Out Of the Kwoon and Into the World

It is said that if you can master one thing, you can master anything. Anyone who has successfully spent a year in the Ultimate Black Belt Test or the I Ho Chuan can attest to the truth in those words. Mastery is a process, it is not a state. Once you learn and consistently apply the process, the process is applicable to all aspects of your life.

Many people travel a long distance on the road to mastery, only to veer off or give up without ever learning the path’s secrets. How often I have heard the rationalizations. “I am too busy”, “It is too difficult for me”, “I need to concentrate on something else” . . . The list goes on. Ultimately there are a multitude of reasons to quit. Any reason you can think of can legitimately bring justification to a decision you want to make.

My career in kung fu is in it’s fourth decade. In that time I have yet to meet a person who is actually doing the work that wants to give up. This fact is not a coincidence. If you invest the time, you will reap the rewards. Anyone who is engaged and applying themselves is aware of the massive return on their investment and becomes passionate about the art and its value. Not unlike a weight lifter who has stopped lifting weights, those not applying themselves are not gaining those same benefits.

Stop looking at effort as a sacrifice and recognize it as an investment. There is a reason why they say a master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.

 “From one thing, know ten thousand things” - Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645)

Surface vs Depth

I found an old stock of dishwasher detergent in the store room I was cleaning out. It is the exact same tab detergent that I am still using but with a difference. These vintage detergent tabs are individually packaged in foil wrappers. The current version is the same detergent tab enclosed in a water soluble coating. Obviously this new method is reducing the amount of waste that is ending up in the landfill. This is a very good thing. What I am wondering about is the environmental impact of the water soluble coating used on today’s version. What chemicals and processes were used to create this solution and what are the long term impacts?

I have no doubts that the manufacturer initiated the change to address environmental concerns. I also have no doubts as to the depth of their concerns. Most corporations focus only on short-term profits for their shareholders, not on the sustainability of their business practices or the health of their customers and the planet that is serving us all. My point is, the manufacturer made the change to improve public perception of their product’s environmental footprint, and any actual benefit to the environment was, if at all, a collateral benefit. In essence, their change was perception-driven and had no soul behind it.

I see this same issue with people’s kung fu. Some students train to learn while others train to be promoted. While the two approaches may appear to serve mastery, only one approach has soul behind it. Those training to learn show up to class with a plan and a purpose. They control their lesson and ensure they get what they need. Those training to be promoted never have a specific plan and rely upon their instructor to map out their progress. This is only half of the educational formula. The instructor is there to teach and the student is there to learn. If either one of the two does not have a plan, any knowledge passed on is only superficial.

Unlike my dishwasher detergent company, kung fu cannot be superficial. There must be soul behind our intent so all our energy is applied to mastering the art beyond just superficial ranks and appearances. There are two types of black belts - those who wear the belt and those who live the life.

“It takes time to practice generosity, but being generous is the best use of our time.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Serendipity

Things do not always go as planned but sometimes that can be a good, no, great thing. This week was a gathering of my teammates in the last ever Ultimate Black Belt Test. I was ecstatic that I was able to arrange things to give myself this opportunity to personally connect with an amazing bunch of martial artists from across the continent. I teach my students that a big part of success is being in the right place at the right time. We can’t always control the right time but we have a lot of control over the right place. For me, the right place this past week was Portland, Oregon.

Our first morning together opened with Suicide Prevention training. I’m a huge advocate for mental health awareness and have been trying to make it a bigger part of Silent River Kung Fu’s curriculum. Statistically 60% of Canadians are touched by mental health issues, either directly or indirectly, in their lifetime. This type of training could not be more relevant to self defence.

It was at this point that things began to veer off plan. My hotel breakfast did not settle well and the start of my two day love affair with all the restrooms at Aim High Martial Arts kicked off. I was sidelined from the mats for the next day’s training of Aim High’s black belt candidates and relegated to a spectator for all the team meals, including the Hawaiian food. Now comes the serendipitous part.

During the black belt candidates’ class, I met someone who I would not have met if I had been busy teaching on the mats. Jennifer St. John is a high level TaiJi practitioner from Florida who just happened to be in Portland to watch her nephew’s karate class - the same one I just happen to also be at. I often talk about life being defined by specific moments. My meeting Jennifer was one such defining moment. Her calm wisdom and insights resonated with me and her passion inspired me. We have exchanged contact information and I am hoping to maximize the opportunity that has been offered to me by fostering a closer friendship with her.

