[George]

Another take on this sentiment: “If I hadn’t believed it, I wouldn’t have seen it”

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  George.

[Mark]

I like this one also- “Believing is seeing. You see things not as they are, but as you are”

[Carl Thomas]

People did not realize how true those phrases are Phrases like that and other ones I live my life by

[Deb McCaffery]

These are all great!

Here’s one to add to the list…

Seeing-is-believing is a blind spot in man’s vision.

R. Buckminster Fuller

[Dustin]

We got some great quotes here! Hey folks, we’re here with another Thoughtful Thursday post!

I want to touch on Cho Kiu and Fay Jeong this week. In our practice, we have to be real mindful of where our elbow is. If it’s too far, you have a pretty big disconnect in your structure. If it’s too close, you have something that is going to clog your structure. What has been your experience with these two concepts? Has it been easy keeping your elbows in the right position, or do you struggle with it still? It’s okay if you still struggle with it–this is a concept that a lot of folks struggle with, given that a lot of us start our training with a mindset that doesn’t account for elbow positioning.

Truthfully, I still do struggle with Cho Kiu and Fay Jeong at times. My go-to in addressing my elbow position has been the tried and true shaka (spelling?) distance check, and the blindfold. More so the blindfold. Because of how reliant I am on touch, I tend to remember what feels right and what feels wrong. The blindfold helps me cement that memory. It’s a great tool in remembering how something should be done (like in this case, elbows) as opposed to what I think feels right.

[Deb McCaffery]

Hi Dustin! Nice to hear from you! I seem to struggle more with cho kiu. Sometimes I feel like I’m doing the T-Rex thing. Tonight I went to the karate school where my son and I train and we did some self-defense drills facing a mirror. I noticed right away that my elbows were in towards my center (no chicken wings…my shields were up, for those of us who are Trekkies) so that made me feel pretty good! Now if I could get out of Jurassic Park I’d have it made!!!

[Deb McCaffery]

Here’s a saying I’d like to share with all my fellow Dragons. I found this at a local thrift store. There was no author. Whoever it is, though, he or she is very insightful…

“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind. Let it be something good.”

[Dustin]

Howdy folks. It’s Thursday, so you all know what that means!

I’ve been thinking about a quote from one of the books that is recommended highly here. The Essence of Tai Chi Chuan has a saying on the back cover: “In stillness, there is movement.” I want to look at this quote from the angle of progress. I can’t speak for everyone here, but progress is hard for us to see when it comes to ourselves. You think that you aren’t making enough, but in reality, you are, you just happen to be the last to notice. Some things are easier to gauge, like achieving a certain time on a Siu Nim Tao, or a target BPM on the Mook Jong. But what about your structure development? You’re following everything to the letter, but you still don’t know if it’s enough. Well, that’s where this quote comes in. You may perceive your progress as still, but because of the internal nature of our martial art here, there is movement.

So remember this when you’re thinking on your progress: in stillness, there is movement.

Also remember: this doesn’t mean you can slack on your training! Keep going at it!

[Sifu Adam]

I really like this one Dustin!

[Deb McCaffery]

Good one, Dustin! And I like how you elaborated! 🙂 I think, too, it might mean that we should give ourselves time to understand and appreciate. I think the world is full of “Faster…faster…faster!!!” “More…more…more!” “Be the first.” “Be the best.” I think we should be our PERSONAL best. Take however much time we need and enjoy the process. Be present. If it takes a month instead of a week, that’s okay! Take your time. Give yourself however much time you need to understand, and appreciate, what you are doing and where you are. Let’s not compare ourselves to others. Remember, it’s not the destination. It’s the journey.

[Dustin]

Well said! Glad you liked this one!

[Dustin]

Hey again folks,

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another Thoughtful Thursday post.

This week, I’m still stuck on the quote from last week–“In stillness, there is movement.” This week, I ask you to ask yourself: have you found that stillness? What I mean by that, is have you found some progress? It could be keeping consistent, noticing that something has become second nature to you, a stretch has become easier for you–something like that. How might this relate to the quote? Well, I can’t really give any definitive answer, but personally, I think when something becomes second-nature, you’ve achieved that movement within stillness. For me, it’s when I realized that my punches have become vertical by default. I had to think about making them vertical at first, but now, it’s pretty much second-nature. I have to remind myself to do the opposite now!

So I ask again: what movements have become still for you? What’s become second nature for you?

