hints, Tips & Good Practice
Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned warrior, it can sometimes feel difficult to keep yourself motivated, especially with the cold weather, dark nights, the hectic partying over the festive period taking its toll on the body. It can be a bit of a slog getting yourself back into a routine and keeping that routine going. If one of your New Years Resolutions is to get fit and healthy, like many other people, you might be thinking about attending one of our classes. If you are serious about taking it past the thinking stage and really want to attend, (obviously we would highly recommend that you do and you would be most welcome.) what steps can you take to ensure that your first class isn’t also your last? What if even your best intentions aren’t good enough and you run out of steam before you even get up and running? Well we’re not going to lie to you, there’s no magic wand. You still have to actually make it to class (on time!) and you still have to do the work but here’s our top 10 hints & tips on keeping yourself keeping going.
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#1. Patience is a virtue.
It takes time, don’t be put off if you don’t see results straight away. Looks can be deceiving. You may not see results for a while, especially if you are just starting out. It takes time to learn and to build muscle memory. You may hear claims that you can be a master in a short time, “Learn Kung Fu in 3 Months,” “Become a master in only 2 weeks.” There are some things that you can learn and use straight away but to be a master you first need to learn and that can take time, patience and lots of practice.
Just because you’re not seeing results it doesn’t mean that you are not getting any. You are better today than you were yesterday, try to remember that. Your brain will get better at sending messages to your body and your body will get better at receiving and understanding them. You will actually be able to activate a higher percentage of your muscle fibers, commonly referred to as neuromuscular efficiency. Your coordination will improve, reflexes start to become faster, your breathing and focus will increase. It is a slow process because you are bound by your body’s limitations, just be patient. Don’t look in the mirror after two weeks and wonder why you’re not looking like Bruce Lee or why you’re not managing to quite get the results that you are looking for. Be patient and put in the work, the results will come.
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#2. Enjoy the journey.
Try not to think of your goals as the soul purpose for training, that’s just a destination. Enjoy the process and get excited about what you are learning. If you enjoy what you are doing you are more likely to keep it up. Get excited. You have to want to do it. If you force yourself, it could have negative results. Instead of looking negatively at things that you are not so good at or find difficult, try and turn your thinking around. Be positive about it and see if you can work at those things, bit by bit, to get better at them. Chip away a little bit every day and they will soon become less of a problem.
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#3. Don’t rush!
Arrive early, give yourself time. If you leave things to the last minute it gives your mind one more excuse to back out of it. If you have plenty time and are well prepared then you are less likely to change your mind at the last minute. Make sure you have your kit ready the day before. Write a list of all the things that you need to take with you and make sure you check your list every time you get yourself ready. Plan your trip, where you’re going to park the car, how long will it take you to get there? Allow extra time in case of slow traffic or for events beyond your control. If you think ahead and plan in advance you will put yourself in the right frame of mind and it will give you less excuses to not go through with it.
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#4. Are you keeping track?
Keeping records can help you to remember what you have learned. What did you get out of class today? Did you just go through the motions or did you pick something up? Were there any “light-bulb moments?” Keeping a training diary can help you to remember information and focus on learning. It can also help you to look back and see how far you have come in your training. You can also see what went wrong, should you get injured, and learn from any mistakes.
If you can only make it to the occasional class, it is down to you to make the effort to practice between those classes. Your Sifu will give you advice on what and how to practice. If you just practice bits of what you remember, it may be that you are not paying attention to the right things or worse, practicing them the wrong way. You should know it inside out and back to front.
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#5. Stick to a plan
Remove the randomness from your training. This is the best way to improve your speed, strength, focus, body weight…. any of your goals in fact. For a beginner it can be tempting to try out all the different classes that are available to you at Yee’s but it is better to pick one or two which you can definitely, regularly make, every week. Stick to them and make them part of your routine. When you feel more confident in what you have learned and you have time available to try out the other classes, then give them a go. Too much, too soon is a recipe for failure.
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#6. Do it for yourself.
Do it for yourself, not because of anyone else. Come with friends but don’t stay at home just because they decided that they couldn’t be bothered. Their excuses will turn into your excuses. You must do it because you want to do it for yourself. Similarly, try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses so whilst you might not be as good as the one you are comparing yourself to, they might not be as good as you at other things. They may also be further ahead in their training or have practiced more or many other reasons. If you practice, you will become better. If you practice a lot, you will become a lot better. Sometimes it takes longer for some people so just relax and enjoy the ride.
