Can we successfully train Kung Fu and Tai Chi through zoom? Yes!We are successfully and safely training through zoom throughout the pandemic.
Did you know, we have not missed a single class since March 11, 2020? We have added classes and our school has grown in numbers. We have all grown in health and power.
We have clocked 331 consecutive classes, (not to mention 300 plus private lesson hours and hours and hours of private training throughout consecutive challenges.) We have thousands and thousands of observations (and the reports to show) that we are gaining and growing. We are observably more powerful than before the pandemic outbreak.
If we can’t spar, how will we gain the self defense benefits of Chinese Martial Arts?
Is there more to self defense than strikes and blocks?
As civilians, we are required to exhaust all avenues of non-violence before we engage in combat. If ever we must use force to defend ourselves, we will have to prove to a jury that we exhausted all non violent strategies to get away from harm to safety. As Martial Artists, it is important to be aware of the legal ramifications of the damage we can inflict. We do not have the right to harm with impunity but we need to be highly effective at dealing with it.
For those who value life, who want to end the cycle of harm and apathy AND are prepared to change, we must go beyond the current understanding of the problem and the current accepted solutions and explore new adaptive responses that facilitate evolutionary results. If we are to succeed, we must train to out adapt mental, spiritual, physical illness AND manage the energy sickness that results in harm. (Energy sickness is when you don’t have enough energy to out-adapt the current demand. It is commonly known as stress.)
Some people ask, “What's the point of training self defense if you can’t even use it?” To which I respond, “What’s the point of having air bags in your car if you are not going to use them?” Air bags are to defensive driving what strikes and blocks are to self defense—You want to be skilled in the latter so you don’t use the former.
In order for a person to cultivate a healthy martial spirit, there needs to be a solid foundation in each of these categories. These skills and qualities, need to be clearly understood and respected with tempered discipline until unbreakable in order to maintain, restore, and invigorate health in the presence of mental illness and the right to harm - before becoming fit enough to oppose violence and harm effectively.
From the perspective of our lineage, we have observed and experienced that the principles that we train for self defense, are the same ones that empower health, resilience, and even happiness. So not only can we successfully train self defense power virtually, we can train the power to be healthy.
Fortunately, the Shen Shing Menpai Gong Fu lineage is a holistic martial art designed to to keep us healthy and adaptable throughout all of life’s needs.