Roles of Martial Arts Friendships (Series)

5 02 2016

“Greatness is never created in a vacuum.”

–unknown

 

I once heard a wise man say, that if an accomplished man ever told you he took his journey alone, you are listening to the words of an ungrateful man. The two sayings are connected; rarely does one man create greatness alone. He may be the mastermind of that greatness, but no man can do it alone. He may have thought up the entire plan for his climb but someone helped him. Perhaps they helped him in small ways–for example supporting him, assisting him, or even through conversations with him allowing him to work out his ideas verbally. Sometimes, that assistance can come through a rivalry when the competition fuels his drive to excel. Perhaps, it is some silent partner, student, or forgotten teacher who planted a seed that sprouted in the field of his imagination.

No man did it without help, and only a fool undertakes a mission alone.

The most well-known and greatest thinkers in the martial arts may have been given sole credit for their creations:

  • Bruce Lee
  • Chojun Miyagi
  • Mas Oyama
  • Helio Gracie
  • Yip Man
  • Wong Fei Hung

However, people rarely talk about the training partners, the rivals, the other teachers, the comrades with whom the Grandmaster-in-the-making shared his plans for evolution… History has a way of being biased like that. Even the greatest of prophets–Ibrahim/Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad (peace be upon them all)–had men in their presence whose contributions we know nothing about. I guarantee that each of these men assisted the other in some way, even if one was a follower of another.

Martial artists whether learning, developing, or teaching always need at least one martial arts friendship. This friendship need not necessarily be a training partner; that is simply one type of friendship. One of my best friends and training partners is a blind brother I taught Chi Sao to almost 30 years ago. He is terminally ill and I talk to him at least 4 or 5 times a month. Often, you can work out ideas simply by discussing them. Another close friend of mine is not a martial artist at all; he is a boxer who thinks 99% of martial artists are full of it. Yet, when he and I get together, he is more formidable than most martial artists I know. Although he downs the martial arts, due to our sparring sessions, he practices Eskrima and traps and elbows… all of which he incorporated into his “streetfighting” repertoire. I joke with him that he is a secret, “closet” martial artist, as he practices, trains, and uses these arts, but tells his colleagues they are “tricks” he picked up (he is a bodyguard and limo driver, and quite an effective streetfighter). I have several martial arts friends I mostly talk business with, who pick at me for my testosterone-laced flyers and advertisements and websites. Their advice is extremely valuable and humbling, as well as respected. Friendships where you both are like-minded and 100% in agreement are a waste of time; you improve when you disagree and must justify, argue, or defend your stance. It is through those exchanges that ideas are modified and sharpened. Remember that.

Today’s martial artist seem to gravitate towards their own kind. A roomful of men who agree on everything will leave that room having learned nothing during their time together. But get a roomful of Sifu/Sensei of different styles and mindsets, you will find that at the end of the day you will have a dynamic outcome… Some friendships will be built or severed, some will learn something new, some will go home questioning one’s own system, some will go home to train harder and investigate the arts deeper than they have ever done in their lives. Some will challenge each other. Some will fight and win, some will fight and lose. Some will chicken out, but go home to reflect on why confrontation made him uncomfortable. It is through this dessent–this disagreement–that martial artists evolve their ideas. They must be forced to defend their systems. Yes, you love Jow Ga or Wing Chun. Yes, you believe Praying Mantis is superior, or that Hung Gar is stronger. Yes, Bak Siu Lum or Tai Chi is more advanced… but why? If you do this, I can do that; what would you do then? This is where the rubber meets the road in martial arts relationships. In the classroom, you only need to show students what’s next and what’s in the curriculum. In the presence of your Sifu or your brothers, you only need to be personable and likeable. In public, your skills are irrelevant as long as you have decent lineage and an a nice personality. In none of these situations are you challenged to maintain skills or improve from wherever you were yesterday. Kung Fu is not something in which we should be stagnant. Unlike sports where 35 years old is considered past one’s prime, in the martial arts we are considered to be more valuable, more knowledgeable, and overall a better expert as we get older. How can this happen when you do not surround yourself with people who force you to become better? Do you improve simply by being involved in the arts longer?