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#7. Prevention is better than cure.
Be sensible about how you train. An injury can set you back months, perhaps even years. It may stop you training altogether. It is important in the beginning to take things slowly until your body gets used to it. If you push too hard, you can injure yourself. Ensure that your body is warmed up gently and muscles are stretched before you do your main practice. You will have to do this every time and you will have to factor the time it takes into your practice. Similarly, a cool down routine can help to bring your body back to normal. Again gentle stretching can be useful. After your training your muscle fibers will be warmed up and loose. The sudden shock from the cold outside, especially in the North of Scotland, can cause them to constrict. Problems may result from over tension such as muscular cramps and pain, twisting and knotting of the muscle fibers. Be sensible and have an extra layer of clothing to put on before you head out into the cold. Our training hoodies are perfect for this purpose.
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#8. If you don’t make time, you’ll never have time.
You need to factor time into your daily routine or weekly schedule. If you don’t have one, make one! Fit it into your lifestyle. It is difficult juggling everything in your life but the bottom line is that if you don’t do it, then you won’t do it. Spare time can seem to be a rarity in modern life and if you really want to do something, you will have to make the effort to make it happen. With kung fu this means making time to practice. In the same way though, if you do nothing but practice then you will not have time for anything or anyone else so you need to find a balance. Make it happen!!
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#9. Rise to the challenge!
Treat it like a test. Everything that you find hard is an obstacle to you becoming better and achieving your goals. If you clear the obstacle then you are one step closer. If you don’t quite make it then it’s no big deal, just try again. It may take you many attempts. Many, many, many attempts in fact. This is the challenge that you face. Give up, find an easier way or just keep chipping away until you get it. The nature of kung fu means that you kind of do all 3. You try until you get it, you understand the movement. You then find an economy in the movement, simplify it, make it easy. Then, when you get it, you leave it. It’s there now until you need it. You just need to maintain it. Great skill obtained through hard practice.
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#10. Don’t beat yourself up
You’ve all seen the motivational memes on social media, “Failure is not an option!” “Winners never quit!” ” You haven’t failed until you quit trying!”
Jeezzz….. Give yourself a break, we are only human. Circumstances might mean that you have to put things aside for a while. You might have to give yourself some time to focus on other areas of your life. Family, work, friends, commitments. You know what that is? That’s life! (That’s what people say, You’re riding high in April, Shot down in May) It doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. If you falter or can’t remember or didn’t practice or took the day off, it doesn’t matter. Everyone needs a break. In fact it is advisable to take a break every once in a while. “All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy!” Have you never seen ‘The Shining’ before?!? It only becomes a problem if you let it. You gave it a shot, you turned up for class and you trained really hard. That’s more than a lot of people ever do. A lot of people never get further than giving it a whimsical thought. “Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to move like that?” “I wish I was as strong or graceful as that?” But you actually made the effort. That is amazing in itself. (a round of applause please!) If you need a breather, that’s not failing, that’s being realistic. Just don’t let it get to you. Get back in the saddle again and own it!! Take your training to the next level and achieve what you set out to do.
See you in class…
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Who’s the guy with the big sword thingy?
The guy with the big sword thingy goes by a few names, Guan Yu, Guan Gong, Guan Di, General Gwan, amongst many others. In the ancient times of the East, there was a great war between Three Kingdoms. Guan Yu, and his friends, Liu Bei and Zheng Fei, swore an oath of brotherhood in the mystical Peach Garden, vowing to create a new, righteous world. Together they fought countless battles against the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan. Guan Yu grew famous for his combat prowess and unwavering honor.
Cao Cao captured Guan Yu and at the time, Liu Bei’s fate was uncertain. He agreed to fight for Cao Cao under specific terms, chiefly that he would abandon Cao Cao if ever he learned the whereabouts of his sworn brother. Despite Cao Cao’s gifts and promises of wealth, when Liu Bei resurfaced, Guan Yu immediately went to his side. Years later, Guan Yu again faced Cao Cao on the battlefield as the warlord fled from his defeat at Red Cliffs. Guan Yu cut off Cao Cao’s retreat and obliterated his forces. He spared Cao Cao, however, and released him, as an act of honor.
