Find a teacher of like mindedness

[diverse379]

When I Got my Masters in Education one point stuck out and that was on the subject
of visual vs kinesthetic and auditory learners
The deal seemed to be that teachers tend to teach in their individual learning style.
I will try to explain why finding a teacher who's teaching matches your goals is important.

In the internal martial arts there are many many paths to greatness enlightenment, mastery, skill gaining or whatever term you choose to call your road on this journey.

It is sad that for many beginners you cannot tell what teacher has the goods that are right for you.

I went to one school where the requirement was to do my san ti with my feet wide
this they said would give me stability for fighting

I am glad I had enough prior training to see why this wasn't right for me,

notice I didn't say wasn't right
I said was not right for me.

I later after leaving that school
discovered teachers from another hsing i school who taught the san ti a lot closer to what I remember
and the stance was narrower and the idea was not on fighting for stability but for training energy by opening the qua

I am not here to compare methods or the rightness of one method over another.
both methods have validity

my point which took me quite a while to get to
your teacher should reflect your goals.

if your purpose for training is to fight better as soon as possible then studying in a school where fighting is emphasized over chi cultivation is better for you

but if your purpose is to understand the internal on a higher level and you can wait until the fighting ability is imbued rather then practiced then perhaps you should seek out a teacher who teaches this way.

When I first moved to my new home here in the south of the united states
I met with one of the only shing yi and pakua camps here
they emphasize fighting and the rapid transmission of forms and do a pretty good job of it.
many of the students are quite capable both in fighting and in understanding key concepts to this thing we do called internal martial arts
however it wasn't a good fit for me.
and that is ok.


My very first teacher had a very deep understanding of the i ching
and chinese acupunture and shing yi his kung fu was a very high level.
he trained primarily stance work exercises form fajing application
he trained fighting but did so in a manner that all related back to our body connection and principles of body mechanics and physical principles.
sometimes application was taught first or immediately after the form but then it was back to stance work and exercises
exercises were done a lot when we did do applications we were able to understand because our bodies had changed because of the exercises and stance work.

I have always been a believer that training attributes was better then training fighting so this teaching method was perfectly suited for me


I now travel quite a distance to study with high quality instructors who share my penchant for the more mystical mysterious side of this art. like acupuncture theory, or meditation, opening channels etc. It is not unusual for me to hop on a plane twice a year to train with some of these masters, or to drive 500 miles to work out with one privately for a few days



what I have come to understand is that mastering the few will yield great results
practicing traditionally is good for me it is hard but it is great.
that means I learn slowly maybe practice no forms for months just stand. san ti or walk circle
then learn one exercise and only do that for a long time refining it slowly making little changes over the course of a few months

I am at a place in my life now where this works for me.
but understand that there are many ways to approach high skill and often the roads are counter intuitive.
It is best not only to find a qualified teacher but one who's teaching curriculum or approach matches your reason for learning the internal in the first place.

I will leave you with this
the internal martial arts is a martial art
so to separate the internal from the martial art
or to separate the martial art from the internal is an inferior path.

I hope I have helped someone.. with this post.