August 5, 2010 by Adam.

The title from this post comes from a fairly racist sing song school rhyme that non-asian American children sing while bowing and squinting their eyes.

Of course the Chinese School that I am teaching at has a lot of laughing and a lot of fun. It also has a few non-Chinese looking  students. And I believe from talking to them that some of them are actuall not chinese. I say this because I do not look Chinese, but I actually am. But the phrase popped into my head after writing this post so I made it the title.

Interest piqued? Read on.

This summer I am teaching Kung Fu as a sort of volunteer thing for my Kung Fu School, Woo Ching White Crane. We are located on 90 Tyler street. The volunteer work  though actually occurs across the street at 87 Tyler Street, Kwong Kow Chinese School.

When teaching a group of kids Kung Fu I might earn more about real life Kung Fu than my students.

This is not to say that the Kung Fu I teach them can’t be used in real life. The moves can be used to defend oneself, get stronger, maintain health, etc….. if you actually practice them and understand the whole isometric, getting down in a stance, chi gung stuff necessary t develop power. Well I guess you could still use the moves to fight or hurt someone without all that if they don’t incapacitate you first. But the “good” kids, who practice, don’t get into  lot of physical conflicts and probably this trend will continue as they get older. The “bad” kids, you run around during the class jumping off the walls and hitting each other do get into a lot of physical conflicts, in class, in the hall way, on the stairs,and this trend will also probably continue as they get older. Often times, their fighting Kung Fu is actually better than the good kids who just follow along picking up the image of the technique without understanding the fighting principles. The bad kids learn from fighting while the moves are imprinted in their mind.  I know this because during free time, these kids come after me yelling the names of the moves I taughtthe and using them better in the play fighting situation, than during the actual class.
Of course a kid that fights and practices, or practices and understands how to fight will be better, but in a class of little kids, this is unlikely.

So it seems the bad kids are actually picking up more kung fu, even though they are disrupting class.

But here is something that will carry over more to the office, or everyday “fighting” in society. That is, getting what you want. What you want could be money, housing, attention a promotion, a job, whatever it is.

What kids want is play time. (well some of the weird kids actually want to practice Kung Fu and meditate. These weird kids will perhaps become the actual Modern Kung Fu Masters like me.)

But most normal children , even if they want to practice, want to play.

So the good kids (usually girls) stand in line obey my orders etc. And there reward for being such a good class, is that they get more Kung Fu, i.e., more drills, more forms. and a longer class. This means, less play time.

The rowdier kids (usually boys, but sometimes also introverted girls) will simply refuse to line up, refuse to do kung fu, and so they play while everyone else works. At some point they are so rowdy and so disruptive that I would give up and give everyone free time. I realized that I was rewarding bad behavior. It was because of them that the good kids were freed from the slavery of drills.
Meanwhile where the good kids got ten minutes of free time, the bad kids basically had done whatever they wanted or the entire class.

This is why recently I offered ten minutes of free time at the end of class to those that were good. But that the bad kids would have to sit and watch everyone else play. This is still a better deal for the bad kid because he or she would then get 50 minutes of free time and 10 minutes of “punishment” which would consist of doing nothing. But doing nothing is often what these kids want in the first place.

Regardless it worked better than my previous model. But today. I had a class that was so bad, that I could not justify giving free time. Furthermore, the bad kids were better at memorizing the form than the good kids, because a lot of the good kids were new. So Instead of fee time I broke down the form slowly for everyone, giving each student the details of the technique to make sure everything was correct.
At the end of the day, instead of free time, they had still received a special Kung Fu lesson. So in a way, they were still rewarded for heir bad behavior, and  had a ball misbehaving during the drills.

My point is, a lot of education in general, especially Chinese school, emphasizes getting in line, discipline, bowing, memorizing characters, etc.

Now having this discipline should lead you on the right path early in life because being a “bad” kid might land you in jail or something depriving you of all the opportunities a “good” kid has.

But once you get to a certain level, it is the bad behavior that is rewarded. Speaking out and being rowdy, will get yo what you want in America and relatively free societies much more than keeping your eyes to the ground and becoming invisible will.
So am I teaching these kids the wrong things?

Ultimately all the bad kids do need to learn to be good. But I am becoming increasingly more aware of the importance of the good kids need to learn to be… well… bad.

Posted in AROUND C-TOWN, LIFE AND STORIES OF ASIAN AMERICANS, WORD ON THE STREET | Print | No Comments »

July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

The Chinatown Master Plan 2010 in collaboration with the Chinese Progressive Association’s Wong/Yee Memorial Gallery is hosting an exhibit on the Chinatown Master Plan 2010: Community Vision for the Future Exhibit. Chinatown Master Plan 2010: Community Vision for the Future Exhibit documents the community’s 2-year process to create a plan and vision for the more sustainable and livable Chinatown. Combining photography and drawings, the exhibit includes drawings by youth, sketches, and photos of community members. The exhibit will run from July 23 - Sept. 24 with an opening reception on Friday, July 23 5pm-7pm.

