October 2026 Newsletter

4 days ago

5 min read

Hello students,

Happy early Halloween everyone, as well as Happy Birthday to Tiffany this month!

We're also celebrating some great milestones with Jane reaching 1 year, Mike reaching 3 years, and Li Gong reaching an INCREDIBLE 7 YEARS with the school!

For those that didn't know, Li Gong was one of our first students when we first opened up in West Valley a long time ago. Better known as Billy, he received his Discipleship when we reopened our location in Midvale. It's because of his work ethic, dedication to traditional martial arts and his strength that he is a Disciple and has helped lead the school to where it is today. Thank you for continuing to trust us with your training and for making Shao Long Academy part of your lives. It's pretty amazing to see how many of you have been with us for years and continue to grow alongside the school.

Here's our calendar for this month:

Morning Taiji: No class Oct 26 and Oct 28, for 6 classes this month
Evening Taiji: No class Oct 19 and Oct 21, for 6 classes this month
Beginner Gongfu: No class Oct 12, for 7 classes this month
Kid's Gongfu: No class Oct 27, for 8 classes this month
Advanced Gongfu: No class Oct 27, still 8 classes this month
Halloween: Oct 29 for Kids and Advanced Gongfu.

With cooler weather back, uniform tops are now mandatory with the exception in Sanda, obviously. If you need to order a new uniform, please let Shifu know.

WORLD WUSHU TOURNAMENT 2026 RECAP

First off, a huge congratulations to all of our students & disciples with Shao Long Academy at this year's Golden State/World Wushu Tournament!

We had 11 students compete, 24 forms performed, and 19 medals brought home: 7 Gold, 5 Silver, and 7 Bronze. For online students, your medals and certificates have arrived, so you'll receive those at your next class.

But honestly, what I'm most proud of isn't the medal count, even though that's awesome.

I'm proud of everyone who stepped up and competed. Some of you have competed before, while for others this was your first time putting yourself out there. Regardless of the result, getting on that floor, performing in front of judges, and representing our school takes a lot of courage and preparation.

We've spent the last year talking about raising the level of Gongfu in Utah, and I think our students are continuing to show exactly what that looks like. Watching everyone prepare, support each other, and represent Shao Long Academy was something I was extremely proud to see.

A competition doesn't always go exactly the way we want it to, and that's part of the process. There will be medals, there will be mistakes, and there will be things we wish we could have done differently. What matters is that we put ourselves out there, learn from the experience, and come back better prepared for the next one.

Thank you to all of our instructors, parents, families, and supporters who helped our students get there. And to everyone who competed, you represented our school, and I'm proud of you.

TRUSTING THE PROCESS

One thing I try to teach my students is to stop putting certain skills (and even other celebrities and athletes) on a pedestal. There are things we see other martial artists do and immediately think, "I can't do that." Maybe it's a kip-up, an aerial, a difficult form, or a technique that looks completely out of reach. The more we tell ourselves something is impossible, the bigger we make it in our own heads.

This is why I tell my students that sometimes, you only have to nail a skill once. Take a kip-up, for example. If you've been trying to learn one and finally get your feet underneath you and stand up, you've just proven something important. You CAN do it. It doesn't mean you've mastered it. You might fail the next ten to hundred+ attempts. But that first successful attempt removes the illusion that the skill is beyond you.

Now the question changes from "Can I do this?" to "How do I get better at doing this?" That's a completely different mindset. If you know me, I love my old-school movies, and this thought is from Rocky IV, where Rocky seeks revenge against Ivan Drago after defeating and killing his long-time rival and friend, Apollo Creed.

Long story short, Ivan Drago is portrayed as impossible to beat. However, during the final fight, there's a point after Rocky finally manages to hurt Ivan Drago, and Duke screams, "He's not a machine - he's a man!" Up until that point, Drago had been presented as this almost unbeatable machine. He was bigger, stronger, and had destroyed everyone put in front of him, including Apollo. Rocky was looking at a mountain. Then Rocky hit him. And suddenly the mountain wasn't quite as big.

I think we do the same thing in martial arts. We see someone who has spent 10 or 20 years training and compare their abilities to where we are right now. We see a black-belt or an athlete at the tournament perform a difficult movement effortlessly and think there's no way we could ever do that. But we're forgetting that we're looking at the result of thousands of hours of training. They struggled with those movements too.

That's why I want students to experience those small breakthroughs. I don't care if you only land that technique once. I want you to know what it feels like to do something you were convinced you couldn't do. I cannot tell you how many "I told you so-s" have brewed in my head every time I once heard someone say "I can't do that" to then being able to do it. Because once you've done it, you've changed your own perception of what's possible.

And that's where trusting the process comes in. Sometimes you practice the same movement over and over and feel like you're getting nowhere. Sometimes you fail far more often than you succeed. That's normal. Every attempt is teaching your body and mind something, even when the progress isn't immediately obvious.

Eventually, you look back and realize that something you once thought was impossible has become something you can actually do. You didn't suddenly become a different person. You just put in the work and stopped believing the mountain was as big as you thought it was.

That's one of the reasons I love Gongfu. It constantly challenges the limits we place on ourselves. Sometimes you just have to take something off the pedestal, give yourself permission to fail, and keep working until you finally prove yourself wrong. That mountain will be conquered, step by step.

-Shifu

HOUSEKEEPING & POLICY ITEMS

ALL STUDENTS - when not wearing a uniform top, you must wear an official school shirt. Please use the school store to purchase one.
Remember to follow our Instagram to stay up to date with other events and photos happening with the school
The Fei Yue website for school shoes is still down - please use Amazon as your source for the moment.
Please try to keep our area clean - meaning don't leave behind personal items or water bottles. Keep those in your locker.
Parents - please share these newsletters with your kids. It's a great way to connect with their training and ensure they're learning the same things the adult classes are learning.
Friendly reminder - no discussion of politics at the school, please. We're a safe, neutral zone and always will be.

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Remember you have access to the calendar via Instagram and on your school portal app as well.

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