www.ThePeacefulDragon.com July 2019 704-504-8866

Inside

Upcoming Events Students of the Month

Peaceful Dragon School News Disciple’s Forum/Getting to Know

Family Program News Classifieds

Student Promotions

Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Yoga and More

The Peaceful Dragon For the Contemporary Mind, Body and Spirit

The Peaceful Dragon has been selected “Best

Martial Arts School” by: Charlotte Parent

Magazine

The Charlotte Observer

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Upcoming Events

10-Week Medical Qigong Course Begins Wednesday, July 10

th, 8-9:15pm

Do you want to:

Reduce stress and tension? Overcome chronic illnesses? Maintain optimum vitality? Prevent disease? Ensure your own well-being?

Integrating medical qigong and tai chi qigong, at this course you will learn both theory and traditional medical qigong exercises to better care for your own mind and body. Medical qigong utilizes simple movements, meditations and breathing methods that can be learned by people of all ages and health conditions. Public $149, Peaceful Dragon students FREE.

Quarterly Promotion Ceremony Saturday, July 13

th, 11am

Congratulations to all of our promoting students! Please turn in your promotion application by no later than Saturday, July 6th. Applications are available at the front counter. You are welcome to bring snacks and treats for after the ceremony to celebrate promoting with your classmates.

If you are not a current student of The Peaceful Dragon, there are many ways to

improve your mind, body and spirit through the programs available at The

Peaceful Dragon. Visit www.ThePeacefulDragon.com and click on Adult Classes

or Children’s Classes. You can then register for a Free Semi-Private, No-

Obligation Introductory Class and an Introductory Tour.

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Parents Night Out Friday, July 19

th, 6:30-9pm

This month is Water Fight Night! Open to children 4 and above, your child will learn how to focus on their surroundings and participate in a fun water gun fight! Every child must bring a change of clothes, a towel, and a water gun with their name on it. Students are welcome to bring friends to help attack the instructors and ensure they leave soaked. All guests must have a permission slip filled out in full before the event.

Quarterly Cleanup Day Saturday, July 20

th, 9am-1pm

Please join us as we work to make our school shine. We appreciate all volunteers, whether you can help for 5 minutes before or after class or if you can help for the whole day.

Kuoshu Tournament in Baltimore Fri-Sun, July 26-28

th

Join Master Sbarge and many of our instructors and fellow classmates at this weekend-long international tournament that highlights tai chi, pakua, hsing I, kung fu, shuai chiao and more, with weapons, forms, full-contact lei tai fighting, push hands, and much more. Divisions are for all ages from 5 on up, and beginner to advanced. Whether as a competitor or spectator, you will come away from this weekend with a much greater appreciation for the variety of Chinese martial arts, and a better understanding of your own practice and how you can improve your skills and derive more benefits and satisfaction from your training. For tournament information see the USKSF site.

Our complete 2019 Special Events Calendar is now posted at http://thepeacefuldragon.com/specialevents.shtml.

Mark your planning calendar now!

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Equipment Needed for Classes

Weapons

Shaolin all blocks: none

Tai Chi all blocks: none

All Mastery and Junior Mastery students in our Kung Fu programs should always bring their full sparring equipment to every class.

Monthly Classes, Seminars

and Discussion Groups

Mastery Roundtable Discussion – Tuesday, July 2, 8pm Topic: Combat and Self-Defense Strategies and Tactics Open only to Mastery Program students.

Jr. Mastery Program Seminar – Saturday, July 6, 12-1pm Topic: Managing Your Time Effectively Open only to Junior Mastery Program students.

Yoga Seminar – Thursday, July 11, 6:30-8:30pm Topic: Introduction to the Practice of Shiva Nata Led by Yogini Diane La Croix Corah Open to all teens and adults: FREE for Peaceful Dragon students, $29 for guests. Note: There will be no regular yoga classes on the evenings of the monthly yoga seminars. Lecture and Discussion – Thursday, July 18, 8pm

Topic: Zen Philosophy, Zen Lifestyle Presented by Master Eric Sbarge. Open to all adult and teen students.

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Peaceful Dragon School News (All Real!)

