DEIRDRE TOHILL: LIVING, THINKING & BEING
WHAT’S NEW AT SERVILLES PONSONBY IT’S BEEN A LONG SUMMER AND YOUR HAIR MAY WELL BE SHOWING THE effects. Libby Whaley and her team at Servilles Ponsonby are really excited about the standard of treatments that are currently available at the salon, from the likes of Wella and Kérastase. “The technology is amazing! The treatments don’t add any extra time to your service, but they make your hair look and feel beautiful.” Time is often of the essence for Servilles Ponsonby clients, and to that end Libby has introduced the Blow Dry Bar. “We are going to be doing lots of quick hairdos for people on the run, who have 20 mins and want to pay $25-$40 and look a million bucks. We’ve had our Style Express service for about three years, where clients just come in for an ironing, but people wanted more without undergoing a full hair-up.”
AN AGE OLD DISCIPLINE EVERY MONDAY AND THURSDAY EVENING MICHAEL FARLEY TURNS UP AT the Saint Columba Church hall in Grey Lynn to train children and adults in the ancient practice of Shaolin Kung Fu. The official name of his class is the Nam Pai Chuan Kung Fu School which is a national organisation with headquarters in Palmerston North. The school is run by New Zealand and Australia founder, Gary O’Sullivan who is also a professor at the Palmerston North Teachers College. Gary was born in London of Irish immigrants and when a schoolboy, didn’t take kindly to discipline, so much so that his mother took him to a martial arts class at the age of seven. His behaviour improved and he began a lifelong study of martial arts, including Tae Kwon Do, Wu Shu Kwan and Judo, finally training with Master Lai Khee Choong who runs a Shaolin School in London. When Gary and his family emigrated to New Zealand he was given permission to teach the art in the Asia-Pacific. Michael has also been in and out of martial arts since he was a young child, and like Gary he tried a number of systems before finding what he believes is the best school of all. The history of Shaolin Kung Fu dates back to about 520 AD and is shrouded in tradition and myth but it’s generally accepted it is the progenitor of popular arts such as Karate, Judo and Taekwondo. It uses a mixture of different techniques using feet and hands in self defence. This involves kicking, punching, locking, throwing and some ground work. Instead of meeting force with force, kung fu practitioners deflect an attack while aiming their retaliation at an opponent’s weak points. This allows a smaller defendant to defeat a larger attacker. Michael, or Gow Lian which means Instructor, is very passionate about his art and is particularly keen to invest time into passing on his skills to children. With this in mind, he set up his school three years ago and because of the amount of bullying and abductions that occur he believes it’s important they learn how to protect themselves. Developing self discipline is just as important and when his time is up they will be the ones who’ll continue the good work. Nam Pai Chuan Kung Fu schools are located throughout New Zealand and all of the instructors have day jobs. Any money they make goes back into the clubs to pay for daily running costs such as hall hire, training equipment and general administration. It’s a true not for profit organisation and the Gow Lian’s give their time freely due to a fervent belief in the benefits of Kung Fu and its philosophy.
Servilles Ponsonby also boasts three new stylists this year. James Bong moves to the salon from Servilles Takapuna and comes very highly recommended. Lance Ainofo has come back from Australia and Katie Hook is back from the UK. Libby says Lance and Katie are very creative. “They are for the market who want to look fantastic as well as have changes to their hair, each time.” As far as product goes, Libby and her team are loving the O&M range from Australia. Libby tells Ponsonby News that O&M was invented by a hairdresser who was developing allergies, and hence it’s sulphate, paraben, propylene glycol, MIT and triclosan chemical-free. “It’s really good for the eco-minded, and it smells so good you could eat it,” she says. On the artistic front, Servilles Ponsonby has just done a photoshoot that will be going up in their windows (you can see the looks in their Ponsonby News ad), and has some more shoots coming up for the L’Oréal Colour Trophy competition in July. When asked about her collaborators Libby says “we are loving working with Smashbox Cosmetics - we only use them and all the artists are incredibly talented. Our photographer Heather Keats is divine to work with - she really sees beauty in everything. Jackie from our front desk did all the styling using fashion from the shops around us - a skill I didn’t even know she had until now! All in all, Servilles Ponsonby are enjoying a strong beginning to a busy year - they are already seeing growth two months into 2013 (JULIE ROULSTON) PN SERVILLES PONSONBY, corner Jervois and Ponsonby Roads, T: 09 378 9799 www.servilles.com/salon/salons/ponsonby
Libby Whaley of Servilles Ponsonby
Michel says the head organisation has a community ethos and as an instructor he feels part of a large family, which is a reward in itself. Presently he is training 15 children and a combined adult class of 20. He hasn’t been actively promoting the club except by word of mouth but the time has come to cast the net wider. Normally it takes about five years for a club to ground itself and he and his team often fund raise to purchase the best training equipment for the students, subsidise training related costs for some, and most importantly create awareness in order to recruit new trainees. This year they performed demonstrations at the Chinese New Year extravaganza. The classes are held on Monday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 7pm for children and 7 to 8pm for adults. Michael prefers that children start from age six onwards. This gives them time to settle in at school before being thrust into something else. Fees are minimal - for children only $5.00 a lesson and adults $10.00. The aim is to provide the best martial arts training in an enjoyable atmosphere where students, adults and children will improve their fitness, make new friends and learn the best self defence techniques. When looking for a martial art the number of choices can be a bit daunting so to make an informed choice do a lot of reading and visit a few classes, preferably those held at Grey Lynn! (DEIRDRE TOHILL) PN
66 PONSONBY NEWS+ March 2013
PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)