Students Participate in Gala
Wah Lum Kung Fu of Concord students train for Wah Lum Kung Fu of USA's 40th Anniversary Show, Front row from left: Mark Turner, Katherine Flagg, and Evan Hughes. Back Row: Charles Coons, Loura Coons, and Raymond Bull.
Students from Wah Lum Kung Fu of Concord participated in the Wah Lum Kung Fu 40th anniversary Gala Show and Masters' Demonstration, which took place at the John Hancock Hall in Boston on May 1st. This gala performance was one of a number of events, which took place over the weekend to mark the 40th anniversary of the Wah Lum Kung Fu system's introduction to the United States by the current Grandmaster Pui Chan. The evening began with a "mass" traditional Chinese Lion Dance performance, with Lion Dance teams representing the numerous Wah Lum schools from around the country, followed by a 10-member Dragon team performance. The rest of the evening consisted of group and individual performances by students, instructors, and masters from around the world performing traditional kung fu empty hand and weapons forms, fighting sets, tai chi, and "iron palm" board and brick breaking, and the famous "nail bed."
Six students from the Wah Lum Concord school's Demo Team performed a group empty hand form which kicked off the evening's kung fu performances. Assistant instructor Evan Hughes and senior student Mark Turner along with other Demo Team members Katherine Flagg, Loura Coons, Raymond Bull, and Charles Coons rounded out the group. Sifu Andrea Sheffield also gave an individual performance along with other New England instructors later in the evening. Evan Hughes and Lee Garafola made up the Lion Team from the Concord School. Kung Fu and Tai Chi masters from New England to New Jersey, Maryland to England, Florida to China and more, performed in honor of Master Chan and the Wah Lum System. Grandmaster Chan himself , now more than 70 years old, gave a rare and unequaled performance, as a grand finale to the evening of world class martial arts, bringing the audience to its feet.
Wah Lum Tam Tui Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu is an authentic Chinese Martial Art which brought to the United States in the late 1960s by Grandmaster Chan Pui, sixth generation successor of the Shaolin Temple, China. Wah Lum Students learn traditional Kung Fu forms both with demonstration weapons, such as staffs and swords, as well as without weapons (empty hand forms). Studying the proper application of the techniques, students advance from learning movement skills to developing martial intent and practical self-defense skills. Traditional Chinese martial arts emphasize respect, of both self and others, and humility, and therefore do not incorporate a "colored belt system" where rank is displayed publicly. The Wah Lum system focuses on the personal development aspects of the art, not just the martial fighting techniques, to improve an individual's physical, mental, and emotional health.