The Martial Spirit — Martial Virtues And Kairos

Discoursing The Mind And Spirit Of The Pugilist

The Right Focus

Bottom Line Up Front — Kungfu is about making quality humans through artful refinement and mastery.

I kept asking my students — “why do you learn martial arts”? As teachers. we have to check the intention of all students to ensure that ego is not part of the agenda.

The problem I am worried about is that people who are motivated to train to fight are looking for a fight in the first place. Skills without character, only make the world a dangerous place. You don’t even need to attend sociology class to understand this. All the more, I spoke to many law enforcers who are martial artists, they have seen enough to get that point. If Kungfu is teaching people to be showy and to be troublemakers even if indirectly, that is terrorism.

I kept asking on how many people have the will to train in the first place — even for the right reasons? Even from my own students, I have rarely hear a sound and perspicacious answer. I understand most martial artists are merely interested in the technical aspects, but have we forgotten what the battlefields have taught the walk of Kungfu over the past thousand years itself?

Many teachers, like myself, are against mindless Kungfu movies and teachings. I have recounted numerous times asking teachers to check their students and peers to ensure a refined charactered martial society, and many have avoided this central value. Not many people are up to that courage to address this issue. I keep seeing the plain focus of techniques, but aren't we exposing dangerous methods to people causing more chaos and contamination to the world at large, if not just our pugilistic society. How many times do we see teachers focusing on a refined martial spirit rather than more of showing off or proving who is right or stronger or faster? Why do many martial artists posed shirtless and reflexing muscles? What are they trying to prove? Where is our real martial character gone to? It is foolish to mix ego with martial, and it brings untold, unnecessary tragedy violence. If pride and ego overrides compassion, empathy, guilt and rationality, and most importantly, perspicacity, Kungfu is meaningless. Sadly to say…