At Southern Crane Kungfu we teach patterns to students at a faster speed than they would be taught by Masters in China, but at a much slower speed than many UK-based martial art clubs.

Some people are impatient to learn more patterns, as they feel that they have learnt the moves of the forms they have been given so far and are ready to move on, or that knowing more patterns in some way makes them bigger and cleverer than other people.

However, for those people, there is always the option of going to a club to study in another Asian or American martial system, where gradings are provided every two to three months and it is possible to become a black belt in two to three years, and to get Dan gradings galore just moments later.

Those clubs do very well for themselves, and the students get the satisfaction of collecting a multitude of patterns and belts, until their pockets are dry and they get to the top.

But what happens then? There is nowhere else left to go. They have ‘learnt’ all that can be learnt. There is nothing left to pay for. The collection is complete. They hang up their uniform in the cupboard, write the fact they are a whatever-club third degree Dan graded martial artist on their CV and their Facebook page, and leave it at that.

What we teach at SCK is not a belt-grabbing sport designed to suck the last pennies from your pockets; it is a vast art, taught as traditionally as the Western mind can handle, to ensure that you have the foundations of a true martial artist, and to preserve the tradition and integrity of the three systems of kungfu we teach.

So be patient. Learn your patterns; train them hard and dissect them. You will get where you want to be, but it will take time. Just remember it is worth it.

Possible competitions for you to enter are: Southern Hand Routine; Internal Hand Routine; Southern Short Weapon; Southern Long Weapon. Beginners are students that have trained under two years; everyone else is to enter as Advanced.

The event will be held at Luton Regional Sports Centre, LU2 7XP. If you are interested in attending, speak to Darren Trottman and put your name down for the competition itself, or just come along for the day to watch; it’s a brilliant day out and you will learn a lot, as well as seeing many other kungfu styles performing at their best. Once we have a list of everyone that wants to go, we will look for volunteers to drive in a car pool, with passengers donating towards fuel.

The deadline for entries if 15 April, so make a decision quickly!

A Chinese delegation met with UK practitioners to celebrate the cultural links between the two nations in time for the London 2012 Olympics. Already popular in China, health Qigong is used to promote health and wellbeing. It is considered particularly beneficial for those who have not exercised for some time and is rapidly gaining the attention of the medical profession.

A gem of traditional Chinese culture, health Qigong is a folk sport with a long history. On 21 September 2011, health Qigong was awarded the IOC Sport for All Grant at the 14th IOC World Conference on Sport for All. According to the IOC, health Qigong is a sport that can be exercised by people of all ages and abilities.

In Chinese Culture and in the practice of these arts, the significance of 100 days practice is highly regarded, hence the timing of this event in the lead up to the Olympics.

The Mayor of Epsom, Councillor Sheila Carson, welcomed the delegation and Consular Miao of the Chinese Embassy, said such collaboration between our two great nations was very welcome.

The President of the British Health Qigong Association, Master Faye Li Yip and the Vice President of the Chinese Health Qigong Association, Mr Wang Lan were delighted with the response of all who took part, saying that this marked a remarkable step forward in the introduction of these arts to the UK.

The event at Bourne Hall, Epsom, Surrey, was organised locally by friend of Southern Crane Kungfu, The Chi Clinic in Cheam, on behalf of the British Health Qigong Association.

Health Qigong (pronounced Chee-Gung or Chee-Gong) is at the root of Chinese medicine. It is believed that life energy must flow freely about the body for good health. Any blockages will cause illness and disease. The methods are largely for prevention but are widely used to restore well-being after illness.

My alarm clock went off very early on a Sunday morning in May last year. As I was waking up my first thought was that the day had finally arrived, the day of the BCCMA Forms Championships, and I was taking part.

I was performing our first form, San Zhan, and as I had been training for under a year, I was in the Adult Beginner Section.

After a quick cup of tea I picked up my lunch, which I had made the night before, and set off. Myself, John and Asif were meeting round Adrian’s house, who had kindly offered to drive us to Milton Keynes.

We arrived at Milton Keynes after a two hour drive and the first thing we had to do was sign in. When I was saying my name to the person on the desk, suddenly I felt butterflies in my stomach, the same feeling that you get when you do a grading. ‘Relax!’, I thought to myself.

Having signed in, we then checked out what time we were each performing, and who we were competing against. I worked out that I would be performing at about 2pm or 3pm that afternoon and that I was against two other people, a man and a woman. So there was plenty of time to relax and watch some kungfu.

First performing were the kids; some were good, some were very good. Next on show were the internal forms, with Tai Chi and Shuang Yang, which Adrian was performing. It was great to see so many different styles of kungfu.

Before I knew it, it was time for me to start warming up and stretching. I found a quiet space outside the main hall, warmed up and went through my first form a few times. I went back into the main hall just in time to hear my group being called out; it was my turn. The butterflies came back.

The three of us in my event stood waiting to be called up by the judges to perform. First to be called was the woman. I didn’t know the form she did but she seemed to perform it OK, and when she finished everyone clapped. Next was me. I performed San Zhan ok, but I could have done it better, I thought to myself. However, just as I finished I heard lots of clapping; that was a great feeling. I had just performed my first form in front of a lot of people I didn’t know and they were clapping me! Wow!

Last to go up was the other man in our section; I saw him do a pattern that was very much like our third form. Again he seemed to perform it ok. The three of us were then asked to stand in front of the judges to find out who had come first, second and third.

“Third,” the judges said; I held my breath. It was the woman. “Great,” I thought, “I wasn’t last!” “Second,” said the judges. I held my breath again. “Ken Sim.” “Oh no,” I thought, “That’s me.” I was pleased with my silver medal, but I would have liked the gold medel much more.

After a great day out, in the car on the way home I kept thinking to myself, “Maybe gold next year.”

Ken is taking part in the upcoming BCCMA Traditional Forms Championship on 29 April in Luton. We wish him luck for that gold!