Hands Like Flowing Water

What’s up everyone! Before I dive into a new blog, I wanna feel out other traditional lineages and styles for their training methods. Shifus/Masters/Sensei, Advanced and Beginner students are all welcome to chime in and give your two cents. Here’s the question:

Does your traditional lineage/style incorporate some form of weight training, other than body weight exercises?

Hey everybody! This post is probably going to be controversial, so before reading on bear in mind this blog is meant to stimulate intellectual conversation. With that in mind, lets get to it.

Recently, I’ve had questions from some of my tumblr followers as well as a few of my own students regarding “distance” learning for martial arts. I’m going to tackle this topic in two different parts: the first being video learning, and the second being webcam distance learning. That said, all of the questions I’ve received are worded pretty much the same way, “Should I learn martial arts from videos?”

It’s dangerous to use the word “should” in martial arts learning. There are lots of things you “should” do, lots of things you “could” do, but there are an equal many things it is advisable not to do. From a business model, “distance” learning could be quite lucrative and a great way to make a quick buck. As a martial arts instructor, however, I advise MOST to shy away from video learning.

In the age of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC), youtube martial arts “masters” and instagram martial models, it can seem like a great idea to try learning martial arts from what you see in videos. If you want to take a MOOC on subjects like Biology, Psychology or Algebra, video learning can be fantastic. But, in my experience, learning martial arts is not as simple as sitting down and reading a textbook. Yes, a great many martial arts “how to” books exist, but most are written strictly for those with some legitimate martial arts experience. Illustrations and detailed instructions are great, if you already know the proper positions to be in. Now, with this out of the way, let’s dive in to the first topic: video learning.

We’ve all seen the Youtube videos. Channels with 100,000 or less subscribers saying “you too can be a martial arts master”. These videos have been around since the dawn of VHS, and the Youtube videos are a continuation of a trend trying to sucker absolute beginners into spending exorbitant amounts of money to “learn real martial arts”. Why do I say it is inadvisable to learn from Youtube videos or otherwise? That answer lies in my previous statement: they are not necessarily meant for absolute beginners, even if they market it that way.

As an absolute, “uninitiated” beginner, one has no concept of the “proper” way to perform a technique, stance, and so on. As such, beginners who are just starting out have no way of knowing (aside from a pre-recorded video) if they are doing something correctly. Take the horse stance as an example. Every eastern martial art has their own name or variation, but they often share the same form. Some take a narrower foot position, and some take a wider foot position. Some styles tell you to keep stick your but out and keep your tailbone curved back, and some tell you to tuck your hips under so that your neck, back, and tailbone are in a similar alignment. Are you starting to see the problem yet? The many variations in foot position, hip position, alignment…its difficult to know if you’re doing it correctly for the martial art you want to learn. I correct my own beginner students by placing my hands on them and fixing them if they so wish, as an instructor will. Oftentimes these same beginners will struggle for several classes to get into the right positioning until they begin to feel it well enough for themselves.

For this first topic, I’ll use one of our irregular students at my school. He lives several hours away from any major city, and decided he wanted to learn our martial art. He shows up maybe once a month, and claims he trains at home while he’s away. In conversations with him, whether or not he intended to, he let slip that all of his previous martial arts experience was through books and DVD’s of a different style he picked up a few years ago. As an instructor, that was very clear the first day he stepped into the school last year. To this day, despite his “training and experience” he still struggles to have his knees, hips, back, and feet in the proper places for just about everything. To his credit, he does make an effort at correcting it in class. Yet the one day a month he comes in, he’s back to his improper form. (improper in this case meaning that no martial art in my experience has their stances in such a contorted, back and joint straining manner) This student is a prime example of my point for the first topic, because he previously had only learned from books and DVD’s without an instructor or another person present.

I do not mean to say that one cannot learn martial arts techniques from videos indefinitely. For those beginner students who have progressed well enough to understand proper form, I would say its okay to try out different techniques from different styles they may have interest in, with the understanding that knowing a few techniques does not mean you “know or have trained” the style.

This leads to the second topic for today, distance webcam learning. Like the previous topic, it is inadvisable for absolute beginners to attempt to learn a martial art through distance webcam learning. Unless you have a good understanding of the basics of proper form, I would suggest to shy away from this kind of teaching/learning medium.