One of my best friends, Sifu/Guro Billy Bryant, surrounded himself with training partners and sparring opponents until he was into his 50s. He is a man who would embarass the majority of men reading this blog, I guarantee it. Why can I say so with such confidence? Because I know that most martial arts teachers have not trained or sparred in years, and Billy at 50 years old held a gathering every month at his dojo in Pasadena, MD, where fighters came from all over to spar with him–including men who had beaten him in competition (yes, Billy was still fighting the last I saw him). And you read that right; when a man would beat him, Billy would invite him to his dojo for a rematch. It’s an excellent strategy for growth and excellence. He told me once, that you always keep guys who are superior to you in your company. Some men will just use the opportunity to beat you up regularly, others will want to help you improve–but BOTH men will help you become a better fighter regardless of his intent. Words to live by.

On the other end of the discussion are men like my Si Hing Tehran Brighthapt. He is arguably one of my Sifu’s top fighters. At 6’2″, 250+ lbs, he is both strong and quick, he is both aggressive and tricky, and an encyclopedia of knowledge. Each time Sifu Chin brought visiting masters in to teach, Bright, who does not like forms, would learn and either choose to adopt their lessons into his training program or file it away in the “entertainment purposes only” section of his memory. Like clockwork, regardless of holidays or snow storm, Brighthapt trained 2 to 4 hours every Saturday and Sunday in seclusion, stopping only to teach his hourlong sparring class. I have personally witnessed him pound the bag with wheel punches for 30 minutes with very few breaks while wearing ankle weights and brass rings. He did not like spectators to his training sessions, so one had to be on the other bag or dummy while he trained. He was always good for a quick lesson in Kung Fu fighting techniques, a sparring session, or Chi Sao practice. Being one of the men who could easily lick any man in the room, he always obliged if you asked. Yet despite his insisting on practicing alone–he had two regular sparring partners:  Si Hings Terrance Robinson and Lemuel Talley, both men of similar size and strength. As a child, I was usually told to leave the classroom and close the door behind me for their sparring matches. As a teen, when I was old enough to join them, I knew these sparring sessions to be with heavy contact and nothing to shake a stick at. Sometimes, when other visitors came around, whether or not they were Jow Ga fighters–they would join in those matches. So long periods of solo training would be broken by the occasional sparring match to test skill.

Just keep in mind, that whether you are a student, a young teacher, or a mature Master–we all need to remain in the company of people who will help us grow. Some may only be foes for philosophical debates, some may be fierce rivals, others can be training partners, some can be sparring partners–either superior or inferior. Choose your friends wisely. They all can help you with your journey. And often, you may not realize the impact they’ve had on you until years later, after you’ve reaped the benefits of their company.

There is more to say on this subject, but we will revisit in a future installment. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an issue! Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation.


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Categories : Kung Fu Philosophy

Teaching the Timid

31 01 2016

Today we will discuss some tips to help you come up with ways to teach one of our more difficult types of students:  The passive student.

Due to the way the Chinese martial arts have been labeled by the community–as well as how we have marketed them–Kung Fu schools have always attracted students who were not as interested in fighting and combat. Or perhaps they wanted to learn to fight, but feared sparring or training with contact. This is not commonplace for other martial arts, such as the grappling arts or stick-based arts, because those styles keep sparring and combat as a yardstick for measuring skill. In the Chinese arts, we highlight forms, the age of the systems, lion dance, health benefits, etc. Because of this, students come to the CMA not expecting to touch gloves, while in other martial cultures they simply assume that actual combat will be practiced regularly.

I have seen personally, and entire classroom of students get nervous when the Sifu announced that they will be sparring that day. A culture of prearranged defense and lack of emphasis of sparring has created entire generations of martial arts students who are here more for the “art” than the “martial”. In other words, we have entire generations of students who fear sparring. Sadly, a timid student becomes a timid Sifu, and nothing is worse than a school led by a Sifu who never learned to fight. Even worse than that, however, are students being put into fight competition by a Sifu who does not know how to fight.

