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8th March 20 News & Updates

Some weeks it’s business as usual and then other times you just can’t cram anything else into the week. Last week was one of those weeks. We’ve had new classes beginning on our timetable, pre-tests and a combat sport workshop as well as all our regular classes. Our Forres school has even made the local papers too.

Forres News Article

Our school in Forres has only been opened a short while, yet have already managed to have an article published about them in the local paper. The Forres Gazette wrote about the opening of our new branch and focused on how Sifu Hepple’s own journey with Hung Ga Kung Fu has shaped his own life, as well as the lives of many of his students. You can read the whole article here: New Kung Fu Class in Forres Helps Build Physical and Mental Strength.

Pre-testing

Exams are never easy. The pressure to succeed can be overwhelming. Nerves can make you flustered. Trying to remember all the information you need can be a hard task on its own. Trying to recall it all ‘on the spot’ adds a whole new level of panic! The kind of skills you learn to deal with these pressures are useful in all walks of life. During our gradings at Yee’s Hung Ga, there can be a lot of information that students have to process. To take some of the pressure off and to set their minds at ease, our pre-testing stage is a valuable part of the whole testing procedure.

Pre-testing in Inverness

We conducted the pre-testing stage on Saturday the 7th of March. All students who participated passed with flying colours. The next stage is the final grading. Until then it’s back to business and lots of practice!

You can read more about one of our students who attended our pre-testing on Saturday. Emma Archer, who will be looking to take her Yee Cup Junior Level test (1st test of 2nd level) at the next grading, is the focus of our latest Student Spotlight Article. Due to her busy work schedule and commitments, Emma trains at various branches of Yee’s Hung Ga across the North of Scotland. This is a testament to her commitment and dedication to the training at Yee’s Hung Ga. If you are inspired by her tenacity and perseverance, you only need to make it along to your first beginners class to see why Emma is so dedicated. Read the article here: Student Spotlight: Emma Archer.

Hung Ga for Combat Sports

Working the pads in our combat sports workshop

After the pre-test on Saturday, we also held a unique workshop in the Inverness academy. Sifu Michael Rose, Vice President of Yee’s Hung Ga Europe and instructor of the Peterhead branch, conducted a hands-on seminar about the use of Hung Ga techniques for competing in combat sports. Sifu Rose has first hand experience with competing and we were lucky enough to receive the benefit of his knowledge. More of these exciting workshops are in the pipeline, so to keep up to date, make sure you sign up to our email alerts below.

Rent Our School

Available for hire

If you have thought about running your own martial arts, yoga, meditation or exercise class but you’re put off by the high charges for renting space out, we have a great solution. Our Academy has a fantastic central location in Inverness. It is available throughout the day Sunday to Saturday. We also have Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights available for you to run your classes. If you wish, we can even designate space for your marketing and help get the word out on our social media platforms. It only costs £12 to rent out our school for an hour. If you need more time, speak to us about what you need and we can come up with a fair arrangement. As always, you can email us directly or read more about what we can offer you in this article: Space Available

Classes

Our current timetable

Our Qigong classes commenced last Thursday and will continue at the same time of 6.15-7pm every Thursday. Our timetables and price list have been updated. These classes are suitable for anyone, of any age, who is interested in learning the art of Qigong. 1-1 tuition will still continue in the normal fashion.(see below)

Highland school of Qigong

As well as Qigong, we obviously have Hung Ga kung fu classes too. Our kids class is on every Monday at 6.15-7pm. There’s no waiting list for this so your child could start straight away. We also have our beginners class at 7pm on Tuesday evenings. There is plenty space available for anyone who wishes to begin their training. For more information on beginning, see our page: How Do I Join?

Current Prices

As well is these classes which are oriented for complete beginners, we also have a Techniques, drills and applications class on Monday evenings at 7pm. This is designed for students of all levels to practice turning their skills into 2nd nature. Our Lion Dance & Performance class is designed for students of mixed ages and abilities. The stances, footwork and co-ordination are a great accompaniment to your Hung Ga training. Traditional training & sparring is for more experienced students to hone their skills with. Anyone who has completed an introductory Tuesday evening class is welcome to attend any of the classes on the timetable. On Friday evenings we also have classes, available to anyone, at our Forres branch of Yee’s Hung Ga.

1-1 Private Tuition

Sifu Frank Yee & Sifu Hepple

Whether you wish to learn Qigong or Hung Ga kung fu, you have the option to learn in our public classes, 1-1 private tuition with Sifu Hepple or a mixture of the two. Private tuition is simple and easy to arrange. Simply pick the available time that suits you, enter your details and then pay securely via PayPal.

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Still on the way….

We are STILL working on our Winter Qigong Routine notes and our Spring Qigong Routine. Due to testing and workshops, they’ve pushed onto the backburner slightly. We will, however, be back on track soon and should deliver on our promises shortly. To make sure that you don’t miss out, sign up to our email alerts below….

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Festive Special News & Updates

Welcome to our final newsletter of 2019. Our Winter Qigong Routine has finally been sent out and we have set up a workshop to compliment it. Our Chinese New Year preparations continue. Only 5 more weeks to go! If you are looking for last minute gift ideas, we have got you covered, with tickets to our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop and Gift Certificates. Although too late for Christmas delivery, there’s plenty of bargains still to be had in our ‘Hung’ sale. Our public classes have now drawn to a close, however the new year beckons. It is a time for reflection and new beginnings. If getting fit and healthy, meeting new friends, getting out and off the settee, learning something new and interesting that could potentially help you in a tricky situation, is high on your agenda, read on to find out how to start your kung fu journey at Yee’s.

