Hello AMAI Family! In this blog series, we will post reminders of what the students worked on during the previous week. This gives you or your child ideas for how to practice at home between classes. If you need extra help on any movements or sections of the form, talk to your instructor about adding a Private Lesson for one-on-one review, or a Virtual Membership onto your current membership to unlock videos that break down every section of your form and every technique! Last week was the fifth week of our Fall 2021 Quarter. We invited students to participate in Buddy Week and invite a friend to join them in class for free this week! We had several students bring buddies, and we hope everyone had a great time! Lil' Dragons: The Lil' Dragons continued practicing their Nan Quan form. As students get more comfortable with the moves and the words to the form, see if your student can go through the whole form while saying the words that go with each movement! We also reviewed the Long Arms and Southern Uppercut techniques. To practice Long Arms, try swinging your left fist downward into a pillow and then following with the right fist. For Southern Uppercut, try keeping your arms super straight and making your strikes as strong as possible! BASIC Program: Students in the BASIC program reviewed sections 1-3 of their Five Stances Form this week. We have learned the entire form; now see if you can remember it! Try to practice the full form 3 times each day. In class, we reviewed the 4 Basic Blocks as well as our stances. Throw your blocks with enough power to imagine blocking the strike of an invisible enemy as you practice them. With your stances, try to practice in front of a mirror to check that you are keeping your posture upright and your toes pointed in the same direction! Kids BBC Program: This week, the Kids BBC students began working on Section Three of their Golden Crested Crane form. In practicing this week, focus on repetition and see if you can remember all that you’ve learned so far--we have already learned ¾ of the form! Our techniques this week were our Front and Rear Leg roundhouse kicks. Make sure to strike with your shoelaces, not the sole of your foot, when throwing these kicks. Don’t forget to turn that front foot when you kick with your rear leg! Knock out 15 frog leaps and 30 crunches for your warm-ups this week. Adult/Teen BBC Program: This week, the Adult and Teen BBC students began learning Section Three of their Golden Crested Crane form. Now that we have learned ¾ of the form, try to make the sections flow together, and repeat the form 5 times each day all together. Warm up with your line kicks and make sure to keep your posture upright, legs straight, and toes pointed! Don’t forget to practice your endurance--challenge yourself to aim for 50 pushups and 50 squats. Foundation Weapons: In Foundation Weapons class this week, students began learning Section 4 of their 16-Step Straight Sword Form. Warm up by reviewing the anatomy of your sword and practicing your own 5-move shadowboxing combo. Go through the whole form 3 times each day to get it solidified in your memory! Advanced Weapons: In Advanced Weapons class this week, students learned Section Three of their Yin Shao Staff Form. Keep your stances solid as you go through the form. It’ll be tricky, but challenge yourself to try separating the footwork from the arms once or twice to make it super solid. Keep practicing those blocks and flowers, as well as shadowboxing!