Stories,Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan in Raleigh

Archive for January 2008

China Police Use Kung Fu Training to Prepare for Elements

Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 5:06 AM by Sifu Smith

kung fu Police Preparing to be a police officer in parts of China has real environmental issues. These police officers stripped to the waist, take kung fu exercise against the skin piercing wind in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui Province, Jan. 21, 2008.

Posted in Stories

Our Neighbor Passed Away

Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 6:19 AM by Sifu Smith

Friday Night served as a reminder of our opportunity to enjoy, explore, and develop our lives. As my son and I was playing, I heard some commotion at the door. When I get up front I see two of the young children that play with my son crying, and the young boy saying, 'my daddy'. I tell him that, 'I will go check', and after getting up stairs, I see his father, my neighbor laid out in the floor. There was no breath to be seen or heard, no pulse to be found and I start CPR. The EMT's get there in about 5 minutes, and he is pronounced dead shortyl after.

This 47 year old father, who I just recently spent some time talking about the NFL and how his kids were doing in school is gone. When we weigh what we believe to be 'an issue' on the scales of mortality, most issue's come up short. Enjoy, Explore, and Develop our Lives for we have no promise. When I go to practice this saturday morning, there will be much to consider.

Posted in Raleigh, Stories

Kung Fu Practice Observer

Posted on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 at 12:36 PM by Sifu Smith

This Hawk has been at our practices many times over the years. The park that we practice at is a mile from the school and so this Hawk has been present at both places many times. In fact, several students have had encounters that were closer than comfortable. On two occassions, during posting this Hawk has swooped down within a few feet of myself and others. Once close enough to hear the wind moving in its wings.

One of our students is camera ready most of the time, and luckily for us he was able to capture a picture of our feathered friend. The Hawk had swooped down once, Reid got his camera, and the next time the Hawk swooped, landed Reid got this terrific shot.

Posted in Raleigh, Stories, Students

History of the Fortune Cookie

Posted on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 at 6:56 AM by Sifu Smith

Shouldn't we know the history of the fortune cookie?

For many centuries the Chinese have marked special occasions and festival times such as harvest and New Year with the giving and receiving of Moon Cakes these were made from Lotus Nut Paste.

During the 13th and 14th centuries China was occupied by the Mongols. When plans were made in Peking for a popular uprising to oust the invaders, much thought was given how news of the date of the uprising could be circulated without alerting the Mongols.

The story goes that the Mongols had no taste for Lotus Nut Paste and so the Chinese hid the message containing the date in the middle of their Moon Cakes replacing the yolk with secret messages. Patriotic revolutionary, Chu Yuan Chang took on the disguise of a Taoist priest and entered occupied walled cities handing out Moon Cakes. These were the instructions to co-ordinate the uprising which successfully formed the basis of the Ming Dynasty.

Thus the tradition of giving cakes with messages was born and became a popular way of expressing wishes of goodwill or good fortune on an important occasion.

The origins of the Fortune Cookie as we know it today were laid down by the Chinese 49'ers who worked on the building of the great American railways through the Sierra Nevada into California.

Work was very hard and pleasures were few in isolated camps, those hard workers had only biscuits with happy messages inside, to exchange at the Moon festival instead of traditional cakes with happy messages, thus the FORTUNE COOKIE was born. This became something of a cottage industry and as the Chinese settled in San Francisco after the railway and the Gold boom the custom continued. Today it is almost impossible to have a Chinese meal in America and Canada without finishing with a Fortune Cookie.

More and more businesses and even governments are having promotional messages printed on the opposite side to the fortune. The HONG KONG police used them in anti - drugs campaigns and the US followed.

The first automated production of Fortune Cookies took place in America in 1964 before that they were made by hand. In recent years fully automated facilities have been set up in the UK to produce Fortune Cookies that are now gaining increasing popularity in Chinese restaurants and Take-Aways across the U.K. and Europe. Credit to: http://www.fortunecookie.demon.co.uk/fhistory.html

Edited on: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 6:58 AM

Posted in Stories

Fantastic Day One

Posted on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 at 6:22 AM by Sifu Smith

I wanted to take a moment and thank each of the students that came by and worked yesterday; January 1st, 2008.
There were students training from 10 am till 7pm, starting 2008 on a course of self-development. Sifu Chin would often say that the good student inspires Sifu.

Your sweat and work, certainly inspires me.

To A Great 2008!

Sifu

Posted in Raleigh

Tibetan Kung Fu and Tai Chi

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