Opening Reception
Friday, July 23
5pm-7pm
1 Nassau Street #2, Boston
Free admission

Normal W/Y Memorial Gallery Hours
Mon - Wed 9am - 5pm
Sat. 10am - 12pm
Gallery is open to the public

Contact:
Tom Chen, W/Y Memorial Gallery 617-357-4499 wygallery@gmail.com
Lisa Liu, 617-635-5129 ext 1071 lisa.liu@chinatowngateway.org

Posted in CHINATOWN CALENDAR | Print | No Comments »

July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

PRESS ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 21, 2010
Contact:
Lisette Le (617) 357-4499 lisette@cpaboston.org
Cynthia Mark (617) 603-1720 cmark@gbls.org

Victory for Asian American Voting Rights!

After two years of lobbying and advocacy, the bill for Chinese and Vietnamese bilingual ballots in the City of Boston has been passed by both houses of the Massachusetts Legislature. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Deval Patrick who has promised to sign the bill. The bill would take in affect in January 2011 and applies only in the City of Boston but will include elections for municipal, state and federal level. Once the bill is signed, Chinese/English and Vietnamese/English bilingual ballots would be available in precincts where the linguistic population is concentrated.

“This is a very happy occasion. When bilingual ballots ended in 2008, we were at a loss. We have been fighting for so long. We will be able to vote easily now, without fear of making mistakes. This victory would not have been possible without voters organizing. I’d like to thank all of the supporters of the bilingual ballots,” says voter and activist Dan Xin Chen.

Boston launched Chinese and Vietnamese bilingual ballots through an agreement with the US Department of Justice in 2005 but the agreement expired in 2008. Since then, the Coalition for Asian American Voting rights have been tirelessly advocating for bilingual ballots to be extended. The Coalition would like to acknowledge the support of Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston City Council, lead sponsors of the bill Representative Jeffrey Sanchez and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Chinatown’s Representative Aaron Michlewitz, House of Representative and Senate leadership, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Greater Boston Legal Service, and the many voters who supported and lobbied for this legislation.

With bilingual ballots, United States citizens whose primary language is Chinese or Vietnamese will be able to vote freely and independently. Bilingual ballots are most needed by the elderly, who have the most difficulty learning English. Elderly, long-time residents are exempted from the English language portion of the citizenship exam if they have had permanent residency for upwards of 15 years. These are the voters who were the staunchest advocates for bilingual ballots.

Coalition for Asian American Voting Rights: Alderman Amy Mah Sangiolo, Newton * American Chinese Christian Educational & Social Services, Inc. * American Chinese Federation * Asian American Civic Association * Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund * Asian American Resource Workshop * Asian Community Development Corporation * Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition * Blessed Mother Theresa Parish * Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center * Chinatown Main Street * Chinatown Resident Association * Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association * Chinese Historical Society of New England * Chinese Progressive Association * Chung Wah Academy * Former City Councilor Sam Yoon, Boston * Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center * Hakka Association * Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund * Mass Pike Towers Tenant Association * Massachusetts Vietnamese American Women’s League * MassVOTE * New Majority * ONE Lowell * Organization of Chinese Americans * Taishan Association * Taishan #1 High School Alumni Association * Tai Tung Village Tenant Association * VietAID * Vietnamese America Community of Massachusetts * Vietnamese American Small Business Association

Posted in WORD ON THE STREET | Print | No Comments »

July 22, 2010 by Chinatown Blogger.

A 2008 Poll revealed that 9.4 million Americans actively practice martial arts in a given year, and some 21.7 million Americans have practiced martial arts of some kind in their lifetime. Casting those numbers aside, along with the 30,000+ active martial arts schools in the U.S., the increasing popularity of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and Hollywood’s ongoing barrage of martial arts infused films; it is shocking the amount of misinformation that still exists in popular culture about the martial arts.

Despite what you’ve heard, martial artists cannot fly, black belts do not need to carry a special card that identifies them as lethal weapons, nor is there a style that is better than another, regardless of what you have heard. That would be much like saying, “what is better baseball or basketball?”

These are some of the myths that the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE.org) will try to dispel during their first annual Boston Martial arts Academy(BMAA) being held on August 28, 2010. The one-day seminar and workshop has gathered together the ‘best of the best’ of various styles in the New England area to play host to both first-time martial artists and advanced stylists from around the United State and beyond. “The Boston Center for Adult Education received enough interest and feedback to create this first ever event in the city of Boston. They’ve aggressively assembled some of the best martial artists in the area and while many martial arts camps or seminars focus on advanced students and physical education based classes, the BMAA hosts all levels of students and provides both classroom based lectures on history and technique, as well as hands-on workshops on everything from basic stylistic techniques to advanced striking, blocking and ground fighting. I am always surprised how many people are extremely interested in the martial arts but are too intimidated to make that step into the dojo, and even more surprised at how many martial artists have no idea where their style came from and how little they know about the other styles out there,” said Spokesperson for the BCAE and Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do practitioner JP Faiella.