To keep it simple, we will offer some solutions in bullet format:

  • Fear of fighting can either come from two places:  1. embarassment from failure (or fear of losing), or 2. fear of getting hurt
  • Fear of failure can be eliminated by drilling techniques, both attack and defense with a partner, in such high numbers, the student actually develops a high level of proficiency with those skills. Often, the lack of confidence is due to one’s realization that he/she has a low level of skill
  • Fear of getting hurt is eliminated by introducing the student to contact gradually. This is accomplished through holding pads during power hitting practice, allowing contact in drills–first lightly, and then increasing the amount allowed gradually. Most people can develop a high pain tolerance level, but the barrier is psychological. As students allow themselves to be hit more and more, they lose the fear of pain as they discover they can take it
  • Giving students ample time in practice for impact training. Too often, Kung Fu training is practiced solo, or students are instructed to pull techniques when face to face. Using a combination of kicking shields, focus mitts, and striking bags and posts–having students hit with power as well as being on the receiving end of the blows will give your fighters more confidence and build up their levels of aggression (referred to in the Jow Ga system as “fighting spirit”)
  • Impact training also leads to another type of confidence. When martial arts students realize the potential for damage with their skills, they also will develop a respect for their knowledge. Martial artists must learn what these arts can do to an opponent so that they do not become reckless with it. Irresponsible students who have never been hit in the jaw may deliver such strikes to opponents and training partners unnecessarily because they are unaware what it feels like. Once they have been on the receiving end, students can then regulate when, where, and how much power to use–as well as when not to use it
  • Do not fear allowing for mistakes in the gym. You cannot protect your students from getting hurt or minor accidents all the time. Let them sort it out themselves; not so much that you have students getting injured daily–but allow them to slip up and get popped. These lessons are valuable and helps to build resistance and pain tolerance
  • Another important source of confidence comes from physical strength. Many Kung Fu schools all but ignore strength-building exercises such as pushups, pull-ups and dips. Doing exercises that build muscular strength gives students powerful limbs and a strong physique, which leads to self-confidence. Although a muscular body is not indicative of fighting skill, it does give students a psychological edge against their opponents and provides physical resistance to injury. Strength of the core also helps the fighters resist injury when being hit
  • When introducing sparring, you consider having students spar with only two or three techniques. For example one student must use punches against opponents who are only allowed to use their right arm and leg to fight with. Be creative. This isolation builds competency quickly, is challenging and gives quick-thinkers an edge over some more physically gifted classmates, and is fun. Additionally, by isolating techniques, your fighters are forced to learn to adapt their skills to a number of attacks
  • Finally, the most basic way to deal with the timid:  Simply have them spar more. Gradually, of course, but do it more often. The more your students spar, the less they fear it, and surely, the better they become at it. It’s that simple!

Hopefully, we’ve given you some useful tips and make sure to give your students time to develop. The results won’t come overnight, but if they have had enough time–you will definitely see an improvement.

If you like this or any other article on this blog, please share and spread the word! And remember to subscribe! Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation. We welcome any tips, criticism and comments below.


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Categories : Technique and Strategy

A Not-So-New Way of Looking at Kung Fu Weapons (Reverse Engineering, pt II)

18 01 2016
Many of you know this weapon. But what do you DO with it? How do you practice with it?

Many of you know this weapon. But what do you DO with it? How do you practice with it?

Going to ask you to step out the box you’re normally in for this one… We’re going to file this article under  “Technique and Strategy”, too.

Typically, Kung Fu teachers limit most weapons practice to learning the skills necessary to perform the forms accompanying the weapon properly. I don’t believe this is enough. If one cannot simply learn a form and the basic applications and use them in fighting, why do we think we can do so with the weapons?

Looking at the history of most styles, many of our Si Jo were not experts at many weapons. Without referencing my library or visiting any websites, I recall that founders of systems I’ve read about studied hand techniques and often, only one or two weapons. Yet a century later, the schools teaching their arts often have ten or more weapons in their curriculums. How many of your system’s history also includes a history of each weapon in your curriculum? I’ll give an example using myself. My system speaks of only one weapon/form, in its history the 8 Diagram Pole. Yet Jow Ga–depending on the lineage and school–offers as many as 12 or more weapons and forms. I do pass on to my students however, the story behind five weapons I was taught by him in close detail:  the double headed staff, the spear, the broadsword, the three-sectioned staff, and the double daggers. I have learned all the weapons my lineage has, yet these five weapons I know the best because I spent years with my teacher learning them. Training was not just form also. We had diagrams, techniques practice, combinations, I practiced techniques for use against other weapons, applications for the techniques of these weapons to modern “non” weapons, power-generating practice, applications of the techniques to the empty hand, and sparring. When I speak to other Si Hing about their experience with our Sifu, I discovered that these weapons appeared to be his weapons of choice as well. As a young instructor, I received further instruction from my Si Gung on the staff that were quite different from that which I learned from my Sifu, so my students now get a sixth story to add to their Jow Ga history. If you are one of the fortunate ones to still have access to your Sifu, I would highly encourage you to question him about these same things, as often our teachers neglect to give us the source of such knowledge and technology.

