Find Out What You Were Born To Do

One of my favorite nights to teach class is Friday.  I know that this isn't the same for everybody… some people like to take Friday evening to relax and not do anything. But for me it is a very liberating day where you really get to do what you love to do.  Sijo describes this in his seminar entitled - “FIND OUT WHAT YOU WERE BORN TO DO” - as your Friday night Essence.  He tells us that this goes back to when we are younger and in school, on Friday evenings. When we are free from doing what you had to do (i.e. school, work etc.]- What you did first was what you love to do - for me that is teaching Fang Shen Do. This is a related reason that I enjoy teaching Friday night classes as well.    Imagine you’re...

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Everyone Has Something To Teach

As I have already written, I am lucky and grateful to take part in Sijo's special monthly class.  Besides having the opportunity to train with the best partners that Fang Shen Do has to offer. We also get to learn from the experience from Sijo One topic that he spoke to a few months ago was the fact that you can learn from everyone. Sijo was talking about his mentors and people who have achieved a high level of success in their respective fields.  These are the people that he looks to for motivation and teaching.  He went on to discuss that everyone has something to teach you; that everyone has something that they can do better. It is the astute student of life that watches for such opportunities and implements...

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Fang Shen Do Toronto Fall Testing Success!

On October 3rd 2013, the Toronto Fang Shen Do location held their fall testing day.  It was a great success, as both the students and the instructors worked very hard to ensure that they were properly prepared for the test (s).  As you may have heard, we had 15 students move up the ranks that day. As I mentioned to the students, when a student is well prepared, I truly enjoy the testing process.  It is particularly gratifying to see a student progress towards his/her eventual goal of Black Sash.  I was also touched by the nice comments and compliments that we heard from the parents that night – thank you very much.  The night flew by, as I did test after test – I could not believe how quickly time passed as...

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Numbers Don't Lie

I was looking over the last few blogs, and I just wanted to say that I am very grateful to all the people that read them.  From what Diana tells me, we have people in Europe and Russia reading these blogs and I just wanted to say Hello to all our friends overseas. One common thread I have noticed in the blogs is the fact that they center on personal development.  Of course, there is a reason for this – Fang Shen Do.  As any student of the art will tell you, the DO part of it means “the way”.  Fang Shen Do is more than just a superior combat system; I truly believe that it teaches students the path to success in any field that they choose to follow.  How? By ingraining in the student the perseverance, confidence...

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They Won because they Dared.....

As many of you know, Fang Shen Do held one of their fight nights last weekend... I would have to honestly say that this was one of the best events that we have ever held.  It was in the JR Brisson arena with a big screen monitor that the spectators were able to watch all the action on, and what action there was !! To go in order, before the matches, both Sibok and Sifu Pat conducted a private class in the octagon with some of the students from the fight team.  I think everyone that was watching thoroughly enjoyed watching Sibok teach Focus Pad drills and Sifu Pat go over some Grappling. There were 22 fights on the card. For those that have never entered the octagon,  we would all agree that it takes a lot of courage to...

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Learning From Failure

Last month we had the annual Fang Shen Do training day / Kung Fu Olympics.  For those of you that have not participated in this event, it is a very inspiring event, with two double gyms being used for all the training. One gym is used by the adults – and the students are exposed to some high level training by the best that Fang Shen Do has to offer – More about that later.... The other half of the gym is used by the junior students and it is overseen by Sifu Stephane, who puts an incredible amount of energy, planning and time into this event.    His stated goal is that all the young students have the best day of their year that day.  For those that don’t know, Sifu Stephane has previously won international...

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BULLIES: The scrounge of society – Part I

There has been a lot of press recently regarding the issues of bullies and the challenges that are younger people face at school and in their social settings.  Five or six years ago, I was interviewed on Talk 640 (e-mail me if you would like sound clip from the show), a Toronto radio show regarding the issues of bullies.  Prior to that interview I had looked into the statistics and I would like to say that they are staggering!!! As a professional Martial Art Instructor, we quite frequently have young students coming to us as a result of bullying.  It is ironic that we see both sides… We have parents they bring their children in because they are being bullied - we also have parents bringing in their young people to prevent...

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What a great weekend!!

For those that don't know, the Fang Shen Do team trains once a month as a group.  All the Sifus (and other serious students - by invite only) gather at Sijo Patenaude’s flagship school and Sijo teaches a class.  Due to the depth of his knowledge on many, many different topics, we are never sure if it is going to be a physical class, a motivational class, a theory class, or a combination of these items - the anticipation is half the thrill.  The other half is being taught by the founder of Fang Shen Do. One of the things that I noticed as I took part in this class was the discipline of the students.  As you may see from the picture, everyone is in full uniform with their sashes.  One of our challenges that we have...

