About 18 people took part in a Kung-Fu seminar held at the Yorkton Martial Arts Training Centre (YMATC) this past Friday evening, taught by Tim Oehlep, who teaches martial arts at his location in Melville.
Oehlep said that Kung-Fu and wushu are actually terms that have been borrowed into English to refer to Chinese martial arts. He spent a session of an-hour-and-a-half going over the basics of sword training.
He added that the unique thing about Kung-Fu is that it is the longest standing martial art and there are well over 200 different manoeuvres associated with the art.
Kung Fu has many forms and styles.
Oehlep used training aids such as the staff, broad sword, spear and straight sword during his seminar and said the easiest to use is the staff. He said some of it is straightforward, other parts of learning it are more complex.
"There's more technical stuff then what I did (here) today."
The class was for beginners. He said that with the rise of mixed martial arts, Kung Fu has seen more of a decline in recent years, but Kung Fu has been around much longer.
Oehlep said he has been working in martial arts for 22 years. Next up at the YMATC is the Little Ninjas program for kids ages 3-5. It will run every Wednesday for eight weeks. Cost is $49 per month.