As another example, one of our recent beginner students informed me he would be leaving the state to pursue a master degree at another university, though he would return to the state during his breaks. Being a closely knit federation, we do not have Shifus in every state or city, and as such he expressed to me his interest in distance webcam learning. My response was less than he had hoped for. Like the previously mentioned student, he also shows up fairly irregularly for classes. As a result, many of his Kung Fu brothers and sisters he started with have advanced, and he has stayed at his beginning level. Though he claims to have a black belt in some style of Karate, he consistently demonstrates a less than desirable grasp on basic form and technique, instead relying on his height and build to intimidate and overcome. Despite his previous martial arts experience, I still turned him down. Why? It goes back, again, to a grasp on the basics of form and technique. As an instructor, I feel it is my obligation to my students to reinforce proper basics of their level before allowing them to advance. I give students some leeway with the understanding that they are in fact beginners and they’ll pick up the proper form as they continue to advance in their training, and in this case I did not feel comfortable giving him an absolute yes on teaching him via webcam. I absolutely could have told him yes, but at the end of the day, it felt as though it would be a disservice to his training if I or another instructor were not present to physically correct his form or technique at his level. After all, most webcams/internet connections aren’t up to par in order to reveal all the little details that may be hiding behind the grainy connection. Were he at the level of understanding of his Kung Fu brothers and sisters, I may have said yes. Whether or not an instructor chooses to do so is at their discretion.

I’ll end this post here for today. Do I think it’s wrong to teach students via videos or webcam? Not necessarily. If you have a good grasp on form and technique, there’s nothing wrong with trying out something new from a different martial art. Would I advise absolute beginners with zero experience to learn via videos or webcam? I personally would not, on the grounds that it’s a disservice to the beginning student who may not understand the proper execution of a stance or technique.

With that, I turn it over to the budoblr community! What do y’all think? Do you think students should have the opportunity to study from home via webcam or video? Maybe you think I was wrong to turn this student down?

This is certainly going to be a controversial post, but again, this blog was meant to stimulate intellectual conversation. Insofar as herbal remedies go, this post is by no means a way to prescribe or self-diagnose. So, with that, let’s begin.

Since the dawn of popularism surrounding eastern martial arts and medicine in the west, there have been widespread misconceptions as to the mechanisms by which each work. Chinese medicine and the martial arts have been attacked by the religiously devout and modern western medicine with equal fervor. The devout criticize both as shamanism and occult, accusing martial artists and doctors of TCM as tapping into evil, mysterious powers. While this criticism holds substance if one sees both as working with some mysterious unseen qi force, it discounts the scientific and biologic mechanisms that work in the background.

Regarding the practices and training of eastern martial arts, in particular the traditional Chinese martial arts, these incredible demonstrations of physical prowess can now be more easily understood through modern western medicine and scientific study. Where the misunderstanding of such feats comes from is in the mistranslation and misconception of qi within TCM. Qi translated from Mandarin very literally means “gas, air, or breath.” Looking at qi from a scientific standpoint, we know that various gasotransmitters like Nitric Oxide play the role of qi in martial arts and TCM. Too much Nitric Oxide in the body can burn nerve endings and cause serious problems. Too little Nitric Oxide and our body cannot function properly either. The practice of qigong in traditional Chinese martial arts seeks to balance the level of Nitric Oxide in the system, regulates the production of Testosterone (Yang) and Estrogen (Yin), massages the primary organs in the abdominal cavity through the inhalation and exhalation of breath by means of the diaphragm and lungs, and serves to oxygenate the blood through mindful and deep breathing. (Mindful in this case meaning active attention to the inhalation and exhalation, as opposed to the inattentive, natural breathing mechanism for bodily survival). In so doing, the body is able to function at an optimal state, and thus serves martial artists in their intense training.

We know that in regards to neigong iron body training, small shocks to the skeletal structure (not enough to cause contusions or breaks) signal the brain to create more “rods” within the bones to make them more dense. In this case, then, the “dark powers” criticism becomes a moot point. The day-in day-out training of the skeletomuscular structure of serious martial arts masters is in fact a scientific training method utilizing the biologically innate mechanisms of the human body. While not fully understood until a more modern age, thus creating an illusion of mysticism and shamanism among the religious west, we are now more fully able to understand the physically unbelievable demonstrations of strength and agility that serious martial artists possess. We are not possessed by demons, nor do we draw from dark, demonic powers in order to be in the physical condition that martial arts requires.

