This is the Get Your Butt to Class Article

We are (finally!) back to face to face training. The benefits of training in person, at the Kwoon are tremendous, but not always obvious and sometimes hard to keep in front of us.

As instructors, the biggest challenge we see our online students facing is the difference in environment. At the Kwoon, every detail you see is thought out. The impact of every object or photo is evaluated. There is a purpose to everything you see in the Kwoon, from the artwork above the windows to the objects on the Altar. Everything has a purpose and is meant to help a student achieve a state of mind that is conducive for learning and receiving.

Unfortunately, this is not possible in the home environment. There will always be distractions vying for our attention. Many of us strive to clear our environment of these distractions but regardless, it is our home that we share with others and not a Kwoon, whose sole purpose is learning and developing.

So what to do? Well, first and most obvious answer is to attend class at the Kwoon as often as possible. Although you have access to the instructors and materials covered via the internet, the experience is not the same and therefore the lesson changes and dulls.

Online classes will always be available. Life happens to all of us, so we know that there will be days when you cannot get your child or yourself to class. So we will continue to offer the online option to give you a viable option on these days.

However, I want to discourage you from using this option because of its convenience. No student can reap the full benefits of training through a screen. Worse yet, it is too easy to forget the benefits of training and decide it is no longer of value.

As an instructor and a student, I can tell you the benefits far outweigh the investment. But, you have to make the investment first.

Kung Fu is an art form. Aspects like sequence and positions can be learned online or through print. However, this is not where the Kung Fu and the art are found. It is found in movement; the transitions and the understanding of concepts like alignment, harmony and power. This cannot be taught through a screen.

Hope to see you all on the mats.

Khona Rybak