Good morning.
I would like to write briefly about the forthcoming Graduation which will take place on next Friday, 12th December.
It has been specifically arranged in the evening, commencing at 7.30pm, to ensure that every student has sufficient time to come after work with the minimum amount of disruption to daily life. As I have mentioned before, this is a very important event in the Wing Tsun year and one which all members of the school are required to attend (as the dates were published in January students also have no excuse!). The Graduation was actually the topic of the first meeting that I had with the teachers at the beginning of the year, and there have been numerous meetings with the teachers, assistants and other helpers since then. A lot of time, energy and effort have been put into the Graduation to make sure that it is something to be remembered.
For those that have not attended before, the Graduation is a celebration of all that has been achieved in 2008. This year’s ceremony is a particularly special one and the schools have produced a special brochure (and tickets) to match this. These are something that I envisage students keeping for many years – so if you haven’t received the brochure by tomorrow please contact the school straight away.
The Graduation is a time where students can, and are indeed strongly encouraged to, bring their families and friends. The schools have always had strong belief in warmly welcoming guests and it is particularly relevant to the Graduation. It allows the guests to see what each student has achieved over the course of the year and also to have a better idea of what Chinese Wing Tsun actually is. I believe it is extremely important to have events like this; it brings the school into closer contact with its surrounding community and at the same time allows students to get to know one another better – particularly those from different schools or who train only on a specific weeknight. As I mentioned last year, being a member of a Kung Fu family is far more than just learning techniques, it’s about working together and supporting each other.
On the night there will be complimentary drinks and food. The ceremony itself will take the form of speeches about Wing Tsun, a series of live demonstrations, presentation of certificates from the recent grading and awards. The awards are one of the most prestigious parts of the ceremony, only awarded to a selected few students who have both excelled physically and made outstanding contributions to the school. The recipients of these awards are only made known at the ceremony itself, which is another reason students need to be at the event. Above all, I have always found it to be an extremely rewarding evening for those who attend (no pun intended), and we are now into our 6th year of hosting a Graduation.
The dress code is smart for the event (detailed on the brochure) – only those taking part in the demonstrations will be wearing normal class uniform. The Graduation will be in a different, bigger venue than last year, so please make sure that you know where to go. Please note that like last year no student should park in the car park of the venue, which will to avoid any complications or any one being blocked in etc. There is a cheap car park which is a two minute walk from the venue.
Each person does need to purchase tickets, so please let the teachers know how many guests you will be bringing. As there is a lot of preparation involved, which is dependant on the number of people who will be attending, you do need to let us know this information by Monday at the latest. The teachers and assistants will be speaking to you in the following days about this.
Sifu