How Shall We Train Today?

As the great philosophers Fun Boy Three and Bananarama once said back in 1982,

“It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it, and that’s what gets results”.

When Mohammad Ali was asked what he would be if he wasn’t the greatest boxer in the world, he said,

“It wouldn’t matter what I did, I’d still be the greatest. If I was a garbage man I’d be the greatest garbage collector of all time”.

And it is exactly this attitude we must try to acquire.

I once told my students, I want you to play your forms for me as perfect as you possibly can.

Now show me your kicks, your stepping, your turning punches and your drills, as perfect as you can.

“In fact” I said, “Imagine this is your grading”

“In fact” I said, “Imagine Jackie Chan had been driving buy, got a flat tire and called in to use the telephone, but decided to stay a while and watch a class.

How well would you train then?”

“In fact” I said, “Imagine I wanted to surprise you all and did not tell you that my Sifu was flying in today and here he is!

May I introduce Grandmaster Ip Chun!

How well would you train then?”

Well, unfortunately Master Ip Chun has not made a surprise visit, Jackie Chan does not have a flat, and today is not your grading, BUT, if you were going to improve your training for them, then do it for yourself.

Johnny Wilkinson the famous England rugby player said that in order to get the best from himself, he always imagines every training session he does, is being filmed for a TV documentary (and therefore always wants to look good for the camera).

It’s ok to have an off day, and doing something is still good because every little snippet of training does help.

But if you can train, then do train.

Because if the shit actually does hit the fan, you will not be in a class surrounded by your Kung Fu family, supported and watched by your Sifu, chaperoned by Ip Chun & Jackie Chan, it will just be you and you alone.

So train like you mean it.

A form done once properly is always better than ten half-heartedly.