STRIKE, BEND, LIFT, & FLY

It is hard to sum up my Kung Fu training in a single web posting of reasonable length.  A friend and fellow practitioner asked me not long ago what kind of change Tai Chi practice has had on my life.  I responded that it had changed everything.  My life literally falls in two phases, before Tai Chi and after Tai Chi, with Tai Chi having been my entry point into other Kung Fu styles. 

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Like most good things in my life, I am indebted to my husband for introducing me to Tai Chi.  He had seen an ad for a local Tai Chi class and asked if I would be interested in trying it.  He had studied Tai Chi many years before and showed me some of the basic movements.  I was interested and we signed up for the class.  Within a couple of months, we were attending four-hour long classes each Sunday, and beginning to practice on our own.  My first instructor introduced me to basic Yang style and Chen style Tai Chi, as well as a mix of other Chinese martial arts, such as Hsing-I, Bagua, Wing Chun, and Wa Lu.  It was very sound basic training, and I will always be indebted to my first instructor for emphasizing and instilling sound fundamentals.

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After about one or two years, I was also introduced to the straight sword or jian.  My first sword was just a clunky wooden practice sword, but it quickly became a beloved object.  I practiced basic sword drills religiously at the outset, sensing that this was the key handling the jian confidently.  Although in more recent years I have come to study a variety of other bladed weapons and staff, the jian still holds a special attraction for me.

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After several years my husband began studying with our current instructor, and I followed a year or so later.  I could write endlessly in praise of my Sifu, Liu Xiaoling, who is officially recognized as a wushu eighth level dan by the Chinese government, one of only a very few individuals to hold this status.  I immediately recognized that I had the opportunity to study with a teacher who possessed rare knowledge and skills of a caliber far beyond what is commonly seen.  I was surprised that he would even have me as a student.  I felt, and still feel, a deep responsibility not to have him waste his efforts on me.  In other words, I try to be worthy of the instruction that a receive, at least to the best of my abilities.  It helps enormously that he is so kind and patient.  What a great joy to train with someone who loves what he is doing so much.  So I try to train hard and master as best I can the material that I am given.  The Chinese term “Kung Fu” roughly translates as “skill obtained through hard work.”  I simply strive to attain some measure of Kung Fu.