Street Boxing Seminar

Beginner's Mind School welcomes Master Instructor Steve Smith on May 5th as he provides a night of demonstration and instruction on Street Boxing. This exciting seminar on a different style of boxing will be open to the public from 6pm to 8pm with an incredibly valuable entry of $25 per person!

This seminar will provide knowledge and skill to any person whether you are trained in the arts or not and will charge you with a great sense of accomplishment!

STREET BOXING SEMINAR

Hosted by: Master Instructor Steve Smith
Located at: Beginner's Mind Dojo, alley entrance behind 217 W. Chestnut st.
Date: May 5, 2010
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Entry Fee: $25

No extra gear is required to attend but plenty of hydration and safety padding is recommended.

Kung-Fu Beach

Mr. and Mrs. Conley have just recently spent a great deal of time on the Oregon coast enjoying marine life, light house hopping, and martial arts on the beach.

A lot in martial arts is taken for granted when a person trains in a building with flat floors and sheltering walls. The safety of the dojo can also be seen as a hinderance just as dangerous as an armed assailant. This thought comes from many concepts. One is a psychological one in which a person comes to the dojo to unpack and use the tools of the arts and, when finished, puts those tools away when leaving, not planning to unpack them until at the dojo again.

Another concept, and one more visibly proven, is the effect of the surroundings on an artist. Back to the dojo for a moment, there are walls and a ceiling, a nice flat floor to train on with no obstacles in the way, just open space all around. Safe.

Some of the things we encountered on the beach were immediate changes in our training routine; the shift of the sand under feet, strong winds checking our stances, driftwood and rocks along with other foot entangling obstacles, the waves testing our balance with every crash, bringing your foot back down from a kick to encounter a different terrain than when your foot left the ground...on top of these elemental challenges we enjoyed, there were others, the most notable of which is the human interaction. The onlookers that point and talk, the curious that stare, the insecure that mock, and the inquisitive children.

This is not the first time we have trained in the elements, not by a long shot, but it is the first time we have gotten to discuss it with you. We would strongly encourage outdoor training, be it at the beach or some other fantastic locale or simply at the park or your backyard. This will help you understand your relationship with your surroundings in an organic way as well as help you become comfortable unpacking your tools and using them whenever and wherever you are. Ultimately, the arts are not just for the dojo.

IFYCA Mountain Retreat in review

The International Fook Yueng Chuan / Shoshin Ryu Karate-Jitsu Association hosts a couple mountain retreats a year in which martial artists from the United States of America, Canada, and Europe have come to train in martial arts. Many different aspects of the arts are implemented in these retreats and training with weapons is not uncommon. This past retreat, hosted on the first weekend in June of 2009, saw the surprise visit of Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee's first student and teacher of Non-Classical Gung-Fu...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Friday morning, the drive was pleasant and the weather was warm. Nearly every student of the Beginner's Mind School was in attendance with the majority of them arriving very early. The event began with a large round of introductions in order to help familiarize every one for ease of training (with a large number of attendees hailing from Yuen's Family Martial Arts Centre) and the instruction was under way, courtesy of Master Instructor Steve Smith.
Moods were elevated and training was fluid as many theories and drills were practiced through the evening and well into the night, with but a break for dinner, including an exclusive knife training segment by guest teacher, Chris. By the end of the session, people were making their way to their tents, cabins, or trailers filled with new information and enhanced muscle memory.
Saturday saw much of the same as training began early and ran through the day as Master Smith and Jesse Glover traded of portions of the day, taking the attendees from Yueng Chuan to Gung-Fu and back again. On this day, the training was showing its measure in the shoulders and elbows of every person there. The evening brought rain but that didn't stop the course as the group moved indoors to the pavillion and continued the experience, only to stop late in the night where some of the remaining individuals sat around and talked with Jesse, or rather, listened to him talk about martial arts, history, and truth in teaching.

The rain died some time in the night which gave way to a misty Sunday morning within the pine trees of the campsite and there were still hours of training to be had before this retreat was finished. The camp got right to business and worked solidly up to noon where the goodbyes began.

