新年快乐Happy New Year 2026

by Sifu Nick Francis

We did it!

We made it!

We made it through another year!

We faced another year of obstacles.

Another year of learning.

Another year of growing.

Another year of overcoming!

Argue you may, but the fact that you are reading this means that you are succeeding!

The end of the year shouldn't only be a time of looking forward,

it should also be a time of celebrating what has past!

We need to celebrate...

Your life.

Your battles.

Your passion.

Your loss.

Your strength.

Your faith.

Your hope.

Your love.

Pause for a moment.

Remember the challenges. Remember the wins. Remember the loss.And remember, most of all, that you made it through.

You did it!

Good?

Done?

Now, when you are ready...

No need to rush. No need to hurry.

but...

We have to move on!

If you have missed my previous updates, and care for the full context of what I am about to share, take a moment and go back to the past two blogs: PART ONE & PART TWO

... cause here is PART THREE

Although I am actually still recovering from some of my own 2025 late year challenges,

the thing I want you to see here are those three letters written on the board that I viewed from my hospital bed.

It reads:

"IND"

Those are the three letters that ended my crises.

They were also the three letters pointing to my only path forward.

A question.

A choice.

And one that only I could make!

The letters meant this.

INDEPENDENT

If I may explain. After I was cleared from any serious health risks, the hospital staff wrote these letters on the board in my room. They meant that they were releasing their supervision of me. They were letting me take my life back. After a long night of constant tests, physical examination and monitoring,

I was cleared to go home.However, I wasn't any better.

I was just going to have to heal somewhere else.

My healing would require time, patience, and adaptability.

This required a decision.This is precisely what it IND meant.

It meant that next steps were up to me.

Just so we are clear, "Independent" doesn't mean alone. It simply means that the only one who can make a choice for ourselves is ourselves.

Regarding my path forward,

I decided to press into the community at the Lancaster Wing Chun Association.

I chose to ask them for help.

...and they did.

This community offered:

• Encouragment

• Patience

• Care and Support

• Understading 

... and more!!!

 When I say that,

"The Lancaster Wing Chun Association exists

to build people through learning traditional Ip Man Wing Chun Kung Fu

in a safe and supportive environment."

I am here to tell you that they do it better than anyone!

While Wing Chun is all about self-mastery and taking responsibility for ourselves, it is our use of our own independence that gets us there. Each of us are the only ones who can use our independence to build and share lives we enjoy and are proud of. It is about facing the challenges before us and it is about overcoming, all in time, courage, and patience.

Independently, we build stronger, better lives together. 

 So today, as I see it, as 2026 begins, we all have a choice to make. We can lie in the infirmaries that become us, all in their due time, or we can choose to live a life worth celebrating with gentle discipline, commitment, kindness and consistency.

I am so glad that the Lancaster Wing Chun Association exists for just this reason.

I am so glad there are others who use their lives to build and encourage others.

Although I am known as Sifu here, I am also so proud to call those here my friends.

If you are looking for a place to grow, learn, and build community, there is room here for you to use your independence to build a stronger, better, more confident life with others.

You will be glad you did!

We will be glad you did!

新年快乐

Happy New Year!

(Xīn nián kuàilè)

P.S. Kelly and Alice, you were wonderful.

I am so grateful for your care and encouragement!

"The Lancaster Wing Chun Association exists

to build people through learning traditional Ip Man Wing Chun

in a safe and supportive environment."