I guess the best place to start to explain that last statement is with lineage and it's importance to learning good, quality kung-fu. As this blogspot unfolds we shall explore many aspects of this education including quotes from my teacher (Iain Armstrong) and my Master (Tan Soh Tin) as well as personal experiences, reflexions and realisations I have made along my own education to being a better human being through knowledge taught to me by those I consider pivotal in my development both spiritualy and as a martial artist, crucial to living your life couragously as a tiger.
So lineage and why is it so important to you as both a human being and as a martial artist?
Let's first consider your immediate family. how many times have you heard someone say...."wow you really look like your dad"! or your mum... or even..."You act just like your father"!... Family traits were inherintly born with. Here our characteristics and features tell those around us what family we belong too. Our ancestry and lineage... Likewise our forms and patterns are features that show our martial heritage, which style we gain our credibillity from.
Its important to us as human beings that we can identify our ancestry to understand who we are - to be able to appreciate our parents and their decisions and actions born out of their personalities - likes and dislikes that led to decisions that affected their actions. Likewise to understand our parents we learn about ourselfes.
And so it is with our martial arts...By understanding our teacher and Master we learn their attitude towards training and application of the forms and patterns - why he/she moves in a particular manner - why he/she thinks and feels about aspects of the training contained in our style. These are all facets of your style passed down from one generation to another.
Through knowing your roots you gain greater confidence in what your doing and why you train in a particular manner. The confidence when trained and directed builds into courage when we are either challenged or simply stressed in life - how would my parents react? - How would my teacher and my Master respond to this...?
Now in a traditional kung-fu school my teacher and my teachers teacher would have all gone through the same training and same emotions and feelings for generations, so the quality and depth of experience is like a deep well to be drawn from.
Thats not to say that MMA clubs or non traditional clubs are no good, but there is a distinct lack of experience as passed from Master to students teaching at a much deeper level about life and your place and value within it much more than simply fighting techniques where the non-lineage clubs are left taking something from this and something from that style, in a kind of martial 'mash up'. The end result is a mongrel and not a Tiger which has the benefit of wisdom from a long tradition through the Master which breeds confidence resulting in courage.
Knowing your lineage means you know your family and all that has shaped it and made it what it is.
Learning to appreciate through patience is the first step to understanding your teacher and Master which will lead you to understanding your lineage - This I believe is why the monks of Shaolin would test your patience to gauge your ability as a worthy student.
Developing patience however is for another article. For now I would encourage you to visit our website at www.namyang.co.uk and read as much as you can about our history and to think on these words from Master Tan.
"To succeed at kung-fu only two things are needed. Once you find a good kung fu club you should join - once you join you must never quit".
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