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The Three Battles

25/5/2020

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There are different ways to look at one's progression within the traditional Chinese martial arts. One way that I like looking at one's progression is based on our Tiger Crane Combination systems teaching on the three battles. I have discussed the three battles before but want to offer a slightly different perspective.

The three stages of development:

The first stage a student must go through is the stage of forms and shapes. A student must learn the specific shapes, movements and physical structures that the particular system they have chosen teaches. They must change the physical body so that the structures and shapes are not forced and can be settled into with ease. Taking them to a stage where the shapes and structures of the system become the intuitive way they move and stand. Thought is no longer needed to align correctly; it’s automatically correct. These shapes can be like external scaffolding that allows the student to now enter inside and do the next stage of work. - This stage can take between 5 to 10 years of training - this depends mainly on the quantity and quality of one's training.

With the body now aligned correctly and holding our structure in place correctly, we move inside and begin the long and challenging process of changing our inside. This process is not about adding anything - it is purely a process of letting go and abandoning all that is unnecessary. We build up a lifetime of bad habits, ways of thinking, emotional states and these all have a direct effect on how our body and energy move and react. The work at this stage is about letting go physically and mentally of all that offers resistance, our first 5 to 10 years of training has given us the scaffolding and structures physically and mentally so that we don't crumble during this process of abandoning the unnecessary. Most martial artists begin this stage but do not leave it. This stage can take between 20 years and a lifetime of training - Again, this depends on the quantity and more importantly here, the quality of your training. This part of training is also challenging to achieve without a good teacher who knows the path through experience, not intellectual understanding.

The third stage is about removing the scaffolding, the structures and shapes you have mastered no longer matter, you have changed your mind and your body to become Kung Fu completely so everything you do and don’t do, think and don’t think, say and don’t say is Kung Fu. Internal and external are no longer separated, and all things are united.

In essence, the journey is about learning how to to do so we can abandon doing.

Here is one of my favourite quotes from Chuang Tzu that embodies this process,

“Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”

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[Video] Bulgaria Seminer 2019

19/8/2019

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By: Elizabeth Nightingale

​
On 28th July this year, a large group of us headed off for the Kung Fu Zone club’s first-ever training holiday. We stayed in the pretty village of Pismenovo in Bulgaria, enjoying panoramic views of the surrounding countryside from our private resort. The resort came complete with a pool, much needed given the 5 hours of training we averaged each day! Training alternated between our resort in Pismenovo village and Perla beach in Primorsko. Training included a mixture of running, Kung Fu, and Suang Yang Tai Chi led by our Head instructor, Shkar. As well as training hard, there was also plenty of playtime, meaning we not only came back fitter and more focused, but closer as tiger cranes. 
“It was amazing to have so much focused, individual time with Shkar to work on details and adjustments which made a huge difference to my kung fu, and which a normal class wouldn’t have allowed for”
​KW
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“Oh, what a beautiful morning” …run
Many of us were apprehensive about the sustainability of consecutive early morning training and the prospect of voluntarily setting our alarms for 5:45 am. However, we surprised ourselves; no man was left behind, and each morning, we gathered as a collective. The stillness you experience at that time – soft, quiet and sunrise – made all the bleary-eyed weariness worthwhile. After stretching, the majority of us headed off on a 6k run which provided an opportunity to see the local landscape before concluding with hill sprints. Those with injuries were overseen by instructor Kristina and were given 100 burpees and 100 stand-ups to complete. Whilst demanding, many people’s times improved throughout the week, with Shkar and senior student James achieving 6.1k in a particularly impressive 28:10 on the final training morning.

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Seaside Suang Yang Tai Chi
Two hours of beach Tai Chi is as amazing as it sounds. Each beach session began with the group going through a Qi Gong form that was new to many of us. The Qi Gong training sessions provided valuable new learning both to less experienced members and to those who know the full 66-move Tai Chi form. We then began training our Suang Yang Tai Chi form. Whilst a number of us took to shade to get out of the hot sun, most of us decided to train at the shoreline, with the aim of learning and retaining as many new moves as we possibly could by the end of the trip. Shkar and the seniors were on hand to help with new moves and how to make our form better. It was inspiring and motivating to experience the transformation we observed in our learning when applying this level of daily diligence and discipline. Though the beautiful backdrop was obviously an added perk.

