Loong Mang Pai Traditional Kung Fu Association

What a fantastic opening night last night! Great people, great fun, great learning. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and are keen to come back for more.

The introduction session will be running again next Tuesday 22nd. If you missed it, or didn't even know it was on, we would love to see you there.

Drop me a message just to let me know you would like to come along. No commitment. Look at it as a 'try before you buy' session.

You'll love it!

Great News! We now have a start date for our new beginners class. Tuesday 15th February 19:00 - 20:30.

Message me here to book your place for our Introduction to the 5 Animals. This session will give you an opportunity to see what the 5 Animals Kung Fu system is about before the official syllabus starts.

No commitment. No previous experience needed. All levels of health and fitness. All ages (above 18yrs).

If you are interested please contact me before opening night.

Sifu Dave Godfrey

Are we a good fit?

Ask a hundred people to define ‘martial arts’ and it’s likely you’ll get a hundred different answers. Martial arts are so diverse that it’s entirely possible that all one hundred answers would be correct. This is not necessarily a problem. Diversity is a good thing. It becomes more of an issue though when someone is looking for a martial art but hasn’t yet decided which one will be the best solution for their particular needs and aspirations.

It’s with this in mind that I write this post. To try to save you some valuable time (even though ironically it will take ages to read it!).

Allow me to start by saying that ALL martial arts are good at some level. It’s a pointless argument to say which is the best. It’s a matter of perspective. The only thing that’s important is ‘which is the best for you’? Which martial art will provide you with the growth and development you personally are looking for? Everything else is irrelevant. That’s not to say that people cannot do more than one art at a time, many people do. I suppose the question here becomes more about how much time you are willing to devote to learning and practicing your chosen disciplines. And this becomes the big issue: how much time do I have? We can always get more money, but we can’t get more time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

With this in mind I would like to let you know what we do here at Loong Mang Pai, and also, very importantly, what we don’t do.

I’m not trying to sell our club to you, well, I probably am– but only if we are a good fit. I’m trying to find the right students for our club and possibly help you find the right club for you if we aren’t what you’re looking for.

So what are you looking for?

Maybe you haven’t decided yet, so let’s start with your goals. What do you want from martial arts training? This is such an important question. What is your primary reason for doing a martial art? (You are allowed to have more than one reason of course).

If your primary reason is competitive fighting stop reading now. This is definitely not what we’re about. I have some good friends who have clubs for this purpose and they are very very good at it. I’d be more than happy to point you in their direction.

If practical street defence is your main goal you should probably look elsewhere also. While we obviously teach traditional fighting application, it takes time and discipline to develop the skills necessary to make them feel ‘useable’ so if you are looking for the quick win we are the wrong club for you. Again, I know some good guys in this field and would be happy to refer.

By now you’re probably wondering what it is we actually do and what sort of people are drawn to it?

Well, if you’re still reading chances are you are looking for something other than the above and here’s where we might be a good fit for you.

Traditional Kung Fu is an art that is predominantly interested in the development of the individual. This development can take the shape of: mind / body balance, mental development through physical training, health, fitness (yes, they are different), flexibility (anything from splits to pulling on your own socks!), balance, coordination, agility (anything from gymnastic movement to moving and turning quickly without falling over!), improved reflex and response, sharper, faster hands and feet, more strength, more power, better conditioning... the list goes on.

Of course, other martial arts can also offer this so we’re back to the dilemma of which to choose? So let‘s talk about Loong Mang Pai for a moment, and more specifically, what we actually do.

There are two main sides to what we do. One is 5 Animals Kung Fu, the other is T’ai Chi. These two disciplines complement each other beautifully. The physical discipline of the 5 Animals and the relaxation and internal health benefits of T’ai Chi. One hard, the other soft. One Yin, the other Yang.

Within the 5 Animals we find the diversity that allows us to develop beyond our own personalities and become more resourceful, more rounded human beings. The challenges that the learning impose on us forces us to look beyond our usual responses to the challenges of life and gives us the resources to apply different, more suitable solutions. Both in fighting and in everyday work and life scenarios.

To find out more about how each animal does this and what benefits we can expect from each of them, scroll down the page and read the blog posts on each individual animal.

With T’ai Chi we look more at life from the perspective of health. We train for inner and outer health and develop our minds to become calm and focused. The body becomes stronger and more fluid and the mind becomes clearer and calmer. In today’s fast paced and noisy world T’ai Chi can offer an escape. Not by running away to a mountain in China, but by teaching us how to go inside. To shut off the noise and concentrate on us.

