Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Yoga and More The Peaceful Dragon€¦ · 7th Kurt Timmer 21st Tameka Carpenter 7th Kaleb Anderson 23rd Abhirama Velagala 9th Jake Austerman 26th Maxwell Tan

www.ThePeacefulDragon.com August 2018 704-504-8866

Inside

Upcoming Events Student Promotions

Peaceful Dragon School News Students of the Month

Did You Know? Students Ask Master Sbarge

Children’s Program News Classifieds

2014 and 2015 Winner of TWO Charlotte Observer Reader Awards! Best Martial Arts Studio

Best Yoga Studio Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThePeacefulDragon

At a Glance…

What The Peaceful Dragon Offers

Adult Programs

Tai Chi

Kung Fu

Zen Meditation

Yoga

Asian Culture and Philosophy

Children’s Programs

Kung Fu and Leadership Classes

Other Services

Seminars and Presentations

School Field Trips

Community Demonstrations Corporate Team Building

Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Yoga and More

The Peaceful Dragon For the Contemporary Mind, Body and Spirit

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Message from Master Eric Sbarge

“If you’re not going forward, you’re going backward.” Whenever I hear this quote I’m reminded of the relative nature of yin and yang: What we consider to be forward or backward is completely dependent on context and circumstances. For example, when we go forward as a country in GDP, we likely go backwards in terms of greater energy consumption with resultant pollution. But that’s just my sometimes overly-analytical mind being an annoyance – the gist of

the quote is valid, and one I try to take to heart often. If I’m not actively working to improve my kung fu skills, odds are pretty good my skills are slipping backward. If I’m not consciously paying attention to improving and refining my lifestyle habits – eating, sleeping, meditating, reading, exercising and so on – I’m probably slacking and reverting to bad habits. While I’m not a religious person per se, I take the basic tenets of many of the world’s major religions very seriously: Cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, forgiveness, charity, wisdom and peacefulness. I know full well that if my daily thoughts and actions aren’t MORE loving, compassionate, forgiving, charitable, wise and peaceful, then they are probably LESS so. And by choice, that is not acceptable to me. So I try to always look forward, and always go forward. Sometimes I accidentally shift into reverse, but I usually notice it pretty quickly and stop before I crash and destroy anything – and then I simply shift and go forward. I recommend that you periodically reflect on what’s important to you in your own life, and ask yourself, are you going forward or backward? After you’ve patted yourself on the back for realizing that forward and backward are all relative depending on perspective, you can get practical, shift into drive, and forge on forward toward achieving your goals.

“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.”

― Cinematographer Conrad Hall

If you are not a current student of The Peaceful Dragon, there are many ways to

improve your mind, body and spirit through the programs available at The

Peaceful Dragon. Visit www.ThePeacefulDragon.com and click on Adult Classes

or Children’s Classes. You can then register for a Free Semi-Private, No-

Obligation Introductory Class and an Introductory Tour.

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Upcoming Events

Adult Promotional Testing, All Blocks Makeup Testing, Wednesday, August 1

st, 6:30pm

Good luck to all of our testing adults. Please be sure to fill out your testing application and return it to the front desk no later than one week before your chosen test date.

Parents Night Out “Movie Star Night” Friday, August 10

th, 6:30-9pm

Would your child like to be the next Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan? The Peaceful Dragon will be teaching your child the power of team work. Working in small teams the children will use their Kung fu to make an awesome martial arts flick! Everyone will learn the importance of team work and have a blast making a movie. All friends need the permission slip to be filled out and signed by their parent. REGRETFULLY, ANY FRIEND WITHOUT A PERMISSION SLIP WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE! Important: There is no charge since these events are included in your tuition. However, you must sign up no later than Thursday, August 9th, so we can properly staff for the event.

Our complete 2018 Special Events Calendar is available at http://thepeacefuldragon.com/specialevents.shtml.

Mark your planning calendar now!

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

2nd Kyle Hoellein 12th Issac Cuthbertson

4th Cheryl Telk 16th Daniel Lee

5th Deanna Valeo 17th Lori Eidsness

5th Paul Campanelli 19th Charles Denhart

5th Teresa Dessi 20th Kate Lyons

7th Kurt Timmer 21st Tameka Carpenter

7th Kaleb Anderson 23rd Abhirama Velagala

9th Jake Austerman 26th Maxwell Tan

12th Jessie Brown III 29th Linda McLendon

12th Patricia Rosa 31st Emilie Giustozzi

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Equipment Needed for Classes

Adults

Shaolin All Blocks: Full Sparring Equipment

Tai Chi All Blocks: none Kids

8-12 year olds: Green Sash and Above: Full Sparring Equipment

4-12 year olds: White Sash and Above: Short Sticks and Nunchuks

Monthly Classes, Seminars

and Discussion Groups

Mastery Roundtable Discussion – Tuesday, August 7, 8pm Topic: The Eight Limbs of Yoga – Universal Relevance? Open only to Mastery Program students.

