克利夫兰及周边地区消息

中華武術傳遞友情

   張茂昌來自中國,自幼學習武術,1993年經父親張維福推薦從師靑島武術名師張所春老師學習傳統武術基本功及長拳,為武術生涯打下了堅定的基礎。1997年4月開始跟父親張維福學習太極梅花螳螂拳。張茂昌自1999年起參加武術比賽,數次獲得靑島市市北區武術錦標賽螳螂拳、螳螂劍第一名,靑島市武術錦標賽螳螂拳、螳螂劍第一名。參加了數屆中國國際武術錦標賽,曾榮獲螳螂拳第一名,螳螂劍第一名,被推薦進行表演並獲金腰帶大獎。自2001年起,他還參加了數屆在美國舉行的國際武術錦標賽並獲螳螂拳第一名,螳螂劍第一名。並進入武壇門下,跟隨武術大師楊曉東先生學習八極拳及武壇功夫。2006年正式成為中國武術協會會員,並在9月被上海體育學院武術學院錄取。
   張茂昌是楊曉東的好學生,在美國結婚有一個5歲女兒。我對他説:希望他來參加伊利華報20周年的活動,他非常高興地答應了。

   當日我還見了兩位楊曉東多年的學生,我們天南海北聊得特別愉快,我還認識剛在網上拜師從密西根來的學生Money 和她的太太Jaime Elle Rucker,他們夫婦知道楊曉東要到Akron,馬上從密西根來Akron拜師。Jaime講了他是如何開始對中國的傳統武術有興趣的,我讓她寫了感受。(英文)
   Jaime和我認識的許多人一樣,對中國傳統武術執着和熱愛,她們認知武術是最好的養生,還説氣功太極拳都是非常好的運動,讓身體健康。
   楊曉東的父親的生日與台灣雙十節同一天,今天是他父親99歲生日,我説您怎么沒有給你爸爸祝壽跑老家來了,楊曉東説生日祝福已經做過了。而學生已經定好的課程他必須來克利夫蘭。
   楊曉東是一位十分講義氣的人,跟他認識多年,他的所有學生都是洋學生。他是一個很優秀的人。有句話説得好,你若優秀,社會是你的,你若微笑,命運是你的,你若看開,別人的一切也是你的風景,別人的幸福也是你的幸福。

I love martial arts

By Jaime Elle Rucker

   Over the past two years, I have been on an intensive spiritual voyage in an attempt to find my true purpose in life. I have always been connected to the ideas and considered myself to be a spiritual person. As a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I know just how important it is to maintain ones spirituality in order to keep moving forward and allow the past to be a lesson. But, these last two years were different and I came to realize just how important spirituality truly is. I found out so much more about myself this time around. What I really wanted out of life and who I really am on the inside. But, most importantly I uncovered how I will change the world and become the first black female champion of the UFC.
   Although, I had no idea how I would accomplish this task, I continued to forge ahead despite these facts. I bought countless books and performed countless hours of research on different martial art styles, but everything failed to resonate with my spirit. None of the styles embodied the essence of spirituality that I was searching for. I started to wonder if I had really been called to this way of life, because nothing was resonating with me. I did not realize at the time this was my crash course in eliminating self doubt and instead employing the virtues of patience and perseverance. I knew my spirit was looking for something deeper. Much deeper. So, I pressed forward knowing that I would find what I find what I was seeking.
   Suddenly, about two months ago everything started to fall into place and come together. I found myself going back to pivotal childhood memories. The time when I first fell in love with martial arts and knew I would practice one day. I recalled watching Kung Fu films and refusing to watch the dubbed version, because I wanted to feel what the actors were truly exemplifying. I remembered playing Tekken 3 all night until 7 a.m. the next day on weekends, with my favorite character Ling Xiaoyu. I flashed back to watching “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” in theaters and it changed my life and at 11 years old saying, “Wow, I could do that.” Like a rush, it dawned on me what style I was truly drawn to and it was right there in my greatest memories. I never knew that my fondest memories had elements of Baguazhang, Bajiquan and Piguaquan and other styles of the like. At last, I had reached a very big breakthrough in my search.
   I immediately started to absorb all the material I could get my hands on. I started to look at different practitioners videos, I bought more books and DVD’s. But this time, I used them all extensively! I discovered the sequences where like a sonnet and the fluidity of the movement is the creative art that that is the embodiment of its verses, to activate the energy inside ones self. I could imagine my body moving in these ways, a true manifestation of a spiritual plane. I could not fathom that all the information that I yearned for had just clicked in an instant. Here I was on a quest where everything was finally falling into place. I was grateful, ecstatic and felt an immeasurable amount of love all at the same time!
   After that, I began searching for facilities that taught the Baji/Pigua styles in the Detroit area, but to no avail. I decided to expand my search options and that is when I came across the Wu Tang Center for Martial Arts, located in Ohio. I made up my mind that I did not care how far it was, I would make that drive. So, I summoned all my determination and I called the number listed for Grandmaster Yang on the website. We had a wonderful conversation in which we discussed the history, the spiritual aspects and currently what the styles are primarily used for today. Before we ended the call, Grandmaster Yang assured me that he would reach out to me and let me know when he would be traveling to Ohio from Las Vegas and that he would introduce me to sifu James Rodgers, so that I could receive further training in the future. A few weeks later, a received a text from Grandmaster Yang, stating the dates that he would be in town. I was absolutely overjoyed! My husband and I decided to book a stay for the duration of Grandmaster Yang’s trip in order to receive as much valuable knowledge as possible. When the day had finally come, my husband and I set out on a three hour excursion to meet Grandmaster Yang and the rest is destined to be history.