[Deb McCaffery]

Hi Dustin. For me, I think I have found stillness in movement (or movement in stillness!) when I can quiet my mind as I’m working on my forms. I’m getting the hang of that in SNT and Chum Kiu, but when I get to Mook Jong I struggle. Maybe because I start slow and increase the speed with each rep. I reach a point where I guess I come out of “the zone” and go “What move am I on?”, “Is it right hand or left?”, or I’m on count 20, but doing move 16, or some such thing. Somehow I need to get faster without my brain going “What!!!????”.

[Dustin]

Sounds to me that you’re in a sort of limbo, Deb! You just need to extend that time you’re in “the zone” where it becomes second nature to you!

[Dustin]

Heyo folks,

It’s Thursday again, and that means it’s time for another Thoughtful Thursday!

The topic today will be on reflections and the constant battle against the ego. As I’m sure many of you know, there were a couple of workshops this past weekend in Florida. While I wasn’t able to make it, I have been to a number of Sigung Bill’s workshops when he’s visited out here in California. Every workshop I’ve taken part in has left me feeling reflective of what I’ve learned, what I’m learning, and what I still have much to learn on. We live in a society where being THE best is the end goal. That’s a real finite goal, isn’t it? What do you do when you become the best? Celebrate? Stop training? Spread your best status around?

I’ve been practicing for almost 13 years, and there has always been one constant in my training: there’s always going to be someone better, and that’s freaking awesome. They could be practicing longer than I have, or they could be a new student with talent. For a lot of people, that’s something to be put off by. “What’s the point if I can’t be the best?” Well…how about the best you that you can be? The workshops have always served as a reminder of that for me. Progress is always seen first by everyone else before it is seen by you, especially with an internal art like Wing Chun. I recall a conversation I had with Ruben a while back. I don’t remember the specifics, but one thing he said was, if I remember correctly, something he read: “Don’t put a lid on your skills.”

So if you ask me, what do you do when you become THE best? Generally, that means you’ve put a lid on your skills, because you think there’s nothing else to learn. Go for the best you!

[Deb McCaffery]

Hi Dustin! I’m thinking about THE best, the best YOU, and ego. I think where ever we fall in the BEST pile, whether it be our best, the best in the room, the best in the country, the best in the world…I think what SHOULD stand out is what do you do with that “best”. Does your ego bring you down from the top of whatever pile you’re on? Let’s face it, someone has to be THE best. Someone has to be the best in the room, someone has to be the best in the country and the world. But, what is the IMPORTANT thing here? Do they revel in it? Do they brag about it? Do they put others down for not being as good at it as they are? Does that make them the best? Or, are they humble. Do they encourage those just starting out and those still honing their skills? Do they offer guidance to help others refine their techniques and help them understand what they are doing and why? Are they kind and thoughtful with their words and actions? I think to truly be THE best, we must do OUR best and we must help others to become THEIR best. Then we’d all be besties. Pun intended!!!

.

[Dustin]

Hey Deb,

While I do agree with your post–there, of course, will always be a best in the room–the point of my post is more so a reminder to be the best YOU. We’re all human here, and to compare ourselves to others is human. You’re absolutely right though in that how one acts when they are THE best is very important.

[Dustin]

Hey again folks,

It’s Thursday again. You all know what that means!

I’ve had transitions on the mind this past week. They are always a weak point for anyone. We never really want to be in a state of transition longer than absolutely necessary, and it makes sense–transitions are always a weird state to be in. But then again, all growth can be a weird state to be in. They are, however, a big part of progression. This week, I invite you all to ponder your transitions. Think about them, find the weakest part of your transitions and refine them to make them a little less weak. Transitions may be our weak points, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make them better, eh?

For those curious, the transition that started this for me was some of my Mook Jong work that I did recently–specifically, parts of section 20 and 70.

[Dustin]

Howdy folks,

Thursday’s here. Time to get thinkin’.

I’ve had a very classic saying on the mind this week. “To the mind that is still, the universe surrenders.” It’s a very near and dear piece of wisdom to me, that helps me get through some tougher weeks. But when it isn’t helping me get through the tough weeks, it helps me grow. Training time is “me time,” just as I imagine it is for many of you. The clarity that comes with the still mind is really special. Moments of growth often accompany these still mind moments. But how can we get there? Well, there really isn’t a single answer. As with many things, it depends on you. Where some people might reach their still mind moments one way, others will reach it in a different way. But I’ve found that the one common thread is to let it flow.

Let it flow and embrace the moment when it happens. Many of my still mind moments have been in Siu Nim Tao. A still mind is bothered by nothing. I’ve had to acknowledge many things in these still mind moments–both good and bad.

So, with all this being said, share a still mind moment!