Yoga Seminar – Thursday, August 9, 6:30-8:30pm Presented by Yogini Mara Healy. Open to all teens and adults: FREE for Peaceful Dragon students, $29 for guests. Note: There will be no regular yoga classes on the evenings of the monthly yoga seminars.

Jr. Mastery Program Seminar – Saturday, August 11, 12-1pm Topic: Earning Your Black Sash Does Not Happen by Accident Open only to Junior Mastery Program students.

Lecture and Discussion – Thursday, August 16, 8pm

Topic: Zen and Taoism in the Arts Presented by Master Eric Sbarge. Open to all adult and teen students.

Future Instructors – Saturday, August 25, 11am Open only to Junior Mastery Program students.

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Peaceful Dragon School News (All Real!)

Plan and Start Saving NOW for The Peaceful Dragon’s 2019

China and Japan Tour!

The Peaceful Dragon is sponsoring an Asia tour for our students, family members and friends in October of 2019 – this will be our fourth tour, and each previous one has been fantastic. This two-week tour promises to be a fantastic trip that will include practice in meditation and martial arts with locals, sightseeing, cultural excursions and events, and much more. Our tentative itinerary includes Japan for the first time – Tokyo and Kyoto (with its ancient Zen temples) – and the beautiful Chinese cities of Suzhou (called China’s Venice with the picturesque canals) and Hangzhou (the lake city), the spiritual Yellow Mountains, and the cosmopolitan heart of China, Shanghai. The estimated cost for this all-inclusive custom tour with 4 and 5 star accommodations, all travel and excellent meals, admissions to cultural events, and the service of highly-professional English-speaking guides is between $3500 - $4000. We hope you can go – it’s a great investment for a lifetime of memories!

Welcome Alex Japit to our Children’s Instructor Team Many of our parents may have noticed a new face teaching lately. Alex Japit has joined us as a new Children’s Instructor. He has been a student at The Peaceful Dragon for many years.

Quarterly Cleanup Day Many thanks to our Quarterly Cleanup Volunteers! We had so many helpers this time that all of the tasks went smooth and fast. Most of the tasks were done before noon. This could only be done with your help. We appreciate it!

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Send Us Your Event Photos or Short Video Clips If you get some nice shots of Peaceful Dragon events please send them to [email protected] for display in our newsletter, social media pages and our new upcoming lobby-area TV!

Did You Know…

Our martial arts Great Grandmaster, Chang Tung Sheng, was a Muslim like many of

the best Northern Chinese wrestling masters?

Nearly all yoga and tai chi masters advise against drinking beverages with ice in them even on hot summer days (it weakens and slows your digestive system!)?

The chances of death are 100%, so it’s worth making the most of every moment of life?

Children’s Program News

A Message from Mr. George

In just a few weeks, the kids will be returning to school. I wish everyone a success school year. During

the summer we've been working on enhancing the program and improving the training for all the

students. The Jr. Mastery students have been instructed to arrive 15 minutes before class if possible to

lead the new students and to prepare themselves for warming up. If the students are playing and

having a good time right before class, then the instructors ask the kids to stop playing around and go to

the classroom to get ready. The big brothers and big sisters will get a chance to set the example to the

newer kids. Keep up the good work!

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Powerful Words

This month’s Powerful Word is Teamwork. Teamwork means working together to achieve a common

goal. Dr. Robyn’s letter to the parents discusses how to guide your children to work with others as

partners and groups.

Student of the Month Recognition

Adult Student of the Month— Samir Masih Runner up— Bobbie Bias

Runner up— Ronnie King

Samir has been consistently training hard in his kung fu and yoga. He is

diligent and polite and takes critique well. Good job, Samir!

Child Student of the Month— Zander Borges Lopez

Runner up— Noah Clinton

Runner up— Sahana Sanjay

Zander shows good respect to all the teachers and always has a smile. He has promoted to yellow sash

and he will be a great big brother to all the newer students. Keep up the great work Zander!

Student Promotions

Congratulations to our Promoting Students

4-7 Year Old Young Dragons

Orange Sash Purple Chevron – Kaleb Anderson Raymond Rutzell

Orange Sash White Chevron – Raghav Karthik

Orange Sash – Kyle Hoellein

Yellow Sash Brown Chevron – Kaashvi Sanjay Summer Tan

Yellow Sash Purple Chevron – Jacob Finney

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Yellow Sash Green Chevron – Maddie Rutzell Emanuel Ngo Davidson