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FSD Fight Team

I had the opportunity to spend time with the Fang Shen Do fight team last weekend and I was compelled to write about it in this blog.  First of all, I have to give pass on my sincere admiration to Sibok, Sifu Pat and the other instructors who have been working with the Fang Shen Do fight team.   There is a reason that FSD holds three championship belts in the Hybrid Fight league – and they are it.  In addition to the individual fighter’s dedication and commitment to training in our system, it is the FSD fighting spirit that has been passed on through these instructors.  I have been fortunate over the years to work out with all the instructors in Fang Shen Do and I have to tell you that to hold the focus pads...

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Are You Pro-Active?

One of the most recent buzzwords that I have heard in the business environment is the term Pro-Active.  My initial thoughts on this phrase are that it is too often it is used as a sword rather than a shield. I have seen it regularly used by supervisors and bosses during employee evaluations to “constructively” suggest that they should work harder.  Or perhaps suggest that they should possess a crystal ball so that they can “pro-actively” rectify situations that they are not aware exist.  In this manner it is being used as a sword to attack someone. I feel that the proper usage of the term is to protect youself (shield). The heart of the intent of the phrase is: do you take reasonable steps to minimize risk (whether that risk...

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Respect Starts With You

Two of the keys in Fang Shen Do success, or perhaps success in any endeavor, is Accountability and Self Discipline. Too often we see that these important attributes are not present or are not being taught to people in general. I could pick several examples that I have seen where people seem to spend more time and energy to shirk the responsibility, than the actual effort the endeavor would take. As we teach our students in the Junior FSD class, there are three types of discipline: there is self-discipline, there is good discipline, and there is bad discipline. The most important discipline is self-discipline. Self-Discipline: the ability and will to ensure that you are doing what you're supposed to be doing when you are supposed to be doing...

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Preparing To Move Up The Ranks... Belt Testing

The Martial Arts are known for many things - effective self defense, focus, discipline, healthy lifestyle are just a few... One of the benefits that I have realized and what keeps me enthusiastic about my training is the MENTAL training in a martial art such as Fang Shen Do. As hard as is it is to believe, many people (Martial Artists included) spend 1000's of dollars per year on the outside of their head (hair styles, shampoo and other products) but less than 50 a year on the inside of their head - good books, motivational audios, seminars, etc.). We have two great products to help you kick 2013 off with a great start.The first is Sijo's book - 10 Secrets to Rock Solid Martial Art Foundation.  This book will ensure that...

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FEBRUARY IS FAMILY MONTH AT TORONTO FSD

Along with my previous posts talking about the benefits of the martial arts; like focus, self-discipline, and respect, I am greatly encouraged by the number of parents who are choosing to invest in their child’s future by having them train in the martial arts.  As many of you know, I have 2 daughters (now aged 18 and 17).  They both started training when they were 4& 5 years old and are still training to this day (15 years later).  My youngest daughter – Chayse – is well known for her abilities and skills in teaching the younger students, whereas my oldest, Jenna, is my secondary when I have to demonstrate advanced and weapon techniques.  In addition, my wife Sam also trains consistently.  For...

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It all starts with one step….

After as many years as we have been in Martial Arts, we hear some funny things over the years…. One that we hear all the time is “I am not in good enough shape to take classes” or “ as soon as I am in shape, I will come in and take classes”. What these people sometimes miss is that the physical and healthy body comes from taking part in classes. Anyone can start any time – I firmly believe that…. One of the things that we teach in the Junior Class is that a “black sash is a white sash that never gave up”. I further go on to tell them what we think a martial artist is…  In my mind, a martial artist is someone who edifies what Sijo calls CNEI – constant, never ending improvement. As an example, if person A walks into the club and is able to do 100 pushups and then after 5 years of...

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Something For Everyone...

We promised we were going to kick things up a notch in 2013, and true to our word, we have a couple events lined up for the month of February. For the Adults...we are pleased to offer a FOCUS ON RESULTS SEMINAR WITH SIJOThursday February 21st7:30pm$59.95 per personSijo Jacques Patenaude is the main founding member of Fang Shen Do (“Way of Survival”), the largest chain of kung-fu schools in Canada along side his wife Linda and their 4 children, Stéphane, Martin, Christine and Sîlvain.He doesn’t view FSD strictly as a fighting art, it’s a philosophy you apply to every area of your life. Please join us for this empowering seminar with Sijo that will help you to overcome life's challenges and accomplish anything that you may desire. And for...

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Creating Warriors

Martial Art’s is often viewed as being dangerous, but it isn’t the art itself which is dangerous; rather, the power in the way that it is taught.  A martial arts instructor can transform the way a student thinks, which in turn shapes the way that the student will respond to situations in everyday life. Martial Arts schools provide a solid knowledge of self-defense, but what is even more important is the self-discipline that the student takes with them when class is over. Toronto FSD teaches students how to focus their minds and demonstrate higher levels of self-control. Learning to control emotions and actions early on in life will particularly benefit the students as they grow and venture into the world later on in life. FSD students...

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