The “How” of Kung Fu

[Editor’s Note]: This post was written by Master Mark Blaydow. Mr. Blaydow is a student at the American School of Martial Arts in Burbank, California.

Many articles, essays and philosophical ponderings have been presented over the centuries regarding the Tao of martial arts, or the “Way” of martial arts.  I propose that before one embarks upon the martial way, one should prepare him or herself for the HOW of martial arts.  What exactly is the HOW?  By this I mean the Honesty, Open-mindedness and Willingness of the martial arts life. Indeed, there are many virtues associated with the martial arts, among them are compassion, loyalty, repayment of kindness, honor, courage, respect and honesty.   Devoting oneself to martial arts is not a common endeavor in my experience.  Many come into a school in order to gain physical fitness, confidence, and self defense skills or simply for something fun and challenging to do.  Few stay until they achieve a rank of black belt, even fewer still remain to achieve higher and higher ranks.  Beyond the color or stripes of a practitioner’s belt, few ever become a martial artist, defining themselves by the art.  Why is this?  I think it is everything to do with HOW.

Honesty:

A beginning martial arts student (and by beginner, I mean anyone in their first 3-5 years of training) should evaluate and consistently re-examine their motives for training.  This should start with an honest assessment of one’s motivations for training, where one is, and where one wants to be years down the road.   The motivation for training can simply be something as ordinary as the desire for physical fitness.  One may come to learn the art of self defense, gain overall confidence or to be a “bad-ass.”  Whatever that reason may be, I think it’s important to be fully honest and aware of this motive.  These motivations change over time as well-  The reason I entered the school as a white belt would certainly not be the reason I stay as a 3^rd degree.  Whatever the motivation, once it is clearly and honestly appraised one can then move on and begin the process of orienting oneself accordingly.

Open-mindedness:

The key to open-mindedness is to let go of preconceived notions of what martial arts is or is not.  I remember sitting and waiting for my class to begin and watching the beginner class train.  There was a brand new student who had watched some kung fu theater and was able to mimic the moves of the actors pretty well in some sort of Matrix-like fashion.  The teacher politely said something to the effect of “that’s nice.  Now let me show you how we train.”  Another allegory is that of the Zen master who was asked by a new student about the way of Zen.  The teacher agreed to discuss the matter over tea.  In pouring the tea, the tea rose to the rim and began to spill over the table and finally onto the floor. Finally the student shouted, “Enough. You are spilling the tea all over. Can’t you see the cup is full?”  The master stopped pouring and smiled at his student. “You are like this tea cup, so full that nothing more can be added. Come back to me when the cup is empty. Come back to me with an empty mind.” 

The idea is to begin training with an empty mind, or blank slate- to have no expectations of what the martial arts will do for you, what you might learn, what one might be able to accomplish.  This is true on a daily basis-  in my first years, I would come to class expecting to learn a new animal technique, or takedown.  Often I would, but sometimes the teacher would talk more than I cared for, or we would train something that I thought was boring, repetitive, or not fun enough.  It wasn’t until later that I fully appreciated the value of the master’s lectures, or that I realized the inherent benefits of repetitive training, doing drills and focusing on the basics.  Still, to this day, I have to realize that what I gain from class on a given day is entirely up to me.  How well I receive the knowledge imparted to me is a direct function of how open-minded I am to receiving it.

Willingness:

Willingness is the bridge between desire and action, between making a decision and working towards the result.  I cannot wish for willingness upon anyone but myself so therefore every student must find his or her own willingness.  Before a student becomes a student, a whole process is involved of finding the right school, asking friends, associates and combing through the internet to find the right school- this shows the willingness to change, to embark upon something entirely new and foreign.  Afterwards, willingness is what gets us to show up for class, ready to train, to sweat and strain, risk injury, perhaps overcome some difficulties, or perhaps be heartbroken when we fall short of our own expectations.  I believe that willingness is the most important aspect of my training.  Without it, I would find a dozen excuses to miss class, train less diligently or give less than 100% to my training.  On days where I feel less than 100%, I can only look to my willingness, or lack thereof, as the reason for my shortcomings.