What is the Village
As anyone who has ever practiced a martial art (especially Kung Fu) can tell you, there is a unique sort of pressure, discipline, and regimentation required to help you achieve any sort of success in the training and development of your art. This training can be, at times, quite daunting and perhaps, intimidating, or even discouraging. One may also wonder whether he or she is learning something that will work as a method of self-defense in one’s life.
In the late 1990’s, Sifu Gus Gates set out on a journey to share his passion and knowledge of his life’s work of Kung Fu, with the world. He started out with a small group of students who he hand picked to groom and share his teachings with. Along the way, many more students have found their way to the Village. Over time, many of these students have gone on to become not just great practitioners, but also very passionate, generous, and knowledgeable instructors. This is the teaching team he surrounds himself with, and he works hard to ensure that you receive the same quality of training, whether you are being taught by him or one of his team.
At the Village, you will immediately notice that you have walked into something that is not just an extra-curricular activity, but more so a family that is willing to embrace you in an experience that can become a way of life. From self-defense to the ability to calmly handle stressful situations, it will help in every facet of your day-to-day living. The family sort of atmosphere and complete support system is absolutely invaluable in helping you to achieve success in your journey. We recognize that many who embark upon such a journey may feel self-conscious in the beginning, or may encounter struggles as they develop. With the support systems that are so prevalent at the Village, it makes even the greatest perceived struggles easily manageable.
The training that you will receive at the Village is a true self-defense based system that deals with real-life situations. From your first day of training, you will begin learning tools and techniques that are critical to defending yourself once perfected. You will see and learn real-life types of scenarios in a controlled environment, where you can safely learn to protect yourself should the unthinkable happen. Using knowledge of anatomy, geometry, and physics, you will experience how to fend off an attacker when there may be nobody there to help you. After all, there are no referees in real-life, to stop an attack. As you are able to capitalize on the body’s natural way of movement, you will learn that the size of your attacker is irrelevant, once you learn the various ways to negate those differences. A beautiful by-product of the nature of this training is the limitless spiritual growth you will achieve.
If you decide to become a part of the Village, you will not only be embarking upon a fabulous journey of learning a fantastic self-defense based system of martial art, but the many wonderful attributes of the internal aspect and spiritual growth of Kung Fu as well. You will also be stepping into a welcoming, nurturing environment where you will quickly see if you fall, there is always someone right there to help you up. You have stepped into a family-type of community that will enhance and enrich your life in innumerable ways.
What is Kung Fu
Kung Fu, the grandfather of all martial arts, is the martial art where all other forms of martial arts originated from. It originally began in the Shaolin Temple, where monks practiced Kung Fu for health and self-defense during their quest for enlightenment.
The first Shaolin temple was a Buddhist monastery built in 495 A.D., in the Henan province of China. In 527 A.D., a Buddhist prince named Bodhidharma, traveled to the temple for religious teaching, but found that the monks were too weak and in poor health to participate. To find a way to give the monks strength and vitality, Bodhidharma locked himself in a cave for nine years of meditation. This resulted in his creation of a series of exercises that developed strength, vitality, and internal energy, and is considered the original Shaolin martial art. This further developed into the systems later referred to as Kung Fu, and Qigong, and was also used to teach the monks to defend themselves.
Historically, Kung Fu in China was an integral part in the education of scholars and the leaders of government. The Chinese people placed great value in the practice of Kung Fu because they felt it taught respect, patience, humility, and morality, in addition to the obvious self defense benefits it maintained.
Kung Fu is a fluid system where techniques are based on fluid and continuous movement, where one movement will flow directly into the next without pause. Because of the beauty of this fluidity, Kung Fu can appear soft, while the techniques utilized are strong self-defense techniques that could be very devastating for the opponent. In Kung fu you will learn practices and techniques that will teach you how to deal with every type of attack, and how to defend yourself effectively in any situation.
Kung Fu practice utilizes both external and internal aspects throughout its teaching. The very nature of training in this form of martial art is a long process of character building. Qualities such as endurance, perseverance, discipline, and a calm disposition are prerequisites for progress, especially at higher levels. All these qualities, acquired through Kung Fu training, are transferable to daily life.
With this you will also reap the benefits of health, which is not only being free from illness, but the ability to sleep soundly, think clearly, and to be calm yet alert. With the fitness aspect of Kung fu, you will learn not simple physical strength, but you will also learn how to endure hard work, the ability to react quickly, and concentration without mental fatigue. Because of the nature of the exercise that is done in Kung fu, it develops the inner faculties of vital energy and the mind. Therefore, your fitness will become enhanced as you grow older, rather than diminishing as it would with other forms of exercise.
Because of this it promotes health and fitness better than any other form of exercise. Because this is a self-defense based system you will learn to defend yourself and protect yourself and your family should you ever need to. This provides you with both physical and psychological self-defense.
The calmness of mind and clarity of thought in demanding situations that you learn through this art prove as valuable tools that can be transferred to every area of your life, whether it be work, school, or social situations.
