Tai Chi with Bruno Ballestrero NEW CLASS Monday 7:00 – 8:15 am (starts 1/12)
Tai Chi is an effective discipline for exploring the connection between mind and body. Its gentle sequence of movements, along with exercises in meditation, breathing, and physical conditioning develop one’s alignment, balance and coordination; flexibility and relaxation; clarity and calmness of mind; and a sensitivity to one’s internal world. Our Tai Chi classes cover its martial as well as its therapeutic aspects, leaving the choice up to each practitioner. We practice the Yang style, traditional 128-movement form, as well as push hands, chi kung and standing meditation.
Kung F
u with Bruno Ballestrero NEW CLASSES Monday & Wednesday 7:00 pm (starts 1/12 and 1/14) This class is for adults. Students ages 12+ with martial experience may ask the teacher’s permission to participate.
Improve your physical and emotional health, stabilize your body weight and your being. Learn to defend yourself and connect with Asian philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. You will sweat, strengthen your body (abdominals, back, arms and legs), have fun and relax. You can train physical conditioning, flexibility, balance, coordination, breathing, meditation and philosophy. Ultimately the aim is to connect with your own self and center, elevate your spirit and, by extension, that of your surroundings.
A typical class starts with a warm up: joint mobility; dynamic and static stretching. Next, physical conditioning: with your own body weight (abdominals, pushups, squats, etc.) and with additional weight. Kung Fu drills: kicks, strikes, sweeps, etc. Self defense: Long distance (kicks), middle distance (punches), short distance (holds, throws), etc. Close: stretching, relaxation, qigong and returning to a state of calm.
Shaolin Chang Quan Form for Longevity with Sentwali Copela NEW CLASSES Thursday 7:30 – 9:00 am (starts 1/15) & Saturday 8:30 am (starts 1/17)
These classes are designed to rapidly promote health from the inside out; while also allowing the student to form a solid base for any martial arts practice. In these classes students will learn simple beginning movements taken from Chang Quan, also known as Shaolin Long Fist. While these classes will focus primarily on health through movement, those students interested in the self-defense side of Shaolin Chang Quan should attend the longer Thursday morning class. The extra time on Thursday morning will be spent on simple, effective, fun self-defense applications with a little Muay Thai thrown in for good measure.
Your teacher, Sentwali, refers to this form as Longevity Movements because it promotes health and reverses aging. These moves simply promote healthy qi and blood flow through all of the meridians in the body. The idea is that stagnation is the beginning of disease and aging. These movements will help you with anything you do.
Zen Archery with Linda Awana NEW CLASS Saturday 8:30 am Age 16 and up
Have fun while improving your focus, eye-hand coordination, balance and aim. Great training to concentrate your attention. Using intuitive aiming techniques, come to a better consciousness of your body as you mindfully work on perfecting your technical skill. Learn the mechanics of shooting, gain information about the equipment and enjoy Linda’s positive encouragement! Class will include target shooting, balance drills, moving archer skills as well as moving target practice. After completion of 6 regular classes, you qualify to attend a Workshop held at Kokohead Shooting Range where you will experience shooting target arrows in an outdoor setting.
Women’s Self Defense with Linda Awana NEW TIME Saturday 9:45 am
NEW TEACHER
Bruno Ballestrero Traditional Chinese martial arts have formed the center of Bruno Ballestrero’s life since 1999. He has taught tai chi, chi kung (qigong) and Shaolin kung fu professionally since 2004, and enjoys sharing the ways in which these centuries-old practices can be understood as powerful tools for mental, physical and spiritual health today. Originally from Argentina, he has lived in Hawai‘i since 2012 and directs San Bao Center in Kailua – a sister school to San Bao Center, which he founded in Buenos Aires in 2008.