Taking our previous discussion about “Reverse Engineering”, (if you hadn’t read it, please read that article so that this one makes more sense) I have a strong suggestion for you. Take one weapon form from your system and give yourself 12 months to deconstruct it. Apply the Reverse Engineering philosophy to that form and weapon, and whatever you come up with make a list into two groups:  Group I and Group II. Group I would be the easy, superficial applications that one could surmise by simply learning the form. Start with the first technique in the form, and make your list of techniques all the way to the last. Skip anything that doesn’t actually look like a technique. Then Group II would be the applications that are more difficult (some of these could be techniques that appear in Group I, but are alternative applications) to execute and requires more training and practice. Be sure to include in Group II those things that make no obvious sense; you will work and rework these techniques until you have exhausted all possibility that the techniques are useful. You now have a working curriculum for that weapon.

Allow me to offer what I have done with my Jow Ga weapons training. Perhaps you may see something you like:

  1. Perform your weapon’s form 100 times. Yes, you read that right, 100 times. You should begin any new endeavor within your system with a thorough understanding of what you are doing. This comes in part from a Filipino proverb, that a skill is not learned until it has been performed 500 times. 500 is a lot to ask for an entire Kung Fu form, which is why I am suggesting 100 for starters. I know over 40 forms, yet there are 8 that I have performed 500 times, and two that I have performed 1,000. Doing so will reveal things to you that will escape most people. My Sifu, who died prematurely, had also confided in me that he had performed three forms 100 times in his youth consecutively and he considered himself an expert of those forms. I am merely continuing his research.
  2. Identify all possible techniques into “Group I/Group II” categories. Leave no stone unturned. Make sure that you can easily answer the question, “Sifu, what’s this for?”  You would be surprised how many Kung Fu experts cannot answer that question for a good portion of things in their system. Everything has a use; everything has a reason for being there… it’s up to you to discover them. If you can’t answer “why” and “how”, my question is, why do you do it at all?
  3. Identify the basic strikes, blocks, traps, cuts, etc., necessary to form a proper foundation with the weapon. Many of you may have them. Some of you only have them for certain weapons, and only a form or two for others. Dissect the weapon so that you can truly understand them. This list will make up daily practice for those learning the weapon. The same way you perform stance training, punching practice, Chi Sao, impact training, hand conditioning, blocking practice, etc., with the empty hand–you should also have the same regimen offered when students are learning a weapon.
  4. Your curriculum is 50% created; now become a guinea pig. Take your basics, train only those things for 3 months religiously. Focus on those weapons basics in place of what you normally train with for the empty hand in your system. Do your bag work (using the weapon). Do your shadowboxing (using the weapon). Have someone attack you so that you could practice your blocking (using the weapon). Even do some light sparring (using the weapon). Then take your Group I techniques, and train it for 3 months–doing the same as above. And finally, Group II. This will take you a year. Along the way, you should have new items, perhaps some things you want to eliminate or modify. You may even have created new drills. And I bet your skill with this weapon will be second to none. That can be the only outcome!
  5. The new discoveries should now have brought your weapons curriculum at least 25% more information. If not, you’re probably doing something wrong! Add this information to the list…
  6. Teach. Teaching, they say, is 1/3 of Mastery. You cannot class and seminar your way to Mastery; you must at some point, compile all you have learned and pass it on to students who lack your knowledge and skill. At this point, more will be revealed to you as you witness the students undergo the learning process. They will stumble, they will make mistakes, they will ask questions you hadn’t thought of. Where you were once the guinea pig, you now have a classroom full of eager test subjects–so teach!
  7. While they learn, go ahead and do your form 400 more times. In the course of learning, your students will teach you through their own imperfections. This will be a great opportunity to contribute to the evolution of your system and your lineage. After all, who are we but inheritors of our Masters’ work. They have passed it on to us to continue their quest for a more perfect system. Keep training, and by the 500th time you execute that form–I guarantee you will discover things that perhaps your own Sifu had yet found.