This weekend brought a great many experiences, some of the most important being new studies of ancient arts, expanded muscle memory and art exploration, the privilege of being accepted and training with our three main teachers at this retreat, and the friendships that have budded or continued from past retreats that will continue to prosper into the future. Additionally, on a more personal view, the untiy with the Beginner's Mind dojo, which was already strong, has solidified even moreso bringing student and instructor alike closer than a team, cementing the relationships just as those of a family

IFYCA Mountain Retreat this Friday!

Well, there are less than 5 days until the International Fook Yueng Chuan Association mountain retreat and the anticipation within the Beginner's Mind camp is high!

• With special guest, Jesse Glover, attending this retreat, the preparation is in full gear with a great number of straight-punches, big-punches, sticking hands and other exercises being practiced.
• Bags are being packed and the camo is coming out.
  
• Camping equipment is getting dragged out and tested.
• The natural food sections of the grocery store are seeing more activity.

If attending, be sure to bring:

• Pair of Escrima Sticks
• Safe training knife (one must be rubber)
• Comfortable Outdoor training cloths.
• A tent and all sleeping bags etc.

Beginner's Mind is eager to visit with Yuen's School of Martial Arts and The Little Dojo students and teachers again along with the many other regular attendees!

International Fook Yueng Chuan- June Mountain Retreat

Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee’s First Student and Assistant Instructor will be a guest at The Little Dojo / International Fook Yueng Chuan Association Mountain Retreat the Weekend of June 5, 6, & 7.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to meet Jesse Glover and Master Steve Smith long with other fantastic instructors from the United States and Canada as well as the chance to train with not just these supremely talented individuals, but to also meet new people and make some great, long-lasting friendships! The total hour amount of training is also incredible as it can add up to the equivalent of three months of knowledge just based on minute by minute timing! The true value of knowledge is far more extensive than three meager months, however as a single mountain retreat can load, possibly years of information into your karate cranium! Mr. and Mrs. Conley will be attending this event as will the majority of the adult class from the Beginner's Mind Dojo. Many more individuals from the United States, Canada and other parts of the world will be in attendance and, to work with others from other areas offers insight on aspects of the arts that might be overlooked locally!

Jesse Glover is one of the worlds leading experts on Bruce Lee’s fighting methods. Jesse Glover teaches privately at his school in Seattle and does select seminars around the world. Jesse is a consummate coach who is able to see instantly how to get the most out of an individual while helping that person maintain their unique way of moving. This is a rare opportunity to train with on of the worlds finest teachers.

As the history of such an event is one not to be passed up, if you feel as though you would like to attend, please contact Master Smith at SteveSmith@thelittledojo.com to reserve your spot today!

Jesse Glover Seminar

On the weekend of January 10th, 2009, The Beginner's Mind School acted as host to a very incredible seminar sponsored by The Little Dojo and Fook Yueng Chuan association in which legendary martial artist, Jesse Glover came to Walla Walla, Washington to provide exceptional martial arts instruction to both local and distance artists from all around the Pacific Northwest.

Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee's first student and assistant, spent an astounding eight hours, divided into two days, through the course of the weekend providing instruction on some Non-Classical Gung-Fu such as closing, trapping, as well as other drills and techniques. 

Through the course of the weekend, Mr. Glover was kind enough to show amazing applications of his art and was more than willing to demonstrate and guide each and every participant on any step they could not take alone. His kindness showed up to your training area before he did and his knowledge stayed behind to help you even when he walked to the next group of practitioners. His friendliness was easily felt by each and every martial artist that attended this seminar, regardless of belt color, years of practice, or level of skill and each individual participating was blessed by his attention. Beyond the instruction and course content, as well as beyond Jesse's presence, the attendance was peppered with teachers, school owners, private practitioners as well as beginning students; including the majority of the student base from our own school, which we were thankful for the representation.

The quality of instruction and the pleasure of experience of this event was without doubt or question and the amount of information gained was without parallel. We were exhausted at the end of this momentous event but excited to play with what we learned and thankful for Jesse's willingness to give us his time and energy.

If you are ever given the opportunity to spend time learning from Jesse Glover, do what ever it takes to commit to it because you will walk away with something that will stay with you forever.