Resource Allocation Theory and Kung Fu
Our cells have access to limited resources/energy and must allocate these resources between Maintenance (base energy demands within each cell), Repairs (fixing damaged cells/correcting transcription errors), and Growth (cell reproduction). For the last little while this idea has been floating around in my head and I have started to look at my kung fu as a living breathing organism with these same energy demands.
Maintenance: These are the little things I need to do everyday to keep my kung fu alive and healthy. Pushups, sit-ups, coming to class, interacting on kwoon talk. This also involves keeping my fundamentals clean and making sure that what I have "on my wagon" stays put. (this is things like watch your crane stance, don't leave your back foot behind, check your skeleton, etc..)
Repair: This involves anything that follows a "I know you guys know this stuff..." or "you need to keep working on..." These are things that I know, and have heard the instructors say hundreds of times over, but are not yet manifesting in my techniques. (this is things like raise your crane stance before your side heel thrusts, remember to bring your guards back to your cheek when you're sparring, let your eyes lead your spinning back kick, etc.)
Growth: This is when I am learning something completely new, or something relatively new about something old. If Repair is acknowledging the lapse in technique, this is where it actually gets fixed, where the line between knowledge and skill gets crossed. This is when I push my kung fu, and just like a dividing cell, the new product will be smaller initially, but given time will grow to be twice the size of the original. (this is things like learning to throw a true spinning back kick, learning to dragon dance, building my broadsword form, etc.)
These same cellular concepts can be applied to how I am training, not just to my base of knowledge. I know I am not always pushing myself in my training. For example, sometimes if a headache comes on and I know I need to do a horse stance I will do half the time, rather than the my full goal because I am in maintenance mode rather than growth; I am not pushing myself and making progress, but I am not allowing degeneration. Growth is optimal, but when conditions become unfavorable or resources become more limited, maintaining position is more favorable than degradation. (BUT I need to be extremely mindful of the external circumstances so that I don't use this mindset as an excuse for mediocrity: can I really not do this today or do I just not want to? Another example is when a big event comes up (demo, tiger challenge, fitness assessment) I can feel an easier transition into Growth or Repair mode because I am striving for a specific goal rather than a general "I want to be better than I was yesterday" mindset so it becomes easier to push myself.
This is definitely just my background coming to the surface but I think science is woven through the fabric of kung fu just as tightly as art is. The physics of a punch, the engineering of a lock or break, the biological theory that can be applied to the beast of kung fu. I know that we are training to become marital artists, but I think becoming marital scientists could be very useful too!
Kayley Burke
