Hasayfu Hung Ga
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Tournament Winners

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Saleem

Lam Tang is proud to announce that we have winners from this past weekends tournament in Charlotte, NC.  Hassiem Muhammad placed in three first place categories: Kung Fu forms, 14-15 year old sparring, and stepped up outside of his age group to take 16-17 year old sparring as well.


Brandon Haltiwanger  took away two second place medals in tai chi and in intermediate Kung Fu forms.





Thomas Wright took a first place medal in beginner Kung Fu forms and second place in sparring.


Our heartiest congratulations to all three of these young men and a big thanks for representing Lam Tang so well!

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Becoming a Disciple of Truth

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Saleem

Pure Truth, like the sought after Philosopher’s Stone said to be the elixir of life, is at that essential core where enlightened seekers find great treasures disguised in pure simplicity.

The martial artist who lives in worldly illusions lives in confusion.  Illusions are based on a mental state of falsehoods, leaving a person in a state of mental deception of which they are unaware and in total acceptance of their mental state.  The pinnacle of a martial artist’s growth is searching for self truth which will govern his entire existence.  This self truth is a living essence that can grow or shrink, depending on deeds, growing with goodness, or shrinking with unkind actions.  This self truth is an internal compass that can guide one through all life’s obstacles.  A martial artist must learn how to protect this essence.  There are invisible subliminal experiences that radiate our psyche polluting and corrupting truth.  This influences our perception, and acceptance, and actions based on what we believe is truth.  Truth causes man to stand for a principal even if he disagrees with it.

Man’s truth lies within himself. As he believes, so shall he be.  Man’s truth is seen in his creative expressions, and his usage of his freewill, which can be used to search, learn and express the truth or the untruth.    Before one can perceive pure truth, it is mandatory that one be in a state of Oneness with all things.  Your mind must operate in the now because the now is where your truth exists.  To spend time dwelling on the past, or focusing on the future is idle daydreaming.  In the now, you begin to nourish the truth.  You begin to speak the truth.  And you begin to live the truth.  Sooner or later, you will begin to transmute all distractions that are intended to keep you from the truth.  The truth is pure in its original essence.  Time can corrupt truth and pollute it with opinions of the many, turning the clean flowing truth into gossip, myths, and deceptions, that become a tool to dissuade those who seek truth.    On his path of martial development, truth must be at the core of the martial artist, and become his compass to gauge and track his growth.  Know thyself should be the motto of the martial artist as he sets his sights on goals that must be wrapped in truth within himself and without.  Truthfulness allows the martial artist to see himself as he is, and understand that his weaknesses will be his strengths tomorrow.  He also understands that his strengths are to be used to elevate his desires.  The pathway to truthfulness lies in the void, and the void lies within.  The three harmonies of mind, body and spirit, and a path of meditation is the one to follow.  The truth will always reflect the moral strength of a person and as such, the truth will manifest itself as man grows into his higher self.  Truth is not a belief that man has to create. Truth is eternal.  Truth is.


I am an antennae for Truth, reaching out for information to nourish my soul and elevate my spirit.  ………Sifu Saleem

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Expanding Perception

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Saleem

Of all the ingenious qualities that have been nurtured within man, that of perception is immeasurably powerful and stimulating.  Perception lures man to peer into the waters of inexhaustible possibilities.

Initially, there is perception, then comes a process of creative, exploratory, and conceptual thought, which leads to action.  The original perception is neutral, then thought begins a search progression through old roots of embedded values, and supporting evaluations that lie deep within the mind and body, while at the same time striving to built new ones.  In order for perception to be expressed, it must become charged either emotionally or intellectually.  These two types of perception will have a dramatic impact on one’s mental attitude.  Through filtering your emotionally charged perception and balancing your intellectual perception, you will be able to grow toward self-mastery with an expanded, more harmonious, and infinite consciousness.  Perception is an invisible field of overlapping realities that are engaged by one’s own vibrational viewpoint.  Most individuals are not aware of the overlapping of realities, until realities reveal themselves in relationship to changes in perception.  This results in growth of mental attitudes and expanded awareness and possibilities.  Conscious awareness expands and contracts.  I expand and contract.  The Earth expands and contracts reflecting a harmonious natural intelligence functioning in Oneness through divine expression.   Perceptions are windows into realities, be they fixed or flexible.  Thoughts are doorways to possible realities.  Perception exists in perfect form and imperfect relationship with itself.  The perceptions we have are the reality we create.

