Newsletter - 1st July 2003

News From Fire Dragon Australia

NEWS - JUNE 2003

January training started with Sifu Bellchambers taking class, while Sifu Hardy travelled to Victoria to take part in the annual Liang I campp with Master Robert Z. Sifu Hardy showed Master Z and his students some elements of the Way of the White Dragon, and in return not only learned more about the 5 animals, but also gained new understanding of Pai Lum - a fruitful journey indeed!

In February Sifu Bellchambers opened the second Club teaching Pai Lum Kung Fu in Australia - Fire Dragon Queanbeyan. Sifu Bellchambers earned his first newspaper appearance, with a very good photograph of him breaking the bottom out of a bottle.

February also saw Fire Dragon participate in the National Multicultural Festival. After the disappointment of cancellation - due to the first rain in a long drought! - the demonstration was finally scheduled for 15th February, and went very well, with a foreshortened programme, but still a variety of techniques including breaking, with a good dozen students able to take part.

March 30 saw the first NAS tournament of 2003, with Grasshopper - dave Davis - the sole Fire Dragon competitor. Despite being very ill on the day, Dave came first in his Forms event (Male Novice), and a very creditable second in sparring. He showed the true fighting spirit of the Dragon!

March also Fire Dragon take part in more demonstrations, with two in one day on March 22, at the Majura Community Festival in Dickson. A good crowd saw Sifu Hardy lead students from Canberra and Queanbeyan in a variety of material, including a Martial Arts skit where many students displayed hidden talents. While the two demonstrations were certainly hard work (with Sifu Hardy, for example, breaking stacks of concrete with both left and right hands), everyone, audience included of course, enjoyed themselves, and the Club achieved a good press write up.

On April 19 Fire Dragon again displayed its capacity to entertain, and put on two demonstrations back to back, at the Riverside Plaza. Again, a lot of hard work, but many interested potential students, and some new friends! Sifu Bellchambers this time did the first big break, smashing 8 concrete slabs, and in the second demonstration, Sifu Hardy broke a record 12, from fingertips with a heel palm strike, and as usual, with the concrete on fire. Our thanks to Riverside Plaza, and in particular Tori Murray!

Two students are preparing to join Sifu Hardy on a trip to visit Grandmaster St Charles at his annual camp in the US - Stephen Wells (Mantis) and Pierre Skorich (Goanna). Pierre applied for, and was awarded a scholarship of $500 to help him make the journey, and all three are now prepared for a unique experience.

Sifu Hardy, after taking advice from Grandmaster St Charles, reorganised the Syllabus in May, to enable students to more clearly see their progress. Some of the White Sash syllabus has been transferred to the syllabus for Yellow Sash, and a Blue Sash now comes between Yellow and Green. Three degrees of Brown Sash are now recognised, with the most advanced being 1st. The revisions do not omit or add any elements from the Syllabus, but redistribute them, to allow students to better concentrate on the important elements in their progress.

The second round of the national All Styles tournament took place on May 18. It was as usual a good tournament, and the sole Fire Dragon competitor, our Grasshopper Dave davis, again came away with first place in Novice Male Forms. This time, he performed a more advanced form - Pa Kow (learned at a day course) - congratulations!

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