Having explained much of the mechanisms behind qi in martial arts and TCM, we can now focus on the misunderstanding of herbal usage in TCM. Once again criticized by both religion and modern medicine, we must observe the actual mechanisms by which herbs work. Herbs are not working on some etherial spiritual plane, and in fact can work in conjunction with modern pharmaceuticals. In TCM, most modern chronic conditions can stem from a myriad of causes. Take fibromyalgia for example. Fibromyalgia can be caused by both excess qi, but also by qi deficiency. For the poorly trained acupuncturist, most of whom jumped on the Hippie bandwagon in the 60’s and 70’s and who fully believe that TCM is spiritual healing, a patient may be prescribed the wrong herbs and thus will not reap the benefits. Take a common herbal formula like Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang: a qi tonifying formula and blood mover which can increases blood circulation. While not necessarily indicated for fibromyalgia, for those with deficiency type Fibromyalgia, this formula can work wonders. This formula would in fact be contraindicated and dangerous for those with excess type Fibromyalgia, and can explain many of the accusations against TCM by modern medicine. By this I mean the accusation that herbal medicines only have limited placebo effect. The western medical studies done on particular herbal formulas take a pool of people who have a condition which could potentially be treated by herbs, but fails to take into account the different types of conditions which TCM doctors can diagnose and treat. As mentioned earlier, chronic conditions can be caused by many different types of conditions in TCM, and one pool of people with such a condition may not all have the same type. Those with excess should not take tonic formulas, and those with deficiencies should not take formulas which drain or remove in most cases. Because these studies show limited and therefore “placebo” effects, the criticism of herbal medicine stands.

Second and perhaps the last, is the timeframe in which a person on an herbal formula would see results. Because herbal formulas are meant more for treatment of the root cause and for preventive treatment, someone with a chronic condition may not see immediate result. Where modern pharmaceuticals treat the side effects of conditions and are so concentrated that immediate result is the primary focus, of course an herbal formula will pale in comparison. That said, in TCM, it is recommended to shift one’s diet as well. Just like modern pharmaceuticals and medicine tell you not to consume dairy while taking cold medicine, the same stands for TCM. There are no evil foods in TCM, just foods that may not jive well with a person’s constitution. For a lanky, thin person with a weaker constitution, oily and fatty foods are going to be a better fit until the constitution improves. For an obese person, those foods would be completely contradictory to their constitution, and would only serve to increase their obesity. While taking an herbal formula, the western fast-food centric diet is not recommended. Studies which fail to take into account a subject’s diet and habits outside of the study set herbal formulas up for failure. Those who staunchly refuse to change their diet in order to become healthier will not reap the benefits of herbal formulas, just like in modern medicine. There is no magic pill that will take the fat away in a healthy manner, neither in modern medicine nor in TCM. Chalking up TCM as shamanism and herbalism from misconceptions is a disservice to the masses that may benefit from it.

Without wading too deep into the dietary and herbal guidelines of TCM, I’ll end it here. If you’d like to learn more about TCM, diet and qigong, most of what I’ve mentioned and more can be found in books titled “EnlightenWeight” and “The Fibro Bible” by Andrew Miles and Xuelan Qiu. (Not my books, but I found them helpful). You can also check out Botanical Biohacking, which is their podcast on herbal remedies.

With that, I turn it over to the budoblr community. What do you think? Do you think martial arts are misunderstood, or that this post is BS?Have any of you traditional martial artists out there had experiences with Qigong and TCM? I’d like to hear from you. As always, agree or disagree, this blog is meant to stimulate intellectual conversation. Thanks for taking the time to read!

In most societies and social groups, we tend to enjoy like-mindedness, and stray away from opposing views that challenge our perception of the world. It gives us social and mental comfort to feel as though our view of the world is the correct one. We generally feel uncomfortable when someone with a different opinion challenges our view, looking for cracks in their logic to try to convince them and ourself that our view is the right one. When we can’t, we are left frustrated and immediately seek approval and comfort from like-minded individuals. Unfortunately, this constant need for approval leads to confirmation bias. Confirmation bias leads to absolutist thoughts. Absolutist thoughts lead to argumentative confrontation, and the cycle continues on until we return to our comfort zone of approval.

This absolutist thinking occurs so often in the martial arts world. With so many styles and lineages, we all want to feel like our way is the right way in the beginning. “This is the right way to throw a hook” or “this is the correct way to do horse stance” and so on and so on. There are many instructors who preach the philosophy of absolutes, and while it is okay to impart this on students at the beginning, it is important to remove this absolutist thinking when the student advances beyond a beginner status. Why teach absolutes at all? As it applies to the beginner, absolutes are important to them. It helps them understand why the style or lineage kicks a certain way or steps a certain way, and gives them confidence in their practice.

True, there is a ‘correct’ and an ‘incorrect’ way to perform a technique as with hand position, body position, leg position, among others. However, in that technique, a hundred possibilities open up: the one or two you are taught, and the hundred others that come out of your instructor in a demonstration. What works for drills might not work for sparring. What works for sparring might not work for IRL application. What works for IRL application may not be advisable for drills or sparring. Thus, variations on techniques exist.