Winter Qigong Routine

Winter Qigong Routine

Here in Inverness, Winter has arrived. Freezing temperatures, short daylight hours, the stress of Christmas, parties on every corner. It can all take its toll on your mind and body. Luckily our Winter Qigong Routine has also arrived in time to help you relax and refocus. Refresh your mind and body with our qigong routine. We have designed it especially for this time of year.

If you haven’t signed up for our FREE qigong routine yet, simply complete the following form and we will send it to you.

Inside our Winter Qigong Routine email you will find an introduction to the routine, the routine itself with YouTube links to every exercise, a YouTube link to the whole playlist of every exercise and also a description of the physiological effects of the routine on the body. Every YouTube video has a brief description of how to complete each exercise, as well as a description of its purpose and benefits. All this information is completely FREE!! If you are interested in learning about qigong, this information is invaluable.

As well as our FREE qigong routine, we have also set up a workshop to compliment it. In this workshop we will practice the whole routine. It will be an ideal opportunity to ask any questions that you might have, or may have arisen from your practice of the routine. We will discuss the main theories and philosophies behind the routine, the organs and channels involved in each exercise and how they are put together to benefit the entire system in a holistic manner. This workshop will take place on the 4th of January 2020. Ideal to set off the new decade on the right foot. You can keep up to date with this event on our Facebook event page:

Highland Scool of Qigong, Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Facebook Event Page

The workshop costs £15. (£10 for Yee’s students) You wont need any special equipment. Just some comfortable clothing and shoes. If you would like to make notes, bring a notepad and pen with you, perhaps a bottle of water too. Filming is prohibited, however if you wish to take photographs, this is fine. You can buy tickets to this workshop on our website. Ideal for a last minute Christmas present:

Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Tickets

We would LOVE to see you practicing our routine! Follow us @yhginverness and use hashtags #YHGInverness and #HSQInverness to show us your qigong practice.  

Our newsletter is still in its infancy! We could use your help getting the word out. If you know someone who would enjoy hearing from us, please forward them this email and share on your social media. 

Spring Festival/ Chinese New Year 2020

Lion dance parade at Belladrum

Another event that is fast approaching is the Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations. There are many practices on Chinese New Year that are surrounded by legends. According to one such legend, a monster called Nian (年) would come about every New Year’s Eve and terrorise everyone. People would hide away in their homes from the creature. The legend tells of one boy who was brave enough to fight off Nian using firecrackers. The next day, people celebrated their survival by setting off even more firecrackers. That practice has become, forevermore, a crucial part of the Spring Festival.

Nian

In modern times we use firecrackers to make a lot of noise for celebrating and to welcome in the new year. People stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the new year and good luck. The most amount of fireworks are set off at this time, more than any other time of the year, anywhere in the world. Due to safety reasons and concerns for air pollution, many Chinese cities have banned fireworks. Over 500 cities also have restrictions in place too. Beijing banned fireworks for 13 years. The ban was lifted in 2006 due to public pressure. If you’re in China during this time, you’ll probably be able to hear and see the explosions for at least 3 nights (and it can go on for weeks).

Defeating Nian with firecrackers

While we might not have firecrackers with us, we will certainly make a lot of noise at the Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations. Our lions and dragon will be performing demonstrations across the city. You can find out more information and keep up to date with times and locations on our Facebook event page below:

Inverness Chinese New Year Celebration 2020

Chinese New Year Gala Show Aberdeen

Chinese New Year Gala Show Inverurie

Our Lion & Dragon Dance Team will also be performing at gala shows in Aberdeen and Inverurie. The Yee’s North of Scotland Lion & Dragon Dance Team consists of three Yee’s Hung Ga schools that are spread across the North of Scotland. The chief instructors from all three schools are originally kung fu brothers from the same Yee’s school in Aberdeen. This means that we all have the same Sifu, Bruce Clark. We all share the common bond of Hung Ga kung fu and we have all pledged to spread our art, in all its various forms, as best that we can. Lion dance performances play an important roll in spreading our art. We are always looking for keen students who are interested in what we do. You can contact the other two branches below:

Yee’s Hung Ga Ellon Branch

Yee’s Hung Ga Peterhead

Classes

Merry Christmas and happy new year from YHGInverness

Although our current classes have ended, they will resume on the Monday the 6th of January 2020. We wish all our students and supporters a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. If you are considering starting Hung Ga once our classes resume, we recommend readying our page, ‘How Do I Join?’ If you think it all sound good on paper but need that extra push to get you off the settee, have a read of our article, ‘Motivation: Hints, Tips & Good Practice’ It’s a lot easier and a lot less painful to begin than you think. Just turn up and enjoy the experience. See you in the new decade….

‘Hung’ Sale

If you are on the hunt for something very last minute to give to your kung fu obsessed loved one, but ran out of ideas. We have got you covered. We can email these to you and you can print them out to give in person.

How about tickets to our Winter Qigong Routine Workshop in January. Reasonably priced at only £15‐10.

Winter Qigong Routine Workshop Tickets

Or how about some gift certificates. Gift certificates can be redeemed for Qigong & Hung Ga classes, private tuition, uniforms and clothing, weapons, sparring kit and medicines. Multiple certificates may be purchased and/or redeemed at once. And we have price options from £20‐200.

YHGInverness Gift Certificates

If you’ve dropped all the hints in the world and you STILL didn’t get want you wanted for Christmas, don’t worry. Our sale is still running in our store. You can buy what you really wanted in our online shop. Everything is on sale (excluding uniforms, tickets and gift certificates) so you can finally justify buying it for yourself!

See you in the next decade. Have a great holiday and stay safe!