A Martial Art For The People
This message board is for dispersing important information that would effect normal class location & time.
Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well. We won’t be having a Virtual Class tonight due to a family birthday party, however, you will find an assignment in the Online Class section waiting for you. Please read the instructions and watch the video for more details! Got questions? Let me know by commenting below, or messaging me personally with text, or email.
Take care!
Sifu Ray
Please join us online tonight, April 12th at 6 pm for another Virtual Class! We will be covering some basic Wing Chun Blocks and how to use them. You can find our virtual classes in the Student Resources Tab. Got questions? Just ask!
I hope to see you tonight at 6!
~Sifu Ray
Hello everyone!
Well, the last month has been very different for all of us. I hope you are all doing well and keeping safe as best as you can. As a teacher of martial arts, it’s super weird that I can’t touch your hands at this point in time. As a student of martial arts, I do my best to keep with my personal practice. At times like this, where we say, “I don’t know” much more than before when it comes to timelines and plans I feel that martial arts are more important. The importance of learning something physical helps the mind. When left to dwell on itself when there is uncertainty, the mind finds all the fears and worries. It’s a natural defense mechanism, but left unchecked will lead you down lots of rabbit holes that can be unpleasant. Focused movement like those found in martial arts helps keep you present in the here and now. They keep you from going to that potentially depressing place the mind goes when you binge-watch a few too many series in a day.
I wanted to thank those who have continued to pay school dues at this time. It helps a lot. Your dues keep this school open. I was able to secure the studio with Master George at our new location. His school has been shut down like ours, however, his overhead is much higher. It felt good to be able to pay the LHA’s rent to him knowing that it helps him keep his brick and mortar location. If you can’t pay your regular dues, that’s okay. Time’s are tough right now and we currently have several students who have paid into the Service Worker Scholarship that was created by Dan Evans. If you would like to add to the fund, simply buy an extra month of classes online. In the near future, there will be a “Pay it Forward” option to buy a month of classes at a discounted rate. If you would like to benefit from the fund, just shoot me a message letting me know and we will go from there.
Join us tonight at our Virtual Class that starts at 7:30. You will find all Virtual Classes past and present under the Student Resources section of our webpage. You must register to see this section. If you need help please reach out via text or email me at hello@wingchunpdx.com.
With all this said, I really miss you all and I can’t wait for you all to see the new space. We have mats on the floor, and all the martial arts equipment we will ever need. Soon the wooden man will be moved to the studio. Once we are able to have in-person classes we will be working on a lot of great fine-tuning plus SPARING!!!
Much Love,
Sifu Ray
Hello everyone! Tonight at 6 pm we will be having another Virtual Class. I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has been able to pop in and practice with us. Honestly, they have been a lot of fun to make. Not as fun as seeing you all in person, however! Some students have found it was easier to already have a Zoom account. You can look in your app store, or go to Zoom’s website to set up a free profile.
As always, you will find tonight’s Virtual Class in the Student Resources tab on our webpage.
~Sifu Ray
Hello Students,
I hope you are all fairing well these days. We will have another Virtual Class tonight starting at 7:30 pm. You can find this class easily by going to the Student Resource tab on our website and following the directions if you haven’t registered with us. You can also click the button below to go to the Student Resource section.
On another note, I wanted to thank those who showed up for our Facebook Watch Party on Wednesday and Thursday night. Would you all like to continue to have a Kung Fu movie night one evening a week? Facebook is a bit limited with a selection, but I’m sure we could figure out something as a group. Please comment below your thoughts! Also, feel free to message me if you have any questions or need anything at all!
Warmly,
Sifu Ray
Hello everyone! We will be holding another live online class tonight at 6pm. To join the class, log into the Student Resource tab of our website and click the LHA Online Class link.
Hope to see you there tonight!
Sifu Ray
Hello Everyone,
First I want to thank everyone who came out last night. Second I want to let you all know that I have also decided to cancel all in-person classes at this point so we can all minimize the risk of the CORVID – 19. I am working to find a good solution to live online classes that focus on things you can practice at home, or with a healthy partner. If you have any suggestions as to what apps I should take a look at, please let me know. Keep in mind, that I am uncertain about the economic impact this pandemic will have on the Lightning Hand, so please suggestions that are free or low cost.
With that said, please keep me and our school in mind when it comes to monthly dues. If you can afford to do so when next month’s dues are to be in, please make a payment. We still have rental fees for our practice space, plus other monthly business expenses. LHA is a very very small business that pays for itself and helps support my family. Regardless of monthly dues, I am committed to creating quality content and maintaining an online space where we can all share ideas and support each other. After all, our school is a community.
Expect for at least this week we will be holding class online at our normal times. I ask that you all sign up and subscribe to this blog, and check out our forum that is on our website and grow the online community. You can sign up for free at http://wingchunpdx.com/register. This blog and the forum at http://Wingchunpdx.com/fourms will be my main mode of communication. Our Facebook private group will be the secondary mode of communication.
I liked this video, very short and sweet and what I think is a good perspective. Enjoy!
I’ll be updating you all in the next few days about what I will be using for our online classes. Wash your hands!
Much Love,
Sifu Ray
Hello Students,
We will be having class as usual at this point. I sent out a group email with more details. If you haven’t seen it, please let me know and I’ll add you to the email list. A reminder, If you are displaying any respiratory illness symptoms, Please stay home and rest. I will have hand sanitizer at the front desk, and ask that everyone use it, or wash their hands well before entering our practice space beyond the lobby. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.
Sifu Ray
We have a date and time for the grappling workshop. This will take place instead of our normal Friday night class at Michael’s school, North Portland Martial Arts and Movement on Alberta. The workshop is free for members who pay monthly dues or have punch cards or $15 for a drop in. Please Rsvp so I know how many students to expect. I recommend carpooling since street parking is limited and it’s on the other end of town for many of us.
When: Friday, March 27th, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Where: North Portland Martial Arts and Movement, 728 N Alberta st. Portland Oregon 97217
Cost: Free for monthly members/drop-in cardholders. $15 for drop fee for everyone else.
I have some exciting news for you all! We will be returning to our old practice space hosted by Way of Life Taekwondo in the Portland Athletic Club building starting Sunday, April 5th. Class times will be the same as we currently have. We will have much more space to have class, plus martial arts equipment at our disposal. Master Geroge and I have decided that we will bring the wooden man to his studio as well. You can find the location by clicking the link https://goo.gl/maps/o7KBsedNakZJk8hN7.
Happy March! Don’t forget to get your monthly dues in by the 5th of each month. Payments are much easier with our online store. Follow the link to make a payment: https://wingchunpdx.com/shop
As many of you may know, California, Oregon, and Washington now have confirmed cases of the Coronavirus COVID-19. I ask that if you are presenting any cold and flu symptoms please rest and stay home instead of coming to class. We are in such close contact with each other that it is very easy to get each other sick.
You can help yourself and those around you to reduce their risk for getting and spreading viral respiratory infections, including the flu and the common cold, by encouraging them to take simple steps which will also prevent COVID-19:
There are also basic steps every household should take to prepare for any unexpected event:
More information and ongoing updates from public health officials are available online, including:
Sifu Ray