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“It was inspiring and motivating to experience the transformation we observed in our learning when applying this level of daily diligence and discipline” 
LN
The art of meditation
Late afternoon training was focused on a mixture of patterns work, meditation, and an introduction to another Qi Gong form. We had the opportunity to delve deeper into the principles of Vipassana (insight) meditation, more commonly known in the west as Mindfulness Meditation and the Dzogchen approach to meditation. These talks lead us into some thought-provoking discussions on free will and determinism. The meditation discussions were a truly valuable part of the day, giving us all a chance to reflect and learn about training our minds, as well as our bodies.
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Centi…Grade
Our last full day of training concluded with a grading. Each person grading took their turn in the late afternoon heat. Observing the impact of dedicated practice on members’ patterns was inspiring. No more so was this evident than in seeing Shkar give an exceptionally rare A* to club member, Ed. “I very rarely do this” Shkar said, but gave merit to observing Ed make all the changes he had instructed. This was a valuable takeaway for both juniors and our seniors. Several of them excited to pass their fifth pattern grading, and will now move on to learn how to use a staff in their sixth. ​

​Playtime in Pismenovo, Primorsko, and beyond
In between and after training we enjoyed some downtime which included time in the pool, frisbee in the sea, reading/chilling on the beach, and (for some of us!) a well-deserved pint – an absolute bargain at 40p. Our karaoke tradition continued at the resort, with a particularly epic rendition of Jonny Cash featuring on one evening. Though we frequently just gathered and chatted around the fire-pit enjoying the stars and each other before someone sensible suggested we get some sleep.
 
A refreshing hike in Malko Tarnovo featured on our day off in the middle of the trip, followed by an incredible lunch sampling some local fish. Experiencing Bulgarian culture continued that evening with a trip to The Windmill restaurant in Sozopol. We enjoyed some stunning seaside and sunset views, authentic cuisine, and traditional folk dancing, with many of our members joining in.
Thank yous
Bulgaria was an amazing destination for our first trip together as a club. The opportunity for such dedicated training time appeared to have a holistic benefit for everyone, and the resort, beach and surrounding villages were a wonderful introduction to this beautiful country. We are very thankful for the generous and accommodating staff we met at our resort, who made us feel so welcome and filled our hungry bellies multiple times a day. Thank you to all our member drivers who carted us to and from the airport, the beach, and various day-trip destinations. A shout out to Kristina’s Dad too who generously gifted us some of his delicious home-brewed beer and spirits, and loaned us his tents to keep us cool while we trained on the beach. A HUGE thank you must go out to Kristina, and club member Darina, who single-handedly coordinated and arranged the entire trip – we literally could have not done it without you! We are so so grateful for all your hard work.
 
Shkar - thank you for all your support, patience and input. It was a transformative trip, and you modelled discipline and motivation to us throughout.
 
Reflections
So now we are back – back to work and back to reality. But the best way to beat the post-holiday blues? Bringing all those friends, and all that learning, home with you. See you in class!
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The Art of Being Better

17/12/2018

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Why do I train in the Martial Arts? - I genuinely believe that we should always strive to become better than we were yesterday. We should disassemble our minds, our identities and truly understand what it is that we fear, what it is that holds us back. What baggage are we carrying that stops us from climbing higher and higher. In my opinion, nothing does this as well as Martial Arts training.

This critical self-analysis cannot be done while in a state of comfort. If your mind and your body are not at the extremes of what you can tolerate you can not honestly see your ego for what it is, a mechanism for keeping you where you are. If you don’t force your body to continue doing those burpees when your mind is screaming “enough!” You won’t understand how much your mind lies to you. If you are not doing your 25th first form in a row, you won’t realise how much you can truly tolerate.

To truly understand who you are and why you are this way, you need to put yourself through the fire. Because it is this fire, that burns away the lies and the illusions and leaves you with the truth. Your demons have nowhere to hide when you place yourself way outside your comfort zone; and when you can see your demons, you can begin slaying them! 

