Hey family, how are you?
At 6:45 am today I was doing my training. I started off with doing Qigong then I did my Tai Chi form followed by doing my Sil Lum Tao form. After I did it the first time I thought I would do it again and share it with our Patrons over at Patreon. After thinking about it though, I decided to share it with all of you here.
It’s not a studio production, I didn’t have Sije Jamie available to film it sadly… And well it’s real and raw, even the mirror isn’t cleaned. 😉 Oops!
A few things I want you to know before watching the video…
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve done my Sil Lum Tao form over the past 24 years. What I can say is that every time I do my form I feel something just a little bit different. Or perhaps I noticed something I didn’t notice before. This version of the Sil Lum Tao form you are about to watch isn’t Ip man’s, or Sifu Phu’s or anyone else’s…
It’s simply my body expressing the energy at the moment free from constraints. Enjoying the journey if you will. I am not doing the form because at the end there is something waiting for me. I am simply experiencing the moment like have over the decades.
For me, when I train I am not trying to reach a destination. I am simply training to train. I am not honing my skill rather I am enjoying my skill. I am doing this simply because I love doing it.
So what am I doing actually?
As I said, in the beginning, I first warmed up doing Qigong. Then I worked out my energy by doing Tai Chi. Finally, I allowed the energy to flow freely through me while doing my Sil Lum Tao.
If you go watch our Sil Lum Tao videos of Sifu Phu doing Sil Lum Tao that is the exact way I learned it. I still practice the form that way too. In fact, I didn’t record that one, but I did my Sil Lum Tao 3 times changing up the way I did it each time. I recorded the last one for you.
First I did it the way Sifu Phu taught me, then I did it very slowly while breathing deeply and finally the video you are watching is me just free-flowing with it. 🙂
I’ve stared in front of that mirror for the past 15 years doing that form just to do it. Can I do the other forms? Yes, do I practice the other forms? Sometimes.
But I’ve found in my own life and the experiences that less is more and more is less has served me best…
What has kept me training all these years? We are talking about being introduced to martial arts when I was 5 years old… I am now 42 going on 43 later this year and I still love doing martial arts! What has kept me going is I don’t train because I am trying to accomplish anything in particular. I train simply because I love training.
The only people that achieve a high level of skill are the people who train simply because they love training. Don’t get me wrong goals are good to have and you should create some, some are competitive and that works for them, but to stay the steady pace for life, you have to have passion & love for it too or the enthusiasm can fizzle fast.
It’s all about knowing your why.
Enjoy!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”It’s not about the destination… It’s about the journey!” quote=”It’s not about the destination… It’s about the journey!” theme=”style1″]
My question to you is: After you achieve your Kung Fu goal then what?
(Let me know in the comment section at the end of this post.)
Also this week we got back in the groove with our two webinars a week. There is tons of great info here and some laughs of course. Enjoy!
WATCH | This Week’s Tuesday Kung Fu Q&A Replay
WATCH | This Week’s Friday Kung Fu Q&A Replay
A big shout out to Daniel for getting his Sil Lum Tao critique in. Next week we will be sharing his Qigong one. Thanks for allowing us to share this great training aid with everyone.
Now on to your training…
What’s New In The Training Hall This Week:
Tai Chi
NDN Seminars
(ACCESS LEVEL:Â Lite, Junior, Senior & Abbot)
Baltimore, MDÂ Tai Chi Seminar 2018
Abbot Member Critique:
(ACCESS LEVEL:Â Lite, Junior, Senior & Abbot)
Happy Training,
Sifu Larry Rivera
& The Enter Shaolin Family
1-844-9-KUNGFU
P.S. Sije Jamie ran into some techy issues for the next seminar, no worries she will have all the kinks worked out on Monday. Dates are Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd, 2018 in Washington D.C.
Hi Sifu Lary, answering your question about achieving the goal in kung-fu.
The problem with that is, that it changes in years of training, there are always different things being discovered while working out, and that inspires new focus, new direction, new thinking…new goal as to say…looks like there is always new horizon after the one you got to…who knows what is beyond that one.. just keep going to find out for yourself..
And it does not matter what you say to those who do not keep moving, whatever you say, for them it is just another story…the best understood if the person enters the journey…
I agree with that. I am always discovering new things about my training. With that said, I am not fixed on any particular goal. It’s the consistency of life long training that brings about new discoveries…
Like people who set weight loss goals, many times people set goals for themselves and when they fall short of them they get depressed and end up giving up on their goal(s).
I think a better approach is to see your training like brushing your teeth.. It’s just something you do everyday because it’s part of your daily routine. In this way it becomes a habit…