Things to cover with your kids before attending class
Please review our pickup procedure
If your child is sick or will not be needing to be picked up please text shifu ahead of time at (206) 793-1825 thank you.
Graham Hill
Be sure to notify your children’s teacher that they will be going with the kung fu van after school. After class is dismissed Shifu will meet the kids at the flag pole and walk them to the van.
St. George
Be sure to notify your children’s teacher that they will be going with the kung fu van after school. Menea LaoShi will meet the kids at the front steps and walk them to the van.
Orca k-8
The pickup situation at Orca k-8 is hectic and a little crazy. That being said kids should wait for Menea LaoShi at the crosswalk on Dawson St. next to the play ground, behind the school buses queuing area. Menea LaoShi will usually park behind a school bus momentarily to pick up the kids.
Aki Kurose Middle School
Menea Lao Shi will be picking up the kids in front of the school on Graham St.
FAQ
What are the pick up times?
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 5:00pm
Tuesday and Thursday 5:30pm
We offer free late pickup until 6:10pm
When do we pick up the kids from school?
We are at their school before the last bell and wait for them outside.
What should we pack them?
They will need their uniform ($100), snacks, and water or a water bottle. If they have kung fu shoes they can wear them to class as long as they do not wear them outdoors.
Do you provide water?
No we do not provide bottles water or drinking cups. We do have a water filter but no cups. Keep in mind most studios only provide water available to buy. Be sure to pack your kids lots of water. We do not provide any drinks or food.
Things to talk to your kids about before coming to class.
1- Hitting of any kind is not tolerated. Hitting will result in a minimum of 100 good pushups and demotion.
We often tell our kids, “if someone puts their hands on you defend yourself.” This is a false statement that will get your kids in trouble. There is a difference between the physical situations of someone hitting you and someone attacking you. Think of it like this; if someone slapped your arm but did not proceed to attack you would you go to jail if you beat them up. Yes, yes you would. In real life scenarios if you had a chance to walk away and you did not you can be held responsible for any damages to the other person. If someone came at you swinging with the intent to incapacitate you and you stopped them you would totally be within your rights. I have NEVER had two children fight in my classes. Slaps, punches, and pushes; yes, this will result in many pushups and demotion for ANYONE who is putting their hands on someone else.
2- Shifu is not a teacher, he is a kung fu teacher.
Learning kung fu is not like gym class, sports, daycare. Shifu is a 34th generation Shaolin Warrior and I train others in the way of the shaolin warriors. There is a certain attitude expected during any and all kung fu training. That is to be the best Shaolin warrior you can be; what does this mean? Be strong, be brave, and be mindful. For everyone this means something different but just keep in mind the reality of kung fu as a sport. If you are bad at something you can not play a different position, you have to push yourself to be strong enough to stand up against another fighter on your own two feet. When you lose you most likely also get beat up. When you fall you never stay down. Although the kids don’t do any contact combat fighting we still encourage the mentality, morals, and lessons of fighting for yourself.
3- Shifu does not expect you to go 150% everyday but goofing off will not be tolerated.
I am always open to students needing to take it easy when they are tired, injured, sore, but I will not tolerate any kind goofing off. We train as a team and this means we are responsible for each other; if one person plays around, everyone in class does pushups. Even though we fight alone we are an inseparable unit and support each other through all manner of challenges.
Basic Tenets of the Shaolin Warrior
Mindfulness:
-humility: being mindful of yourself, your limits, and your weaknesses.
-understanding: being mindful of others
-awareness: being mindful of your actions and surroundings.
Respect:
-standards: respect for yourself
-boundaries: respect for others
-compassion: respect the struggles we all experience
Courage:
-integrity: be truthful to yourself and others, there is no honor without truth.
-Heroism: stand up for yourself and others, be the hero, be the leader.
-fearlessness: take on challenges, don’t back down, and never give up.
3 Rules
1-No talking while shifu is talking
2-When shifu says something say, “Yes Shifu”
3-Follow instructions QUICKLY
Common sense rules.
We do not discuss these rules besides a quick review as they are the rules kids follow at home, school, playgrounds, and with their friends. They are; no hitting, no cussing, no being disrespectful, etc. If these rules have not already been instilled in your child they will end up doing lots of pushups.
The Do’s
This must be painful to read, like a lecture from your grandfather who fought in the war. We talked about the negatives, lets talk about positives.
1-Be helpful
2-Be kind
3-Be positive
