A Picture of me With Grandmaster Ming Lum

When I posted the picture of Eric Lee and me I mentioned that I also had a picture taken with a Grandmaster in Chinese Martial Arts that had attended the tournament.  That Grandmaster is Ming Lum who is considered the Godfather to Two Generations of Wushu (Martial Arts) masters.  I was completely honored to have the chance to meet him and have our picture taken together.  Here's the picture.

If you aren't familiar with Grandmaster Ming Lum here is an article where he is interviewed by Kung Fu Magazine.

After I had finished my form and the judges had given my score, a gentleman walked up to me and said, "Grandmaster Ming Lum would like to speak with you."  I followed him over to meet the Grandmaster who complimented me on my form and asked me questions about where I had been trained.  After we had talked briefly he said my form was very good and told me to keep it up.  :)  Later, just about everyone that was around when he said that came up to me and said, "If he said it was good....it was GOOD..."  :)

I had such a great time at this tournament with meeting Eric Lee and Grandmaster Ming Lum.  I hope it doesn't seem to arrogant to post their compliments, but I was so blown away by them I just couldn't help it.  :D  Besides, it's not every day you get to meet a couple of martial arts legends and have your picture taken with them.  :) 

Good News About the Tuesday Afternoon Tai Chi Class at NYF.

I just got an e-mail from Natalie (Fitness Manager at New York Fitness) saying that we can continue the Tuesday afternoon (4:00 to 5:00pm) Tai Chi Classes through the end of July!  :D  How awesome is that?!

I hope to see you all there!  :)

Here's a picture of the medal I got at the tournament yesterday.

A Picture of Me with Eric Lee at today's GSKA tournament in Castro Valley. :D

Here's a picture of Eric Lee and me at the Castro Valley GSKA Sid Campbell Memorial martial arts tournament.  Eric Lee was one of the people who came over to congratulate me after I performed a Chen Tai Chi form and got 29.91 points out of a potential 30.00.  It was SOOOO cool to be able to meet Eric Lee in person.  He is considered "The King of Kata" because he is undefeated in open-hand and weapons forms.  Really awesome guy.  I was personally very excited to meet him because one of the first martial arts workout videos I ever bought (clear back when I was in Jr. High) was made by Eric Lee and I've always been a bit of a fan.  :)  I'd have to say that one of the things that meant the most to me while we were talking is that, twice during our conversation, he said I need to be teaching martial arts.  :D  Coming from Eric Lee, that meant the world to me.  :)  Needless to say.....I had an amazing day.  :D

I'm planning on posting the video of my form and another picture that I had taken with a Chinese Grand Master that was at the tournament (I'll tell you the story about meeting him when I post that pic.) in the near future.  .....So stay tuned.  :)

TED talk by Dr. Daniel Amen

Here's a talk by Dr. Daniel Amen talking about brain health.  It's not a super in depth video, but it gives a good taste of what Dr. Amen does.  I highly recommend the information he has available to anyone interested in living a long healthy life.  Enjoy the video.  :)

Tai Chi in the Pine Grove Park

Just FYI, this upcoming Wednesday (June 15) I will be teaching Tai Chi in the Pine Grove Park in the form of short 30 minute introductory classes from 12:00noon to 3:00pm.  If you know anyone who would like to give Tai Chi a try this is a great chance for them to check it out.  :)  The cost is only $2 per 30 minute class.  Everyone is welcome to come.  I hope to see you there.  :)

Awesome Weight Loss Story From a Good Friend, Andrea Newman

Here are "Before and After" photos of a good friend of mine who is one of my cardio kickboxing students and one of my weight loss clients.  She said that since she started on my weight loss program on May 23, she has lost 15 inches, 5 of which are from her waist!  :D  Awesome job Andrea!!!!!  She said I could post before and after photos so you all could see some of the progress she has made.

