Eureka!
Wow. We covered so much in our candidate meeting this morning. There were so many good points that were brought up about so many different things. One thing that we talked about were the "eureka" moments that we have when we train. A moment where something just clicks and everything makes so much more sense. Perhaps an even more important part of these moments than the actual discovery or connection of the dots is blogging what we learned. I only really started taking notes and recording what I learned in Kung-Fu this year with both my note book and my blogging, and I deeply regret all of the knowledge I've lost in the past ten years because I didn't take a minute or two to write it down. That is why writing about the eureka moments is as important as having them. When you don't blog about it, you will start to lose what you learned as your memory of it becomes foggier and foggier. That is why I wanted to write about the eureka moment I had recently about my approach to Kung-Fu.
As I have said before, I always had a very scientific and analytical approach to Kung-Fu. Looking back now, this didn't just apply to the grading tests, it applied to how I used to do everything. My I Ho Chuan requirements, gaining stripes, getting promoted to new belts, I looked at all of these things as hoops to be jumped through and then be left behind as I looked for the next hoop I needed to go through. I know now that this is a risky way to approach not only Kung-Fu, but any art. It worked well as a strategy to get to the next belt, but it was definitely not the best way to become a better martial artist.
Looking back, I understand why I thought that way. As I have heard many times, there aren't really all of the different colors of belts in between white and black, the different colors acted as a motivational tool to show us that we were making progress, that we were getting closer to mastery. Mastery doesn't care if you're an orange belt or a 2nd degree brown, Mastery is Mastery. Even though our instructors kept reminding us of this fact, I still kept thinking of the promotions as hoops. I just nodded my head, thinking I understood the concept, but never really getting it. Now, after about ten years of training I understand the difference between the approaches and which one is better.
I know now that everything we are being taught is a tool. When I am working hard to get my white stripe, I'm not just earning a white stripe, I am improving on my knowledge of the six harmonies. When I am practicing for the fitness test, I am not just doing it to pass, I am doing it to become a healthier, stronger person. When I do get my black belt, it is not just a belt or another achievement to check off, it is a representation of a level of mastery that I will have achieved and a key to open so many more opportunities to improve as a martial artist.
Sorry if I rambled on a bit in this blog, I know I have talked about this a lot before, I just wanted to hit this nail square on the head before I forget the lesson I learned. Hopefully I can look back on this when I inevitably veer off the path to mastery a bit and need a good shove and reminder to get myself back on track. Let me know if there is anything I am misunderstanding, I would very much appreciate the advice.
See you all online, stay safe and healthy!
Harrison Whitehouse-Strong
