My Old Book of Kung Fu

I have been doing alot of reading this past week. I dug up my Old Book of Kung Fu, as I call it and plopped it on the night stand. This is where I kept all my curriculum sheets, notes, clippings and photos  of years gone by. 

It was kind of fun to go back in time. I kept everything, including my very first hand out sheet from 1999 when I started. I went page by page thru all my belts and all the years. There has been lots of changes over the years. The printed requirements changed, the belts had changed to sashes, the way students were striped had changed, some things went back to the way they were and some of the Forms had a major overhaul,(probably a few of you remember the Da Mu Hsing form of earlier years  and the Sashes) it was fun to go back and look at that stuff, like an old photo album.

The Theory questions, however, seemed to always be there in the background. Different formats but always the same theory questions. As a coloured belt, I remember finding the answers writing them up and answering them for my Sifus. Another stripe on the belt.

I looked at them again, those questions, like

• commitment
• the Void
• leadership
• patience, trust and progressing wisely
• truthfulness and purity to the art

They are not words on a page anymore, instead , in the I Ho Chuan, I have been practicing them.

For me, they no longer are questions you put some thought into then explain it to your Sifu and check it off your list. Those theory questions are now embedded and actioned within the I Ho Chuan. 

 This is where you can explore, experience, demonstrate and put those questions to the test with heart. 

Even the Food Blog challenge speaks to our anatomy/physiology theory question. In the I Ho Chuan, after tracking your food, I found myself thinking of the effect it has on your health and your output as a martial artist. How you are fuelling your anatomy.

When it came to  the Void, for me, probably the closest was the Demonstration at the Seniors Facility, something clicked there that day for me, just you and your weapon in that moment.

Of course Commitment, every day in the I Ho Chuan bleeds commitment! but I mean that in a good way. Too often, like a cheezy New Years Resolution, the commitment fades away unnoticed. You live Commitment as a I Ho Chuan member. Commitment to your requirements and commitment to your team.

Leadership for me was in the background , admittedly. I found some creative, ambitious people emerging in the group. Group discussions were vibrant and engaged, I never felt "not included" so I suppose I didn't feel the need to take the reigns so to speak. (speaking to the last part of the year, I don't think anyone got the leadership capacity till then) . As far as Leadership goes, I think we have some real successes this year.

Patience, trust and progressing wisely, that one I did not take advantage of enough. Sometimes I was not patient enough with myself. If my weapon form was not where I wanted it, I lost patience and lost out on creativity as a result. On the other hand , I trusted the insight of my peers and coaches to unlock some  walls I was hitting with my Sai form.

Truthfulness and Purity to the Art- where did that fit in? There were days when I had enough, I had other things piling up and sometimes just tired of being at the Kwoon but the commitment brought me there and I would ask myself "why, why are you doing this? no one is holding a gun to your head, what makes me come here all the time?" What are my reasons for being a student of the martial arts?

Because there is something more, because there is something to the Art.  After the hard work, its like a cleansing, like you can think clearly about other life questions and challenges., like you are recharged again and able to deal with the "outside " world.  Its not about feeding the ego its about nourishing the soul.

So as I read through my binder, these were some of the thoughts I had about the Evolution of the new I Ho Chuan.

 Its only in its infancy but its like it was always there, in the pages of Silent River Kung Fu waiting to sprout.

Sorry for the long blog, for anyone who has made it to the end!