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Perception

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Saleem

I am a cluster of consciousness on a passage of growth.  Existing in a Universe of multiple realities, there is a constant metamorphosis and fusion with epic possibilities.

Perception is the direct reflection of an individual’s knowledge, experience, and faith.  Perception is ever changing and the reality that we hold today will or will not reflect in harmony with the perceived reality of the future.  Our perceptional reality is limited and much like peering through a kaleidoscope.  We only perceive the world as we believe it to be and according to our acceptance of this.  Our beliefs are held together by our faith. Hence comes a perceptional reality that is individual for each of  us.  Our perception is relative to our reality and our interpretation and our acceptance of it.  With each shake of the kaleidoscope the image of reality we are perceiving changes.  In the same way, the experiences that we have in our lives may have a dramatic effect on our own perception of reality.  The growth that we are challenged with will either carry us forward into new expanded perceptions or we will remain fixed in perceptual stagnation.

The sensory shower that we constantly bathe in from infancy to adulthood, allows the emotional connections to filter and blend with our perception.  Experiences and thoughts are given emotional charges through sensations that reinforce them with emotional radiance.    This strengthens the expression of the total experience not just with the perceptional point of view but also with a new combination of perceptual and emotional intertwining at a heightened level.  Reminiscing over experience reactivates the emotional charges which increasingly serve to strengthen the perception.

This can be good or bad.  The knowledge that we accumulate will reinforce our action in the direction of our perception.  Our faith will contain it all together and give us the strength to stand and argue our perception.

As a martial artist, it is vital to have focused clarity coupled with open-mindedness that is married with possibilities of the unperceived.  Such things as skills, seen and unseen, concepts, known and unknown, methods that are clear or unclear, must be calculated and regurgitated in a clear and concise manner in order for the martial artist to achieve his desired results.

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and The Seedling Grows

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Saleem

…and the student asked the Master: “What do you mean the movement must speak to me?”  …and the Master only smiled.

So, the question is, how do you expand your vision?  Exposure to superior challenges presents an opportunity to grow and strengthen the roots of your experience.  Through the constant clashing with successes and failures, one develops a clarity of vision that leads to a path of accumulating the essential traits that will assist in developing along that path.  Perception is a reflection of an individual’s state of mind, knowledge, and experience. Through clearing your perception you can refine judgment, enabling you to make better selective decisions.  You have begun a journey of self-awareness and expansion.

Self-awareness is both physical and mental. and to begin the journey, it is best to start with the mental aspect, since the mind controls the body.  A vital and important aspect of self-awareness is self-image.  You must have a clear vision of your self-image in order to mentally see yourself accomplishing what you desire.  Clarity of vision begins within oneself.  Before you can have harmony in your outside world, you must first harmonize your inside world (mind).  In the process of clearing vision a better relationship of ones own strengths and weaknesses begins to manifest.  Through the process of expressing the desired movements through a variety of exchanges, a knowledge and clarity of possibilities develops.  Movement must be able to fit within the confines of your abilities, strengths and weaknesses.  When you are able to do so, they will be expressed naturally and effortlessly.  Once you develop the mind/body relationship, you will begin to speak the language of movement, which is expand/collapse, hard/soft, straight/circle, and many more possibilities.  However, you must allow the movement to communicate to your body.  Through mastery of knowing, and achieving a clear mental self-image, you can combine the powers of the mind and the powers of the body to express the language of the movement.

…and the movement has spoken.

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As the Seed Is Planted…

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Saleem

And the student questioned the master:  “How do you use that movement?”  And the Master said to the student:  “It hasn’t spoken yet.”  The student replied, “I don’t understand…”  And the master said:  “To understand, you must first accept that you know nothing.  Truth lies within the action itself, and for it to reveal itself, you must reflect nothing but the truth.”

