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Post by SifuDale on Nov 13, 2006 8:20:42 GMT -5
Since this new part of the website has been quiet, I wanted to get things started. Answer this question: Why is Kung Fu / The School / Class training important to you?
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Post by SifuDale on Nov 13, 2006 8:37:01 GMT -5
I know when I was younger (16 yrs - 21 yrs old) I would say I loved Kung Fu because it was the coolest. I love Kung Fu. I love the forms, the interaction with people (sparring, wrestling, one-step), the philosophy, the depth of the whole art, and I love what it has helped me achieve in my life.
An example of a great accomplishment for me back then was when I walked on a bed of nails. I was around 18 years old, and it was one of the most physically and mentally challenges that I had to face at that time in my life. And I did it. It took everything I had to step up on those nails. Then it took everything I had to take one step, two steps, three steps, etc. But in the end, a challenge was placed before me, and I stepped up to the task and did it.
I bring this up because for years after the bed of nails walk, anytime in my life when I was faced with a challenge, I always went back to that day and the nails. Anytime someone would intimdate me, or I would feel nervous, I would tell myself "You can do this, you walked on a bed of nails". Anytime I said that to myself, my confidence increased, my personality became stronger, and I always succeeded in any of the challenges placed before me.
This mentality helped me become a national forms competitor, competing at and winning some of the top Kung Fu tournaments in the U.S. This mentality helped build my confidence, my personality and who I am today. I enjoy Kung Fu because it has played a large part in who I am today. It has played a large part in my relationships with my family, my friends, my school and how I see myself today. It has given me a deeper sence of life, of family and of who I am. It is a gift I hope to pass to my students and to my friends and family. But, it is up to the student to be willing to learn the lessons and face the challenges placed before them in life.
Sifu
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Post by Si Jieh Evita on Nov 15, 2006 21:16:29 GMT -5
Hmm that's a tough question.
I think you summed it all up in your own response. For me, kung fu started out as a cool and fun way to learn self defense, but as I grew older and learned more about myself through my training I've learned that a lot of the principles and lessons that you learn when you push yourself to overcome challenges and when you find out that telling yourself you can do something truely does make a difference in whether you can do it or not; you really can do anything you put your mind to as long as you have the drive to do it.
That can be said about a lot of sports and activities, but everyone has to look inside to what activity suits them best and brings the best out in them and I have to say that this is something that will be in my soul forever.
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Post by Si Hing Jake on Jan 10, 2007 18:25:05 GMT -5
Sit on a sofa for 6 years, and you will understand exactly why Kung-Fu is an integral part of my life. Just simply being active has trippled my overall health and happiness. Who would've ever thought that TV and Video Games all the time was a bad thing!!!!!!!!!!!
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Takoda
Junior Member
Posts: 55
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Post by Takoda on Jan 16, 2007 23:36:52 GMT -5
Why is kung fu important to me. Well, even though I have not practiced in some time...I feel ultimately, it saves lives! I mean that in many ways. No, not just kicking the crap out of someone. For me, I mean...a great inner peace. A focus. A goal. A balance. A means of truly being in touch with ourselves, our spirits, our souls. A refuge. A way of life. Kung Fu saves lives...any every sense that a person's life might be saved. Why is the school important? Seeing the dream of a friend come true. Seeing how sharing the practice and principles, morals and values it instills and how it helps the lives and touches the hearts of others. Why are classes important? Ahhh. We learn not only from our elders (SiHings, SiJ's and Sifus...but also from each other and about each other and ourselves. And to learn and practice and become better practitioners and grow as individuals and as a family. Why is training important? Ahhh this is the best. The freedom, peace, and balance that it brings...not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. MB
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Post by SiDaiGranolaGuy on Jan 30, 2007 0:05:54 GMT -5
Four and half years ago, there was a little 6-year-old boy who suffered from constricted leg muscles, and had both gross and fine motor skill delays. He was very uncoordinated and could only run short distances before tiring out. He was far from athletic and would probably have been laughed out of most martial arts schools. Sifu Dale looked at him, smiled, and welcomed him to his school.
From that very first day, everyone accepted this young boy. During his first year, both Si Hing Charlie and Se Jieh Evita patiently spent countless hours helping him with his training. As time passed, the boy grew and his body began to transform. He continued training and worked with everyone - Si Hings James, Ben and Jason, and Si Jieh Nicole. He spent his summers with Sifu Dale in CMAC Camp. Then one day, two years later, it happened. He was in the middle of class, practicing Forward Flowers with his broadsword, and his body became a flowing river of movement. We could only stop and stare, and cry hidden tears of happiness.
Kung fu is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And there are many schools out there, some good, some not so good. But what makes a kung fu school great - truly great - are its people. Sifu Dale's school may be a school of kung fu but to us it will always be a school of hope, a school of caring, a school of love. And what could be more important than that.
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