Eighteen

Eighteen is an auspicious number that is often used in kung fu. 18 Hands of Lohan, 18 Temple Motions, etc. A number is easy to quantify but sometimes what the number represents is less of an absolute, residing in the abstract.

Training in the martial arts can bring thousands of techniques into one’s arsenal. Training as a martial artist, in a single style, reduces those thousands of techniques to around eighteen concepts, all supported by those same techniques.

Mastery in kung fu is about recognizing the concepts and immersing yourself into the style. Physically, no style can be perfect so it is important to embrace the esoteric nature of the art to allow patterns to emerge, simplifying strategies and calming the mind.

Minimize, simplify, and proceed boldly.

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” - Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)