The School of Elemental Arts

The School of Elemental Arts

What would it be like if you had the ability to control the natural elements of the world?

What would it be like if you could shoot fire from your hands? 

Push or pull a wave of water like those you see on the surface of the ocean? Blow a tempest of wind with a flick of a finger?

What if you could make the very ground beneath your own feet shift with a simple thought?

Im sure, by popularities mark, that there is a very good chance that you would be thrilled if you had the power to do at least one, if not all those things. If for nothing but to aim one of these elementals at the nearest friend that deserves a good knock on the noggin.

In the television series “Avatar the Last Airbender”, People of a proxy earth old timed world, had the ability to manipulate the natural elements of the world. By implementing maneuvers with their arms, legs, and body certain people called “benders” could control the general natural elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and water.  

The School of Elemental Arts is A school designed to teach students simple maneuvers from the martial arts that created the basis for those shown in the TV Show. 

Fire bending had been inspired by Northern Shaolin Style kung fu.

Water Bending had been inspired by Tai Chi Chang.

The forceful squarish earth-bending had been inspired by another Chinese martial art called Hung-Guar.

And finally Airbending had been inspired by the Chinese martial art of Bah-Gua.

The School of elemental arts, would implement short 30 minute lessons to teach students Martial Arts maneuvers from each different type of style listed above. 

In This school, YOU are “The Avatar” 

And we are going to teach you to master the elements, so you can bring balance to the world. 

But the school of Elemental Arts dosn't stop at teaching students the stances, maneuvers, and forms of bending martial arts, It also goes a step further. And takes students into the character building attitudes and lessons that can be learned from each Element. The figurative lessons of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. What each element might look like if interpreted to exist within the human character.   

By teaching these styles and also attitudes behind them. The school is to be meant to combine active real training with character building lessons and principles.

FIRE

Firebending - inspired in Avatar the last Airbender by the Chinese martial art of Shoalin Kung-fu. Is an exciting of martial art involving alot of high kicks and flashy punches and jabs. This Martial art is focused on delivering as many movements to any given opposition as fast and hard as possible. The main idea with this form is to be quick, and be powerful, and hopefully overwhelm your opponents.  

Northern Shaolin

At its most specific, Northern Shaolin refers to a style called Northern Shaolin Boxing School. Northern styles feature deeply extended postures—such as the horse, bow, drop, and dragon stances—connected by quick fluid transitions, able to quickly change the direction in which force is issued.

The monastery in henna is the original monastery that the practice of northern shoaling began. They began in the tang dynasty as implementers of military weaponry. During the ming-suing era, the style dropped the weapons and began to train in bare foot-palm unarmed combat.

The Northern Shaolin denotes Henan temple) style associated with Gu Ruzhang was first taught to a lay disciple, the celebrated 18th century master Gan Fengchi by a member of the royal family of the emperor. Gu’s style during the division of the different styles amongst the different Martial art temples of china, came to be referred to as Northern shoaling.

It is very easy to see how the wild spirit and high energy that goes into this martial art could resemble the element fire.But could you go a step further and see it as a positive force in a persons character? Providing a steady source of light? Could you be like campfire, providing warmth to people around you..

To express Spirit like you are the substance of life itself. To be able to hold your heart in your hand and shed warmth and light.

Id like to think that character of Firebending would have alot to teach people in the art of being more keen to the heart that beats inside the chest. And maybe more attuned to it's beating

Water 

WaterBending: In the show avatar the last Airbender, water-bending was the force of fluid destruction & Tai-Chi Chang, was the source martial art for water-bending used in the show. Its fluid movements and long sweeping gestures are obviously prominent from the very first episode of the series. In Tai-Chi Chang, many of the hand movements, step forms, and stances resemble the flowing grace and cycles of liquid water. And like the reflective nature of water, Tai-Chi Changs self defense benefits come from its tendency of taking an opponents force, and turning it away. As you push against me, i take your push, pull your push into my control, and then redirect that force in another direction. Sounds like water, no?