Book Chapter of the Week

Each week, every kung fu and tai chi class includes a five-minute “mat chat” discussing principles and examples from the book “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield. We are covering one chapter per week, so please read the Introduction and the first chapter for discussion. We are confident this will not only help you achieve success in your martial arts mastery, but also maximize your success in your personal and professional aspects of your life. If you have not picked up your complimentary copy of the book yet, please do so ASAP at our front service counter. July 1st Ch. 24 - Exceed Expectations July 8th Ch. 25 - Drop Out of the “Ain’t It Awful” Club…and Surround Yourself with Successful People July 15th Ch. 26 - Acknowledge Your Positive Past July 22nd Ch. 27 - Keep Your Eye on the Prize July 29th Ch. 28 - Clean Up Your Messes and Your Incompletes

Movies at Ayrsley Grand

Here’s a list of upcoming family-friendly movies for you to enjoy! July 2nd Spider-Man: Far from Home (PG-13) July 19th The Lion King (live action) (PG) August 9th Dora and the Lost City of Gold (PG) August 14th The Angry Birds Movie 2 (PG)

Send Us Your Event Photos or Short Video Clips If you get some nice shots of Peaceful Dragon events please send them to Holly@thepeacefuldragon.com for display in our newsletter and social media pages.

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Children and Family Program News

A Message from Mr. George

Summer is officially here, and I hope everyone gets to enjoy some well-deserved

summer vacations. Even though some of the kids will be missing their Kung Fu classes,

still keep up with their daily practice, random acts of kindness, and summer readings. If

they are visiting grandparents, they are expected to show their yes sir and yes

ma'am. The Four Laws of Concentration are also used during science camp or swimming

camp. As martial artists we train as we are a Black Sash Level and act as we are Black

Sash Level. The Black Sash Attitude does not take a summer vacation! Keep up the

great work!

JULY BIRTHDAYS

1st Tammy Ahlers 14th Christine Lwin

1st Brian Patalocco 14th Devaki Karempudi

1st Gonzalo Cadrecha 19th Jennifer Cox

3rd Kathy Campanelli 21st Cody Eidsness

4th Allie Dallman 23rd Dirk Hoellein

6th Natalia Croomhill 24th Paramsinh Parmar

9th Matthew Davis 25th Lisa Weber

10th Susan Mangum 27th Michelle Monteilh

11th Ramya Alaguvel 28th Sandra Margo

12th Michelle Tan 30th Jeffrey Allen

13th Kim-Chi Nghiem-Lail 30th Summer Tan

14th Sifu Eric Sbarge 31st Zoe Rabassa

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Student of the Month Recognition

Adult Student of the Month— David Brashear Runner up— Derek Bittner

Runner up— Elliott Blackwell

David comes to many classes and is helpful to new students. He always

does his best to help around the school and is a great inspiration to

others. Good job, David!

Child Student of the Month— Victoria Burke

Runner up— David Melendez

Runner up— Eshan Kandekar

Tori has just turned six, but she can keep up with eight year olds. She can focus and train like the big

kids. Keep up the great work Tori!

Disciple’s Forum

Gratitude

by Disciple Eric Dennison

I was pondering on the nature of the article I wanted to present. It took me some time to think about.

And it struck me on the moment of the gratitude I have. And like many people, it’s not always evident,

but it’s definitely there.

My immediate thoughts moved to that I have a decent job, have a nice home, wife and pets. But what

often strikes me when I attend classes is that I am reminded of this every time I come to the Peaceful

Dragon. I see the beautiful, and well maintained, building and grounds. I have great instructors, and

great leadership here. Visually the Kwoon is a beautiful and harmonious place. It engenders a sense of

pride to a part of.

Just a few points to begin the process of thought. When I consider all that I see at the Peaceful

Dragon, I am just continually blown away.

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I am offered a regimen that goes beyond the learning of martial arts but the ideology behind it. Being

a better person. Given guidance and discussions on how to become successful, to set goals and to take

those steps.

How many hours of round table meetings and lectures do you see at the school? I know having been

to other martial arts schools, it was quite rare to have philosophical and ideological discussions.

Meditation classes for all and leadership discussions for the younger students.

It’s also noteworthy to see how much effort Sifu and the staff go to in recognizing student efforts.

