Zaine

Happy birthday Devin, hope it was great!

Good luck! Just relax and you will do great!

I wish you all the best on your move Bob. I'll be praying for a smooth transition.

I was bullied a lot as a kid and beat on so I joined karate to learn to defend myself. In the end, I stuck with it because I fell in love with Martial Arts. 13 years later I still train diligently and I cannot imagine a time when I will not be a Martial Artist.

I do stance training every other day but I know some people who do it every day. There seems to be a lot of different views on how often you should do them, how long, and whether or not it's good to carry weight on you when you do them. I would ask your instructor for their opinion. Now, as far as how hard it is to train stances? It's not necessarily difficult, but it will tax your endurance. It's more about having the patience to stand in a position that is uncomfortable for an extended period of time without stopping. The only difficulty you will face is in your own mind here.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. I would like to thank Tuttle Publishing who, through Patrick, was kind enough to give me this book to review. As someone who has trained in Okinawan karate for most of their journey, I did not know who Wong Kiew Kit was before reading this book. All I knew was that, having recently branched into kung fu, I was excited to read The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu. Wong Kiew Kit (who I will refer to as Wong from this point on) is a thirty year veteran of kung fu, having trained with Shaolin monks and grandmasters of Shaolin kung fu. He is an accomplished author and dedicated martial artist. The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu starts by giving the reader a little history of the martial art and its many branches. Wong not only takes us through the general history of a number or branches in Shaolin, he takes us through the language that was used to identify them at the time. While seemingly unimportant, this gives us a lot of context (as Wong explains) about what exactly early martial artists felt was important and which techniques were focused on. From there, we get to the bulk of the book. Wong starts by giving us a breakdown of what he feels are the core styles within Shaolin. He does something very important; which is that he makes sure to let us know that one or the other is not better than any other martial arts system. Period. In fact, he tells us that the "best" martial art depends on the person taking it. While some styles of Shaolin are fit for a tall person, others work better when your are smaller. This is not to say that a tall person cannot excel in a style that is better suited for a small person, but that a martial artist should find the style that is going to feel the most comfortable to them because that is where they are most likely to succeed. This leads into an important philosophical concept that he strings throughout his book: ego and elitism will get you absolutely nowhere in martial arts. Wong talks about the philosophies and beliefs of the Shaolin throughout his book. He especially focuses on the art of meditation and balancing oneself. He believes that to be a good martial artist, we must be healthy both physically and mentally. He also believes that we generate greater power when we are able to use our chi in a more effective way. Saying this, I know that there is a stigma on the word "chi." However, I would push for the reader to keep an open mind here about what he means. Wong does not mean to say that we can use chi to move objects, push people or knock someone out without hitting them. He means that there seems to be some spiritual force within us that helps us draw power. This is more or less the idea behind tai chi: focusing our chi in a positive way to promote a healthy mind and body, while learning how to use it to create power in martial moves. Wong dedicates the largest part of his book to what most read these things for: actual practice. He starts off with a very important concept, which is that practice makes perfect. He is diligent in letting us know that we cannot simply show up to class 1-3 times a week and expect to be excellent at the art. The martial arts takes practice and, if you want to be good at them, you should practice daily and move on only when you have become proficient with what you are practicing. Wong states that it takes beginners around three months of practicing to start to understand and become proficient with the concepts they need. While this seems like a large amount of time, he mentions that, as we learn the basics and become more and more masterful of them, the new techniques take less and less time to become proficient with. Wong teaches us everything we need to know to get started in Shaolin kung fu while pushing us to seek training from a reputable instructor who teaches both the physical and spiritual side of kung fu. Finally, Wong leaves us with philosophy. As stated above, Wong believes that a good martial artist cultivates both their physical and spiritual selves. In these last few chapters he writes about chi, zen and obtaining enlightenment. While many people interested in karate are only interested in the physical aspect (a fact that Wong is aware of), he is ever vigilant in pushing us to develop a healthy balance as he believes that it is tantamount to not only being a good martial artist but a healthy person. To say that I enjoyed The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu is an understatement. I think that Wong lays out a system of practicing martial arts that every martial artist (regardless of what system you practice) should follow. I think that Wong gets the center of what a martial artist should strive for (balance, humility, compassion, etc.) and does so in a way that is enjoyable to read. His writing style makes the chapters fly by seamlessly, and he is quick to tell an anecdote that adds to the meaning of the concepts he is teaching. If you buy this book and absorb what Wong has to say, you will be a better martial artist for it. Buy the book: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk (KarateForums.com receives a small commission on any sales generated through these links).

Congrats! Well deserved!

Congrats ps1! That's a great achievement, I look forward to your continued contributions!

Dallas?! DFW. I live in Arlington.

