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Billy Greer

Owner of Jing Ying Institute

As a young child, I was never very athletic and was always small for my age. I discovered wrestling in high school and was hooked by this sport where size didn't matter. I was not naturally quick or strong, so I felt I needed to work twice as hard as my teammates. I became interested in all aspects of health, fitness and nutrition; reading as much as I could, then putting what I learned into practice. During the off season, I joined the gymnastics team to help improve my strength and flexibility and the cross-country team to help improve my endurance. By my senior year, I was a wrestling team captain and a district champ.

In 1977, it was off to Hampden-Sydney College where I continued to run Cross Country and to wrestle. One of the highlights of my running career was having the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon in 1978. I was also Captain of the Cross Country team my senior year. I was Captain of the Wrestling team my sophomore, junior and senior years. In wrestling, I also won the Sportsmanship Award my freshman and senior years. During my junior and senior years, I won the Most Valuable Wrestler Award and I was the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champion at 134 lbs. As a senior, the college awarded me the Joshua Warren White Award for Sportsmanship.

My studies in fitness and health convinced me that most of what we accept as part of growing old has more to do with changes in lifestyle rather than actual age. As I left college and moved into the work world, I was convinced that I would stay active and avoid falling into a sedentary lifestyle dictated by work. I continued to run, but found that wrestling was not a sport easy to continue after college. Knowing I had always been interested in martial arts, my wife Nancy signed me up for some trial classes in karate as a birthday gift in the summer of 1987. Although I enjoyed them, the karate classes weren't really what I was hoping for from the martial arts so I did not continue after the trial period. Fortunately, the classes did provide the momentum to get me looking at other schools in the area and when I tried a kung fu class at the Dennis Brown Shaolin Wu-Shu Academy in Glen Burnie, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Nancy and I both signed up for classes and began training enthusiastically. Within a short while, we were both getting into great shape. Despite having never been athletic or interested in sports, Nancy could soon keep up with the best of us when it came to sit ups, kicks or holding stances. Unfortunately, she started experiencing motion sickness and nausea which made classes less enjoyable. We soon discovered she was pregnant! As her pregnancy progressed, she decided to discontinue classes. Despite falling in love with the training, I was also forced to discontinue classes about a year after starting when the school was closed. With a new baby at home and more responsibilities at work, I decided to wait before finding another school to start training again.

While my work garnered me recognition  and rapid advancement, it also led to my becoming less physically active. One day I realized that I was spending most of my day sitting in front of a computer. My weight peaked at about 25 pounds heavier than when I left college, and I could no longer consider myself an active person. I knew I needed to get myself out of this trap that I said I would never let myself fall into. Deciding to start off slowly, I signed up the kids and I for the Friday PE classes at Jing Ying Institute. Through attending some of the monthly tests and meeting some of the students, I realized that the kung fu classes at Jing Ying had everything that had originally attracted me to the martial arts. The school also had a family friendly atmosphere that seemed perfect for me and the kids. So, after only a 15 year "wait" before finding another school, I enrolled with the kids in the summer of 2003 and we made a pact to stay together at each level for the first year, no matter how much faster one of us might learn than the others. Of course, I thought that as an adult with almost a year of previous training, I might advance too quickly for the kids without this agreement. In hindsight, I realize that starting training at 44 does not necessarily give you any advantages over teenagers! Fortunately, Glen and Lane generously help their ol' dad remember the moves in new forms.

Within a few months of starting classes, the extra weight I had picked up since college was disappearing. After two years, I was back to my college weight and my strength and flexibility were improving immensely. In the third year, I actually started adding weight as I gained some muscle mass from more intense training. While I am not yet as flexible as I was in my days as a high school gymnast, I am heartened by studies showing it is possible to improve flexibility well into your 70s. A nagging shoulder pain and several other aches have also disappeared since I started training. I am once again convinced that so much of the weight gain, stiffness, aches and strength loss we attribute to the normal aging process are actually results of lifestyle changes that occur as we get older. Age brings the added responsibilities of work and family that often cause us to give up activities that provide much needed exercise. As we become more sedentary, our joints and muscles start to feel "old." Fortunately, the regular exercise provided by Kung Fu training can help rejuvenate those joints and muscles. Kung Fu is also a great brain exercise. Sparring is one of my favorite activities because the very nature of dealing with an unpredictable partner forces you to think and react quickly and it allows you the opportunity to experiment with strategies and techniques to find what works best for you. I also enjoy learning and practicing forms because of the opportunity to go beyond simply memorizing a sequence of moves and instead trying to fully understand the purpose of the moves and becoming aware of the body mechanics involved.

Pertinent Experience and Recognition:

Pre-med biology major in college with interest in nutrition and physiology.
High School and College Wrestling including Olympic Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition
Taught Gymnastics to boys and girls ages 5 to 17 for Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation
Taught Gymnastics to boys and girls ages 3 to 17 at Docksiders Gymnastics in Maryland including Boys Program, Girls Program, Coed Preschool, Homeschool and Daycare Classes, Cheerleading Camps and private lessons.
Who's Who Among Rising Young Americans, 1993 edition
Who's Who in the East, 24th Edition
Who's Who in Science and Engineering

Kung Fu and Tai Chi student of Shifu Sean Marshall
Also trained with Mfundi Tayari Casel

Seminars and workshops with Willy Lin, Chen ZhengLei, Chen XiaoWang, Chen XiaoXing, Zhu TianCai and Wang HaiJun

Numerous medals in tournaments including gold medals for sparring, forms, weapons, push hands and tai chi.
 