Tracking the different aspects of progress in reading, practice and attendance, following through with

testing and tracking advancement. How much planning, organizing and just time is involved in the

planning of meetings, discussion groups, lectures, newsletters and announcements? How amazing is it

to have guest martial artists come and provide additional insight to the arts? What about the retreats

and special programs offered at the Peaceful Dragon? It boggles my mind at times that we will see

some of the world class masters coming here to give a workshop.

And the advancement ceremonies. What a wondrous task to promote so many and keep such an

excitement about it all. Not to mention all the certificates, medals and trophies handed out. I can

only imagine how much time and energy it takes to get all that organized and running.

I am that absolute worst at often sharing the positives. I work in freight logistics and we tend to kind of

expect things to work as they should. But one of the things I always try to do is tell my instructors

thank you at the end of class. I appreciate their help and dedication to the art to pass the knowledge

on to me and I want them to know it. Even if it’s a quick thank you.

I would encourage everyone to give that quick thank you to your instructors. Let them know your

gratitude. Encourage your fellow students, while we all do this for ourselves, we are not alone and our

fellow students can certainly offer additional comfort and insight on our journey in the martial arts.

I could probably go on sharing the highlights of the many aspects that both impress me and make me

proud to be a student here. Including that Sifu is in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, been a champion,

and constantly works in an almost tireless fashion to continue to promote the school and teach the

students what he has learned. Anyway, before I bore everyone to death with my own thoughts, I will

close.

Let me say, thank you for taking the time and listening to my thoughts.

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Getting to Know your Disciple

Every month, we ask our disciple to answer a series of interesting, fun, or silly questions so our

students can get to know them better. Below are this month’s answers. (Usually, our disciple only

answers 5, but since the answers are so fun, I left them all in. - Holly)

Disciple Eric Dennison

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?

Blue, the favorite color, perhaps more the azure rich blue. I don’t think you can explain likes and

dislikes fully. Let’s just say it makes me happy.

What was the last gift you gave someone?

Gave my wife her Gryffindor bathrobe in the winter. It was nice for her to lounge in it, in the winter.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Do I really need to grow up?

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

I work around truckers and freight people, most things that are considered funny are usually

embarrassing or inappropriate. I may have to pass on this one.

What inspires you?

Actions from the heart inspire me. When someone truly puts their heart into something I can be

inspired. When someone really gives their all, you can tell.

What do you do in your free time?

Martial arts, fixing my new home, and getting with friends, somewhat of a movie fiend. I love a good

story. Roleplaying games.

What type of music do you listen to?

I am very eclectic and all over with my music types some opera (Sarah Brightman Phantom of the

Opera is amazing), new wave, classical and most are surprised that I tend to like heavy metal (only the

ones where I can understand the words though. Example Life is Beautiful by Sixx AM)

What would the title of your autobiography be?

Uncovering the shadow, I was always terribly shy and have spent years working to not be.

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What would I find in your fridge right now?

Leftovers and items for lunch, its usually about to burst

What vacation location is on your bucket list?

I love old castles and ruins. I want to return to the Dragon Gate in Kunming as well as go to some of

the Germanic castles

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Hmm…Harry Dresden, magic and a gun. Can’t be any more fun than that.

If you won the lottery, what business would you open?

I am not sure about the business as investments, but if something came along. You just never know.

Mission Statement for The Peaceful Dragon

Our mission is to help each of our students reach his or her fullest potential for physical, mental and spiritual development through the teaching of traditional Asian health arts and martial arts. We accomplish this by offering the most authentic and effective curriculum, by providing the best possible service to our students and their families, and by maintaining a warm and caring family environment in which every student, guest, and staff member is treated with respect, dignity and love.

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Classifieds

Your ad could be here! Text and graphics, a scan of your

business card, or artwork you submit. The cost is $5 for

students, $10 for the public. Send your copy to

holly@thepeacefuldragon.com. Pay at the front counter.

George runs two social clubs in Charlotte through Meetup.com:

http://www.meetup.com/North-

Carolina-Mountain-Biking/

http://www.meetup.com/Charlotte-Pool-Shootin-Fun-Meetup/

Mountain biking, shooting pool, hiking, trying out new restaurants or cruising

to the Bahamas!