You could say Kung Fu is good for the external and T’ai Chi for the internal, but this would be far too simplistic an answer. I would prefer to say that they both do both, but come at it from the opposite approach. One outside in, the other inside out. I suppose the best solution is to do them both. A lot of our students gain great benefit from this. Either way, it really comes back to individual goals.

Another thing worth noting if you are considering Loong Mang Pai is that we teach according to the level and capabilities of each individual student. If you are looking for a drill sergeant to bark orders at you and whip you into shape, I’m not your guy. I take great pride and immense pleasure in the development of the individual based upon their own unique goals and requirements. In our classes old and young, fit and ‘less fit’... all train together in an environment of support and sharing. Each person works to their own capacity and gets out what they put in. No-one is pushed to do things they can’t do. Encouraged maybe, but never pushed. That having been said, if crazy hard training is what you are looking for we have classes that will give you that, but these classes are optional, not mandatory.

We offer:

Traditional Kung Fu training in the 5 Animals system
T’ai Chi classes at both beginner and advanced levels
Traditional Kung Fu weapons training (for those who want it)
Hard-core fitness and conditioning (again, for those who want it – not mandatory)
Closed door training for those who truly want to commit to Kung Fu training
Private one-to-one tuition (daytime only, subject to availability)

Anyway, I’ve been rattling on for ages now and you probably get the picture.

To summarise:

There are aspects of the martial arts that other clubs do much better than us and I’d be happy to recommend those if that’s what you are looking for.

Don’t waste your valuable time doing something that doesn’t fit with your goals and aspirations. Find the club that is right for you (it may not be us).

If you think we fit the bill to deliver what you are looking for come and give us a try. Message me for more details on both Kung Fu and T’ai Chi classes. I’d love to have the chance to chat with you about what you are looking for from martial arts training.

Sorry this was so long, but it’s a very important subject that is very dear to my heart. I hope it helped you in some way?

Kind regards

Sifu Dave Godfrey

We are enrolling now. No experience needed. Why not come along to see what we do? No commitment.

Please message here for further information.

Are you interested in Personal Growth & Development through the training of Traditional Kung Fu?

We are looking for adults (18+) who’s primary interest is personal growth and the development of self confidence and self discipline, as well as improved levels of: health, fitness, balance, coordination, strength, speed, agility, flexibility… and to have fun in the process!

If this sounds like something you may be interested in, we are enrolling now for our next beginners class which is held in Cheltenham every Tuesday evening 19:00 – 20:30.

To find out more and to see if we are the right fit for you drop me a message and we can arrange to have an informal chat about your needs and wants.

There is absolutely no previous experience needed. We train people of all levels of health and fitness. You train at your own pace and stage of development, and we work to help you identify and attain your own unique goals and objectives. Get in touch now and we can talk about what you feel you want from your training.

Message here for more info or if you have any specific questions.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Sifu Dave Godfrey

Happy Christmas everybody.

Have a great day. Wishing you all the very best for 2022.

Absolutely brilliant opening night at the new T'ai Chi class. A great group of people and a really good atmosphere.

Thank you all. It was a true pleasure to teach you.

See you all next week.

Tai Chi beginners class starts next Monday 22nd November.
Message me here to enrol and to get more details.
All welcome (adults 16yrs+). No experience needed.

Exciting News!

Due to the advanced level of our current T'ai Chi class which has been running for nearly 6 years now, I have decided it's time (long overdue) to open a brand new beginners class.

This class will be teaching Yang style T'ai Chi from the absolute beginning so there has never been a better time to jump in. The new class will be held every Monday evening at St. Paul's Centre, St. Paul's Road, Cheltenham (the building next to the church), and will start on Monday 22nd November at 7:00PM.

We welcome adults (16+) of all ages and all levels of health. As this is a new class you don't have to worry about having any previous knowledge or experience. If you don't know if T'ai Chi is right for you why not come along and give it a try? There is absolutely no commitment. All I ask is that you drop me a message before you come so that I can get an idea of how many to expect.

I'm very excited about this new class and I look forward to meeting you and starting this journey with you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to message.

See you on opening night.

Sifu Dave Godfrey

Following a fantastic opening night we are still enrolling so don't worry if you missed it.

Please message me here asap. We are limiting membership to 12 people but at the time of this post there are still places available.

No experience necessary. To secure a place please get in early.

Thank you.

Excellent new class tonight. A great group of people. Thanks for your patience in waiting for this class to open, and thanks for the enthusiasm you brought to the lesson. It was a pleasure to teach you all and I'm really looking forward to next week.

There are 4 places left for the new class starting this Tuesday 5th October. If you would like to come along please message me asap to secure your place. (see post below for more details)