The martial arts has a vast intertwining of ideas that are hidden to most students.  Hence, there is pervasive belief in what is referred to as the “secret techniques.”  In reality, there are no secret techniques, the real secret is through a progression of clarity of vision, educated failures, and experience.  These days, martial artists are in too big a hurry to accumulate as many empty hand or weapon forms or new fancy kicks, and other movements as possible.  All the while they are leaving the essence of insight of the art itself and the experience one gets from patience far behind.  Through  patience and dedication a miraculous unexplainable metamorphosis takes place on several levels.  The most important of these is clarity of vision, for you must understand that the young martial artist sees “what is” not “what could be.” In the haste of chasing belts, trophies, titles, etc., they quietly self-destruct their own progress.  As they amplify their egos, their measurement of self imagery becomes unrealistic.  Development in the martial arts must be by a natural growth.  Just as when a seed is planted in the ground proper soil, as well as nourishment, sunlight, water, and patience must be given to it to grow along in a natural optimum way.  In this way, it will grow strong, balanced and harmonious in it’s environment.  Improper development leads a martial artist to an unclear perspective, understanding, and interpretations.  Like gazing through smoke, nothing is quite clear.  If the student proceeds on this misdirected path to his development, then instead of accumulating martial arts that can stand the test of time, his skill will disseminate over time.  With clarity of vision, one move can have a variety of possibilities.  An arm break can be an arm block.  On a higher level, this move may be a pressure point strike.  Martial artists who have clarity of vision will see such things as muscle and bone technique.  The possibilities are wide and vast and will continue to expand as your vision expands.  So, the question is, how do you expand your vision?

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Gung Hay Fat Choi!

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Saleem

…That’s Happy New Year in Chinese, and that is from the entire Lam Tang family to everyone.  For several years now, it has been the my tradition to celebrate the Spring Festival with my disciples and instructors and their families, having good conversation while dining on good food, and that is exactly what we did on Saturday, at the Sun Ming restaurant.  We enjoyed a 12 course delectable delight that was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.  One great course after another filled us with great anticipation for the next.  We enjoyed dishes such as delicious Mu Shu Duck, duck bone soup, Golden Spring chicken roasted crispy, sizzling pepper beef, jumbo battered shrimps, pan-fried noodles with chicken Cantonese style, teryaki beef, rice, steamed whole fish with green onions and ginger, stir fried snow pea sprouts, eggplant Szechuan, melon bites, fortune cookies and delicate jasmine tea to wash it all down. I could live at Sun Ming!  Thank you to all the students who participated.

The Qi Gong class is resonating in energetic harmony.  Through a healing and Qi Gong maintenance exercise known as the Six Healing Sounds, the exercise itself appears to be quite simple in outward movement, however the real active movement is found within.  The Six Healing Sounds is great for health and general well-being.  These six sounds emphasize five organs of the body and the Triple Warmer, which is a total body regulator and harmonizes for unified healing.  These sounds cause a vibration which in turn stimulates the organs, allowing the energy to rise or sink, finding it’s own balance.  The Six Healing sounds may be practiced with focus just on one sound.  For instance, if you have lung/breathing problems, you can practice just eh lung sound to receive maximum benefit.  As the sounds become f=perfected, one can add active movements to bring about a more mind/body unification, and to help open certain energy points of the body.  There is also a mental imagery that is utilized int he growth that teaches you to follow the path of the Qi channels that is connected with each organ to hasten the balancing process.  It is recommended to use self-massage to re-balance the energy flow and bring it back to the Dantian after practice.  We invite everyone to join our Qi Gong healing journey.

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Happy New Year to all!

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Saleem

The Chinese New Year is coming up soon and we are looking for good things to happen throughout.  This will be the year of the Dragon, auspicious for Sifu Saleem who was born in the year of the Dragon!

Coming Up…

All workshops will be coupled with Qi Gong for building energy, Qi cultivation, breathing, and circulation.  These will build progressively off the previous levels.  If desired these can be taken separately.  Each workshop will have an hour for each subject.  Call us!  803-606-5672

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Hesitation, the Quick Freeze

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Saleem

Hesitation interferes with the Universal Law of Action/Reaction (“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” … Sir Isaac Newton).  Hesitation separates the desired, conscious and calculated response from the equation, by hijacking the thought process and causing a multitude of breakdowns, first attacking the mind, and then the body.  Hesitation, the quick freeze, stops all thought processes and opens the door of fear, allowing self-doubt and further hesitation to manifest.  Hesitation strikes the body like lightening, turning it on itself. The heart begins to beat off rhythm, as the lungs squeeze, grasping for air.  Vision is blurred and unsure.  The mind becomes its own worst enemy, as it allows fear and doubt to creep in.  Fear gives birth to doubt, doubt leads to hesitation, …and failure.  Once hesitation enters your mind, it brings the seeds of doom with it, which is why in strategy, my rule is Know myself and strengthen my weaknesses.  …Know not myself, and destruction is mine for certain.”  Destruction cannot exist where there is a strong foundation of preparation.  No matter how long a person may have been doing a thing, if there is hesitation, then there is also a high possibility of failure.  Hesitation can paralyze the whole creative process and to be in combat, you need to be in the moment.  The scattered mind that is left behind after hesitation strikes, is in a weakened state of fear and doubt.

