[Postponed] Power Hour: Family Martial Arts Workshop

This event has been postponed to the Spring. Watch this space for updates. 

Come join us for an afternoon of physical empowerment as we learn about various Asian martial arts traditions. This one-hour workshop will be a dynamic and engaging experience designed to bring families closer together while learning how to cultivate self-confidence and bodily awareness, enhance physical fitness, and foster strong bonds. It is hosted in partnership with Apne Aap.    

Participants will gain exposure to Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and the traditional Indonesian martial art of Pencak.  

The workshop takes place from 4—5:30 p.m. This experience is suitable for participants of all ages and fitness levels, ensuring that everyone can actively participate and have a great time. It is inspired by the young adult novel, I Kick And I Fly, "a propulsive social justice adventure by renowned activist and award-winning documentarian Ruchira Gupta." 

Martial Art Workshop Leaders 

Sophia Chang is a Kung Fu practitioner, public speaker, life/career guide, screenwriter and author who is developing numerous TV properties, including a scripted series based on her Audible memoir, The Baddest Bitch In The Room. She founded Unlock Her Potential, a program that provides free mentorship for women of color which brags such mentors as Pamela Adlon, Sarah Harden/CEO of Hello Sunshine, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Mann, and several CEOs. As the first Asian woman in hip hop, the music business matriarchitect managed Ol’ Dirty Bastard (RIP), RZA, GZA, D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Q Tip, and A Tribe Called Quest as well as working with Paul Simon. Sophia appeared in Showtime’s documentary “Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men,” Netflix documentary series “Hip Hop Evolution,” and was the subject of an episode of Hulu’s “Defining Moments.”

She trained and managed with a Shaolin Monk, who became her partner and father of her children. In her Kung Fu workshop, students will learn a basic kick, stance, and punch. They will understand the importance of physical fitness, and how to integrate this with the mind and spirit. 

Randai dance is from West Sumatra, Indonesia and uses the movement vocabulary from Pencak Silat (a self-defense form practiced in Indonesia). Many of these position and basic movements include). In this workshop students will learn some of the these basic elements of Pencak Silat such as ), Pilin (twist), Tagak (standing position), Sipak (kick), Tusuak (Stab), pijak baro (stepping on ash and even Kuda-Kuda (horse stance).

Amalia Suryani will lead the workshop and is the founder of Saung Budaya a traditional Indonesian dance group based in New York.  Saung Budaya has played an active role in helping to promote Indonesian culture through music and dance in New York and its surrounding areas. Saung Budaya has performed in several prestigious events in New York, such as Inside/out festival at Jacob Pillow, the opening celebration of the NY Marathon to the international stages of the New York Times Travel Show. For the last 18 years, Saung Budaya has also provided dance workshop to the non Indonesian-American community in various venues such as the Children's Museum of Manhattan, the American Museum of Natural History, Little Island and Lincoln Center.

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial arts practice that builds good health, energy, and self-defense skills. Known as an “Internal” martial art, Tai Chi uses slow, mindful movements to develop energy. With Tai Chi, students explore the point where calm awareness meets power.

North Sky Kung Fu teaches Tai Chi, Kung Fu, and Qigong in New York City. The system they teach is called Ying Jow Pai or "Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu," a classic of Chinese martial arts. Julie Ann and Dario Acosta are the founders of North Sky in Manhattan, where they teach Tai Chi and Qigong, as well as Eagle Claw Kung Fu. They teach a Tai Chi system known as the "Wu" Tai Chi, characterized by mindful, slow movements that are efficient and relaxed.  Both Sifu Daro and Sifu Julie have practiced martial arts for over 35 years each and learned their Tai Chi system directly from Grandmaster Leung Shum, who brought their system from China in the 1970s.

Apne Aap is an NGO working to end sex-trafficking with grassroots initiatives in India, headquarters in New York, and consultative status with the United Nations. It has supported more than 20,000 prostituted and at-risk girls, women and their family members since its foundation in 2002, by Emmy Award winning journalist Ruchira Gupta and 22 women in prostitution.