Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The beauty of Martial Arts and 'self expression'

Martial Arts are a way in which we can express ourselves purely and honestly.

The gift that Martial Arts has brought to us all is that they revolve around the person practicing, not uncontrollable factors or fate. For example: the main reason for a person's success when working on the stock market is purely down to share rates taht they can't control, it's just fate.

In Martial Arts you are responsible for your success. The expression starts when you perform your skills. What you put in is what you get out. Just a simple movement can be artistic when mastered.

When a Sifu performs movements they appear far easier and simple than they are in reality. For me in Wing Chun I have spent a year and a half understanding the first form 'Siu Lim Tao' but every time I see my Sifu perform the form I see the amount of training he has undertaken from his higher level of precision and understanding, he hasn't just become a Sifu by training for a while he has trained hard to be able to express himself with Sifu standard (which is what is demanded at FMK I believe). It is very easy for a beginner to learn movements just like a dance routine. Yet one core concepts are understood and lots of training is done, your moves become more skillful and are executed with more precision.

Bruce Lee's idea of the Martial Arts being a way to 'honestly express yourself' is actually very deep. Not just showing you can do a particular move/ train in a certain style but how well you have trained and cared for your development. This is the essence of Martial Arts.

For me I didn't just start Wing Chun because I wanted to get fitter (although this was an important reason for me) I thought if I want to get fit, why not join a health club?
Then I thought for self-defence, however I thought why spend all that time training just in case I get into just 1 or 2 fights in my life (hopefully I never get into any) so this didn't completely sell it for me.

Then I realised the expressive side taught by Bruce Lee. It's not always the quality of the art but instead the quality of the person's mindset and discipline in training that determines their level in the Martial Arts.

5 comments:

  1. Hi sifu freddie lee,
    I am really sorry for commenting about wing chun. I know you believe that it is bullshit. Again I dont think Bruce Lee was good because of wing chun at all. I am sorry i made you really angry. I am only 21. I wont be talking anymore false crap any more. Again i am very sorry. In have always admired fmk very much. Tbh now you have convinced me wing chun is crap I may as well just quit martial arts forvever. Sorry for wasting your time or abusing the blog.
    E.L.

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    Replies
    1. The truth is your own truth, not Freddie's. You practice whatever style you think is worth practicing.

      “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”

      Bruce Lee

      Delete
  2. I also did not mean to be showing off at all. I am sure everyone at fmk is on a far higher level than i ever could be. I just thought i was setting a good foundation then i could try to go beyond and aim to reach a higher level as i deeply admire you. I watch your videos every day. Now i feel i have wasted 2 years of my life learning an easy system. One day i will go to chicago and ask if i could learn your system. I wanna be on your level so bad. All the best for your amazing school.
    Sincerely,
    Ellis

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    Replies
    1. Don't worry. I think you can still at his level. The video about Wing Chin has nothing to do with you at all. Just keep on training. Be as fit as you can so you can express your body to its fullest. That's what Bruce Lee would promote right?

      Delete
  3. Don't quit, my video was not b/c of your post at all, your post had nothing to do with the video I made. Don't be so down on yourself. You made an excellent contribution to the blog by sharing your experiences. I am simply sharing mine as well, neither of us are completely right or wrong, we are just being self expressive. Don't quit, that's the worst thing you can do!

    ReplyDelete

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