Here's a before photo:

And here is a photo we took today after Cardio Kickboxing:

Andrea is still going strong and having a great time losing weight and getting fit.  The other day she told me, "I have so much energy from these shakes I don't even need coffee anymore!  Now I'm high energy!"  :)
Andrea is a super awesome person and I'm very grateful she let me share her story with everyone!  Thank you, Andrea!  Keep up the good work!  *high five!*


The program she is using for energy and weight loss can be found on Amador County's Online Health Food Store and is centered around the "Pure Trim Shakes" and "Daily Complete" which do an awesome job of nourishing the body to weight loss instead of traumatizing it into weight loss.  Check it out if you know anyone who wants to lose inches this summer!  :)

Self Control? Part 4

In the last installment of the Self Control? (Self Control? Part - 3.2)  blog posts we discussed how meditation increases circulation and activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for self control and good reasoning abilities.  We talked about how Tai Chi is practiced by millions of people every day as a moving meditation and we asked what about Tai Chi (compared to other forms of meditation) is so special?

Well, one of the things that sets Tai Chi apart from many other forms of meditation is that when you practice Tai Chi, you are not only getting benefits from the meditation (which strengthen the self control and reasoning center of the brain), but you are also exercising and strengthening your body at the same time.  Exercise helps increase blood flow to the brain and helps keep the body and mind younger longer.  So rather than just receiving the benefits of meditation, or just the benefits of exercise, Tai Chi provides the benefits of both.   In addition to those benefits, practicing Tai Chi requires learning to move your body in ways most people are unfamiliar with and begins to improve coordination.  This is an entire workout for your brain in and of itself which helps keep your mind active and sharp.

So, Tai Chi offers a very "whole being" approach to health.  Instead of the focusing solely on the body or mind, it brings both into the mix and allows you to exercise, calm, and develop both at the same time.  That is one of the reasons I personally prefer Tai Chi over many other forms of meditation. 

Sometimes this brings up questions about whether someone should practice Tai Chi instead of some of the various other forms of meditation available?

To me, this very much depends on a person's personal preference.  One person might enjoy Tai Chi more than they enjoy, say, yoga and another person might enjoy yoga more.  So, rather than saying you should do Tai Chi instead of something else, or that you should do something else instead of Tai Chi....I would say, try them both and see which one is a better match for you. 

A very important thing to remember when studying any meditative art form is that there is no single art that is perfect for every individual person.

I am personally a big fan of Tai Chi because, as I said before, it can benefit both your physical and mental well being simultaneously and the benefits of this can spill over into many areas of your life.  However, the only way for you to know if it's right for you is to try it.  :)

It's good for the body, good for the mind, and good for the soul.   :)

If you would like to give Tai Chi a try check out my Class Schedules and Locations to see when might be the best time for you to try it. 


Feel free to send me any questions or comments you may have. 

This is the final installment of the "Self Control?" blog posts.  I hope you have enjoyed them and have possibly learned something new from reading them.  :)

P.S. The following links will take you to the previous "Self Control?" blog posts if you missed any of them.

Self Control? Part - 1
Self Control? Part - 2
Self Control? Part - 3.1
Self Control? Part - 3.2

Product of the Month - June '11

Since this blog is about helping people improve their health I've decided to add something new to help with that.  Each month I will be featuring a "Product of the Month" from Amador County's Online Health Food Store to spread the word about what's available at this online health food store that might help people improve their health.

Each month the featured "Product of the Month" will be listed on the left side of my blog page with a brief summary and a link that you can click on to read more about each product on Amador County's Online Health Food Store.  (www.Andrew.AwarenessHealth.com)

This month (June '11) Ancient Wisdom for The New You is featuring a product called Daily Complete which is a liquid Multi-Vitamin that has 243 different nutrients in it.  One of the reasons I'm so happy to feature this product (which is one of the products I used while training in China to keep my energy up) is that if you currently take vitamins, this product can replace over 200 different vitamins that you may be taking, which can help you save money and super simplify your dietary supplementation.  Check it out if that sounds interesting to you.  :)





Click Here For More Info on This Month's Featured Product.  :)