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.

The Legend is Born: Ip Man

This film is a prequel to 2008’s Ip Man.  To Yu-hang will play Ip Man instead of Donnie Yen who stars as the grandmaster in Ip Man and Ip Man 2.  The Legend is Born: Ip Man will feature Sammo Hung playing Chan Wah-shun, one of Ip Man’s mentors.  Sammo Hung also makes an appearance in Ip Man 2, as a Hung Fist master.  Grandmaster Ip Man’s son, Ip Chun, plays the role of Leung Bik, another one of the great grandmaster’s teachers.

The Grand Master

Directed by Wong Kar-wai, The Grand Master stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Ip Man.  This is a separate, stand-alone film detailing the late grandmaster’s life.

Beyond 2010

There are plans to make Ip Man 3.  A Taiwanese producer has also secured the rights to create a 40 episode television series about great grandmaster Ip Man.  A bright future awaits ving tsun cinema fans.

Train hard.  Relax hard.

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.

Embarking on the path of kung fu is embarking on a journey.  This could be said for any martial art.  All martial arts aspire to take you to great heights with the highest point akin to the top of a mountain.  Different martial arts have different paths, all leading to the same peak.  Some are short and treacherous, others are long and flowing, some are very difficult.

No two people follow exactly the same path.  Different individuals will have different obstacles to overcome and some may need to linger on certain parts of the path longer than others.  Sometimes people may co-travel but eventually their paths diverge.  Some change paths many times.  Many never make it to the top of the mountain.  That’s OK as the view from halfway up is satisfactory to them.  Reaching the point of mastery is a goal that few who start on the journey ever achieve.

It is important to enjoy your Ving Tsun journey: the friendships and camaraderie that develop, the physical skills and relaxation you cultivate, and the improvements that unfold in your life.  Kung fu takes people on different journeys.  These journeys take people where they need to go.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu

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.