This is personal growth; this is refinement, this is how we reach enlightenment! I have spent 2018 putting myself outside of my comfort zone on a daily basis and have grown as a result of doing this. I have also spent 2018 putting my students outside of their comfort zones, and they have become better as a result. 

In 2019 I will not relent, I will keep climbing and refining my mind and body and will take my students along this journey with me. However, I have just one requirement from them,

“Leave your excuses in 2018.”

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The Butterfly

16/7/2018

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​A man once went for a walk in a lovely garden. He came across a cocoon, it was moving, and he stopped to watch it for a moment. On closer inspection, he noticed a butterfly struggling to get out but was finding it very difficult. The man waited a little longer and started feeling sorry for the butterfly. Maybe the butterfly is stuck, he thought to himself. The man took out his keys and used it to make a hole in the cocoon. The butterfly emerged, but it could not fly, It was deformed, and its wings were withered. The man by helping pry the cocoon open had deprived the butterfly of the struggle it needed to go through to develop itself correctly and be able to fly.

Anyone who turns up to train at my Kung Fu school knows within the first 10 minutes of their first class that they will be pushed to their extremes. It doesn’t matter how fit or unfit, strong or weak they are. They will, within the first 10 minutes come face to face with their character, all lies they tell themselves about who they are every day falls away, and the reality of their true nature stands face to face with them. This metaphorical mirror usually appears around the second set of burpees. 

Why do I take this teaching approach? The answer is straightforward, this is my way of creating a club of students who want to learn. Student’s who try my classes will be pushed in their first class. When they go home after class and feel body pain in the next few days, this is when they either decide, “The classes are too difficult”, and they don’t come back. Or, they decide “The classes are too difficult, this school is exactly what I need!” The first kind of person doesn’t understand that it is through the struggle, pain and hardship that character is developed. They are like the undeveloped and withered butterfly. They don’t want to change to overcome the things they are not comfortable with. They want to shield themselves from everything that challenges them. I don’t need students like this in my school, and my classes effectively weed these people out at their trial class.

People have told me in the past that this approach is not suitable for growing the school, as beginners won’t come back to train and I should make the classes less physically demanding. This slow growth may be the case in the short term, but in the long run, I know that I am developing a group of students who will become true martial artists in character and spirit.  

It doesn’t matter who you are, in every one of my classes you will face struggle because without the hardship, there is no progress and without progress, life leads to nothing. 

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Motivation is a Lie

3/4/2017

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Nobody is born proficient at any skill. We may have a genetic disposition to be better at certain things than other people, but without developing and nurturing these skills, a person’s full potential will never be realised. Any athlete, musician, dancer, performer, etc. will tell you that improving any skill takes time, energy and perseverance. Becoming good at anything is painful and requires making sacrifices.

I started my training in Tiger Crane Combination Kung Fu over 16 years ago. At first, it was just something to do a few times a week, but I very quickly began training in every class my instructor held. I was training two to three hours a day six to seven days a week. I was 16 years old when I started training, and it was all I did. When my friends would go out, I was training. When my family would get together, I was training; I often even missed school and university events because I was training. I found very quickly that I no longer had the friends that I used to have.  It was not their fault, they did try to keep me as part of the group, but I never had the time because I was always training. 

I didn’t always enjoy my training; there were times when I wanted just to relax or I wanted to go out with my friends. There were times when I felt I wasn’t improving and didn’t see a way forward. I had no motivation to train. That’s what this blog post is about, motivation.

As humans, we tend towards comfort and ease, and we try to get far away from anything that takes us away from our comfort zones. It is a common occurrence for my students to talk to me about motivation. Some tell me they are not attending as many classes as before because they lack the motivation to train or that they are currently very motivated to train and that is why they are in most of my classes. It is critical to understand that having the motivation or not having the motivation to do something are both as tricky as each other and if we base our training on this fleeting feeling that may or may not be with us on any given day, we will never reach the heights that are possible.

We need to train ourselves to stop looking for something to motivate us to train or to do our work. We need to develop the discipline to do what needs to get done regardless of motivation. When we have the discipline and the ability to force ourselves to train when we don’t want to, this is what will lead us to mastery. ​

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  • Home
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  • Shkar Sharif