Tai chi cheng: The Chen family-style is the oldest and parent form of the Five traditional styles of Tai chi. According to Chen Village family history, Chen Bu was a skilled martial artist who started the martial arts tradition within Chen Village.The special nature of Tai Chi Chuan practice was attributed to the ninth generation Chen Village leader, Chen Wangting (1580–1660). He codified pre-existing Chen training practice into a corpus of seven routines. This included five routines of tai chi chuan 108 form Long Fist and a more rigorous routine known as Cannon Fist. Chen Wangting integrated different elements of Chinese philosophy into the martial arts training to create a new approach that we now recognize as the Internal martial arts. He added the principles of Ying-yang the universal principle of complementary opposites), the techniques of Doayin (leading and guiding energy), Tui Na (expelling and drawing energy), the Chinese medical theory of energy and Chinese medical theory of the meridians Those theories encountered in Classical Chinese Medicine and described in such texts as the Huang Di Nei Jing

Seen in a persons character what would the Element Water look like? I think, if water had anything to teach people, it would involve almost exactly what Tai-ChiChang displays in its martial teachings. And that is taking energy, and redirecting it in a given direction.  Our own energy, others energy, excess energy from our environment. We deal with so many sources of input as people. Sometimes if we are too stiff in receiving this energy, management of the energy can be troublesome... but if we take excess energy we receive softly, we can focus our strengths into directing a positive direction, or outcome. 

Id like to think that character of Waterbending would have alot to teach people in the art of adapting to troubles, and making the solutions of the world more moldable and accessible to our lives,.. and maybe also teach the simple serenity of cyclic movements demonstrated in the forms in Tai Chi Chang.

Earth 

Earthbending - inspired in ATLA by the chinese martial art of Hung-Gar. HungGar is a boxy form of martial art that involves alot of squatting and boxy squarish stances that allow the artist to be an immovable force in the face of enemy attack

The hallmarks of the Hing lin lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably the "sei ping ma"  horse stance and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand. and the versatile tiger claw. Traditionally, students spent anywhere from several months to three years in stance training, often sitting only in horse stance from half an hour to several hours at a time, before learning any forms. Each form could then take a year or so to learn, with weapons learned last. In current times, this mode of instruction is generally considered impractical for students, who have other concerns beyond practicing kung fu. However, some instructors still follow traditional guidelines and make stance training the majority of their beginner training. Hung Ga Hung Ga's earliest beginnings have been traced to the 17th century in southern China. More specifically, legend has it that a Shaolin monk was at the heart of Hung Ga's emergence. Jee Sin Sim See was alive during a time of fighting in the Qing Dynasty. 

During the show, There weren't many people who weren't absolutely in love with earthbending after the second half of the show. It is easy to see the element in the martial art. But could you go a step further and see it in a persons character? Could you teach yourself, to be like a Rock? A boulder? A mountain?

To know and hold your ground in the face of adversity. To express presence that is steady, sound, and solidly mattered.

Id like to think that character of Earthbending would have alot to teach people in the art of being centered within your own self, and owning that space of yourself that is centered with a genuine strength and a clear idea of ones own self worth & values

The School of elemental art will teach you to be like the Rock. study with us we go through 

Air

Airbending - inspired in ATLA by the chinese martial art of BaGua. Bagua is a very pretty form of martial art that involves constant movement, circling and turning constantly so that an artist always has the upper hand in his position.

The Bagua or Pa Kua are eight symbols used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each line either "broken" or "unbroken", respectively representing yin or yang. Due to their tripartite structure, they are often referred to as Eight Trigrams in English.Feng shui was made very popular in the Occident thanks to the Bagua of the eight aspirations. Each trigram corresponds to an aspect of life which, in its turn, corresponds to one of the cardinal directions. Applying feng shui using the Bagua of the eight aspirations (or Bagua map for short) made it possible to simplify feng shui and to bring it within the reach of everyone. Western Bagua focuses more heavily on the power of intention than the traditional forms of feng shui.

Masters of traditional feng shui disregard this approach for its simplicity, because it does not take into account the forms of the landscape or the temporal influence or the annual cycles. The Bagua of the eight aspirations is divided into two branches: the first, which uses the compass and cardinal directions, and the second, which uses the Bagua by using the main door. It is clear that, not taking into account the cardinal directions, the second is even more simplified

It is easy to see the element in the martial art. But could you go a step further and see it in a persons character? Could you teach yourself, to be like air?

To be fluid in your motions and your speech. To have a spirit that flows as pure and unrestricted as a feather fringed leaf through the air. 

In the show, Avater the last airbender. Airbenders were the definition of a leaf dancing through the air with quick rotating steps. Part of the reason that people could fall in love with Airbending, was the simple grace of the power. It almost seemed as if in the simple movements of the user... they always could stay two steps ahead of the action... and still in perfect harmony of the overall movement.....

Id like to think that character of Airbending would have alot to teach people in the art of being free of restrictive boundaries and more adapted to footsteps that walk the swift path of change.

Elemental arts will teach you to be like the leaf. “be the leaf”. Take master giatso, or Tenzen, or even the MArtially seasoned older Aang. We will teach you to be the breeze. and you will know what it means to be the leaf!!!