Guan Yu is one of the best known historical figures in ancient history. Part of the reason for this is that he appears in popular comics and movies, even modern video games. He is also a major character in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a semi-historical novel said to be written by Luo Guan Zhong at the end of the Yuan Dynasty period (1279-1368). This novel is one of China’s four greatest classic novels. Partly because of fictional portrayals in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his reputation has only increased over the years. A famous tale about Guan Yu is that he was once injured in the left arm by a stray arrow, which pierced through his arm. Although the wound had healed, he would experience pain in the bone whenever there was a heavy downpour. A physician told him, “The arrowhead had poison on it and the poison had seeped into the bone. The only way to get rid of this problem is to cut open your arm and scrape away the poison in your bone.” Guan Yu then stretched out his arm and asked the physician to heal him. He then invited his subordinates to dine with him while the surgery was being performed. Blood flowed from his arm into a container below. Throughout the operation, Guan Yu feasted and drank wine and chatted with his men as though nothing had happened. In some accounts of the tale he sits calmly and plays a game of weiqi (Chinese chess)
In the Western world, Guan Yu is sometimes called the God of War, probably because he is one of the most well-known military generals revered by the Chinese people. This is a misconception of his role, as, unlike the Greco-Roman deity Mars or the Norse god Týr, Guan Yu, as a god, does not necessarily bless those who go to battle, but rather people who observe the code of brotherhood and righteousness.
The big sword thingy that he can be seen with is the Spring/Autumn Great Knife. It is often named after him, some legends say that he invented it. The Guan dao, or kwan dao, is a large halberd which was used by the general during combat on horse-back. It is a heavy weapon with a sharp edge on one side for cutting and slicing. On the other side is a jagged edge with a hooked point which is used to maim and stab as well as for catching the opponent’s weapon to disarm them. The weapon is balanced with a pointed counterweight at the other end of the central shaft. Guan Yu’s “guan dao” was called “Green Dragon Crescent Blade” which weighed 82 Chinese jin (estimated 18.263kg or around 40lbs, there are tales of it being over 300lbs) and that he was extremely proficient with it on the battlefield.
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World Tai Chi & Qigong Day 25.4.15
The last Saturday in April every year plays host to World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. It is part of a global effort to promote the healing aspects of Tai Chi and Qigong within our society. For the second year running YHGInverness participated in this global celebration by hosting a free Qigong seminar/workshop. Sifu Hepple, Chief Instructor at YHGInverness, conducted the seminar on the Yi Jin Jing, (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) which is a Qigong set or ‘form’ thought to have been developed by the Indian Buddhist Monk Bodhidharma, the legendary monk who began the physical training of the monks at the Shaolin Temple and thus credited as the originator of Shaolin Kung Fu.
The set was taught step by step until complete. Once the whole set had been learned, the key points of each exercise and how they work with the meridian channel system of the body was discussed. During Qigong exercises Qi, or internal energy, within the body is manipulated for specific health purposes. This can be achieved by moving your body in a certain way to stimulate specific organs of the body or using your mind’s eye, will or intention to lead Qi around your body or through certain meridians of the body. Using your mind and body together with coordinated breathing increases the function of many systems of the body. It also reduces stress and fatigue, calms the mind, improves circulation and many other documented health benefits. Qigong can be practiced by anyone and although it originated in China over 2000 years ago, it is still practiced today by people all over the world, from all walks of life.
The seminar ran over the scheduled time by quite a bit, so thank you to everyone who attended and managed to focus for the whole seminar. Also thank you to everyone who helped make this a successful event, including anyone who shared our Facebook posts and helped to spread the word. Hopefully YHGInverness will continue to make this a regular event every year and continue to preserve the art for future generations. Special thanks to the organisers of World Tai Chi & Qigong Day who help to promote this art worldwide. Without their efforts we would never have all come together at the same time for their common vision of health and healing on a global scale.
If you are interested in finding out more about Qigong or would like to attend one of our Qigong classes, please visit our Qigong page: https://www.yhginverness.com/qi-gong-classes/
FREE Qigong Seminar/Workshop for World Tai Chi & Qigong Day
In honour of the World Tai Chi & Qigong Day, Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy, Inverness will be hosting a FREE seminar on the Yi Jin Jing or Muscle-Tendon Strengthening Qigong. Beginning at 10am on Saturday the 25th of April.
The Yi Jing Jing is a qigong set, thought to have been developed by the Indian Buddhist Monk Bodhidharma, the legendary monk who began the physical training of the monks at the Shaolin Temple and thus credited as the originator of Shaolin Kung Fu.