This was a 1,300 word article, but it will be a 2-3 year process. Keep this article in your “favorites” folder, and make it a part of your martial arts philosophy. One thing is for sure, if you do it, the next generation of students under you will receive a more potent, concentrated, better-researched version of what you could have given them. If you are satisfied with the outcome, it’s time for yum cha… breathe deep…. pull out a copy of your system’s curriculum. Which weapon’s next?

Life is short. Don’t waste time. There is so much work to do! Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation.


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Categories : Technique and Strategy

Reverse Engineering in the Art of Kung Fu Application

16 01 2016

It can be said that there are many paths to to success in martial arts, just as there are many roads to a destination. However, one cannot argue that all the paths and roads are created equal and are therefore objective. While you may prefer a particular method to develop proficiency in the martial arts, some methods are better than others. Some deliver more quickly than others. Some bring students to that point with better understanding of the art than other. And, like it or not–some can nearly guarantee great skill, while others can guarantee failure. Instructors must be realistic and honest in their approach to martial arts instruction. Perhaps you do not like form or fighting; but to dissuade students to ascribe to your approach and deny them the opportunity to decide for themselves is simply unfair and unethical. A good example of this are Sifus who were not proficient in sparring as young men, so as a teacher he tells his students that sparring leads to bad habits or worse:  Sparring is unnecessary. Rather than deal with the stress of facing to himself that he left some stones in his martial arts training unturned and fixing his short comings, it was easier to pretend that his failures were unimportant. Therefore, by convincing himself that sparring is unimportant or even unproductive, Sifu So-n-So could ignore that underdeveloped skill and not have to deal with it when producing new martial arts students.

One may observe that in the Chinese martial arts, we have many Sifu who do not have fighting/sparring skill and therefore do not teach it. And as the saying goes, there are many paths to the destination so we will deal with a road often ignored by many of today’s Sifu–even those who can fight.

Reverse Engineering

This is one of those paths that I’m referring to. How most Kung Fu practitioners practice, they divide training into possibly three or four areas. One might be basics. Stances, punches, blocks, kicks. Here, one would have their system’s drills and specialized skills like Chi Sao or Sam Sing/Chut Sing. The second would be forms practice. Learn the forms, then practice the performance of those forms. Tighten up your movements, pauses, foowork, jumps and sweeps. Mostly, in this second area, you are practicing to win a forms competition in a tournament. For many in the TCMAs, this takes up the bulk of your training time, and includes weapons. Sadly, when it comes to weapons, this appears to be the ONLY place Kung Fu people allow their weapons to be used. Weapons practice is rarely applied in any of the other areas. Empty hand forms, however, may see some applications extracted and practiced in the first phase, depending on the taste of the instructor. The third area is conditioning and fitness. As I get to visit more and more Kung Fu schools, I find that often this is thrown into the warm-up phase of practice or a part of the group class format, and little else is done in this area. It appears that superior conditioning, extreme body strength and flexibility is not as important to many of us, outside of what might be done in the course of a regular Kung Fu class. The fourth area, if utilized at all, is sparring practice. This should be integrated in some way with the other three areas, but most often it is not. This is the place that “Kung Fu” practice no longer looks like “Kung Fu”, and transforms into a quasi-kickboxing style training or point karate. You might find a few style-recognizable techniques thrown in here and there, like a trap or wheel punch or sweep. But more often than not, everything from the first three areas is abandoned for “practical” kung fu. In other words, “what works”.

The Reverse Engineers have a fifth phase, however, which is named after themselves. This phase is where the Sifu takes techniques directly from the form, extracts techniques and fits them into situations a fighter may find himself and applies techniques to those situations–whether or not it was the original purpose of the technique. Regardless of what your Sifu may have told you, the Kung Fu system as we know it is most likely between 100 and 200 years old. Few of us are actually training in a system that has been untouched or unmodified prior to that. (I’m going to refrain from my opinion that most Kung Fu styles are in fact 100 years or less in age, because I’d like to keep you as readers. Perhaps we may visit that theory at another time)  During the time these systems were created, many technological advances had not been made. For example the sparring glove, headgear, weight lifting, the jab, the punching combination or the one-legged/two-legged takedown. Does that mean we should ignore those things? So your system only addresses chambered punches aimed at the chest and has no built-in defenses from a rear naked choke or jab-cross combinations or hook punches… is there nothing in the style that can be used for those purposes?

