amituofo! [translates to buddha bless]
i have been training in shaolin kung fu for almost a year now at the USA Shaolin Temple under Shifu Shi Yan Ming. i have trained in zujitsu, tai chi & have learned to box over the last 20+ years. i have to say that shaolin kung fu is unbelievably aerobic & so beautiful to see in action. it is unlike anything i have ever experienced before. i wasn't really sure what i was getting into at first at UST. i checked out a couple of dozen kung fu places in the city & in brooklyn - taking 1 or 2 classes at each depending on my experience there. most of these schools taught blocks & strikes immediately. i find that stuff particularly useful but since that was also the bulk of my zujitsu training (not to mention throws, sweeps, kicks & floor work), i was looking for something else. also, despite my regard & affection for all my previous teachers, i must say being taught by a full-on 35th generation Shaolin monk is novel & rather awe-inspiring. we are taking tradition, discipline & expertise in the body of one man.
i find that for me (i suspect this to be true for others who have seriously studied other martial arts) a lot of the work is unlearning things. for example, shaolin kung fu emphasizes being erect, extended & keeping joints locked (among many other things). tai chi was all soft movements: everything was bent & your stance was close to the ground. at shaolin, we are not even taught how to fall although we do cartwheels & back bends in movement. those were was the first 2 painful classes in zujitsu: having to throw myself down onto the mat! wholly unnatural! frankly i had to be thrown the first time, at my request. but having said all of this: man, i love kung fu training.
i am just completed the first of 3 forms in level 1. there are only 2 levels, no belts or stripes [that is a western practice]. only sifu decides when you go to level 2 & only sifu decides if you can move from one form to another. i didn't have a particular schedule for advancement in kung fu. i am in no rush because i have always wanted to learn kung fu, often fantasizing running off to join a temple in china (but research revealed that most still don't take women or their dogs!) & i will be practicing kung fu until my withered old bones (in a taut body) gives up. but i do want to learn more & more quickly. i wish i had some control over that.
i get a lot of what my kung fu brothers call sifu love. that translates to time reworking & sharpening moves. at first, i kept asking myself silently what did i do now? but then i began to understand that sifu sees different potential in each of us thus expecting different things & levels of practice. there is in no way a standard. so when i get pulled off to work on something specific like yangshen yunshou while i see others who perform it well , i feel ok with it. i get actual personal one-on-one sifu time. i am so lucky. moreover we are reminded fiercely to judge only ourselves & not others. i guess i need the reminder.
testing happens twice a year & this is the first time i will be testing. last time i hadn't finished learning all the movements. i am excited & bloody scared all at the same time. but i am ready. in fact, a part of me wishes i could test now & get it over with. but patience is a virtue i need to practice more consciously.
one of the things i love about training is the stretching. this may sound bizarre but i have grown to love being pulled apart by my brothers. it's all safely done with you being the one pushing yourself to get deeper stretches. you need to learn to speak up in case a gung-ho brother pushes a bit too much. control is critical. i have always been on the limber side but these front & side split stretches are so hard. i can mark progress albeit slowly. painfully.
another strange & wonderful by-product of training are the people. i usually find group dynamics to be difficult & off-putting. but i love my shaolin brothers! by the way in shaolin brothers includes sisters. we not only train hard, we support each other in a non-competitive setting. once you have trained hard for 2 hours plus at least 30 minutes of warm up before & after class, frankly there is nothing left but the bare soul of each person. these souls are beautiful.
we customarily go for special water training (drinks) after shaolin training. it is our only opportunity to talk to one another. we are not allowed to speak before or while training. there are lots of shouting encouragements: MORE CHI! TRAIN HARDER!, smiles & grimaces, the occasional out of control giggling & someone running to the bathroom to hurl. oh, most definitely lots & lots of amituofos! to tell the truth, after 3 months at temple, i knew the names of a handful people. only when i started joining for special water training did i get to truly know all these lovely people. i am now not only great friends with some, i am in a serious & gratifying relationship with a fantastic shaolin brother who i will refer to only as quan tuo. [more about this powerhouse another time.]
due to our commonality we have indulged in other activties - shows, dinners, fencing - among a running list we will tackle in the months to come. if i do not fully express the impact of how stunning this is, let me tell you now - i do not do groups, ever. this is a singular & special thing. very special.
alas i must run. this topic is endless. more later.