Tim Cherry

I began my training in Kung Fu under Shifu Sean Marshall in February of 1999 at East West Martial Arts which later moved and became Jing Ying Institute. I started assisting in classes at Jing Ying in 2002 and started instructing in 2004.

I enjoy instructing because it gives me a deeper understanding of the forms and the fighting aspects of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. I also enjoy watching students progress from beginner to advanced levels.

I continue to train to improve my flexibility, stamina and strength and to improve my self-defense skills.

Scott Dunmyer

(Currently away on sabbatical)

Contemplation

I never studied martial arts as a young child. My path was a much less contrived one, as it began with the study of Buddhism and meditation. In my late teen years I was fortunate enough to realize that my perception of life was quite superficial, which I set out to change. Eventually, in my studies of Buddhism and Taoism I began to understand how undertaking a martial practice with truly honest intentions would be of great value to my path. The simple act of taking care of the body creates the foundation to develop mindfulness and compassion. Physically, martial arts makes the body more supple and healthy, so energy is able to flow freely through the body, which mentally, allows one to benefit from the discipline of a concentrated mind which transcends into all aspects of life. One can achieve a calm and controlled mind, rather than an erratic mind that bounces from one thought to the next, and the ability to conquer afflictive emotions, which will lead to mindfulness and compassion for all beings, thus improving your life and that of those around you. Many see these benefits in practice of forms, but not in sparring. I find the two inseparable. The meditative aspect of forms is apparent, and while sparring is excellent body conditioning, it is also a truly effective means to develop mental and emotional control that will manifest in everyday life, helping you to realize aggression and conflict only leads to suffering. The easiest way to destroy something is to allow it to reach its extreme; therefore, the greatest benefit one can achieve from sparring is eradication of mental defilements (such as anger) and cultivation of compassion. Additionally, if conflict can not be avoided, one is able to keep the aggressor from harming himself or herself, and hopefully turn them towards a happier state of being.

Experience

Bearing some of this in mind and discovering some of it along the way, I undertook my first martial experience sparring "bare knuckle" in my friend's basement (not advisable). Shortly thereafter I began studying with Shifu Harouna Soumah, who offered a Jeet Kune Do curriculum which introduced me to Filipino martial arts, Muay Thai, Wing Chun and Jun Fan boxing. Eventually I coaxed my teacher into also teaching me Shaolin Wushu. I practiced this odd regiment day and night in between work and school and found myself teaching about eight months later. I then began teaching a Jun Fan boxing class for a local college which gave me freedom to develop a solid teaching style. Shifu Soumah provided a great foundation, but wanting to grow with the creativity of the Shaolin arts, I asked Shifu Sean Marshall to take me as a student where I began my study of Northern Shaolin at East-West Martial Arts. Eventually the school was moved to its current location in Arnold, MD with the name Jing Ying Institute where I teach Northern Shaolin Gongfu and Yang Style Taijiquan. I also teach Tiangang Qigong and Yang Taiji for the Sage House Herb Company, and in July of 2002 I completed training as a novice monk at the Monkgol Tempunee Buddhist Temple which I feel was a great asset that will contribute positively to my teaching.

Teaching

I consider the opportunity to teach to be a great blessing. I try my best to make Jing Ying a place of solace, free of ego false perception and distraction. By gauging each student's personality mental disposition and ability I attempt to adapt the teaching to a way best suited for him or her to absorb. Whatever the student is willing to put into his or her training, will be more than reciprocated as long as they are motivated by the purest intentions to better themselves and help others. This I feel is the reason to train in martial arts.

Bless everyone!

Glen Greer

I began taking PE classes at Jing Ying in the Fall of 2001 at the age of 13. In the summer of 2003, I started the Kung Fu program. I like to push myself to test the limits of my abilities and have already seen big improvements in my strength and flexibility.

I help out with the kids classes when needed and find that instructing others helps me gain a deeper understanding of the forms.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, listening to music, weightlifting and raising pigeons.

Lane Greer

I began taking PE classes at Jing Ying in the Fall of 2001 at the age of 9. In the summer of 2003, I started the Kung Fu program. I quickly fell in love with the physical and mental challenges of learning Kung Fu. When we started, it seemed like it would be hard to find time to train twice a week, but now it's hard to go for a day without Kung Fu!

In 2004, I also started studying Tai Chi and find that it is a wonderful complement to the Shaolin Kung Fu training.

I help out with the kids classes when needed and find that instructing others helps me gain a deeper understanding of the forms.

I enjoy listening to music, reading, drawing, writing and raising pigeons. I am also studying Chinese.

Clayton Barrow

 I have studied kung fu at Jing Ying  since the summer of 2000. In 2001 I had the opportunity to go to China with my classmates where I studied Praying Mantis style. I was proud to earn my black sash in the summer of 2004 with my younger sisters Anne and Arlene. Since then I have had the opportunity to work with beginners as an instructor. I am presently on hiatus from teaching and just filling in on occasion, but don’t let that stop you from coming to me with questions! I am excited to be learning new forms, weapons, and fighting techniques as a black sash. I look forward to many more years of training at Jing Ying.

Arlene Barrow

My name is Arlene Barrow and I am twelve years old. I’ve been studying kung fu since I was eight. I earned my black sash in July of 2004. I’ve been an assistant instructor for three years. It’s great to watch the students improve. Kung fu is fun and challenging! I still have fun learning new forms and techniques and I plan on training here for a long time.

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