A heartfelt request

My "kung-fu cousin" Krissy, who studies Wah Lum in the Tampa, Fla. area, posted a special request over on Dragon's List. I'm adding it here for those who may have missed it the first time.

"On Sunday evening, November 12, 2006, Justin went to the ER for what he thought was pinched nerve in his neck. He had been having horrible headaches and some numbness on the left side of his body. After a cat-scan it was discovered that he had a 4cm BRAIN TUMOR, that had to be operated on right away. He was immediately admitted to the ICU.

"Justin had surgery today, November 16, 2006, at 6:30 a.m. The surgery took 8 hours and he came through it with flying colors. He will be kept in a medicine induced coma for a few days, and then they will be able to determine what damage, if any, was done due to the surgery. (This can include personality changes, loss of motor/speech skills, memory loss, seizures, etc.)

"While Justin does have insurance, it only covers 90% of his medical bills. He is a truck driver for Anheuser-Busch, so if he is affected by seizures from the surgery, he will have to look for a new job. He is a newlywed, and although his wife, Rosie, works as a CNA at a nursing home, she will be forced to take an upaid leave of absence once Justin gets out of the hospital to care for him.

"If you can find it in your heart to donate anything towards a trust account that we have set up, it will be greatly appreciated. Even $1 would help, because remember they add up!"

Details available on the MySpace page created for Justin. Many good folks have donated, but Justin is not out of the woods yet. If you don't have money, please send some good mojo his way instead, as it is equally appreciated!

The 20-Year Man

There's a story told in tai chi circles of a student who went to a tai chi master and asked how long it would take him to master the art. "Ten years," said the master. "Then I will study twice as hard as your best student so I can master the art faster," said the student. "In that case," said the master, "It will take you twenty years."

Everybody wants the ultimate fighting move. The one that not only takes out opponents of every size, but also impresses members of the opposite sex.

So many people sign up for martial arts training wanting to learn as many fighting techniques as possible in the fastest time possible. "Give me more forms." "Teach me the next technique." Most commercial schools indulge this want by promoting students as soon as they can mimic the necessary movements.

I'm not going to criticize the practice here; commercial schools have to make money to stay in business, and to make money they have to retain students. It's a cruel reality of the free market system. But students need to be aware of this fact: you may have the movements memorized, but real understanding of what you just learned can take months and even years to achieve. The more you practice and study, the faster you will achieve understanding.

The tai chi story is both a warning about impatience and a parable about real mastery of an art. Hurry through the techniques to get to the next one, and you'll have to double back and relearn the techniques to understand them properly. Dedicate yourself to understanding an art from the beginning, and you will probably progress much more slowly than the average. But you will insist upon gaining a deeper understanding of the skills you learned, and twenty years won't seem nearly enough.

So how does that work? You practice as hard as you can but it still takes twice as long to master the art? The key is practice with intent.

Zen and the art of baseball

A common question in the martial arts world among students is "How many forms do you know?" Mostly, beginners ask this. Intermediate students might ask, "How many techniques have you learned?"

Just remember before answering, that quality is always better than quantity. I think baseball is a near-perfect analogy to this.

There isn't much to baseball on the surface. You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. That's it.

Of course, if you're a fan of the game, you know there's much more to it than what's on the surface. You throw the ball -- what pitch do you deliver? You hit the ball -- there's a dozen adjustments to make depending on the pitch you think will be thrown, and the pitch that is actually thrown. You catch the ball -- distance and timing are everything.

Baseball players spend years, even decades, perfecting the techniques needed in their main playing positions. Hitting, catching, or throwing. And most are known for particular specialties: a fast baserunner. A home-run slugger. A tricky changeup.

Nobody makes fun of a professional pitcher who has three good pitching techniques. So there's no need to compare how many forms one student has over another, or how many techniques one knows.

I remember early on in my studies, a fellow student who had a habit of bragging about his soccer skills, pestering instructors for more techniques, and hitting hard and uncontrolled in body conditioning and sparring. One day he complained loudly about having to do a block-punch combination yet again. "What is this, a karate class? We should be learning more complicated techniques," he said ... or something to that effect (his grammar was as good as his soccer skills). Well the instructor said "go" while he was whining, and next thing he knew, his partner's fist was sailing toward his nose. Later on, talking through the bloodstained bandanna someone lent him, it was clear he hadn't gotten the message. "I could've blocked that better with a mantis technique."

The message here is, practice each technique with full concentration and intent, no matter how simplistic it seems. They are in the curriculum to teach you important basic principles that apply across the board at every skill level.

You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.

Take pride in your school

I trained for a couple of years at our system's main school in Orlando. It is a big facility with open pavilions and a tile floor in the main training area. About once a quarter, one of the big Saturday events is cleaning day. The school is cleaned top to bottom, all the equipment is cleared off the floors and spray hoses and mops are used to scrub the concrete and tile. This is an effort in which all the instructors participate, from head instructor to the most junior, and some students who volunteer to help out. And one will also see si gung among the crowd, with his shoes off and trousers rolled up just like everyone else.

Which is why it's galling to see some students or instructors lounging around on the benches while the sifu cleans our school.

Students don't always know that the volunteerism is appreciated. That's where instructors should be setting the example. Students aren't usually asked to help clean because they pay full tuition and I guess sifus are uncomfortable requiring them to donate extra time to a mundane activity. But the instructors are receiving extra training, often at no extra cost. Plus there's a leadership element that they have been entrusted with. Plus they're representing their school. If you're proud of your school you won't let trash sit around or avoid cleaning the floor.

Maybe the excuse is, "Well there are already three people cleaning right now, so I don't want to get in the way." Fine, but it always seems to be the same people cleaning and the same people lounging.

If you're a student but you see cleaning needs to be done, ask the sifu if you can help. He may say that he or someone else will take care of it, but believe me, sifus appreciate that you asked. If you're an instructor, you already know what you need to do. I hope nobody thinks they're too good for cleaning. I hope I'm completely wrong in my observations.

Something for later

Today is one of those days where there will not be enough time to do everything. It's still early morning and I know, already, that I won't get my workout in and I will be running full-tilt until well past dark.

But I want to write something about learning kung fu for the first time -- how to go about it. And about seminars and workshops and pay rates, which are frequent hot topics on martial arts forums. So, when I get settled in next, I'll write something.

Learning curve

So this weekend I'm teaching a basic stance drill to a couple of students, having them follow me through the exercise. I turn into dun san ma (hill climbing stance) and look around at the student behind me, and his stance doesn't look right at all. So I have them follow me through the exercise again to see if he's just uncomfortable with the transitions, and when we turn into dun san ma, his stance doesn't look right again.

Then I look at my own stance and realize ... it's me. He's mirroring my own screwed-up, uncomfortable stance.

I know what I'll be working on this week.