It seems like awhile since I’ve posted here, not really put sort of, During quiet time here I’m generally in Boat mode.

Last night, Friday hence the name was practice night with Shifu

It rained I was not expecting much of a turn out. However I was wrong, it was larger than last month. By more than double triple. The rain had let up for a while so I was able to go outside and practice. That is were we generally practice weapons not just for the room but for safety.

While most of the group was inside practicing and disecting a two man sparing set I work on my Jhian ( gim) out in the parking lot. Shixong spotted me and watch fo ra bit then came out to help me finish the set. Wahhooo. I was much closer to the end than I thought. After about 10 fairly simple moves I was done. Another completed Mantis Sword set. This one was the Tai Chi Mantis Tai Chi Palm Sword. Now I need to refine it and film it. From here I am done with new sets weapons training. Well I should not say that because I know they, the elders will have us do more at the seminars. However as far picking it up outside of them, I’m done.

My focus now will be reviewing all those I have done. I was able to go through part of the Mantis Staff set. However Shixong’s version was a bit different from the one I learned so I did not even try to practice that with him after seeing it. We did do the two man Fire/Water staff from the Northern Shaolin system. I had just finished teaching that to my students so I was pretty fresh with that one.

Meanwhile the group was working on joint locks with Shifu. After Shixong finished with me he went back inside with them. Generally that is what the main focus of Friday nights are, break down of the techniques and applications. The form review/practice is only the smallest part.

Afterward it was pizza time. There was a little other food, rice some pot-stickers Shifu made and some other things. This was the first they ordered pizza with a Veggie one for me, with no Mushrooms, yea!

The talk of the evening, was old moves and Kung Fu TV. As well as some of the guys from the old days, Chuck Norris, Bill Wallace, Jim Kelly and others. We also discussed weapons and the usefulness of some vs others. As the Double Gim is pretty much a show and flowery form, where as single Gim is to watch for deadliness. Double Saber is more about footwork, were single Sable is about not so much the sword but the empty hand. Because of this is it considered more superior to double saber. Shifu and I went into how this was also true with Kali and Arnis the Philippine arts

There were some discussions about as always about Philosophy and our training. Shifu told us about a poem, in Chinsese, that Shigung (grandmaster) had written at the end of one of us books. It was about Ta Mo and the wordless enlightenment of Ch’an. How the Master could only point the way for the student to get enlightenment and not by alot of words it had to be experienced. The same was true for the Physical training side of Ch’an, Kung Fu the student had to realize and experience his enlightenment. Not via the words of the Shifu but from his own experience.

In a simple way of putting it, The Shifu is but the finger pointing to the moon.