The exercises in the Yi Jin Jing set feature soft even movements which will invigorate the limbs and organs of the body. Practice of the set will improve your flexibility and balance, muscle tone and strength. It is particularly beneficial to your breathing and has many documented health benefits.
The Yi Jin Jing set is easy to learn and suitable for beginners as well as people of all ages and skill levels. The set will be taught step by step by Sifu Simon Hepple, the chief instructor at Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy. Once the complete set has been learned, we will discuss the key points of each exercise and how they work with the meridian channel system of the body.
After the seminar, The Yi Jin Jing will be added to the comprehensive qigong curriculum at Yee’s Hung Ga, Inverness, so don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to learn this set absolutely FREE!
This seminar is open to all members of the public, you do not have to be a member of the school to join in. If you would like to attend, you only need to turn up on the day. The seminar begins at 10am so please arrive in good time for the beginning. Participation is mandatory so please do not turn up expecting to be able to sit and watch. If you would like to make your attendance known then here is a link to the Facebook Event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1593102387624817/
You should wear loose comfortable clothing and flat shoes or trainers. Bring a drink with you. If you wish to make notes, bring a notepad and pen with you too. There is no strict age limit to the event however please exercise common sense if you are thinking of bringing very young children. You can always contact Sifu Hepple beforehand, via the Contact Us page of this website, if you are at all in any doubt.
Gradings & Seminar 22/02/2015
Congratulations to everyone who sat, and passed, their gradings last weekend (Sunday 22nd Feb 2015)
Branches from Aberdeen, Inverness, Ellon and Peterhead assembled to test the skills of some of the students. It’s always great to get together and see old friends and new faces from Yee’s Hung Ga, pass on knowledge and learn new skills. On this occasion Sifu Bruce Clark conducted a great seminar on elbow techniques and fighting applications after the gradings had finished. Here are a few photos from another great day of practice and training at our UK Headquarters in Aberdeen.
Student Spotlight
This is a recent photo of Sifu Hepple with Jenny Thomas, one of the senior students of YHGInverness. Jenny has been training for almost 3 years now and is currently at Yee Cup Senior Level. Jenny occasionally helps teach some of the classes at the school and will also teach some Qigong classes in the new year. (Find out more details here: NEW CLASSES)
Here Jenny describes, in her own words, how she found out about the school and her training so far:
About 8 years ago, maybe more, I watched a documentary about a disillusioned priest…
On his journey through life he had lost his vision,lost his passion for life, lost his reason to be alive,even lost his faith and finally lost his family.
He had given up his secure,safe ,well paid yet now meaningless job in the clergy and was seeking. Seeking a refuge, seeking to fill the endless void, seeking a new life, seeking to end that dull painful ache inside, seeking a reason, seeking to find the answers to the questions he didn’t even know…
And all this he found in Martial Arts. He travelled extensively , visiting monastery’s, retreats, Martial establishments, government Martial groups and displays in the far east .He spent time in mist enshrouded mountains and beautiful lands…yet it was one day when he was sweeping a dirty floor that it suddenly clicked into place and his peace flowed from within. I can’t tell you how he found this peace, he didn’t know himself….but he found it inside himself through lengthy practice and meditation.
A true story and exactly what brought me to Yee’s Hung Ga! I felt exactly the same as that priest and I wanted exactly what he had found. And if he could do it so could I!
And so my journey began…I had done a bit of karate in my younger years but had moved away and never took it up again. I tried a few different styles which worked for a while but then I grew restless again. The self defence was good but the fitness was lacking…or the style was good but the egos were too big…or the fighting was great but the spirit was dead….I finally feel I have “come home”…in Hung Ga I am continually learning; it is a constant in my life amongst the ups and downs of every day life; I am strong, physically, mentally and spiritually ;I have met wonderful people and have lovely training brothers and sisters…the list goes on. I can truly say that walking up those stairs to meet my Sifu for the first time was the best thing I’ve done!
Speaking of those stairs…after my first lesson I could hardly get down them! My legs were shaking so much from using muscles I had never used before. But I knew straight away I had found what I was looking for …Lazy legs however soon learn the stances and you’d be surprised how soon your muscles get stronger and you can do things you never thought possible. Practice, perseverance and patience is what you need. And if you don’t have them you can learn them too! Anything is possible if you go for it. We train our minds with horse stance…you’ll just have to come to a class to find out how! We do patterns, techniques, applications and drills, sparring,body conditioning….and just when you think you’ve sussed it, then you develop on what you’ve already learned and it suddenly makes sense as to why you had to twist that hand in that direction in the first place!
