Issue 57 - Tse Qigong Centre

Concentrated TrainingDear Mr Tse,I would very much like to haveinformation on training classes in WingChun. I really love reading the wonderfulbook that you and Ip Chun put together.I also enjoyed reading up on the historyand the other beautiful stories of WingChun and the people who influenced itsuch as Ip Man, Bruce Lee as well.I have been practising Wing Chunbut not as much as I should do because Ihaven’t any partner or wooden dummyto practise with but most of all, no oneto follow or learn from. Ineed, no doubt, someonelike yourself who is dedicatedto the art of Wing Chun toteach me. I find it seriouslydifficult as well to practiseeveryday with my othermartial arts. I badly needsomeone to help me withthis, too. I need someone toteach me everyday or helpme everyday, as I findtraining very difficult toaccomplish where I am at themoment. Maybe you couldhelp me on this subject areaif you don’t mind me asking.I get scared of peoplewatching me and laughing atme which has happened inthe past. I have been scaredof this ever since.I realise it’s not likethe movies, and I don’t wantto do it just to be a meangreen,killing machine or tosay “I am the best…look atme everyone!” I don’t want to do it forthat in any way, but I am seeking to study,practise, and train hard like most seriousmartial artists to accomplish thing I wantto do in life. I am now 21 years of ageand I feel it may be too late. I learnedthe art of Karate when I was 15 but Ifound it hard to train and practiseeveryday.I read up on people like Bruce Lee,Cynthia Rothrock, Jackie Chan and theytrain for 7-8 hours a day and you yourselfprobably do as well. This is what I wantto achieve in life. So if you could helpme in this area, I would be most thankfuland grateful, as I realise that perfectionin any martial arts comes from practisingeveryday.I will be looking forward to yourreply and hearing from you.All the best, D, SuffolkDear D,You are a very clear writer andspeak from your heart. I can see you thinkabout things a lot and also worry too.Sometimes, when we think and worry toomuch, we cannot make any decision andso end up doing nothing at all, instead ofdoing a little bit everyday or as often aswe can.Someone said tome, “Comparison leadsto misery.” Sometimeswe see others and thinkto ourselves, “Oh, Iwould like to be likethem”, but maybe it isnot in your fate to be likesomeone else. You areyour own special personand what you achievehas to be for yourself.I understand thatit is sometimes hard topractise. Many peoplethink that I do nothingbut practise all day,however, even myself, Itravel a lot to teachdifferent places and so Iam not always on thesame schedule. I alsowork in my office whenI am in England, writingbook, giving treatmentsand teaching there aswell.The people you refer to train for adifferent purpose than for what I train.That it is not to say they are wrong, justtheir path is different. My main aim is tobe healthy and I apply that principle evento my martial arts and other things in mylife. These people are all in movies or incompetitions where they have to look andbe their best all the time. As such, theirtraining has a different focus. They arenot just training a traditional martial artskill, they are also conditioning theirbodies by lifting weights and doingaerobic exercise.Just because someone trains thatmany hours a day, does not mean theyare healthy. They may even come to apoint where they are losing Qi becausethey are pushing themselves to keeptraining even when they are tired. Acommon phrase in the west is , ‘no pain,no gain’. I disagree with this. Everythingin life is about balance. When somethingis in balance, it will last longer. Thisphilosophy also covers your own concernsabout not practising enough. You shoulddo what you can to fit in with your workor your studies. That does not mean thatif you do not train every day that youshould give up.I think maybe you are putting toomuch pressure on yourself by setting goalsthat are too high, and then you feeldiscouraged before you have even started.I think maybe it would be better if youfind the martial art or skill which you reallyenjoy and a good teacher with whom youcan learn under. Then, if you feel lazyabout practice, just tell yourself, “Okay, Iwill just practise for five or ten minutes.”Chances are, once you have done five orten minutes, then you will want to carryon for the rest of the practice session.Because you are doing something youlove, you find you are enjoying yourself.You will also have a class with peers whowill help you as well. If the teacher isgenuine and of a good heart, then thestudents too should be the same, and noone will laugh at you.A teacher can help guide you, butultimately, it is yourself who has to findthe will power to carry on. I rememberone of my students who desperatelywanted to go to China so he would havethat concentration of someone teachinghim everyday, setting him goals and givinghim a deadline that he would have tokeep. But in the end, even if he went toChina, unless he stayed there for the restof his life, eventually he would have tocome back and find a job and then fit hispractice in with making a living. So itwould be better if he learned to disciplinehimself. Even these stars that youmentioned, like Jackie Chan and even JetLi, they still had to make sacrifices to meettheir goals. But the motivation had tocome from within their heart, not anyonepushing them. Even if they had someonepushing them all the time, if their heartdid not want to do it, then they wouldeventually give up.That is why I say to you, find theskill or art that you will enjoy, hopefullyfor the rest of your life. Then when youdo, just carry on. Take small steps and donot expect big results, then, in the sameway water can wear down stone,eventually you will make progressBest wishes, Michael TseQi Magazine 5