i have been training in shaolin kung fu for almost a year now at the USA Shaolin Temple under Shifu Shi Yan Ming. i have trained in zujitsu, tai chi & have learned to box over the last 20+ years. i have to say that shaolin kung fu is unbelievably aerobic & so beautiful to see in action. it is unlike anything i have ever experienced before. i wasn't really sure what i was getting into at first at UST. i checked out a couple of dozen kung fu places in the city & in brooklyn - taking 1 or 2 classes at each depending on my experience there. most of these schools taught blocks & strikes immediately. i find that stuff particularly useful but since that was also the bulk of my zujitsu training (not to mention throws, sweeps, kicks & floor work), i was looking for something else. also, despite my regard & affection for all my previous teachers, i must say being taught by a full-on 35th generation Shaolin monk is novel & rather awe-inspiring. we are taking tradition, discipline & expertise in the body of one man.
i find that for me (i suspect this to be true for others who have seriously studied other martial arts) a lot of the work is unlearning things. for example, shaolin kung fu emphasizes being erect, extended & keeping joints locked (among many other things). tai chi was all soft movements: everything was bent & your stance was close to the ground. at shaolin, we are not even taught how to fall although we do cartwheels & back bends in movement. those were was the first 2 painful classes in zujitsu: having to throw myself down onto the mat! wholly unnatural! frankly i had to be thrown the first time, at my request. but having said all of this: man, i love kung fu training.
i am just completed the first of 3 forms in level 1. there are only 2 levels, no belts or stripes [that is a western practice]. only sifu decides when you go to level 2 & only sifu decides if you can move from one form to another. i didn't have a particular schedule for advancement in kung fu. i am in no rush because i have always wanted to learn kung fu, often fantasizing running off to join a temple in china (but research revealed that most still don't take women or their dogs!) & i will be practicing kung fu until my withered old bones (in a taut body) gives up. but i do want to learn more & more quickly. i wish i had some control over that.
i get a lot of what my kung fu brothers call sifu love. that translates to time reworking & sharpening moves. at first, i kept asking myself silently what did i do now? but then i began to understand that sifu sees different potential in each of us thus expecting different things & levels of practice. there is in no way a standard. so when i get pulled off to work on something specific like yangshen yunshou while i see others who perform it well , i feel ok with it. i get actual personal one-on-one sifu time. i am so lucky. moreover we are reminded fiercely to judge only ourselves & not others. i guess i need the reminder.
testing happens twice a year & this is the first time i will be testing. last time i hadn't finished learning all the movements. i am excited & bloody scared all at the same time. but i am ready. in fact, a part of me wishes i could test now & get it over with. but patience is a virtue i need to practice more consciously.
one of the things i love about training is the stretching. this may sound bizarre but i have grown to love being pulled apart by my brothers. it's all safely done with you being the one pushing yourself to get deeper stretches. you need to learn to speak up in case a gung-ho brother pushes a bit too much. control is critical. i have always been on the limber side but these front & side split stretches are so hard. i can mark progress albeit slowly. painfully.
another strange & wonderful by-product of training are the people. i usually find group dynamics to be difficult & off-putting. but i love my shaolin brothers! by the way in shaolin brothers includes sisters. we not only train hard, we support each other in a non-competitive setting. once you have trained hard for 2 hours plus at least 30 minutes of warm up before & after class, frankly there is nothing left but the bare soul of each person. these souls are beautiful.
we customarily go for special water training (drinks) after shaolin training. it is our only opportunity to talk to one another. we are not allowed to speak before or while training. there are lots of shouting encouragements: MORE CHI! TRAIN HARDER!, smiles & grimaces, the occasional out of control giggling & someone running to the bathroom to hurl. oh, most definitely lots & lots of amituofos! to tell the truth, after 3 months at temple, i knew the names of a handful people. only when i started joining for special water training did i get to truly know all these lovely people. i am now not only great friends with some, i am in a serious & gratifying relationship with a fantastic shaolin brother who i will refer to only as quan tuo. [more about this powerhouse another time.]
due to our commonality we have indulged in other activties - shows, dinners, fencing - among a running list we will tackle in the months to come. if i do not fully express the impact of how stunning this is, let me tell you now - i do not do groups, ever. this is a singular & special thing. very special.
alas i must run. this topic is endless. more later.
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