May & June 2025 Newsletter

WLA Wisconsin State Tournament

May 17, 2025 at Be Martial Arts school,* 11122 N Cedarburg Rd Mequon WI 53092

For more info contact: 262 236 5595 or info@bemartialarts.comor talk to Sigungs at Rising Dragon.

Event Competitions *All event special $200 by APRIL 30th*

Tai Chi 8:00am / 9:00am everyone else

Traditional:  ____Forms & Sparring ($60)    ____Forms Weapons ($25)     ____Combat Sparring ($25)   Creative:         ____Forms ($25)                           ____Forms Weapons($25)     ____3 Board Breaking ($35)

Fitness:  ____Judo ($25)        ____Flutter Kicks($25)        ____Palm Strikes ($25)

Sign up sheets are at the school or you can scan the QR code available on the flyers at Rising Dragon.

Friendship Month:

Each student can receive up to two Buddy Passes that lets two different friends come train for a whole week for free at Rising Dragon!  Get your buddy passes from the Sigungs.  Must be used by the end of May.

No Classes:

There are no classes at Rising Dragon for Memorial Weekend Saturday May 24& Monday May 26, 2025!

Teacher Seminar:

All Sigungs, Sifus,Sihings and Blue-Green Belts who are interested in the Sifu “Teaching Path” are required to make at least 2 of the 3Instructor Seminars each year (Spring / Fall / Winter). Sigung    Steve will presenting workshops on the topic of Instruction and Design.  This seminar will be hands on this year as the group works as a team.  Teachers and soon-to-be teachers should purchase an Instructor Manual from Rising Dragon school and read  the first  1/3 of the manual in preparation for the seminar (Thursday June 12 from 5-9p.m.) There will be a Pai Lum   lesson from 5-5:30 and then pizza/grub will be available.  Open to all adults Green and higher interested.

Teacher Cookout!

Saturday June 14 at Sigung Steve & Mel’s Backyard BBQ.  All teachers and adult Sidis participating in the ‘Teacher Path’ welcome.  Everyone is encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert – Sigungs will provide World, State, Neighborhood, Backyard Championship Wings and Ribs.  Drinks of all kinds will also be  provided.  Also be challenged in Frisbee golf, Cornhole, and Croquet.  Eating starts at 4 and onward!

Testing Block 3

Friday June 27  at 5 p.m.  Awards Ceremony 6:00 p.m.  Higher rank testing will start earlier usually around 3 p.m.

The Dragon Breath  (Protocol Series continues) 

A fifth protocol is Ranking.  In ancient (more than 150 years ago) times, ranks were simply by titles: Student-Senior Student – Teacher – Master Teacher.   But the formality of more levels as a student or teacher helped make benchmarks more attainable for learners.   Thus systems began colored belts or sashes as well as other insignia.  Now one should remember that all of Kung Fu is a journey, hopefully a lifetime journey.  Ranks only indicate how far on that journey one has progressed in a particular art. Ranks are therefore signposts along the journey.  High ranks signify that they have been on the journey before and know the road better.  Listen to them.  Respect their wisdom from the journey.  Other areas of life benchmarks can help us obtain a larger goal.   Want to buy a house?  Benchmarks could be:  Find steady job for payments.  Save 10,000+ for down payment.  Find your dream house.   If we want to be more loving to a particular person we could set benchmarks too: Attain the rank of prayer daily for person.  Attain the rank of doing 1 secret act of help each day/week.   Attain the rank of genuine feelings of care that come from the practice of loving acts.  Etc.  So ranking can be a helpful protocol that measures how long since you started a journey and how much closer to finishing a journey.  That serves us well as other protocols do!

Upcoming Events              

• Friendship Month:  All students may take 2 Buddy Passes that allow any 2 friends to train at Rising Dragon for 1 free week
• WI State Tournament  May 17
• No Classes   Sat. May 24 & Mon. May 26 for Memorial Weekend
• Instructors Seminar  Thursday June 12 5-9 pm at Rising Dragon
• Sigungs Backyard BBQ     Sat. June 14 (tentative) 4 p.m.
• Testing Block 3    Friday June 27 at 5 p.m.  Awards at 6p.m.

Class Schedule

Block 3 Focus

• Week 1  (Apr 28- May 3): Basics
• Week 2 (May 5-10): Forms
• Week 3  (May 12-17): Sparring
• Week 4 (May 19-24): Fist Sets
• Week 5 (May 26-31): Weapons

Block 3 Focus

• Week 1  (June 2 – 7): Forms & Fist Sets
• Week 2  (June 9 -14): Sparring
• Week 3  (June 16-21): Weapons & Info
• Week 4 (June 24 – 28):     Bead Tests / Review

– Sigungs Steve and Melodie

Pai Xeung Lum/ Feng Huang