This is where Reverse Engineering comes in. The forms in your system are broken down into core techniques and themed techniques. Those techniques and trained, studied, dissected and absorbed into your regularly-accessed arsenals. So when the opponent uses techniques not addressed by your system:  How to deal with a Spinning Heel Kick or a Tackle–you have something in your system’s first form that is perfect to stop it. Now, the entire system is dissected this way and modifications are found and created so that every possibility imaginable is addressed by something within your system’s forms. This reduces the need to cross train, combine arts, or abandon. In my opinion, this is the higher level of Kung Fu training, because it takes your system to a place that perhaps your own Sifu, his Sifu, or even your system’s founder–has not investigated. Rather than add more forms and more styles to your arsenal, you find new ways to apply and adapt the system and techniques you already know, thus adding an additional dimension to your style. Even a whole new set of techniques that your ancestors and senior were previously unaware. Using this philosophy, you take your first, second and fourth area of training, and join them with the fifth.

The Dean Chin Jow Ga lineage has in fact, incorporated some outside styles, forms and techniques to enhance our Jow Ga–but we are most certainly Reverse Engineers in this way. If you are not, before knocking it, give it a shot. You might like what you discover when you do so, regardless of the style you practice.

Or you could skip it and chalk forms practice off as “done for tradition/entertainment purposes only”, and go back to doing your Muay Thai and BJJ, while still calling yourself a “kung fu guy”. Not that there is anything wrong with it; like we always say–there are many paths….

Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation.


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Categories : Kung Fu Philosophy

Kung Fu’s “Changing Times”

24 12 2014

Let’s organize this article differently first. I would like to introduce the conclusion first, then the body. That should make this interesting….

Like it or not, Kung Fu is changing. It isn’t the “old days” anymore. You are now a dinosaur. Yes, you probably can’t relate to today’s Sifu–and especially today’s students. But guess what? These arts are older than the word “old”, and there was a time that some Sifu looked at what you called the “old days”, shook his head, and couldn’t relate. Bottom line… The martial arts is an ancient, but ever-changing, art. The key to staying relevant is to realize what the changes are, and to find a way to make the most of those changes.

Edit:  Instructor Charles Kwok (Hung Gar teacher in Richmond, Canada. He studies Mok Kwai Lan Hung Gar under Sifu Joseph Kwok, and Wang Kiu Wing Chun under Sifu Ray Van Raamsdonk) posed the following statement:

Been watching a few documentaries about different styles of kung fu. Many of them talk about the old days in Hong Kong. I noticed a common phrase they would use and that is “In the old days, life was hard.” So life was hard back then, the economy wasn’t great, so people had to work. However, they also all talk about how students would still show up to the school and practice hard. Nowadays I keep hearing people say that they have to work and therefore miss class. Kind of confusing if you asked me.

Something we often hear in the Chinese martial arts is how much older the Chinese arts is than other arts. We love to brag about how the Chinese culture birthed the “mother martial art” to other countries’ arts and other styles. On the other hand, there are many who consider Chinese martial artists as guys stuck in the past, who refuse to allow their arts to change and evolve. Even many that are considered classical and outdated (compared to modern/mixed styles) look at the Chinese martial artist and think how useless our arts happen to be. At the same time, the two groups may not realize that the other is here to stay, and both groups are as valid as any other. A good analogy is to look at the acceptance of rap music in American pop culture. When rap music was born, many thought it a fad that would be isolated among African American urban youth (even older African Americans scoffed at it)–and now look. Hip Hop culture is the single most influential form of pop culture in the world. While the African American may be seen as a second class citizen in America–Hip Hop culture as a subculture of the African American community has influenced music, dress, behavior, standards of beauty on every continent on the planet. Likewise, both MMA and Chinese martial arts are found in everything from the fitness industry, to fashion, to children’s cartoons, to applications in health care, and in every form of media.

Like I said, you just have to find your place.

