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Congratulations to Forrest! He was promoted to Yellow Stripe this past weekend. Good job Forrest!   Congratulations to our first Yellow Belts! Larry, Jerred and Patrick. Great job!!!
Blue Ridge Kung Fu Arnis Academy153 West Court St.Rutherfordton, NC 28139Tel: 828.773.6531
We teach many arts. Sil Lum Kung Fu is the famous 5 animal kung fu that is based on the movements of the snake, tiger, crane, leopard and dragon. We also teach Praying Mantis, Eagle and Monkey Kung Fu with emphasis on Monkey. Emperor’s Long Fist is an ancient art that uses Tai Chi, Hsing I and Ba Gua as its base and places more emphasis on training the bodies internal energy. Kali/Arnis are the arts of the Philippines and emphasize the use of weapons training and empty hand. We also teach what is considered to be a lost art. Natural Style Martial Arts are very ancient and are only practiced in a few schools in the world. These arts emphasize being formless and using continuous, uninterrupted motion to generate power. No one Martial Art suits everyone. We teach many so that everyone can find an art and fitness level suited to them and their own personal goals. We share philosophy and keep religion personal. Our goal is to build the body, mind and spirit to its highest possible level.
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My name is Eric Marks. I was born and raised in Forest City, NC. I moved to Boone NC in 1993 to attend Appalachian State University. I majored in art and education. In 1994, a close personal friend introduced me to Grandmaster Rick Ward. Grandmaster Ward lived in Boone and had been teaching Martial Arts there for many years. My friend spoke very highly of him and was a green belt in Gong Fu (Kung Fu) under the Grandmaster. I began studying a Yang Style Tai Chi class from one of the Masters students. I enjoyed the class so much that when it was over, I enrolled in the Sil Lum Gong fu class and then the Emperor’s Long Fist class shortly thereafter. I enjoyed my training very much since my initial reason to train was to heal a nagging abdominal injury. I had always been active in both team and individual sports and had a deep interest in the martial arts, having grown up with Kung Fu Theatre and Bruce Lee. My injury healed and soon fate intervened in my college education and pushed me to work and train Martial Arts full time. I built my entire life around my training. My job was there to support my training. I trained with many of the black belts at the school early on and never missed the chance to go to seminars and train with other masters and train other arts. My Master, Rick Ward, hardly spoke to me for the first 6 months of my training. He was still training himself and was quite busy. One day, he walked up to me and said, “You are a monkey.” Not sure whether to be offended or not, an instructor began to tell me about the monkey style and how it was trained. This began my focusing on training in the Monkey Style (Hou Chuan). I began as a white belt and remained a white belt for over 14 months, watching many other students pass me by with far less training and skill than myself. I was told early on, “never ask to test, you will be told when you are ready”. I remained patient, and 5 years later I earned my first black belt in Emperor’s Long Fist and 6 months later I earned my second black belt in Sil Lum Gong Fu. Having seen many others before me earn this level and then leave, I was determined to go as far as I could. 15 years after walking into Blue Ridge Kung Fu Arnis Academy for the first time, I was awarded my 6th degree black belt and I am not finished! I remain a Master Instructor at the Academy in Boone as well as teaching from my home in Zionville, NC. I continue to train with my Master, whose teachings I will share until I am no longer able. I owe my Master an enormous debt and repay it by teaching all who are willing to learn. 
Jiao Si Kristin Marks