Wednesday, October 14, 2009

When Kung Fu Fails!

As wonderful and powerful Kung Fu is for self defense, it can fail you, and here is when.
1. When you fail to practice enough to perfect your techniques.
2. When you fail to remember proper mind control, namely your fears.
3. When you think you cant lose.
4. When you fight for unjust reasons.
5. When you start fights.
6. When you fear using your techniques in fear of harming your opponent.
7. When you underestimate your opponent.
8. When you are unaware.


Solutions:
1. Practice your techniques realistically and work on variations.
2. Practice mind control techniques, this requires Chan (Zen) practice.
3. Practice as if your opponent has never been beaten, now go from there.
4. Practice restraint.
5. Practice humility rather then vengeance. Humility, compassion, and wisdom characterize the state of enlightenment
6. Practice justification of force.
7. Practice the principles of Sun Tzu.
8. Practice staying in the moment. Maximum clarity of your environment and situation at hand. This is Shaolin Chen.


The best of all solutions is never having to fight at all, when you do, you have already lost control of the situation....! But if no other way out, and you have followed the eight solutions mentioned above, you should emerge victoriously and unharmed. This is when Kung Fu Works!!!

Buddha Bless

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Never Give Up

This art is wonderful for making you ready for the battle of life. If you stay and succeed in this art achieving a high level it is an indication you are on the verge of finding great self discipline and control over yourself so that the battles we all face in life will be under your control rather then running wild and out of control.

Life is a constant challenge, no day goes by without us having to make decisions and playing them out to a fruitful conclusion. But this take a strong mind and will to stick to your guns, it does not come without tempering yourself to deal with situations as they arise. You need to find that control of mind and body and this is what the Art is all about, becoming your own Master rather then the slave of others.

There will be days when you say, wow, I cant make workout, I am tired, or I have others things to do, or just missing one wont hurt me, I think I will relax today. These attitudes lead to defeat down the line in dealing with other matters other then the Gwan and its demands. Maybe the one workout missed wont hurt you, maybe it will because you have given in to your whims rather then saying NO! I will push myself to go, even if I am tired or busy with other matters. You just don't give in to being lazy or making excuses which is what Martial Arts pride themselves on, namely not giving up.

Most of the troubles in life will come from our own shortcomings to deal with situations and standing strong in the face of adversity. There are people who will try to deter you along the way, You have be a strong person to say, sorry, I have a class to make or sorry it is time for my home practice. The more you don't give into your self weaknesses, the stronger you get, in the final outcome nothing will ever deter you from completing tasks in life with a clear mind determination will to succeed.

I can say in all honesty I have never given in to myself when it came to training. When you do this, your life will revolve around your Arts, rather then the Arts revolving around your life. This in turn will lead you to self mastery which is the primary purpose of training, to change you into a strong determined individual who is independent and self sufficient and one sighted in your goals in life.

We all want to be happy in life, but happiness comes from making the right moves and to see the right move you must be clear sighted meaning you know the consequences of life are determined by your choices. Nobody can make the right choice for you, it must come from you and to come from you you must train yourself to be clear minded and follow through with any demands made to you. You never back off or slack off.

Yes, our Art is more the fighting, so much more! It is a Mastery over our weak self to that of the warrior self which lies within all of us. You just have to bring it out, then you can bask in the glory of your successes which come from proper decisions and follow through until what must be done is done. Don't let your life be guided by others, you must cut your own path in life, nobody can do that for you except yourself.

A Poem on the Arts

TRAINING...

The bells ring and I detect incenses,
Butterflies in my stomach have cooled their senses.

Enter the armory as a mere man,
Leave as warriors of the same clan.

Spread to four corners on the hard floor,
Contorting our bodies to melt our core.

The time is close at hand, let us prepare,
Place your cloth on the ground and wipe the floor bare.

All in a row, we are stakes in the ground,
We do not move, do not make a sound.

The teacher comes forth and our journey begins,
We bow our bodies, but raise our chins.

The doors are flung open for all to know,
We're in his world now with no place to go.

Working long and hard without much break,
For those who quit quick this was a mistake.

I've tried my best and my muscles all ache,
Even ones I didn't know that I could awake.

Pushing the limit as far as we can,
Reaching our goals with a guiding hand.

But its over now and we must go,
What wills me to stay I do not know.

I am reminded that the test isn't done,
Because life is a game that cannot be won.

Though, if I take time to practice my skills,
I'll be scaling more mountains than hills.


*** Author: Poem by Marc Gatien
Posted on our ACCS Blog for public consumption.

ShrYa

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Stupidity of Mankind.

This country Is now undergoing a great change. I don't want to scare people, but major changes are just around the corner and along with them will come more an more attacks by our lack of accepting the facts as they are. I believe the USA is getting weaker, not stronger and like Rome, we will go down in short order. As a Martial Artist I can small trouble coming, just be prepared is my only advice.

Why do I say this? Well because of human nature, and the interplay of Yin and Yang. There will always be those who want to fight for what they think is good. It may look bad to another but to those it is good and the right thing to do. There is no changing what others see as correct, just as you cant be convinced to their way of thinking. This brings conflict.

If people understood this fact then we as a country would take strong precautions to stop or limit the chances of attack, But what we have done thus far is just not enough to ward off attacks, being prepared is a Martial Arts tactic. When you lessen your guard, expect the attack. As I look out into the world affairs I see less precautions being taken, our guard is down because many have forgotten the rules of Sun Tzu. Therefore, attacks will be the result, and sooner or later, it will hit us hard, I see sooner rather then later.

Mankind is destructive, we just cant seem to live together in the world in harmony, We tend to fight among ourselves, or anyone who don't agree with us. Mankind has not learned by the long history of wars and conflict. Since man set foot in the world he has been fighting and this will continue until we all wipe our self off the face of the earth.

The only salvation is for man to wake up, and share the world, we are on an island in the universe, and there is no place we can find peace in the world. So sad, but true. We have been praying for peace since day one , but it has never come and this is due to a state of the unenlightened. They see differently then those who see the truth, love and peace.

Nothing will stop this drift towards total destruction, it is only a matter of time. My advice is to be prepared and ready for what will be, find love, find peace and accept things as they are. So when it all transpires you will be ready to face whatever it is we will face... Then you can die at peace. Mankind has been doomed since it creation because we are lost souls, who don't realize how to live in peace. Total world peace never existed since the dawn of man and never will until we end it with one Big Bang!

Until then, don't worry, there is little you can do once we the wheel is rolling, and as I see it, it is rolling a great deal faster now....

My only wish is that our next appearance into existence will be a better one then what we have created thus far.

Pray for peace, but don't hold your breath too long or you will meet you maker sooner rather then later..

I Pray I am totally Wrong!!! But somehow I don't think so...

Training in our Art will make you stronger to accept things as that are, and deal with them as they are. The events you cant change, just accept them and be prepared to face them bravely having faith and trust in the Dao.


Some may say this is another doomsday prediction, and we will be fine, but I say, if you understand how Yin and Yang works then where there is a beginning there must be an end. This is not a possible prediction, it is fact how yin and yang work......

Buddha Bless Us All