A kung fu school is a place where kung fu energy can gather and grow.  It is a place where students’ energy can gather and grow.  It is a place to work on self improvement.

It is possible to train without ever having stepped inside a kung fu school. But, if you’re taking classes at a school right now, consider how much the school facilitates your kung fu training.  At predetermined times, you can show up and train kung fu with other people.  It makes a certain aspect of training very easy.

Coins make a great counter.  They’re unobtrusive and aside from the initial cash investment on an item that did not round to a dollar amount, they’re available for free under your sofa cushions.  They slide along a flat surface easily making them simple to move on a desk, counter top, or floor.  The floor is an excellent spot to use them as you can slide them from one group to another with your foot with minimal interruption to your forms.  When times are tight, gravel will do also.

Of course, training does not always require counting how many forms you play.

Train hard.  Relax hard.

An important distinction exists between learning kung fu and learning about kung fu.  Many times people get the two confused.  While they can support one another, the distinction remains.  To learn kung fu, one must put forth physical and mental energy, one must put forth hard work.  To learn about kung fu, one need only pick up a book or look on the internet.  No matter how many youtube videos, movies, documentaries, books, or website articles you view or read, do not think that knowing about kung fu equates to knowing kung fu.

If you know it in your head but not your body, it will do little good in a physical confrontation.  To learn it in your body, you need to play a lot of kung fu.  Have faith in the system, relax, and your body will come to know kung fu.

Train hard. Relax hard.

Efficiency

Train hard.  Relax hard.

Although I never made it to the point of being able to belt out tunes a la Huey Lewis, I always made second chair in the school band.  (There was a girl who practiced more than I did in my grade level.)  My passion for the saxophone waned but it was not until later in life that I realized the gift my parents had given me.

As Applied to Kung Fu Training

The practice system my parents put me on can easily be applied to kung fu.  Passion for kung fu will drive students in their home training regimens.  In some periods of life, finding time to train becomes more difficult.  Committing to this sort of regimen will help one ensure consistency and push through times it might be easier to skip kung fu training.  Setting this up is relatively easy:

1)  Pick the amount of time you would like to spend each day playing your kung fu outside of class.  Make sure the amount of time you choose is reasonable given your situation.
2)  Determine how many days per week you need to train outside of class.  You may choose not to train on the days you will be going to class, then again, you might.
3)  It’s good to have at least one rest day.

Give the program a go for two weeks to see how it works for you.  Adjust as necessary after the two weeks or as changing circumstances require.  Remember that for each session you miss, it needs to be made up.  Use this system as long as you wish and discard it when it is no longer needed.  This program can provide consistency to the kung fu training you do outside of class.  It is but one method of implementing a training schedule.  Modify it as you see fit and rock your kung fu like Huey Lewis.

Train hard.  Relax hard.

Relaxation

Train hard. Relax hard.

That being said, there are principles in Ving Tsun that you can use as tools when you are learning and perfecting techniques.

This three-part series of blog posts will be different in that each will focus on one word.  Read these posts and take time to think of the concept and how it applies to kung fu.  Meditate on these and generate your own ideas.  Then, if you’re still in, see how you can apply the ideas in your own training.

Centerline

Train hard. Relax hard.

Finding Time

We live in a busy world.  You need to make time for kung fu if you wish to become proficient in it.  Many things compete for your attention and can divert you away from your goals if you let them.

Find a time to play kung fu that works best for you.  Training first thing in the morning is an excellent time.  As your day unfolds there is less chance of putting it off or having other pressing things take its place.  If you’re not a morning person, find a time during the day and commit to it.  It doesn’t really matter when you choose to do it as long as you stay consistent.

What Do You Need to Work On?

If there is something within kung fu that you are having problems with, don’t understand, or were recently opened  to, these would be good things to play while utilizing your training time.  Playing forms and doing conditioning are good options as well.  Going back to explore the basics always pays off.  If you’re in doubt about what to do during the time you’ve set aside, play Siu Nim Tao.

You can choose one or two things you need to work on and pursue these for several weeks or months, or you may want to practice whatever you feel like doing that day.  You may choose to play your kung fu for a certain length of time or you may choose to do a certain number of repetitions of a form or technique to determine the duration of your practice.  You may employ either of these methods over the course of your training.

There are many different ways you can structure your out-of-class training.  You must find the way that works best for you and be consistent.  This in itself is part of your kung fu journey.

Train hard.  Relax Hard.

According to legend, Ng Mui, an abbess from the Shaolin temple took pity on a beautiful young woman who was being forced to marry a local warlord. The woman had an agreement with the warlord that if she could defeat him in battle, she would not have to marry him. Ng Mui designed a system of kung fu and taught it to Yim Ving Tsun enabling her to defeat him. Ng Mui named her new system after her first student. A more detailed account of the legend as spoken by Grandmaster Ip Man can be found here.

The legend of Ving Tsun can be utilized to help our training.

What would Yim Ving Tsun do?

One may assume that Yim Ving Tsun was smaller in stature than the warlord. If a technique you’re playing is not working because you seem to be expending a large amount of energy, ask yourself, “What would Yim Ving Tsun do?”

The Ving Tsun system enables a smaller person to defeat a larger opponent without using strength. If you’re larger than your partner, are you using your size or muscle to force the technique to work? If you’re smaller than your partner, are you using strength to compensate? Would Yim Ving Tsun have done it that way?

Train hard, relax hard.

Moy Yat Ving Tsun has a saying, “Play your kung fu under a thousand lights.”

Below is a list of 50 different “lights,” to get started. Some may be better for two person drills, some for forms, and some for just working on the horse stance (ye chi kim yeung ma). Some may be beneficial for all three.

Play your kung fu:

1. On a mountain top
2. In a cave
3. Underwater
4. With your eyes closed
5. In a mirror
6. In your nicest dress shoes
7. Barefoot
8. In a closet
9. On the beach
10. After being out at the bar
11. After waking up in the middle of the night
12. Right before bed
13. First thing in the morning
14. In a phone booth
15. On a rooftop
16. On the subway, light rail, or train
17. When you’re angry
18. When you’re sick
19. While wearing a coat
20. On the ice
21. In a field
22. On a parking curb
    
23. In the kitchen
24. In the bathroom
25. In a tree
26. While lying down
27. On one leg
28. Using only one arm
29. In the dark
30. In an alley
31. In the sand
32. Sitting down
33. Kneeling
34. In your work or school clothes
    
35. After drinking lots of coffee
36. After drinking no coffee
37. Right after dinner
38. While fasting
39. In a sauna
40. In the rain
41. In the snow
42. On a pole
43. On gravel
44. In a park
45. On uneven terrain
46. In the mud
47. On a merry-go-round
48. On a slide
49. Blindfolded
50. On an office chair with wheels
    

Train hard. Relax hard.