It is also important to remember that martial arts styles and lineages came from other styles and lineages. Somewhere in history, like it or not, techniques in your lineage came from some other lineage that used a technique differently. Okinawan Karate appears very similar to Southern Crane. Tae Kwon Do has remnants of Northern Leg. Plum Blossom and Seven Star Mantis came from the original Praying Mantis Style. Many throws in Judo and Jujutsu are very similar to Shuai Jiao throws. Each of these styles have techniques that are similar, and they use them slightly differently. Neither of them is better or worse. They are different methods of utilizing the same technique, and evolved to be used in certain environments, against certain methods of fighting.

Whether or not you are at that point in your training right now, at some point a martial artist realizes that absolutist thinking for martial arts is impractical. When you begin to see that the same technique in your style is used differently in another style, try to avoid thinking “that’s the wrong way to do it”. Evaluate it from a neutral perspective and remove your ego from the equation. Once you stop stroking your ego, the need to be right disappears, and you can see a technique or method as either valid or invalid. 

There are going to be times when you can see a technique is clearly invalid (think about the guys who think they’re sorcerers), and there are going to be times when a variation of their technique is just as valid as the variation you learned. When I teach a technique, I like to give examples from other styles, but finish by telling them that I’m teaching them the usage of the technique from our lineage. It validates that other martial arts are just as effective, while also validating the effectiveness of our own lineage. Just food for thought, and fodder for discussion.

After teaching last night, I gave quite a bit of thought to a discussion I had with the adult students. Although I wanted to sit down and type out a blog right away, I decided to sit on it to get the right words out. Those words can be summed up in the title for today: Slow Down! 

If you want to skip to the application of this, its at the bottom of the post. Continuing on!

We all get so caught up in going fast these days. We want to lose weight fast, get to work fast, get to the store fast, and the list goes on and on. In martial arts, people tend to equate speed with skill and mastery. It is true that a skilled martial artist does have speed in his techniques (among many other traits), yet speed should not be a concern in the beginning. Speed in martial arts comes with time. 

I’ll use one of my Gongfu brothers as an example. Johnny (not his real name) tends to be rigid, stiff, and concerned with power and speed. While rigidity may be important for other martial arts styles, the style I train in stresses the importance of relaxation and flow. While learning a new throw, he was more focused on throwing his training partner as quickly as possible, and less focused on proper form. 

Unfortunately for him, his training partner was well rooted, and Johnny’s rigid, brute force was not going to make him budge. Disregarding Shifu’s instructions, Johnny grabbed his partner’s leg in the wrong place, with the wrong hand, and attempted to perform the throw as quickly as he possibly could. Even more unfortunately, Johnny’s throw not only fantastically failed, he created a large tear in his own bicep, and has been recovering for the last several weeks. 

An instructor’s words of wisdom can only reach so far. The student has to feel the need to apply an instructor’s words to their practice, and internalize them for future reference. Johnny later admitted that he thought Shifu’s advice to “slow down” was unimportant and irrelevant to his own martial arts training, because he equates speed with mastery of a technique. 

Johnny might sound like an extreme individual case, but I see his attitude in nearly every beginner student I teach. One opinionated adult student brought up the point “If we get in a fight, we’re not going to go slow, so why should we train this slow?” to which I respond:

Training for IRL situations is certainly important for a martial artist. Speed is also important for IRL application of martial arts, but it is also necessary to develop accuracy and mastery of a single technique before you can legitimately use it IRL. The ONLY way to develop the speed, power, accuracy, and mastery of a single technique you want to use for IRL application is to develop impeccable muscle memory. Going fast with a technique allows you to mimic very well, but no amount of memory recall will allow you to use it in a split-second, spur of the moment situation. 

Going slow while learning a new technique will not only allow you to develop the muscle memory necessary to gain accuracy with a technique, it will also allow you to build speed and power with proper form. 

That said, this is the view of a select few Chinese Martial Arts lineages, and does not represent the view of other traditional or modern martial arts styles. 

Here’s a short list of things to consider when you want to start down your own martial path.

1. Find A Style and School You Enjoy

Pretty much just common sense. Martial arts is an investment, and while training can be fantastically rewarding, you won’t find value in something you don’t enjoy. There is a vast difference between training for the enjoyment of training, and training just because its good for you.

2. Watch Out For Bad Apples

This could take up an entire post by itself, honestly. The main things to watch out for are contracts and pricing, egotism and misdirection, and community culture. 

Contracts can work for worthwhile schools looking out for their own interest, but they are often employed by schools that know you probably won’t enjoy training there. Next, watch for the price attached to training. A high tuition price in a polished building doesn’t mean they’re teaching good stuff. Super cheap (or free online) doesn’t mean better either. The average per month is about $100, and you want to try to stay in that range. 