And Qi gong, Hung Ga’ s gentle twin…or rather the yin of the two: the internal, the subtle, the gentle, the dark …Compared to yang: the external, the extrovert, the vivacious, the fire…..Hung Ga is a hard and soft style, without one you cannot balance the other and both should be trained. Qi gong trains the use of the internal energy, the bodies Qi. It also nourishes the spirit , trains the breathing, balances the bodies organs and helps the body remain in a healthful state. Regular practice can help increase your spiritual awareness, develop perception; you learn to use and lengthen that gap between stimulus and response, to act but not react…. It is slow, gentle and relaxing yet still powerful. (Qi Gong is trained during Hung Ga classes and as its own class. It is suitable for all ages, we currently have age 10 to age 75!)
Of course we also learn to fight, to defend ourselves and our families if the need arose, and to spar amongst ourselves and also in competitions. But if you only know how to fight then you are a fighter, not a Martial artist. Our Grandmaster Yee Chi Wai says: “To be a martial artist you must learn Martial virtue, Martial knowledge, Chinese medicine and Chinese philosophy.
And that you shall! All of this and more at Yee’s Hung Ga …like the priest, I too have found my peace, I don’t really know how either. It just happens!
Come and find out for yourselves! Enrich your life!
Tests and seminars September 2014
There was a large turnout for the recent tests and seminars at our headquarters in Aberdeen. Sigung Pedro Cepero Yee and Sifu Bruce Clark oversaw the tests of a range of different levels from Yat Cup Junior to Jo Gow and Dan level. Sifu Simon Hepple completed his 4th Dan test too. Many students from the Inverness branch completed their tests too. Congratulations to everyone who passed. 🙂
The beginner seminar, conducted by Sigung Pedro Cepero Yee was on the internal power applications of fighting with the tiger, which was very interesting and informative. Lots more to practice and learn from.
Here are a few photos of the day.
And our survey says….. Qigong!
A massive big thanks to everyone who completed our survey last month. People from all over the world were generous enough to give YHGInverness a couple of minutes of their time to help us out. We had people respond from a huge range of different sports and martial arts ranging from running and cycling to touch rugby and Jiu Jitsu.
60% of all people who responded had trained in their chosen pursuit for 10 years or over. Most, if not all, responders combined different types of training together such as swimming and yoga or stance work and body conditioning. Only one person recognised ‘breathing’ as a form of training though. I thought that this was quite remarkable. Surely greater breath control would result in a better performance? A marathon runner, who runs out of breath, is not an efficient runner. A fighter, who can’t control his breathing, is sure to lose the fight. This seems to be a fundamental of training which is so often overlooked.
How can you train your breathing? There are many different breathing techniques in qigong, most focus on long, deep, diaphragmatic breaths which draw oxygen and nutrients to the base of the lungs. This, in turn, results in a greater concentration of oxygen and nutrients within the blood and a greater efficiency of the organs overall. If the body is running more efficiently, then it shouldn’t need to work as hard to pump the nutrients it needs around the body to the muscles and organs.
There was quite a range of responses, when asked what you thought your biggest hurdle in training was. Some people said that their physical location was a problem. Others smoked or drank too much. Some people recognised that they over-thought things too much and were their own worst critic, some were not satisfied with the consistency of their teachers. Others had physical problems such as recurring injuries, Reynaud’s Syndrome and old(er) age. Almost everyone said that time was a factor in their training and that they would like to spend more time training and less doing paperwork or working.
Believe it or not, Qigong can help with most, if not all, of these problems. Physical location isn’t a problem because Qigong can be done almost anywhere, at any time. You can do it in a park, underneath a waterfall or on top of a mountain, as you might imagine, but you can also do it at your desk at work, while waiting for the kettle to boil or the microwave to ‘ping’. You can do it in the shower, on the train, whenever you’ve got a spare minute in fact.
Drink or smoke too much? Wish you could quit or cut down and spend more time training or just being that little bit healthier? Qigong does so much more than helping to recover from addiction with exercise and meditation. Research has shown that prolonged drug and alcohol use leaves a build up of toxins within the tissues of the body. Qigong helps release toxins that have built up over time, helping your body to heal itself faster. It gives your mind something to focus on when distracted by cravings and, through added treatment methods, individuals are given a better chance to focus on their recovery.
