Last Sunday at class, we were having some fun with Wujifa, and exploring some of the biproducts of training. Now, in our school we really focus on the Roots of the system, and when the flowers and fruits show up we simply appreciate them and move on.
We have a little story in Wujifa called "Driving to Disneyland". Following any intention is like following the intention to drive down to Disneyland. What's important is staying on the road. Biproducts that come up are like the signs on the road. When you see the signs that say "658 miles to Disneyland" or "256 miles to Disneyland", you may get excited, but you don't stop and set up camp around the sign and have your vacation there. You keep on driving.
One of the biproducts which we notice is increased balance, structure, and physical strength. One place where this is evident is in one-legged squats.
Again, this is just kind of a fun way to see some of the balance and structure that can be developed by practicing Wujifa.
Another Fun thing we play around with is the "zero inch punch", which is simply what it sounds like. It's a way of using your body to generate power over very short distances. I am by no means a pro at this one. In fact, I got so nervous in front of a camera thinking people were going to see it that I got the shakes. After I calmed down a little bit, we made this video:
Some of the punches are pretty decent, but there's a lot of work for me left to do too. I'm really excited about continuing to train and developing some real skill, which I will accomplish by really developing the roots of my practice.
It's cool, I watched the movie "The Drunken Master" the other day, and "So Hi", Jacky Chan's master, had him really focus on doing the basic exercises of the style for a long time before he got to anything that looked like "kung fu". Then, when he finally had to fight, he was amazing! The lesson is that focus on the basics is very important, and builds the foundation for real skill. Truly one of our beliefs in Wujifa!
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Ahh yes... Sign posts are not the destination. This is a useful distinction. I like the by-product paridigm as it seems to help ones ficus and intention stay on course. I really enjoyed the videos. Looks like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteIn praise of the basics!!
ReplyDeleteAs the one on the receiving end, I could feel which punches came from a connected Dan-body and which came from a not-connected Dan-body. There was definitely a qualitative difference!
It is soooo cool to have this experience with a developing student. With masters, who are so completely connected, even when they feign disconnectedness, you can still feel the underlying connection.
Having the opportunity to get punched by someone further along then I and not yet so completely there as a master, is truly a gift!!!
Rock-n-roll Dan! You definitely got it going! Thanks for the post! Keep nurturing those roots!
That's awesome, Dan! Love the videos...you are very talented. Love the donkey, too!! Does it have a name?
ReplyDeleteHaha... it doesn't as far as I know, but it is super rare... I heard there's only 600 of them in the world.
ReplyDeleteThose one legged squats were VERY impressive.
ReplyDeleteOnly six hundred of those donkeys? Which one was it?
Only 600, eh. Probably about the same number of living people in the world who can demonstrate real internal strength.
ReplyDeleteI'd say, it's the one that lives in Michigan, USA.
Freakin awesome, Dan. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete