When it comes to Chinese Martial Arts, lineage and tradition are paramount. They are like the roots that form the foundation of the tree and connect it to the power and sustenance that feeds it. Lineage and tradition are the bridge that connects present and future students, Masters, and Shifus to the ancient scholars, philosophers, sages, and warriors that discovered and defined the 5000-year-old root of Chinese Medicine and Martial Arts Philosophy and Culture.
These principles are as timeless and enduring as Nature and the Universe itself. Where the legendary power of Chinese Martial Arts is made visible in a Wuguan (school), there will be found an ancient lineage and honored traditions. The martial artists of every generation are like the leaves of the tree, the Shifus and the Masters are the flowers that transform into the seed bearing fruit that become new trees.None of this is possible without a strong and deep root to connect the branches to the origins of energy and power. Just as the tree that is severed from its root will eventually wither and die, so will the style without lineage and tradition. As we say in our Wuguan—"Shen Shing Famen. Wu Chan Shen Gong. " Our family follows the Ways of Spiritual Movement. We have Wu Chan Spiritual Power." One of my honored students, Robert, recently dropped the link to this beautifully shot and interesting video in our school's Facebook group, Energy Before Effort:
Robert remarked that the video "touched on some of the values inherent in training Kung Fu." I was curious about the video and his choice of the word "inherent." I watched the video and looked up the definition and etymology of "inherent". Inherent comes from the Latin word haerere which means "to stick." His choice of words inspired me to explore the relationship of tradition and discipline to Kung Fu.
My Shifu, Wang Tian Min, taught me the that the definition of Gong Fu was, "time, energy, with attention to detail." If we follow the root of the word "inherent", then training Gong Fu is the process of devoting time and effort to "adhering" to the details of tradition found in the lineage of Gong Fu. If Gung Fu ceases to adhere to its root, it ceases to be Gung Fu. If our Gong Fu training "unsticks" from the paths demonstrated by the Shen Shing lineage founder, Grand Master Wang Tian Min, it ceases to be Gong Fu. Likewise, if spirit "unsticks" from movement or movement "unsticks" from spirit, it ceases to be Shen Shing Wu Chan.
Gong Fu is the practice of sticking to the principles and traditions of Gong Fu and unsticking from what is not Gong Fu. In order to master Gong Fu and unlock the treasures of Gong Fa (power training) you must adapt to the principles and virtues of Gong Fu and, as my Shifu, Master Wang warns, "do not try and make Gong Fu adapt to you". There are many reasons for this, but the most fundamental one is simple as my Shifu says: "Gong Fu will not follow you. Power will not follow you." It is not a control issue. It is simply observing the way of energy as you would the way of boiling water or building a fire. They have immutable patterns that when you get skilled at, you gain power to use. For example: building a fire in the snow so you can boil water for tea.
This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for new students: adhering to the ways of power as they are contained in the culture and tradition AND un-adhering to the inherent ways of "not-power" and "not-tradition". Nothing is extraneous in traditional Chinese Martial Arts—the styles and forms are built on what has worked and been refined for 5000 years. All the forms have a purpose and there is purpose in all the forms.
When I began training Wu Chan Taiji with Shifu, I made a conscious decision to "forget" all that I "knew" about Chinese Martial Arts and allow everything to be new.
I tell my students that mastering Shen Shing Wu Chan is one-part learning to recognize the new patterns and one part emptying out all the old patterns. In order for dedicated students of our school, the "Shen Shing Famen", to achieve Mastery, we discipline ourselves to adhere to the Fa (Laws) of energy and power until energy and power adhere to us.