Over-thinking things is surprisingly common. Sometimes it is just difficult to switch off and unwind. It is a product of our society, everyone seems to be walking around stressed up to the eyeballs with work, family, commitments or money problems. It really doesn’t have to be like that though. By simply taking a few minutes each day (perhaps a few more for some people 😉 ) to consciously relax, focus your mind and switch off, you can save yourself from just about any disease that you can think of. Modern medical science relates stress to 70-90% of all illnesses that you would go to see your G.P. for. That is a HUGE amount. Stress is a killer, make no mistake. Stress can also lead to the release of harmful hormones, such as cortisol, that break down the body. Anxiety also interferes with the production of beneficial hormones, which are already in decline as people reach their mid-40s. Qigong and Tai chi counteracts this by calming the mind, slowing the release of stress-related hormones. Next time you find yourself over-thinking something, try a couple of Qigong exercises and see the difference it makes to yourself.
Qigong has been known to help recurring problems and training injuries too. The gentle, low impact movements of Qigong and Tai Chi help to strengthen joints and bones within the body, aiding recovery. The increased efficiency of the bodily organs helps to remove toxins and promotes new growth. The immune system is also given a boost which can heighten the effects even further.
Many people practice Qigong well into their old age. The exercises are easy to do, you can practice them at a rate that is comfortable for you and you don’t need a huge amount of time or space. You can even do them lying down or in a seated position. Getting older happens to everyone though, it’s a simple fact of life that nobody escapes. In a study sponsored by the NIA (National Institute on Ageing) Dr. Steven L. Wolf, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga., found that older people taking part in a 15-week Tai Chi program reduced their risk of falling by 47.5%. Qigong has also been known to slow the ageing process. Research at Baylor Medical School has found that some cells from the bodies of long-term Qigong practitioners live five times longer than the same cells from ordinary test subjects. Other research from The Shanghai Institute of Hypertension looked at several aspects of ageing. They determined that Qigong is an effective measure in preventing and treating geriatric diseases and delaying the ageing process.
Reynaud’s Syndrome is fairly common and affects about 5 million people in the UK. I actually suffer from Reynaud’s Syndrome myself and I have found a huge improvement since I first started practising Qigong. I find the Fu Jow (Tiger claw) Qigong, that i teach at YHGInverness, of particular benefit. Improved circulation is just one of the many benefits of Qigong.
Time? Surely Qigong can’t help you change time?! No, of course not, that’s ridiculous. What Qigong can do is help you manage the time that you do have a little better. When you practice Qigong and your blood is oxygenated to a higher degree, the organs in your body perform better. This includes the brain. The brain is a highly sensitive organ and when it is functioning better it can perform some incredible tasks. This gives you the potential to improve your life unimaginably. You will easily be able to understand the work load that you have and factor in extra time for training without compromising either. It sounds simple but that’s because it is! Qigong is very simple. Some of the exercises are so easy that you would never guess the exceptional effects that they will have on you, your body and your life.
The last question of the survey was to gauge who, in your life, inspires you to achieve better results. 90% of everyone who replied said that it was someone that they knew personally and only 10% said someone famous who they were unlikely to meet. This shows how we can all affect one another on a much personal level than you probably realise. Just by being who you are and doing what you are doing, you will meet people and change the way that they might think and act. Can Qigong help with that?
Give it a go and YOU decide.
The last Saturday in April (26th April 2014) is World Tai Chi And Qigong Day. To celebrate this, YHGInverness will be hosting a FREE Qigong class in the morning. Anyone can attend and take part. For more details contact Sifu Hepple
or just come along on the day,
Hung Kuen – The Great Fist of Southern China
Here’s an interesting Chinese documentary video on the various styles of Hung Kuen
Cubicles
Whilst YHGInverness was closed for the festivities, we were also busy doing some work inside the changing room. With the help of Graham, Kenny, Davis and Seamus, Sifu constructed three new changing cubicles for students to have a little more privacy whilst they are getting changed and psyching themselves up for their classes throughout the coming year ahead. Any new or interested students who would like to come along and see what Hung Ga is like should have a look at THIS PAGE
Here are a few photos taken during the process.
New Year, New Start
We would like to wish everyone a happy new year. 2013 was amazing for YhgInverness and we are hoping that 2014 will be even more memorable.
