December 2025 Newsletter

Hello students & parents,

Happy upcoming holidays! December will be a busy month for all of us. Please let Shifu knows of any days you won't be in class or having a hard time getting to class due to the weather.

Happy Birthday to Vy & Hazel this month!

With December being a long month and filled with holidays, please double check the calendar:

• Morning Taiji: Taiji 108 (8 classes, no classes on 12/24 & 12/31)

• Evening Taiji: Taiji 28 (7 classes - no classes on 12/03,12/24, 12/31)

• Beginner Gongfu: TBD (8 classes - no classes on 12/24 & 12/31)

• Kid's Gongfu: Holiday Challenges/Review (8 classes - no class 12/25)

• Advanced Gongfu: Holiday Challenges/Review (8 classes - no class 12/25)

We also have two events this month, so save the dates:

HOLIDAY LIGHTS FUNDRAISER NIGHT - Next Monday, December 8th

For our holiday service project this year, students & families can purchase tickets to the Holiday Lights at The Ballpark. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will go towards charity AND you'll get $4 off your tickets! Feel free to share the code with all your family & friends; choose any time window to go or coordinate to go with your classmates. Be sure to use the link below that'll auto-apply the discount code:

Code: SHAO-DEC-8

To purchase tickets: PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

The Ballpark

11111 South Ballpark Drive

South Jordan, UT 84009

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PARTY - Thursday, December 18th

We'll be hosting a school holiday party at the studio on Thursday, running from 6pm to 8:30'ish. All students from all classes are invited. There will be games, entertainment & friendly competition/tournament. No need to wear uniforms - even ugly Christmas sweaters are encouraged. Please feel free to bring any food, snacks & drinks to share with everyone via potluck.

HOT COCOA/TEA BAR IN LOBBY

We now have a hot-chocolate/tea/sweets station in the lobby. Everyone enjoy! Please use the coffee carafe dispenser for the hot water; electric kettle is by approval only. If you make a mess... be prepared to feel my wrath. Seriously. Don't be that person. Clean up after yourselves, please.

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THE GIFT OF PERSISTENCE

As we move into the holidays, life definitely gets louder. Schedules fill up, the days get shorter, and it becomes easy to drift. This time of year has a strange pull that either slows people down or pushes them off course. For martial artists, this moment is a checkpoint. It is a clear moment to decide how you want to step into the new year.

Most people wait for January to make promises they will forget by February. That's not what I want for you. Stop saying "Next Monday." Choose NOW. The best gift anyone can give themselves is persistence. Not big resolutions. Not dramatic changes. Just the simple choice to keep showing up when it would be easier to take a long break. Persistence builds real strength. It shapes your mindset in ways technique alone never will. I only get you all twice a week - in between classes, it's up to you to practice, go to the gym, stretch, go for a run, and supplement your gongfu training.

If you look back on your year, you will notice something. Every moment you grew came from showing up on days when you were tired, stressed, injured or distracted. It's when we're "cornered" that we're forced to grow the most. Those days actually sharpen you. That is the quiet gift of gongfu. My best students could be missing a limb, and they'd still show up (trust me, I'd rather you sit on the sideline and still learning something.) Make the most of your training, especially when you're paying for it. Pushing through teaches you to keep moving even when the path feels heavy. If you carry that into the new year, you will walk into January already ahead of the person you were.

This month, I want you to slow down and ask yourself one thing - how do you want to enter the new year? Not how do you want it to look, but how do you want to show up. Strong, consistent, focused, clear. Whatever answer you choose, let your training reflect it. If you decide to be lazy and make excuses, or even fill your schedule with too many distracting hobbies/activities that you're skipping class, you'll only have yourself to blame for not fulfilling your true potential and/or becoming a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

During the holiday breaks, practice something small. A stance. A form. A stretch routine. A meditation session. Do it every day, even for a few minutes at minimum. Let it remind you that you are still on your path, even when the world around you is in holiday mode. Remember you have access to the student portal, which has videos and even a virtual gongfu training session that you can follow along at home (just don't break furniture while practicing...)

When January arrives, you will not need a reset. You will already be moving. You will already be building momentum. That is the gift of persistence. It does not ask for perfection, it only asks that you do not quit.

Shimu and I are proud of every one of you. Let’s finish strong, and start the next year as martial artists who move with intention.

-Shifu & Shimu

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS

• School Report Cards will soon be available via Student Portal on the app, which will automatically bring you to your own personal report card so no more printed paper. Standby while we work out the bugs.

• If parking is ever packed, please feel free to use the parking lot north of the school or the businesses south of the lot. We know our neighbors can be obnoxious sometimes.

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SCHOOL SCHEDULE