More than just learning how to fight...

In the session, we can see how the apprentices are building new bonds with their new teachers. While there were initial language barriers, but the enthusiasm from both students and teachers made it possible to overcome this challenge.

Each of the teachers has his/her own approach to engaging their students. Master Loh would often get the students to revise in pairs and take turns working one-on-one with each of the students. Master Chan pushed his class together as a group to get them to build up power and endurance. In his group, we could see how the girls were making as much progress as the boys and learning how to generate power and maintain good form. Mdm Ge layered her instruction through repetition and drilling of fundamental movement patterns. As they became adept with the moves, she layered additional steps onto their practice and soon their training area reverberated with the powerful stomps from their Xingyi footwork.

One of the teachers that accompanied them for their training was Mr Asraf. He observed that through this project, the apprentices had now displayed a better sense of discipline and showed more respect towards others. More than just fighting skills, he observed that they were becoming stronger as individuals and this was what martial arts training was all about.