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Sifu Augustin Ngu
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Frequently Asked Questions
(Answers by: Sifu Augustin Ngu)

Question: As a school, what do you think it offers to the young people and to the community in general?

On a personal level, Kung Fu is my passion, heritage, culture and pride which I can share with individuals with a similar background and we can enjoy similar things that give us pride, happiness and identity.

On a global level, the school also achieved different levels of accomplishment. Through our concept of a down-to-earth family Kung Fu school, I feel that it desegregates us from the society. I truly believe in the spirit of Canada, the fact that we live together in harmony and we contribute back to the society, the spirit of democracy, of peacefulness, of political stability, etc. One contribution comes from the down to earth and openness of the school itself. I found that it desegregates us from the society. I really feel that whether it is Kung Fu, or the Lion Dance, or the culture, it helps us build bridges into the different aspects of society in different ways. From this we can create a much better understanding among all of us. A lot of problems in society are created by xenophobia. I believe that even though we are different, we also can live happily together. I find that as far as Kung Fu is concerned, whether we look at it as a martial art or as an aspect of the Chinese culture, Kung Fu is a fantastic tool. At the same time it is a very healthy art, whether it is taken as a hobby, an aspect of the Chinese culture, or as self-defense, it's wonderful. Over the years, I can see all these things just come into place.

Question: In terms of the school's function of building bridges with the community and society in general, can you give us some practical examples of how and what the school has done and what events has the school been involved in?

Events are means by which the school's presence and involvement help us to build links with the community in a public way. For instance, we participated in the fund raising event for the earth quake victims in Taiwan, in the fund raising event for the earth quake victims in Yunan, for the flood victims in China, or the walkathon for the United Way or some of the big scale demonstrations, etc.

On a more day to day level, I think the school achieves this objective of building bridges in the following way. We have this centre here (as well as other affiliate centres) with students from all walks of life. As the students have a better understanding of the art and the culture, they bring this understanding with them back to their families, their work, their schools, and their friends. This is the surest form of bridge building. As the children go back to their parents and talk about what they have learnt, or the parents come and see how their children grow in knowledge and skill in the school, I see bridges being built on a daily basis. Even though this was not a goal clearly set out for the school at the beginning, this effect of bridge building with the community came as a result of the style of the school.

Question: As for the future of the school, in what direction do you see the school going?

First and foremost, I would like to continue to see that the art is being promoted, popularized and preserved. It is important to have it promoted continuously, but if we cannot find the mechanism to preserve it, the art will be lost. I have seen too many examples of how the art of many great masters is lost and gone when the great masters were gone. As someone who feels so passionately for the art and heritage, I certainly do not want to see some of the knowledge to go extinct as some has gone extinct. Sometimes the art disappear also because of economical reasons. Some sifu and instructors simply switched career because they couldn't survive. If the teaching ceases, there is no more structure to keep the art alive. So I feel that in order for the art to be promoted, preserved, and elevated to a different level, it also has to be viable economically. This is so that a structure can be there for the next generation of instructors to choose teaching Kung Fu as a career path just like any other. I would like to bring Chinese Martial Arts to that level, to be popularized to the point that economically, the next generation of sifus will not have to face as much struggles as I had to. If the future instructors cannot make a living out of teaching it is tough. Through the Federation, I would like to introduce Chinese Martial Arts to the school boards and the community centres and as part of parks and recreation programs. So as the head of the organization of All Masters, Shao Lin White Crane Kung Fu Society, or the Canadian Kuoshu Federation, there is real work to be done.

Question: In terms of the services, what does the school offer?

In terms of services, the fundamental philosophy is always to maintain the school as a very down to earth family oriented club that offers Chinese Martial Arts. We would like to continue to offer this very healthy part of the self-defense traditional art. At present, the school is opened six days a week and we have adult classes scheduled Monday through Thursday in the evening as well as on Saturday morning. As well, there are a number of children classes running in the afternoons from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday afternoons. Ideally, as the needs grow, I would like to offer the services of the school as a full time school that offers classes from morning to evening 7 days a week. I can see this happening because I think the school will be more well-known and the membership will increase. As the membership increases, the need will also increase. Now we also have a growing number of the teaching staff, as well as growing experience and commitment of the teaching staff. From these different perspectives, I think this goal will be achievable in the very near future as this has been the strong growth of the school in the past 2 to 4 years. As far as a full time Kung Fu school in North America, or as a matter of fact, in Hong Kong or Taiwan, is concerned, this is far and few in between.

I also feel that the strength of the school is not only reflected by the number of members but more importantly is reflected by the experience, the commitment and the number of instructors. They are the pillars without which the roof will fall. I put a lot of emphasis on grooming and training the teaching staff. When one day they are certified as sifus, they will be the future sifus that can take on a lot of responsibilities.

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