The 1-day university consists of classroom lectures and physical classes and students must take a minimum of (6) classes to take part in graduation from the seminar.

The instructors graciously donating their time at this year’s event will be:
-       Sifu Bob Rosen, Chief Instructor of the Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Association
-       Sifu Mai Du, Instructor of Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy of Malden
-       Sensei Jason Gould, Founder of Emerald Necklace Budo Martial Arts
-       Sensei Heather Randolph, Head Instructor of Boston Kokikai Aikido, Inc.
-       Gershon Ben Keren, Director of the Boston Academy of Krav Maga
-       Ali Roshankish, Founder of the Roshankish Martial Arts Center
-       Contra Mestre Chuvisquinho, Instructor of Capoeira at Roshankish Martial Arts Center
-       João “Amaral” Miranda, Head coach of Brazilian Top Team Boston

For more information or to sign up please visit: www.bostonmartialartsacademy.com. The event is $199.00USD and includes commemorative certificate and T-shirt. Visit one of the local school listed for a code to get the special price of $99.00 for the event.

Posted in CHINATOWN CALENDAR | Print | No Comments »

July 19, 2010 by Adam.

A few weeks back my school, Woo Ching White Crane, perormed for the Chinatown Main Street Festival. In addition to our usual crew we had two new guests. One was Master Moi, an elderly Kung Fu enthusiast who at his old age still performed three forms in heatstroke humid heat. (Perhaps I will write another article focusing on him.) But our most popular guest was Ika Hsiao, who performed yo-yo.

As we were waiting to perform, audience members starting going up to Ika baraging her with questions. Was she going to perform yo-yo? When? If she was perfoming then they would stay.

It is true that the audience ad probably seen several hours of Kung Fu and Lion Dance. But Chinese yo-yo is something I have not seen seriously performed in Boston since the early90’s. And although the girls performing it were quite flexible and could hold graceful poses, it took them a while to get enough spin to do tricks, and restarts were often necessary. They also performed to cassete tapes of Chinese music that were copied and recopied until the grainy scratchiness and inadvertent microphone percussion section was wince enducing.

 Ika had not performed seriously (as in on a stage) herself since highschool. Never the less, she gave an extraordinary performance which started after our performance with the Lion head taking the yo-yo and then giving it to her. (Video is available on facebook and youtube I’ll try to get that link up later. I have never seen this done befoe, but I checked and I don’t think we broke any lion dancing rules. Although the old man I write about previously who was giving tips on the Tiger Fork left after were done. I actually forgot or was too tired to do the Tiger Fork at the end. If I did something wrong I suppose I will get a good scolding next time I see him.) But back to the yo-yo performances, which was accompanied by drums gong and cymbals. I tried to follow the yo-yos movements using the northern Chinese beats, which again, I guess are not supposed to be played on the southern lion dance drum. But t that point in the performance, we were’t lion dancing. The audience didn’t seemed to care about these details and adults and children alike were truly amazed and impressed. I must say I haven’t seen a better yo-yo player perform live.

My questions to why this was so were answered when I followed up about ow she learned yo-yo. It turns out, she used to be on a team of eight very acrobatic and flexible little girls who compete at performing yo-yo, in Taiwan. They would practice 6 hours a day and when shecompeted she won the all Taiwan championships in elementary school, middle school, and in highschool. Ika actually performed solo as well as in the group of eight.

Performing in Boston’s Chinatown I saw her transformed on the stage. The audience watching could really tell she was enjoying herself. She hadn’t had the oppurtunity to perform like this in such a long time. After all it’s not like she still practices for 6 hours. Instead her day job is restoring Classical Chinese paintings from the Sung Dynasty for the Museum of Fine Arts. She went to school and got her Masters degree for this art also in Taiwan, which I would imagine, probably has the best programs for that sort of thing in the world.

Upon watching the video together Ika exclaimed parts where she chose to do some risker tricks finally right there on the stage, tricks involving throwing up the yo-yo spinning around and catching it once again. Luckily for many audience members she has become addicted to the thrill of performing and will probably be joining our group again as a guest for the August 15th festival in Chinatown, or “August Moon”, though it is near the Chinese August Moon holiday which goes by the lunar calendar. In any event, it will be a party.

If you are interested in learning more about Chinese yo-yo Lion Dance, Kung Fu, Calligraphyor Custom Chinese paintings or restoration of Ancient Chinese paintings  you can contact me and I can put you in touch with the appropriate people.

781-888-0631

acheung-whitecrane@hotmail.com

Posted in CHINATOWN IN PHOTOS, AROUND C-TOWN, CHINATOWN CALENDAR, LIFE AND STORIES OF ASIAN AMERICANS, WORD ON THE STREET | Print | No Comments »