Memories of students

I remember the times at the Academy with pleasure. SiFu Marcin Jóźwiak and his school was the best place where I could go then. Then I had the opportunity to train for many years and the enormous knowledge and skills of SiF allowed me to make progress from training to training. SiFu was able to get the best out of the students, saw key mistakes and took care of details, mobilized to give the best of himself. I had the pleasure to meet and train with many excellent students of the Academy, real tigers.

The knowledge passed on from the person of SiFu Marcin Jóźwiak, who himself learned the style directly from the living legend of the master Chu Wai, was invaluable. Each movement, position and meaning of individual elements in the forms was studied and explained to the practitioner with great diligence and patience. Each of the exercisers who wanted additional information about the details of the style had the opportunity to obtain this information from the trainer.
At the same time, the quite traditional training methodology adopted by SiFu, consisting in long-term and quite tedious repetition of the same movements or sequences, relatively quickly caused the beginners to stay longer in the academy or to quit and quit. After some time, this resulted in the formation of an advanced group of students, which constituted the core of the academy, and in the following years of its operation it could boast of obtaining by its most ambitious members master's degrees, who could then start promoting the style individually in their own schools.
After many years spent at Marcin Jóźwiak's Hung Gar Sifu Academy, I can say that the kung-fu style promoted by the Academy is worth recommending for people who appreciate persistence and traditional message, as well as the way of teaching martial arts. I highly appreciate the person of SiFu, Marcin Jóźwiak, who with great determination, character and consistency passed knowledge to the practitioners, and also indirectly shaped their "bodies and minds" which could then function more efficiently in everyday life.

More than 20 years ago, I met Marcin Jóźwiak by accident, who was preparing me for the mathematics final exams. Later it turned out that he is a master of Chinese martial art, hung gar style. After a few talks, I decided to try my hand. I liked the training and started classes at the Traditional hung gar kung fu Academy. Unfortunately, the demanding time of studies came and I stopped training for a few years. All the time I intuitively missed this form of activity, which I considered to be very holistic - developing not only physical but also mental skills. And finally, during my doctoral studies, I started individual training, which lasted until the ligament rupture in the knee, paradoxically not during training, but while playing football with my son. I would like to thank Sifu Marcin Jóźwiak for joint training, conversations and the knowledge passed on, which with its use significantly extends beyond the training room.

I remember the training at the Hung Gar kung fu academy with Si Fu Marcin Jóźwiak primarily as a great form of activity. They developed strength, endurance, and improved physical condition. I really liked the variety of techniques and how new aspects of them were revealed with the amount of work involved. Even small progress or the awareness of persevering in training despite difficulties brought satisfaction. I believe that it was an excellent character school, and I still feel its positive effects today.

J have been associated with the Traditional Hung Gar Kuen Academy for over 17 years. During these years I put a lot of effort, sweat, often blood. Thanks to the Academy and Hung Gar training, not only did I manage to get over my fear and learn to cope with difficult situations, but most of all I took a small step towards self-improvement. These are invaluable experiences under the guidance of a true master and teacher that have shaped me to a great extent as an adult.

The years spent in the academy were a wonderful time to get to know oneself and others, through martial arts, but this would not have been possible without the Master , who himself strived for excellence and left a legacy in the form of many alumni and several coaches who pass on these values. And this is the best recommendation.

With a great fondness I remember the workouts and camps of Kung-Fu at the Academy of Traditional Hung Gar Kung Fu. I remember when I wanted to sign up and called the Master to find out a bit about training, he told me to appear in the classes and see if it suits me, ... and he will see if he would like to teach me. I was intrigued. I had a thought this man does it from a real passion and not for the money themselves. And I wasn't wrong. The founder of the academy Si Fu Marcin Jóźwiak already had many years of experience. He was trained by two masters who originated from the ninth and tenth generation of creators of style - Chiu Kwok Keung (son) and Chu Wai (father). Si Fu ran training in three groups of advancement one after another. He practiced a lot with us. I remember how we got a breathlessness but the master continued to talk to us in a peaceful, firm voice in which there was no accelerated breath. He was a demanding and scrupulous trainer. To receive the first student belt you had to train a minimum year, and there were those who received it only after three years. The strong personality and charisma of the Master sustained the discipline prevailing at the Academy, and many adepts of martial arts caught the passion, remaining at the Academy for many years until the very end of its existence. Hung Gar is a very complex combat system consisting of several dozen forms of hand to hand fighting and white weapons (sticks, spear, saber, butterfly sword, and others). Merely memorizing individual sequences of movement, blocks, kicks and hits requires many years of training. However, you can improve your techniques throughout your life. You can not get bored, there will always be something that you can do better or in a different application.

In addition to regular training in the gym, we also had periodic seminars in which we polished details of individual forms, and even learned the basics of Chinese medicine and relaxation massage which is useful for the treatment of injury. I can not mention the annual, of July training camps that ended with exams for subsequent grades. It was a real endurance and perseverance exam. Every day there were four training sessions with a total duration exceeding 6 an hours. In addition to fatigue and injuries, I was wearied by the heat and workout in the sun. It was not easy. For each of us it was not. But it seems to me that these common efforts strengthened the group's bond, despite the fact that we didn't spare each other on sparring :) After such a camp was over with a passed exam (or not) I wanted to train every day because something was missing. The condition and technique improved firmly. Subsequent workouts became a pure pleasure.

In addition to the fighting techniques, better motor coordination, litheness and condition, I learned to overcome weaknesses, I lowered my comfort zone, now I know that you can do 3 times more push-ups than it seems. Many aspects of training translate into other spheres of life - through the consequence, perseverance and courage can be achieved much more than it once seemed. Impossible becomes possible. With all my heart, I would recommend another Academy Marcin Jóźwiak if it still existed ...