As far as I know TSD has some throws. TSD is a striking art for the most part so obviously there will be more of that. Are you looking for a system that focuses more on throws?

That's great news! Congrats!

Welcome to KF Craig! It's great to have you!

So I talked to my brother-in-law who is a counselor so that I could get a professional opinion on it. He sent me a link (below) that is a great resource to how something like this should be handled. To add, if you are not a instructor or the Sensei of your dojo, you should also inform them, it's their space and they might have more experience with this type of thing. He also mentioned that the teen should be given the option to tell the parents first, as doing so is a better way for the teen to start the healing process. Again though, if you are not the Sensei, please bring this, along with the article, to their attention. http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Content/consumer_updates/adolescent_self_harm.aspx

I live in Texas, but unfortunately around 4 hours from Houston.

If the parents are abusive and harmful then look for the signs. Chances are that the child will exhibit signs of abuse and in that case CPS should be called. However, barring that parents should be told. There is no reason to automatically expect that the parents are abusive and (speaking as a parent) this is something that the parents need to know. I know that growing up I knew people who cut and self mutilated and more times it was due to other stressors and, if it had to do with the parents at all, it was as an act of rebellion, something teenagers do. So, I cannot stress this enough, tell the parents.

Talk to their parents immediately. That's a serious issue and it shouldn't go unnoticed.

It's been a long time since I've competed, and even then the organization that hosted the tournaments didn't have katas so there were none. If I were to go to a competition now with a kata it would probably be Chinto.

Firstly, there is so much more to do and learn as a 1st dan and above than there is from 10th kyu to 1st. Does the learning come over a longer period, yes, but that is because when you get promoted to 1st Dan you have proven to your sensei that you have the commitment to the system to stick it through and grow at what certainly feels like a slower pace but is in fact exponentially faster than you realized. Secondly, Martial Arts isn't for everyone and some people only enjoy it when they are ranking up quickly. At 1st Dan you stop ranking up quickly and what used to take months now takes years. However, the things that you learn are much deeper and they take time to understand and perfect, a lot more is expected from you at 1st Dan and above and not everyone is ready, or willing, to rise to the challenge. Finally, you seem passionate about your martial arts. Did I get bored of what I was learning sometimes? Absolutely! There is a lot of repetition and tedium attached to martial arts at times and it isn't always about learning new things one after another. What kept me going, however, was that I love martial arts. Even when I was bored of it I remembered that I would learn new things and discoveries happen everywhere from 10th kyu to 10th Dan so never stop learning! Good luck!

That's an interesting question and I don't think that there is really a cut and dry answer to it. At this point (10+ years) you have a lot of knowledge and technique. I imagine that there is another kata to learn, but a lot of systems slow down or stop having new ones at this point. Mostly, what separates a 4th Dan from a 5th Dan is time and in that time you continue to grow and learn, falling more in love with (in your case) Goju Ryu. I wouldn't worry about rank, however. Continue learning and practicing and the rank will come. Congrats on your promotion to 4th Dan, it's a great achievement!

Hello Matt, welcome to KF! It's great to have you!

That an amazing accomplishment Brian! Thanks for the commitment and quality posts!

That's where you and I differ I think. I don't think balance has to come from a spiritual aspect. I think that balance and finding the core of oneself can be achieved via methis that don't involve spirituality. For example, while meditation is often a spirituah practice I don't think that it has to be and one can find their calm and center through meditation without adding a spiritual aspect. "Spirituality is a process of personal transformation, either in accordance with traditional religious ideals, or, increasingly, oriented on subjective experience and psychological growth independently of any specific religious context. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality 1. It does not have to be a religious experience. 2. Personal transformation is what helps achieve balance. 3. Through discernment a student learns when and when not to act/react. 4. Spirituality is who you are and no one can avoid the transformation that occurs as you experience life, overcome the rigors of training, etc. 5. Martial arts training can enhance that, even accelerate the process. Those are good points, I was attaching spirituality with religious experience instead of viewing it as something detached. So to amend my first answer, yes, I teach the spiritual side of MA.

That's where you and I differ I think. I don't think balance has to come from a spiritual aspect. I think that balance and finding the core of oneself can be achieved via methis that don't involve spirituality. For example, while meditation is often a spirituah practice I don't think that it has to be and one can find their calm and center through meditation without adding a spiritual aspect.

I teach that there can be a spiritual side to MA. I believe that there is but I understand that that part is not going to be there for some and it never will be. I don't worry about it because when it comes down to it there doesn't need to be a spiritual side to MA for a person to be a martial artist.

I live in Arlington and I am currently at work. Not being a big football fan I wasn't too worried about the game tonight. However, the hour of yelling and lamenting that followed showed me that most of my co-workers were. They did not share you attitude about the lose.