To kick off the new year we have re-introduced the Qi-gong and Tai Chi classes at a more user friendly day and time. They will begin on Saturday the 4th January at 3.30-4.30pm. As always, the first class is free. You can find out more information HERE. Qi-gong is great for your mind, body and spirit and these classes are suitable for most people of all ages and abilities.
Gift certificates will still be available throughout the year, so if you know someone who wants to train but lacking in motivation, this would be the perfect gift for them. You can find out more info HERE.
If your new year’s resolution is to get fit, have fun, lose weight, make new friends, learn something new, or just to be able to defend yourself, Yee’s Hung Ga has everything for you. To begin your new journey, it’s a lot easier than you might think. You can find out what to do HERE.
Gift Certificates
Know someone who wants to train but haven’t managed to get themselves off the sofa yet? Here is a great way to get them motivated and a perfect Christmas present for any budding Hung Ga enthusiast.
Certificates are available for:
- Monthly class subscriptions at £30 (£25 Students)
- Private one-one tuition classes at £20 for a one hour session (£15 for students)
- Or even a mix of the two, all classes and a private one-one session every week for a whole month for £75 (£60 for students).
A fantastic way to get fit and healthy in 2014! 🙂
Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee Visits Aberdeen
Students of Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy in Inverness have been invited to attend a very special test and training day in Aberdeen on the 19th May 2013.
Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee will be visiting from America to oversee tests
and to pass his extensive knowledge and skills on to further generations with a series of seminars.
Sifu Pedro Cepero Yee is a 7th Dan Sifu. He has demonstrated all over the world and is a well published author on Hung Ga Kung Fu. He is also an accomplished therapist, experienced in Tuina-Chinese Bodywork Therapy and Swedish massage therapy as well as Traditional Dit Da (Traumatology Medicine). He is the eighth Senior Yup Sut (In the Room) Disciple of Master Frank Yee (Yee Chi Wai), as well as one of the first Americans to be accepted into the Yee’s Family Lineage at the New York Chinatown’s Yee Fong Toy Association and their world headquarters.
The forthcoming tests and seminars will further enhance students skills and hopefully inspire them to continue to train hard in their chosen art. Keep an eye out for updates on their progress.
Chinese New Year 2013, Year Of The Snake
Yee’s Hung Ga Inverness has been busy over the Chinese New Year Period. The festivities started off with a traditional Lion dance, right outside the front doors of Yee’s, on Inverness High Street.
Sifu Hepple demonstrated the Chun Choy Dai Do (Spring Autumn, Great Knife), or Kwan Do, before a screening of a Jackie Chan film, as part of the Forres Chinese New Year celebrations.
There was also a seminar on the legendary Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. This seminar focused on Wong Fei Hung and what made him famous. Snake techniques were used to demonstrate the martial skill which made him renowned throughout China and the rest of the World. Here are a few photos from the seminar:
Chinese New Year Demonstration and Seminars
Yee’s Hung Ga Inverness students were invited to attend an insightful day of seminars and introductions to other martial arts, last weekend, by the Scottish Fighting Arts Society.
The event was organised by Alan Mitchell from the Smithton Kempo School and seminars were hosted by instructors from Hapkido, Kempo, Ju-Jitsu and also from Yee’s Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy.
The seminars were very insightful, giving students and instructors a glimpse into the world of other styles and systems which they may not have been introduced to before. There were many similarities between the various arts which demonstrates the common bond that we share. It was refreshing to see the differences in similar techniques and the thought processes behind them. “We all have similar goals but go about it in different ways.” Sifu Hepple, from Yee’s Hung Ga, stated during his seminar. “We are all part of the same family, yet have different paths.”
Here are a few photos from the day:
Sifu Hepple has also been invited to host a free seminar and kung fu demonstration in his home-town of Forres, for the coming Chinese New Year celebrations.
Sifu Hepple will be performing the Chun Choy Dai Do (kwan do) on Friday the 15th of February, in the Forres Town Hall shortly before the martial arts film at 6.30pm.
Sifu Hepple will also be hosting a free seminar on Saturday the 16th of February in Forres House at 2pm where you can find out about the legendary Chinese hero, Wong Fei Hung and try your hand at some Hung Ga Kung Fu fighting techniques.
Locker Hire
Never forget your training kit by hiring out a locker in the changing rooms at YHGInverness. We have large lockers for only £4 per month*, that’s less than £1 per week, and a few small lockers left for only £2 per month*.
For more information contact Sifu on: 07545460743 or email on: enquiries@yhginverness.com
* plus key deposit.
