In Ving Tsun we have Siu Nim Tau, the first form, which can be translated to Little Idea or Little Beginning. It’s from this first form, this little idea, that everything else in the system comes.
Every week Sifu Matt offers these blogs, these little ideas, as reflections from his practice to help support yours.
Thanks for reading,
Sifu Matt
One of Matt teaching the second form to a student.
And…
Matt doing chi sau with a student.
Thanks for watching!
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January 13, 2019
Every Sunday a little something for you to keep in mind.
LET GO OF MASTERY
Mastery of an art
Whether martial or writing
Is not what I seek.
I seek nothing.
There is just practice
Daily
Unending
….this is the Way.
– Shinzen (David Nelson)
The above speaks to the importance of routine and letting go of the idea that we will attain some elusive goal as if it were an end point. We must let go of the idea that we will attain mastery. Instead, it is the dedication to steady work, the love of the steady work, that is the path on a day by day basis.
WHAT WOULD THIS LOOK LIKE?
Simply, routine.
Routine effort is key. Without it we wander, aimlessly wander through our day. Having a routine keeps us on track, centered, and moving ahead. Seeking nothing other than to stay on the path we have chosen for ourselves. This is how we progress. This is how we get better at what we do. Be it writing or martial arts, drawing or painting, photography or music making. Whatever it is, practice is the way. Practice is the path and the destination. We aim to get better but release the idea that there is a final goal, a day, a moment when we say I’m a master now. I can stop working so hard.
In fact if we are lucky, we may be like the famous Okinawan karate master, Gichin Funakoshi, who, the story goes, was very old, yet still teaching, sitting on his bed doing a simple block over and over with deep concentration. He shouted, I think I finally understand this block! He loved the hard work, practiced every day with discipline until his final days.
We must make an everyday routine. Something we show up for no matter what. No excuses. This is the discipline.
Want to get better at something?
Show up. Do the work. Do the same thing at the same time, day in and day out. This process of intentional practice is the Way.
You don’t have to practice for hours on end. If you have that kind of time, great, but if you don’t and an hour is what you have, use that hour well. If thirty minutes is what you have, use those 30 minutes like the precious minutes they are. That’s enough time when you do it every day.
Every day. That’s the challenge.
I’m fortunate. I’ve made kung fu training, ving tsun, the center of my life. I have the time to devote to it. I’ve made it my job. I must practice every day to keep my skills up and so I can do what I tell my students they need to do. Anything less would be hypocritical.
And yet… sometimes even I fail at sticking fully to my routine. And when this happens, it shows. Maybe others don’t notice but I do. The sharpness I want in my ving tsun isn’t there.
But because I’ve made a routine of daily practice, this doesn’t happen often. Sometimes, I realize I actually need to take a day off. I listen to the body and give it the rest it needs and this becomes part of the Way. Because I have this daily discipline, this routine, when I fall of the path, I feel it acutely and my dedication, my habitual energy of practice pulls me back into routine. As a result, I feel happier, more content knowing I am being true to my Way.
You can do this too. If you struggle with creating and sticking to a routine, ask yourself what do I need to do to shift this? Do you need to put it into your calendar? Do it. Do you need to tell a friend or a training partner your plans so you can help keep each other on the path? Then do that.
When you choose a Way for yourself you are making a powerful statement about the kind of person you want to be. Dedicated. Disciplined. Ready to do the hard work for its own sake. This is the Way.
We are very excited to have our YouTube channel up and running again.
Here’s a short video to start things off.
Believe that You Can. Decide that You Will
I hear a couple of phrases from students on a regular basis:
I can’t.
And –
I’ll try.
What they don’t realize is that when the say these kinds of things they’re only defeating themselves. What we think becomes reality.
When we think we can’t do something, no matter what other stories we may tell ourselves, we make failure become reality. It’s a vicious spiral of frustration.
There are variations on this sad theme:
I can’t find the time to practice; I’m just too busy; I’ll try to get into class; I can’t make it in to class, etc.
On the flip side, if we tell ourselves that we can, and we will, that becomes our reality and we make real progress in our ving tsun.
It’s a fact that kung fu takes a lot of deep practice. That’s what kung fu means – hard work over a long stretch of time, like a lifetime. It takes daily practice. In order to have good skill, a practitioner must change this mindset around their practice.
If you think with a negative, I can’t mindset you’ll just keep finding things to fill your time, and you won’t practice. You can’t, “FIND” the time, you must “MAKE” the time. Change the I can’t into I can and I will.
I will make the time for my daily practice.
I will make it to class today.
If you are always waiting to find the time to practice, you never will. You have to MAKE the time to practice. Set your intention in your mind. You might ask yourself, how you’ll feel if you don’t do your practice. Because it’s all a matter of priorities. If it matters to you, you will MAKE the time to do it. All kinds of things come up that you don’t have time for, and yet you do them. Think about it. How do you want to spend your time? What kind of person do you want to be? Ving tsun has the capacity to transform every aspect of your life for the better but you have to do the work, wishing won’t make it so.
