Sifu Says…

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are looking to teach your children respect (earning and giving), leadership, perseverance, patience, concentration, and conflict resolution, then go visit The Fire Mountain School in Nyack, NY. If on the other hand you are looking for street fighting, trophies or fight to the death tactics this is probably not the place for you.

I took (A) to a mixed age Kung Fu class and was amazed by what I saw there. As I had previously mentioned, (D) and I were very interested in Martial Arts for (A), so the whole family came along.

When we first walked into The Fire Mountain School we were greeted by Ed the school owner and Sifu. (A) asked to step on the mat and was given the ok. Sifu proceeded to show (A) where his spot was on the mat for the class, it was marked with a piece of tape. (A) immediately took responsibility for that spot, happy to have a place that was “his”. As the other students began to arrive I was a little nervous. (A) was the youngest one there by about two years, the oldest was 6 years his senior, how would he fare? Let me lay to rest any concern from this point on. Sifu began by letting me know that at (A)’s age it is difficult to concentrate for lengthy periods of time, and that he doesn’t push them. That he would try to encourage him to participate, but that it was important for him to jump in when he felt comfortable and ready. I was really glad to hear this, it’s the same philosophy I take with my super young soccer players. Don’t push, make it fun, and let them find their way.

The older students accepted (A) as one of them and took on the chore of role model happily. They showed him how to begin class and spoke to him as an equal. Class began and (A) followed along. He did pretty well I think, he tried to keep up and watched his older classmates intently. There were times when he ran off of lost focus, Sifu, kept class moving along and invited (A) back in when the time was right. He even used (A)’s running around as a tool for helping the other students remain focused.

Sifu speaks softly, and with authority. The students want to learn from him, they appreciate his praise, this is clear. Sifu Ed asks them about their days, about school, and asks if anyone has anything interesting going on over the weekend. His words are chosen carefully, and he is attentive to each student. I was on several occasions surprised and impressed by the little lessons he snuck in when the students were unaware. At one such time, a student was having some difficulty remembering the next motion in the progression. Another student wanted to jump in and help. During this time, of course, the student who was leading the sequence was getting flustered and wanted to give up. Sifu reminded the helper that part of being a good leader is also being a good listener, being patient, in addition to giving others the proper respect and time. This is how Sifu Ed goes about incorporating important life lessons into his half hour classes. Sifu had the leader go through the sequence in his mind. After a moment the young man was able to remember and recover beautifully. Sifu Ed then took time to reflect on the process. He stated that if you think calmly, and give yourself time (patience and perseverance) you can get through a difficult situation and recover. While Sifu speaks of these things the whole class stops and listens, and not because they have to. I have rarely seen young boys so calm, so captivated, including my 3 ½ year old. He wasn’t able to stay put for all of the lesson, but I am so glad that he experienced it.

The class wasn’t all JUST life lessons (if you can say just). There was lots of fun too. They worked on their Kung Fu sequences, and also had some silly fun. (A) was a HUGE fan of this part. The practiced going across the floor first as a frog, and then as a bear. The older boys were very impressed that (A) was able to do this. In between sequences, they also played “Sifu Says”, a concentration and listening activity cleverly disguised as a game. (A) was pretty much done at this time (attention span of a gnat and all) and Sifu Ed noticed. He stood behind (A) and helped him to listen and perform the activities.

(A) had a blast, (D) and I were impressed, (E) really thought that the frog hopping was amusing (seriously all smiles the whole time). This experience reinforced what we had previously thought, we like the messages and lessons that are taught in Martial Arts. We want them to be a part of our children’s lives. As (A) is currently aging out of one of the other classes he currently attends, we have already decided that this is one he will be picking up.

For more information on The Fire Mountain School visit their website at: www.thefiremountainschool.com and/or check them out on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheFireMountainSchool.

The Fire Mountain School is running a special for Readers of RNYM See Below!