AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Oriental in design, the entrance to the Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi, with its scrolled portico, mossy garden and tinkling blue bells, hints at what lies within.
Inside, the Arnold-based school’s owners and teachers, Nancy and Billy Greer, flow from one graceful movement to the next as they demonstrate the martial arts of Kung Fu and Tai Chi.
Having recently celebrated the school’s 20th Anniversary, the couple reflected on how they have sustained a small business focused on teaching martial arts while, at the same time, taking an active role in the greater Severna Park and Arnold communities and helping local charities.
Nancy was quick to mention that in the decades since opening their school there has been steady growth in the disciplines of Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Having originated within families in China as a self-defense mechanism, the complimentary arts are, at once, active, cerebral, communal and meditative.
“It’s amazing that the martial arts forms we were drawn to as a young couple became a major part of our lives,” she said.
Billy Greer picked up their story, going back to the very beginning.
“Growing up in the 1970’s, Bruce Lee movies from Hong Kong were very popular.,” he said. “On Saturday mornings, my brothers and I loved watching “Kung Fu Theater” which presented two or three of Lee’s badly-dubbed films at a time. However, becoming an actual participant in martial arts I owe to Nancy. ”
Dating while attending colleges near each other, Nancy became aware of Billy’s interest in Kung Fu. She bought him a pair of nunchucks – a weapon popularized by Bruce Lee consisting of two pieces of wood connected by a short piece of rope. His appetite for martial arts whetted by her gift, Billy’s interest turned serious.
During the early years of the Greers’ marriage, he was reading about and studying the subject. Figuring it was time for him to stop talking about martial arts and get involved, Nancy gave him an anniversary present of lessons at a local martial arts school.
Billy says he enjoyed the training but the school was more focused on karate which didn’t feel quite right. After the trial was over, he tried another school and then another which taught Kung Fu. Right away, the second school clicked so he and Nancy both signed up for lessons in the same form of Kung Fu they teach today.
“Like in the movies, the school was right above a laundromat,” Nancy remembered.
The pair learned the differences between karate, which can be compared to a stick used intuitively and forcefully, and Kung Fu which is like a properly used whip which is more circular and soft. It’s the softness that paradoxically develops the hardness and power.
Kung Fu is taught dynamically to develop speed and power while Tai Chi , a form of Kung Fu, slows everything down. The purpose of slowing down is to make everything faster. By training and relaxing the muscles and eliminating wasted motion, practitioners enhance their coordination. Then, when they speed up the motion, they’re moving very precisely.
Sadly, the school closed. But fate moves in mysterious ways. There were no similar facilities in the area. So, wanting to keep the training going, Billy formed a club for students of the former school. Able to use facilities at a local high school, they held lessons once a week and sometimes had guest teachers. When new schools opened in the area, the club dissolved.
Fortunately, Greer continued his training with good teachers. He explains that, instead of a system of rankings, Kung Fu has more of a “family” structure of students and teachers. He’s has mastered the training to the point where he has become a teacher and Shifu or a “father”. He is also a “disciple” of Kung Fu Master Willy Lin who brought the art to the United States 40 years ago and Tai Chi Master Chen ZhengLei – rarely bestowed honors.
In 2000, following the closing of another school in Annapolis, the Jing Ying Institute opened at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold, teaching Kung Fu and Tai Chi to students from ages four to 94. The Greers took over the school and after making it their full-time business, it has steadily grown in the years since.
Easygoing and generous by nature, the Greers easily adapted to the tenets of Kung Fu, creating a welcoming, family and community oriented exercise environment that also extends to the Wednesday morning classes they hold weekly at the Severna Park Community Center.
Students are drawn to Jing Ying Institute classes for many reasons, not the least of which is the health benefits derived from Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Modern scientific studies, including a Harvard medical study conclude that Tai Chi, specifically, improves bone density, blood pressure, reduces stress, and improves strength, flexibility and balance. It encourages healthy socialization and also is meditative in that your thoughts are totally focused on the movement you are performing screening out random thoughts and calming your mind.
“We like to say Jing Ying emphasizes Self Defense and Health Defense,” Nancy said.
From the beginning, Jing Ying Institute honored the Kung Fu objective of “becoming good persons” by becoming involved with the community. They encouraged students to participate with them in causes ranging from raising funds for huge disasters like the Southeast Asian Tsunami of 2004 to raising funds for local institutions like SPAN.
In addition to learning how much their students wanted and appreciated opportunities to help their community, the Greers made a very important discovery.
“We realized we were of too modest means to be philanthropists ourselves but we have a space in which to bring the community together to make individual contributions and our students, in particular, welcomed the opportunity to do so.,” Billy said. “Altogether, we raised $115,000 for charities ranging from SPAN, Inc., Bello Machre and the Bernie House to Ark of the Chesapeake among others.”
For the fifth year, the Greers and students will participate in the “Kick Alzheimer’s to the Curb!” Walk to End Alzheimers at Sandy Point State Park on Sunday, October 17.
Jing Ying Institute and the Greers, personally, have contributed much by helping to organize and participating in community events. Nancy is a past president and board member of The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce and still chairs various committees. Among other events, she has helped organize the Anne Arundel County Police Eastern District’s National Night Out at Earleigh Heights Firehouse. She’s also an ASPIRE award winner and a Maryland Small Business Association Women In Business Champion.
Jing Ying students are champions too. Though tournaments are not really a feature of the school and not a focus of the training, students do participate in an occasional competition as a way of sharpening their skills. Thus, they have collected an impressive array of trophies over the years that the school displays above one wall.
In addition, the Greers and their students take part in many local events including the Severna Park Independence Day Parade and National Night Out performing martial arts demonstrations and their famous Lion Dance. The Jing Ying Lion (which some people mistake for a dragon), a product of an artist’s imagination, originated because there were no lions in China.
Nancy and Billy Greer and the Lion tend to pop up at many different events and will be doing so again as Gold Level sponsors and participants at the Greater Severna Park and Arnold’s Shoptoberfest next Saturday, October 23 from 11 am to 3 pm. They’ll also be hosting Jing Ying’s Halloween Drive-Thru at the school on Saturday, October 30 from 2:30 to 3:30 pm. Decorate your car and/or wear a costume and grab a Grab-and-Go Treat Bag. The Drive-Thru is a “free” community event open to the public but you must pre-register at JingYing.org. You can also check out Jing Ying Institute’s schedule of children’s and adults classes at Best Martial Arts Program in Annapolis, Severna Park (jingying.org)
SHOPTOBERFEST, the ultimate #SHOP LOCAL event
Looking for the ultimate #SHOPLOCAL opportunity? You’re in luck. The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber’s SHOPTOBERBEST is being held at Park Plaza on Saturday, October 23 from 11 am to 3 pm.
Chamber CEO Liz League tells us that 45 local businesses will be participating. For just a sampling, they range from The Cottage, Lisa’s Cakepops, and Bulldog Schwinn and Sports, to Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery, Park Books, Blended Essentials, JB’s, Park Tavern and so many others. Sponsors include Landmark Roofing, Kogen Do Jo and Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi.
SHOPTOBERFEST, with its Trick or Treat Twist, will provide the perfect opportunity to get acquainted or reacquainted with our local businesses. – a chance to shop till you drop. And it will be fun!
The FREE event will include trick or treating and a costume contest for kids as well as a costume contest for dogs. Can’t wait to see Rover or Fido decked out in the latest Halloween fashions. There will be music and entertainment and a photo booth. Best of all, you’ll be supporting community businesses. As Liz League likes to say, “Withoug community businesses, you don’t have a community.”
For information, visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com) .