Practice of ving tsun must be a daily thing you do, like brushing your teeth. Finding the time is self defeating. Make the time. Make that commitment to yourself.
I also hear phrases like this during practice:
I can’t do the technique.
I’ll try to do my form better.
Again, if you believe you can’t, you will never try harder.
Kung fu practice is hard. It does take a lot of time and effort. Don’t make it harder on yourself with these self defeating phrases.
My students hear me say this all the time:
“ If you want to have good ving tsun, you must take the I can’t and I’ll try out of your vocabulary.”
It’s true. See for yourself.
Remember Yoda’s famous line, “ Do or do not. There is no try.”
Lots pf great training at the school last week. Here are a few snap shots of what folks were up to. Notice, the notebook! Taking notes is a really good idea.
Also note the long pole, which is very advanced practice.
We are launching a new series of intensive training programming for our students in 2019; a series of seasonal, intensive weekend long training camps to take your ving tsun to a whole new deeper place.
Each camp will be unique and will have a specific focus including not only the physical aspects of Ving Tsun but also the ethics and morals, the Mo Duk as well as the place of meditation in your kung fu practice and much more. The first full weekend camp will be in February 2019.
As a lead up to all this, we are offering our students a mini-version in December which includes the following challenge.
The idea is to take the challenge for the months of October and November, then come to the training camp with your discoveries and questions. And I guarantee you will make discoveries AND have questions.
At the camp we can all discuss and learn and take our knowledge to the next level.
So, here is the challenge for October:
Train your Siu Nim Tau each and every day.
Only once, but EVERY DAY.
Each hand in the first section for one minute.
That’s it! Do it every day and see where it takes you.
Like I said, I guarantee you will be amazed at what you learn.
Take notes, write things down In your notebooks and bring it in December to the training camp.
Want to get to the next level in your Ving Tsun practice? Here is the way.
Take the challenge!
At the first of the month in November I will let you know what the challenge will be for next month.
Keep the fire burning.
The academy is now offering more daytime and evening classes to better fit your schedule! Daytime class Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and evening classes Monday thur Thursday. Call today and start your training at the only Ving Tsun school in Chicago with a direct link to the Ip Man family of the Ving Tsun system.
I’ve been involved in one form of martial art or another for a long time now.
36 years to be exact. Not very long. I feel like I’m still just a beginner in a lot of ways.
For the last 26 of those years, I’ve devoted all my time and study to the art of Ving Tsun. Looking back now, I realize that what started out merely as a means to stop bullies from picking on me, became along the way, something much bigger and more important. As a kid I was skinny, not strong or tough at all; exactly the kind of kid bullies look for. One day, I said to myself, that’s enough!
So, in the beginning it was just the fighting that attracted me, learning to stack ass and take names. And I did pretty well at it. Over time, I’ve stacked a lot of ass and taken plenty of names. But one day I realized the silliness of it all. I also saw a deeper truth: I was at risk of turning into a bully myself with my new found powers. I thought there had to be more than just learning how to throw a punch and hurt someone. Hell, you don’t even need kung fu to punch someone in the face. So what’s it really all about then?
In my quest to find that out, I’ve talked with many kung fu teachers in the USA as well as Hong Kong and China. Especially I’ve had long talks with my own guide of the last 14 years, Master Ip Ching in Hong Kong. ONE thing keeps coming up with EVERY master I’ve talked with. ONE thing that keeps coming up over and over again. And that is, that kung fu is not about fighting. In fact, Sifu Ip Ching said just last April, to one of my students during one of our annual visits to see him, “when a person learns kung fu and practices for a while, you don’t ever want to have to use it, and will do whatever it takes to not have to use it.”
So, what’s it all really about then?
Well, I’ve decided to share with you all what I’ve discovered so far and what I continue to investigate regarding that question through weekly blog posts. You can come along on this kung fu journey, and learn with me each and every day I teach and train. The journey is ongoing. Day by day. Moment by moment. One training session at a time. I’ll share what I’ve learned: from my Sifu in Hong Kong, from teaching my students to walk the path, from watching as they make their own discoveries, and from what I’ve discovered through the hard work of daily training.
Some posts will be short. Some longer. Not all will be about the system of Ving Tsun directly, but many will. Some posts will be about the nuts and bolts of the Ving Tsun system and how to train and understand it correctly, and some will be more about the journey of a man doing his best to live what Sifu Ip Ching calls the, “Kung Fu Way of Life.”
So, I invite you to come back each week to read the blog. Perhaps I can help you understand what this journey is all about, and help you to live the “Kung fu life”.
Sifu Matt
To get good results, you need to train a lot. Even when you don’t feel so great. These photos and video were taken right after Sifu Matt’s encounter with a wicked intestinal virus.
Make your training something you just do. Every day.
Then your ving tsun will be strong and ready if you need it.
Matt Johnson Ving Tsun/Chicago 