Kung-fu featured among classes available at SVPA
Cindy Taren
Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Behind a single, inconspicuous door between Encounter Comics and the Pocono Chamber of Commerce at 554 Main Street in Stroudsburg, the School of Visual and Performing Arts (SVPA) houses a variety of cultural classes, operating six days a week.
The Little River Kung Fu School teaches classes within the SVPA, including Northern Shaolin, T'ai Chi and Qigong. Marilyn Cooper, who teaches these classes, has been training in and teaching the ancient art of Chinese kung fu since 1965. She has national and world gold medals in T'ai Chi and Northern Shaolin and has been interviewed on ESPN Inside Sports. Beyond publishing numerous articles on kung fu, she also paints and draws. Her work is displayed in the SVPA and online at www.get.to/artstudio. Cooper also co-founded the SVPA.
Steve Mills, an advanced kung fu student and graduate of ESU, was only one of two present for class on Saturday at the early hour of 9 a.m. He and Cooper start with some stretches and deep breathing. They have obviously been working out together for a while because they chat while their movements are virtually in sync.
The warm-up movements are called Tendon Exchange. According to Cooper, a man named Damo in a Buddhist cave some 1,500 years ago developed these series of exercises. It increases bone density, while strengthening the tendons and muscles of the body. Mills is proof of the efficiency this method provides; he doesn't lift weights, yet maintains a quite hefty build and triangular upper body.
They pick up swords next and start to draw circles in the air with the tips. "It's all in the wrist," Cooper says. Having been prohibited from sword training on campus, Mills had fallen behind somewhat in his training, so Cooper repeats a single form with him for almost the entirety of the 45 minute class.
They must remain light on their feet, put just the right depth into their lunges, and their arms must have precise angles as they pass through the rooster, bow and lotus positions during this form. During the low lunging lotus, the sword swings in front of the face, while the head bends backward; the right foot comes up to the knee as the sword and upper body spin clockwise in the rooster before the final plunge of the sword into the air in front of them.
The Little River Kung Fu School teaches classes within the SVPA, including Northern Shaolin, T'ai Chi and Qigong. Marilyn Cooper, who teaches these classes, has been training in and teaching the ancient art of Chinese kung fu since 1965. She has national and world gold medals in T'ai Chi and Northern Shaolin and has been interviewed on ESPN Inside Sports. Beyond publishing numerous articles on kung fu, she also paints and draws. Her work is displayed in the SVPA and online at www.get.to/artstudio. Cooper also co-founded the SVPA.
Steve Mills, an advanced kung fu student and graduate of ESU, was only one of two present for class on Saturday at the early hour of 9 a.m. He and Cooper start with some stretches and deep breathing. They have obviously been working out together for a while because they chat while their movements are virtually in sync.
The warm-up movements are called Tendon Exchange. According to Cooper, a man named Damo in a Buddhist cave some 1,500 years ago developed these series of exercises. It increases bone density, while strengthening the tendons and muscles of the body. Mills is proof of the efficiency this method provides; he doesn't lift weights, yet maintains a quite hefty build and triangular upper body.
They pick up swords next and start to draw circles in the air with the tips. "It's all in the wrist," Cooper says. Having been prohibited from sword training on campus, Mills had fallen behind somewhat in his training, so Cooper repeats a single form with him for almost the entirety of the 45 minute class.
They must remain light on their feet, put just the right depth into their lunges, and their arms must have precise angles as they pass through the rooster, bow and lotus positions during this form. During the low lunging lotus, the sword swings in front of the face, while the head bends backward; the right foot comes up to the knee as the sword and upper body spin clockwise in the rooster before the final plunge of the sword into the air in front of them.