The week ended too quickly for my liking but despite my stomach issues, I came away inspired and motivated. However, saying goodbye to my teammates and getting on the plane in Portland was not the end of it. Our plane was delayed at our arrival gate in Seattle so we ended up missing our connecting flight. We spent the next hour getting another flight sorted out and ended up with a free lunch on the airline and a new flight home in first class.

You would think that was the best part but it wasn’t. Getting ready to board our flight home, I notice one of my longtime heroes standing ten feet away from me - Grant Fuhr!! He is also on his way home to Edmonton and is sitting within arms reach of me right now as I type this from my first class seat. I watched him play for his entire career but I have never had the opportunity to meet him - until now. Cross that off my bucket list.

serendipity | noun:  The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

The Harmony of Spirit and Intent

In response to a student's enquiry about the paradox of staying in the present moment while focusing on our intent . . .

Intent is actually the present moment. If you are looking ahead and trying to impose your intent on something that is yet to happen, you are forcing a technique. That is why I tell you guys that we need to be time travellers. If a technique is not correct, I reverse my actions to ascertain what my original intent was and I learn from that.

Remember, before intent comes spirit. That is the root of our actions and when I talk about our intent being pure, I am actually referring to your spirit harmonizing with your intent. If your spirit is harmonized with your intent, your intent is pure and dealing with the present moment.

When we train, when we learn, we project ahead. We are forcing our technique to achieve the goal of the lesson. We are not worried about the present moment because our intent is not to apply but to learn. However we learn a lot about our intent by going back and forth from the two ends of an application. We learn a lot about our spirt from that exercise.

Who we are - our values, our experiences, etc all sculpt our spirit. Our spirit can change but only over the long term. We all stay true to who we are and our intent will reflect who we are - our spirit. The definition of the first of the three internal harmonies is literally - stay true to who we are and allow your intent to reflect that spirit.

"Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick." - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)

The Responsibility of Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been a blessing in my life. It has allowed me to experience my life first hand. I am not a spectator living my life through the experiences of others. Mindfulness allows me to see where I was once blind. After a lifetime of being a struggling vegetarian, maintaining the discipline of my diet has become effortless effort because of mindfulness.

In life nothing is free and mindfulness comes with baggage that must be dealt with. Once a veil has been lifted how do you look at people the same way without anger and frustration? Everyone has their own journey and we can’t impose our path upon others. It can be easy to lose sight of that fact and just polarize.

Mindfulness is a practice and as such, it requires effort and discipline. For sanity’s sake, it is important to stay compassionate and communicative.

“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Pay Now or Pay Later

We’ve all heard the adage that practice makes perfect. Recognizing that there is a big difference between mastery and competence, a step further would be perfect practice makes mastery.

As a guy who dedicates a lot of my time to mastery, I am keenly aware that activity does not automatically guarantee progress. Practice is necessary for mastery but mindful practice is significantly more efficient at producing results.

If I am going to perform 1000 repetitions of a form, I might as well ensure that I get the most value out of those repetitions by ensuring I am mentally present and mindfully engaged. Practice makes perfect but perfect practice makes mastery.

“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” - Vince Lombardi (1913 - 1970)

Slow Down You Move To Fast

There are problems inherent with today’s world that are never going to be solved without disciplined intervention. Today’s world is small and communication is fast. What is ironic is that despite all the tools we have to save time, the commodity that we are lacking is actually time itself.

I spent Saturday attending a memorial for one of my mentors in Vancouver. While watching a slideshow of his life I realized that up to that moment I had not really processed the reality of his death. He had passed away in March but Saturday was the first time my grief fully manifested.

We left the memorial and a $75 cab ride later we were at the airport for a late flight home. We got to bed at 3am Sunday morning and we were up four hours later to get ready for eight hours of lion dancing and kung fu demos for Canada Day. By the end of the day, the memorial felt like it had happened eighteen months ago.

I do not believe grieving is best handled in this way. If you take away the fast travel, I would have had ample time to process my grief and deal with my feelings appropriately. Sunday was unique. Canada Day commitments are made a year in advance but I know that even without that commitment, something else would have been pulling me to get home quick. It is exhausting to never be where you think you need to be. You would think it would be simple to maintain a perspective that the only moment that has ever been relevant is the present moment. It is never that simple. I guess that is why we call Zen a practice.

“Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates.” - Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)