One of mine was during one of my long Siu Nim Taos, years ago. I was hitting around 11 minutes at that point. My legs were shaking something fierce from fatigue. I managed to finish, but when I saw the time, I had done about 9 minutes that day. I’d have been real frustrated usually, but instead of cursing the sudden drop in time, I just wound up laughing it off. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated at all–I was–but for the first time, I was pretty much able to say “You know what? It’s all good.” Sure enough, the next day, I hit 12 minutes. I know this might not seem like some grand revelation, and in fact, it’s a pretty common story, but it’s these sorts of still mind stories that I think count as a milestone in our training. Training is no longer “I have to train,” and it instead becomes, “I get to train.”

[Sifu Adam]

A recent still-mind moment led me to the saying “own the silence.”

There’s always so much chatter going on everywhere. The noise of everyone else’s thoughts. Their opinions. Their fears. Their doubts. Their drama. Their need to be heard.

It’s constant. And if you’re not careful, you start to mistake their noise for your own. You start reacting to their world instead of building yours. You start letting their volume drown out the quiet voice inside you that actually knows the way.

But in the silence is your potential. Everything you’re capable of becoming lives there. Every answer you’ve been searching for. Every decision you’ve been avoiding. Every truth you already know but keep talking over.

The silence isn’t empty. It’s full. Full of clarity. Full of direction. Full of you.

Most people will never hear it. They’ve trained themselves to fear it. They keep the noise on so they never have to meet what’s underneath.

But the ones who learn to sit in it… the ones who stop running from it… the ones who own it…

They become unshakeable.

[Deb McCaffery]

Hi Dustin! I had an amazing “still mind” moment a few day ago. The weather was stunning…a sunny, breezy day around 72 degrees. I decided to do my SNT outside. It was transcending! I could feel the air moving around me. I was incredibly relaxed and my mind was savoring the moment. That one rep took 12 minutes and it was wonderful! I highly recommend practicing outside! 🙂

[Dustin]

I agree! Feeling the wind, enjoying the sounds, it makes for a great SNT!

[Dustin]

Howdy folks,

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the thoughts to flow!

I’ve had my thoughts on one of my earliest lessons. This is a bit of a follow up from a previous post about making your training your own. “Control the distance.” At that point in time, the lesson was more about the physical than the mental. We’re taught to stick to our opponents–if they move back a step, we move forward. Give them no time to recover. I’ve been thinking about the internal side of what this lesson could be for. What’s one way you can make your training your own? Controlling the distance in which you seek to excel. What I mean by that is that you alone control how well you’re going to do. Now, of course, life is life. It’s very life-y, prone to throwing curve balls at you for a variety of different reasons. But we get to control how badly we are thrown off, usually. Sometimes, there’s really no helping it. Something major happened that threw you way off. At that point, it’s about recovery. Recover your spot. Control the distance by which you return to that spot. What matters most in this sort of recovery situation is that you get back to where you were, on your own terms. Just make sure you don’t overreach, since, just like in Wing Chun, reaching is liable to make things worse.

Your training should always, always, be on your terms.

[Dustin]

Hey folks,

It’s Thursday, so you all know what that means!

I’ve got Siu Nim Tao on the mind this week. I do every week, but this week, I had a thought about Deb’s response from last week. I’m sure all of us have done Siu Nim Tao outside at least once–if you haven’t though, I highly recommend it!–and I was reminded of one of my favorite spots to do Siu Nim Tao at. For those who don’t know, we used to have two California locations for The Dragon Institute, one of which was the very first school. It was very close to the beach. There was a park there that had an overlook of the ocean and harbor below. It was one of my favorite spots because of all the sounds there. It’s a really great spot to plug in to everything going on around you. The rustling of the waves, the sea breeze, the smell of grass (this spot was far enough that there was no worry for the smell of low tide, thankfully…)

I bring up this spot, because, this week, I want to touch on one of the biggest parts of Siu Nim Tao and what it cultivates. Siu Nim Tao is awareness. Awareness of yourself, awareness of the area around you, it is pure awareness. I encourage everyone to try a Siu Nim Tao outside every once in a while, to really get an idea of how much your awareness has been sharpened by this form. The moment I felt confident that it was changing my awareness? Well, that was when I started hearing the sea lions. When you start hearing things that you haven’t before, you just might have reached another level of your awareness.

And don’t forget your blocks to place between your knees!

[Deb McCaffery]

Love this post, Dustin! SNT outside raises it to a whole new level. It elevates the senses. My next two goals are 1) in the evening by a campfire and 2) on the night of a full moon! Can’t wait!

[Dustin]

Those sound great, Deb!