The old days saw martial artists who were die-hard fanatics. People walked on the street wearing martial arts uniforms. My colleagues and I even passed up college educations to study the martial arts full-time. We took whatever abuse our teachers dished out in class, trained until our knuckles bled, and if we broke a bone–we took off the cast and fought in tournaments. One thing our Masters could count on… tomorrow night, regardless if it was Christmas Eve, we were hurt, or the lights were cut off–we were coming to class. Fighters were even tougher. They fought anyone anytime anywhere, and no one bickered over money. You accepted whatever the promoter was willing to pay, regardless of the rules or how long you had to train. The only thing that mattered was there was an opponent and I wanted to prove that I could beat him. Today? HUH! Fighters cancel fights because they got hurt in training. Go figure…

Teachers lament the caliber of students we attract today. When I came to Jow Ga in the 80s, my Sifu told my family I was too young–and I was 11. We visited three times, and had it not been for my Si Hing Raymond Wong, I might have gone to another school. But today’s Sifu is promoting kids younger than 11 to Sifu (and they call that a “Black Sash”, whatever that is). 😉  Today’s student is lazy, worried that he might get hurt, impatient, thinks the Sifu works for HIM since he is paying him, will quit if work gets busy/he gets married/has a child/finds a kwoon with more convenient classes or lower rates. Today’s student is younger, more fickle and impulsive, thinks he knows everything, will research your system’s history and argue that Shaolin is a fable and Da Mo didn’t create kung fu, blah blah blah….

But we have to understand that even the Kung Fu Sifu has changed, along with the art and the student, as well as how we run our schools. First of all, more information is available to students today than it was 30+ years ago. You have students who research all over the world via the internet before walking through your doors. Hell, with Youtube, I wouldn’t be surprised if guys joined your schools already knowing your school’s first form! The economy demands that teachers take on more students than he needed to 40 years ago. At one time, Kung Fu was only for the tough, and either you were strong enough to handle the training, or your took your sissy self to a dance studio. You can’t do that today, where rent is $2,000/month and students who get hurt will sue you. The martial arts, if it is to survive in today’s economy, must cater to the masses to a point. Either that, or you have a class for the average guy walking through your door–and a separate class for the hard-core students. Many of us have not found that middle ground, so we are either suffering financially or making a living but unable to put out the quality that our own Masters did. We also must understand that today’s student is more educated, probably has more on his plate than yesterday’s student, and has far more teachers and schools and lineages to choose from. Simply put, it takes more effort to retain students than it did yesteryear. We also must find a way to make what we do more relevant to the lives of the types of students we encounter today.

Teachers often have to decide if they will focus on fighting, form, competition, lion dance, fitness, children, street self-defense, or simply preserving the art. Yes, it is possible to do all of the above. However, there are far more Sifu in every city than there was 30 years ago when our Masters arrived on these shores (wherever “these shores” happen to be). Competition is fierce. Students are also more critical. When I lived in Baltimore in the 90s, I took students to a tournament and fought as a light weight. I won my division, but as usual, I lost to a larger opponent for Grands. Matter of fact, I sometimes beat the heavyweights, but found problems with faster-but-still-stronger middle weights. No biggie, Guro lost a match, and Monday it’s back to the grind at the school. Yet, today, a loss could mean a loss of students, as we real guys must compete against Masters who have claimed to have never lost a fight and movie characters who could beat 10 men, etc. There wasn’t pressure on teachers in the 80s to fight and be a champion, but in today’s community we have several “World Champion 10th Degree Grandmasters” in every city! Advertising is not as easy as it was years ago when you could simply say you teach Kung Fu and people joined. Today, you need to be slick, have a nice logo/slogan, claim a high rank, dress your school up like a Shaolin temple or MMA gym… It’s just not as bad a thing as it seems. Kung Fu in Hong Kong in the 60s is unlike in the hometown its masters came from in the 40s. Kung Fu systems under the founders are unlike they are today, even 20 years ago under your Grandmasters. We just have to find where the martial arts fits in the society we live in–then find a way to apply our knowledge in that society… not much different than finding out how techniques from the form must be applied when fighting for your life. In a way, the martial arts aren’t supposed to stay the same from generation to generation. So, the next time we point a finger at younger Sifus and shake our heads, remember that once upon a time, some old, grumpy Sifu pointed his finger at us and shook his head. 🙂

Yeah, you’re right, times have changed.

Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation.

 


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