Hello everyone :)
Here I am, on my blog, posting regular articles and videos about kung fu, its history, and its abilities, but...
Who am I?
Yeah, who is that guy who talks so much about Kung Fu and martial arts? Is he a master?
To know this, we must first define what a martial arts master is.
There isn't any master in Chinese martial arts,
because this word is not used in Chinese.
In fact, it's not really used in Asia in general.
The word 'Sifu 師父' in Chinese means teacher, but not a regular teacher with a class -
'fu 父' means father. So it's more of a mentor, who has disciples, not just students.
It is not a rank but an honorific title, like Sensei in Japanese.
'Sigung', often translated as grandmaster, in fact just means your sifu's sifu.
So it doesn't mean he has greater skills; he just taught your teacher.
This is the big difference between Chinese martial arts and others: there isn't any ranking system, nor belts, uniforms, or 'dan' degrees.
You practice to get better, better for your health, better at defending yourself, and so on.
Getting a colorful belt will not help you; it only builds the ego and creates competition among each other.
Master is a Westerner term, implying that you've achieved a state of mastery in your art, and, hopefully, of yourself. Such as an architect master who builds cathedrals.
It is so because of the achievements you have made, and the reputation that follows, leading others to call you master - not yourself proclaiming that you were a 'world champion once', or that you hold a 15th degree black belt in 3 different arts.
It is the difference between practicing for yourself, and for others.
To surpass yourself, or others.
To improve your life, or to win prizes and medals.
There's a saying :
'To be a master, you must be a great and humble student ; Being a great and humble student, you will never call yourself master.'
So, mastery of yourself and your art is the goal everyone seeks, and it is the kind of goal that is not meant to be reached, but just serves as something to aim for.
I do not consider myself a Kung Fu master, even though some already call me that way. Martial arts is a really long and difficult path to follow, which is not about being perfect, but simply better than yesterday.
Only time and practice lead to these goals, and the more you learn, the more you realize how much you still don't know.
Even though I teach Kung Fu classes, I'm learning incredible things every single day, including the time I spend with my kid students.
I'm a Kung Fu lover, a student, a teacher, a liver...
As a certain Karate practitioner, who was kind of my role model, said for himself :
I am a Kung Fu Nerd, because everything I do, to the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, is Kung Fu.
I practice, learn, read, watch, teach, write, and make videos about it.
Kung Fu is my way of living.
Thank you for reading
I just wanted to point out that "master" should not be a commonly used term, especially in the martial arts.
Calling your teachers this way is totally okay; I always refer to my teachers as 'masters', even in this blog, because it is the word everyone knows.
It shows that we respect them and that we recognize their level of practice.
But Sifu, Sensei, or just 'teacher', is okay too :)
I'm also not against competition, whether it's about forms or fighting.
It is a great way to meet fellow practitioners and to watch other people training, doing drills, and how they apply it compared to yourself - to learn from many different people who practice the same thing as you.
Competing can be a step in training, but not the goal of martial arts.
Martial arts primarily serve to build character, values, self-defense, and a healthy lifestyle, then eventually pass it on to your students.
There are many kung fu practitioners, and martial artists in general, who open up their schools and call themselves 'Master This' or that. In France, the National Kung Fu Federation is run by some of those so-called masters, who never leaved their homes and would not be able to fight at all, nor perform a proper form demonstration.
Yet, they decide who gets a rank and who can call themselves master alongside them.
This should not be used lightly.
The journey is the destination.
And, either you want it or not, the day you stop learning is the day you stop living.
Am I a Kung Fu master ?