Pierce

Yellow Sash Orange Chevron – Victoria Burke Annalise Turner

Yellow Sash – Zander Borges Lopez Zachariah Aboulhouda

Noah Clinton Noah Brady Amaia Pizarro

8-12 Year Old Young Dragons

Brown Sash Level 2 – Cardon Hawley Sophia Mullis

Blue Sash Level 3 – Jordan Baker

Purple Sash Level 4 – Balamir Sahin Myra Hoellein Sahana Sanjay

Purple Sash Level 3 – Paul Campanelli III

Purple Sash Level 2 – Benjamin Mullis

Orange Sash Level 2 – Alexander Kelly Hurditya Katta

Yellow Sash – Breanna Curtice Lilly Clinton

Tai Chi

Beginner to Novice (Block A to Block B) – Jeffery Allen Tammy Ahlers

Novice to Intermediate (Low B to High B) – Tameka Carpenter Alan Aronoff

Intermediate to Mid-Intermediate (Block B to Block C) – Wayne Johnson

Mid to High-Intermediate (Low C to High C) – Paul Campanelli

High-Intermediate to Advanced (Block C to Block D) – John Chandler

Shaolin

Beginner to Novice (Block A to Block B) – Carlos Bautista

Intermediate to Mid-Intermediate (Block B to Block C) – Alexandra Hoellein Paul

Campanelli

High-Intermediate to Advanced (Block C to Block D) – Troyce Docherty

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Disciple’s Forum/Getting to Know Your Disciple

by Disciple Wayne Johnson When Holly came to me asking me to contribute to the Disciple’s Forum, at first, I was apprehensive. I’ve read many great forums in the past and wanted to make sure I had something that might be entertaining and informative. First my answers to 5 questions: What was the last gift you’ve given someone? Father’s Day: Golf balls, socks, and a copper grill mat. What inspires you? I think that people who serve others inspire me. People who serve in public safety, nurses, teachers and people who are active in volunteer work. What type of music do you listen to? I listen to mostly 90’s alternative and classic rock. I grew up in the 90’s! What would I find in your fridge right now? You would find some raw vegetables, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. I like cutting them up and eating them with hummus and olive oil. What vacation location is on your bucket list? I would like to visit Australia and New Zealand. When I was thinking about what I would write it was the 4th of July, so I thought about some things that might relate to the Peaceful Dragon. The first thing is that we celebrate with fireworks! That certainly relates to the Chinese. Next, I thought about the concept of Wu-de. Wu-de is very important for respect and ethical behavior. Also, in celebrating July 4th we show respect for our country and the freedoms we enjoy. As with Wu-de, we show respect to our kwoon and our Sifu. In our country, we have the freedom to do what we want and believe what we want if we don’t break any laws. As a good citizen, we should treat others with respect and how we would like to be treated ourselves. At the Peaceful Dragon, we have people from all types of backgrounds and should display proper Wu-de respect. The same is true for our country, we live in a multi-cultural society and should treat everyone we meet with dignity and be conscientious of other people’s feelings. So, I feel as though there are parallels to the 4th of July and Wu-de as practiced by the Peaceful Dragon. But, is the 4th of July related to more? I found one passage in Chapter 16 of Guarding the Three Treasures by Daniel Reid on meditation. “What is governing the mind? The mind is originally pure, the mind is originally calm; openness and freedom are both qualities of the mind. When we govern the mind, this means we should keep it as in its original fundamental state, clear as a mountain stream, pure, fresh, unpolluted…” What I noticed about this passage was that openness and freedom are both qualities of the original mind. The author makes the point that through meditation we can restore the mind to its original qualities after taming the wild monkey of emotions. To me, they also relate to what we celebrate on the 4th of July. We can strive to have an open and free society just as through meditation we strive to have an open and free mind. In our country we have the freedom to live our lives how we want but we should remember our Wu-de, respect and civic responsibility to help others. Thank you for reading!

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Students Ask Master Sbarge

Question: I want to do kung fu, but I’m wary of sparring and really don’t want to have to do it. Do I have to spar in kung fu classes? Answer: We never force anyone to do anything in our classes, but if you have an aversion or fear of something, I usually recommend that you do it. You won’t suddenly be thrown to the wolves in sparring – all of our instructors and senior students will work with you at the level you’re at and help you ease in to comfort sparring, one step at a time.

Mission Statement for The Peaceful Dragon

Our mission is to help each of our students reach his or her fullest potential for physical, mental and spiritual development through the teaching of traditional Asian health arts and martial arts. We accomplish this by offering the most authentic and effective curriculum, by providing the best possible service to our students and their families, and by maintaining a warm and caring family environment in which every student, guest, and staff member is treated with respect, dignity and love.

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Classifieds

Your ad could be here! Text and graphics, a scan of your

business card, or artwork you submit. The cost is $5 for

students, $10 for the public. Send your copy to

[email protected]. Pay at the front counter.

George runs two social clubs in Charlotte through Meetup.com:

http://www.meetup.com/North-Carolina-

Mountain-Biking/

http://www.meetup.com/Charlotte-Pool-Shootin-Fun-Meetup/

Mountain biking, shooting pool, hiking, trying out

new restaurants or cruising to the Bahamas!