As anyone who has ever practiced a martial art (especially Kung Fu) can tell you, there is a unique sort of pressure, discipline, and regimentation required to help you achieve any sort of success in the training and development of your art. This training can be, at times, quite daunting and perhaps, intimidating, or even discouraging. One may also wonder whether he or she is learning something that will work as a method of self-defense in one’s life.
In the late 1990’s, Sifu Gus Gates set out on a journey to share his passion and knowledge of his life’s work of Kung Fu, with the world. He started out with a small group of students who he hand picked to groom and share his teachings with. Along the way, many more students have found their way to the Village. Over time, many of these students have gone on to become not just great practitioners, but also very passionate, generous, and knowledgeable instructors. This is the teaching team he surrounds himself with, and he works hard to ensure that you receive the same quality of training, whether you are being taught by him or one of his team.
At the Village, you will immediately notice that you have walked into something that is not just an extra-curricular activity, but more so a family that is willing to embrace you in an experience that can become a way of life. From self-defense to the ability to calmly handle stressful situations, it will help in every facet of your day-to-day living. The family sort of atmosphere and complete support system is absolutely invaluable in helping you to achieve success in your journey. We recognize that many who embark upon such a journey may feel self-conscious in the beginning, or may encounter struggles as they develop. With the support systems that are so prevalent at the Village, it makes even the greatest perceived struggles easily manageable.
The training that you will receive at the Village is a true self-defense based system that deals with real-life situations. From your first day of training, you will begin learning tools and techniques that are critical to defending yourself once perfected. You will see and learn real-life types of scenarios in a controlled environment, where you can safely learn to protect yourself should the unthinkable happen. Using knowledge of anatomy, geometry, and physics, you will experience how to fend off an attacker when there may be nobody there to help you. After all, there are no referees in real-life, to stop an attack. As you are able to capitalize on the body’s natural way of movement, you will learn that the size of your attacker is irrelevant, once you learn the various ways to negate those differences. A beautiful by-product of the nature of this training is the limitless spiritual growth you will achieve.
If you decide to become a part of the Village, you will not only be embarking upon a fabulous journey of learning a fantastic self-defense based system of martial art, but the many wonderful attributes of the internal aspect and spiritual growth of Kung Fu as well. You will also be stepping into a welcoming, nurturing environment where you will quickly see if you fall, there is always someone right there to help you up. You have stepped into a family-type of community that will enhance and enrich your life in innumerable ways.
What is Kung Fu
Kung Fu, the grandfather of all martial arts, is the martial art where all other forms of martial arts originated from. It originally began in the Shaolin Temple, where monks practiced Kung Fu for health and self-defense during their quest for enlightenment.
The first Shaolin temple was a Buddhist monastery built in 495 A.D., in the Henan province of China. In 527 A.D., a Buddhist prince named Bodhidharma, traveled to the temple for religious teaching, but found that the monks were too weak and in poor health to participate. To find a way to give the monks strength and vitality, Bodhidharma locked himself in a cave for nine years of meditation. This resulted in his creation of a series of exercises that developed strength, vitality, and internal energy, and is considered the original Shaolin martial art. This further developed into the systems later referred to as Kung Fu, and Qigong, and was also used to teach the monks to defend themselves.
Historically, Kung Fu in China was an integral part in the education of scholars and the leaders of government. The Chinese people placed great value in the practice of Kung Fu because they felt it taught respect, patience, humility, and morality, in addition to the obvious self defense benefits it maintained.
Kung Fu is a fluid system where techniques are based on fluid and continuous movement, where one movement will flow directly into the next without pause. Because of the beauty of this fluidity, Kung Fu can appear soft, while the techniques utilized are strong self-defense techniques that could be very devastating for the opponent. In Kung fu you will learn practices and techniques that will teach you how to deal with every type of attack, and how to defend yourself effectively in any situation.
Kung Fu practice utilizes both external and internal aspects throughout its teaching. The very nature of training in this form of martial art is a long process of character building. Qualities such as endurance, perseverance, discipline, and a calm disposition are prerequisites for progress, especially at higher levels. All these qualities, acquired through Kung Fu training, are transferable to daily life.
With this you will also reap the benefits of health, which is not only being free from illness, but the ability to sleep soundly, think clearly, and to be calm yet alert. With the fitness aspect of Kung fu, you will learn not simple physical strength, but you will also learn how to endure hard work, the ability to react quickly, and concentration without mental fatigue. Because of the nature of the exercise that is done in Kung fu, it develops the inner faculties of vital energy and the mind. Therefore, your fitness will become enhanced as you grow older, rather than diminishing as it would with other forms of exercise.
Because of this it promotes health and fitness better than any other form of exercise. Because this is a self-defense based system you will learn to defend yourself and protect yourself and your family should you ever need to. This provides you with both physical and psychological self-defense.
The calmness of mind and clarity of thought in demanding situations that you learn through this art prove as valuable tools that can be transferred to every area of your life, whether it be work, school, or social situations.