Egotism and misdirection generally go hand-in-hand with martial arts schools. If their website is telling you “what to watch out for”, they’re really telling you “my school wouldn’t get by without undermining other schools.” Particularly in traditional lineages of martial arts, trophies and medals don’t mean anything. If a traditional martial arts school tries to tell you otherwise, look elsewhere. Like my post about sparring, traditional martial arts is about taming and letting go of your ego, not stroking it. It feels good to win and be recognized, and I won’t discount that fact. That said, winning isn’t everything. 

Last but certainly not least, look at the community culture fostered by the school. Pride in your school is one thing. Its another for the instructor (or students) to talk trash and put down other schools or lineages. In the end, the school should feel like a community you want to be a part of.

3. Immerse Yourself

Not too long ago, as I sat down with my Gongfu brothers for a little get-together, I thought about starting a little martial arts blog. The martial arts forum websites are great when you want to engage a certain culture, but they limit reaching out to everyday outsiders who have no idea where to even begin with martial arts. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few great martial arts blogs out there. For the most part, though, they all try to sell you their flavor of martial arts, or they engage in discussion topics that are difficult for beginners and outsiders to wrap their heads around. Some of the more sketchy blogs will even try to steer you in the wrong direction, and mislead beginners on what to look for in a martial arts school. 

Truthfully, that’s why I started this blog on Tumblr. While I’m fiercely dedicated to my lineage, I want to create a blog where outsiders, beginners, and advanced students alike can learn from the insights my Gongfu brothers and I have gained through our training, and can engage in the exciting culture that martial arts can foster. I’m passionate about my martial arts lineage, and while I’m not going to try to sell you the lineage I practice, I want to spread the passion for martial arts to everyone I can possibly reach out to. 

So often in our modern times we find ourselves feeling the need to prove something for all the world to see. Look around when you go about your daily life, and you’ll see this need is inherent in nearly all of us. Look inward with honesty, and you too may see this inherent need in yourself. We pour our time, money, and effort into this need to prove ourselves to perfect strangers every day, only to receive minimal social approval and just enough insecurity to perpetuate the cycle. 

I see this so often in the martial arts world, from beginner students to self-proclaimed masters. This attitude is particularly detrimental to a martial artist’s training and self-cultivation. Many traditional martial arts lineages teach the importance of moral values like humility and self-control, and they often fall on deafened ears in a society which values outward appearances over inner wisdom. For outsiders and beginners peering into the martial arts world, a lineage’s value is judged by their preconceived notions regarding the ‘appearance’ of its effectiveness. 

These preconceptions, often misconceptions, are generally based on the sportification and cinematization of the martial arts. Gongfu became popular in the West with the rise of stars like Bruce Lee and Jet Li. The Gracie Family put out propaganda refuting Gongfu, and thus the rise of BJJ began. The UFC continues to pique interest in MMA, and has placed traditional lineages in a poor light. What is effective for a sport may not be effective for application IRL, and the same can be said in the reverse. As a result, martial artists are beginning to spend the majority of their time proving their worth against MMA, and many “serious” martial artists are being outed as paper tigers. 

The fear of becoming a paper tiger certainly drives many martial artists to want to prove the effectiveness of their lineage. Being a paper tiger is a legitimate fear, particularly when we feel we don’t train our techniques enough to feel they can be effective. Drilling techniques is only effective insofar as it can improve muscle memory of the techniques, but the serious martial artist knows drilling can only go so far. This is where the need to prove yourself becomes a dangerous thing. Sparring is the next necessary step to improve IRL application of a technique, but the serious martial artist MUST let go of their ego and their need to prove themselves before they begin sparring. 

It is all too common for students of martial arts to engage in sparring to stroke their ego, whether sportified or full-contact. “Winning” is all well and good, but we don’t learn anything new when we “win” in sparring. While nobody likes to “lose” a sparring match, “losing” is incredibly useful when we want to improve our technique. I use these words lightly, because “winning” and “losing” in sparring is subjective. If you go into a sparring match with something to prove, chances are you’re going to want to fight your partner into the ground, and your partner will respond in kind. Regardless of the outcome, both you and your partner lose, because the focus was on stroking your ego and not on technique. Remove your ego from the equation. Have a conversation with your partner beforehand and discuss what you’d like to improve through the sparring match. Go into the sparring session with the mindset of mutual improvement, in which one can benefit the other. Spar with intent, don’t fear hurting your partner or getting hurt by your partner, and always find ways to improve your weaknesses. The latter will always result in mutual victory.