Hesitation, the mind-killer, can turn your own strengths into weaknesses.  Hesitation can strike slowly or extremely quickly.  It matters not, since the seeds of hesitation are born within.  The external influences that we allow to access our minds can have positive or negative impacts on our view of all things.  In other words, the mental preparation for combat begins way before that first blow of the physical engagement itself.   Strategic conceptualization begins silently, hiding within the conscious and subconscious minds of the individual.  There are a numerous amount of obstacles that need to be prepared for.  Just as water can penetrate a rock, hesitation can and will do the same to a fighter’s will, focus, mental state and ability. Slowly and steadily, they are chipped away from the core until defeat arrives.  Hesitation is like quicksand, slowly absorbing all the fight until you succumb.  It matters not about your physical abilities, your level of attainment, or your physical strength.  When hesitation strikes deep within, the roots of your mind turn inward on themselves.  Hesitation is a form of stress, and like all stress, it places a powerful impact on the body and mind.  Examples are headaches, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and emotional destabilization leading to anger, anxiety, and depression.  The chemical imbalances can develop into a dangerous poison that will lead to destruction.  In combat, perception is all you really have.  The clearer the perception, the more accurate are your decisions.  A martial artist must be flexible and able to make agile mental and physical adjustments, understand the power of mastery over tenants of fear, and be able to recognize the traits of it.

Through knowing where your fear lies, filtering your experiences and renewing with positive new perceptions, you can contain or eliminate fear.   So, through a careful selective process, fear, doubt and hesitation can be defeated. The tools lie within each individual and can only be discovered after gathering total knowledge of your physical and emotional intellectual aptitudes.  We are an experiential combination of the things we feel and believe, and these have a strong impact us.  Both positive and negative intellectual and emotional influences impact our total connection, and knowledge of how we see ourselves and our world.  Attempt to become aware of the forces that resonate in the internal and external environment.  A great martial artist must live inside out and outside in.  This means that a great martial artist is connected inside outwardly from his soul to the external environment, sensing all life forms and energies that he is exposed to.  The great martial artist must also to be able to respect the energetic expressions of the possibility from outside elements while seeking balance and nourishing his spirit.  The causes of hesitation reflect upon many habits and distorted beliefs that have now attached to conscious and subconscious thoughts.  This influences perception and actions and reactions.  Hesitation in combat is a fatal form of self-destruction.  It allows for imperfection to dominate years of striving for perfection, while derailing the brain’s harmonious distribution of energy, causing a mental meltdown.

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Fear

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Saleem

The obstacles to martial art’s excellence lie within each of us.  One of these obstacles is FEAR.  Fear is real.  Yet, fear is unique because in actuality, fear is an illusion and a misunderstood reflection of an individual’s perception, experience, and lack of knowledge.  For a martial artist, it is extremely detrimental.  Fear has the capacity to choke out all creative expression, and can create doubt in the heart of every man.  It can cause individuals to shake with the sheer thought of a thing.  Fear expresses itself in many different locations throughout the body, and a martial artist must be aware of where fear resides.  Fear expresses in the external body by freezing motion and instilling hesitation, locking down movement, creating rigidity in the muscles.  Next, it can reside in the organs, creating extra stress, and it has the capacity to steal away the courage that resides in the heart, and causing anxiety and heart palpitations.  Stress can also cause serious damage to organs and body cells.  Very importantly, fear can attack one’s mind, scattering thoughts, and leaving doubt and worry to enter.  Thus, it gives the martial artist an altered reality or perception of what he is actually facing.  This allows it to steal opportunity, and hinder growth and development.

So, a martial artist, should not give in to fear and indulge in fearful thoughts, but to master fear, and utilize it to his benefit. For a martial artist to dedicate his time trying to eliminate fear would be a life-long endeavor, for we are bombarded with illusions or perceptions that induce fear.  Time is better spent trying to understand the mechanisms that stimulate fear and those connections that extend inwardly to himself from the physical world.  We have ways to do this.  Fear in the body can be released through relaxation techniques.  Fear in the heart can be released through deep breathing exercises and Qi regenerating exercises.  Fear in the mind can be relieved through meditation, visualization and self-analysis, and focused intentional thought.  Remember, fear’s effect is to keep you from accomplishing a thing, and your job is to forge your way through fear, coming out on the other side more determined and stronger than before.

“Perception is a relative dimension of the understanding of an individual’s abilities, to sift through the muck and mire, of the dominating influences that have their impact on the thought processes in each individual’s life.”          ………Sifu Saleem

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