Enter Shaolin Update | Tunnel Vision Can Halt Your Training Progress

Hey family, how are you?

This week Sije Jamie had a lot customer service calls. I appreciate the fact that she does them because I am not really a customer service type of person.

I do however pay attention to what the conversations are about. Often times we talk about how people don’t actually realize what they have access to or how it really can help them to change their lives.

The absolute biggest mistake in your training and I do MEAN the BIGGEST mistake in your kung fu training that you can make is to go through your journey with tunnel vision.

People want to know what they want to know even though it may not be what they NEED to know.  Within that last sentence is the mistake.

For example: You might want to know how to use Fajing or you might want to know how to do a 1-inch punch. While it’s great to want to know how something works it’s a mistake to put the cart before the horse so to speak.

That type of thinking has led to lots of people saying and doing things that make them, for a lack of better words sound ignorant and in many cases are they are.

As a Kung Fu teacher, I rely on what I feel coming from my student to decide what that particular student needs to progress. By feel I mean I rely on sensitivity training to tell me what my student needs to improve on or what they need to learn to get better.

My good students listen to what they are being taught and they work towards adapting it into their training. These students progress much much faster than students who only want to learn what they want to learn.

The good news is that it doesn’t matter if the person I am talking about is YOU or not. Because to fix this problem is incredibly easy. Be humble, be willing to take correction and be willing to listen to those that have come before you that are doing what you want to do.

If you want to become 100% better at kung fu, here’s what you need to concentrate on.

Put 100% of your training effort in developing your sensitivity. Here at Enter Shaolin that means spending as much time as you can playing chi sao, push hands, grappling and sparring.

(Obviously, it takes time to get to that point, your goal is to get to the point where that’s all you have to focus on.)

I am sharing this little part because you took the time to read down this far

 For those of you who might be wondering, sensitivity training both personal and partner wise is what I focus on in my own training. In Wing Chun I run through my forms for muscle memory and to keep my mind sharp. In Tai Chi I do my form for the same reason. Tai Chi taught me how to breath and connect my body. I use that knowledge to do my Wing Chun forms better. I Practice Chin Na simply because it’s devastating and easy to learn. Everything I do is expressed through Ngo Dac Na principles.  I apply what I learn from Chi Sao (close quarter Fighting) and Push Hands (clinching distance) to grappling.

I’ve come across Wing Chun people, Boxers, Wrestlers, Tai Chi, etc., people who have been more concerned with their style than they are in understanding how all styles relate to each other. Those that understand the relationship realize that the gap between them all isn’t that significant.

Really they all function the same and can do the same thing for you. But to get to that point is to understand the underlying truth that is hiding in plain site.

When I was young in my training and younger in my life I was more interested in learning how to fight. The older I get the less interested I have become in fighting and the more interested I am in being able to walk up a flight of steps, touch my toes, etc…

Chi Sao, Push Hands, Sparring, Grappling are all great exercises. When done right, you can do these things into your 90’s and beyond. Not only do they offer you amazing health benefits, but it also means you still kick ass well into your senior years. 😉

All the techniques, drills, forms, exercises help you to be better at: chi sao, push hands, grappling and sparring.

What does all this mean? It means that you need to come to a seminar.

You need to do these things with people who do them better than you so that you know what “FEELS” right so that you can use that as a guide to help you in your training at home with your training partners/students and yourself.

Here at Enter Shaolin you have your hands on literally some of the best martial arts training you can get online. All this training alone can take you very far.

But to get past that last hurdle you need to feel first hand what is right and what is wrong. When we put on a seminar you need to come, so you can get those tweaks to improve your skill and to be able to feel what is right, so you can know the end goal for your training.

People want to know what they want to know even though it may not be what they NEED to know.

Going to seminars will increase your skill 100%  faster than if you don’t attend them. By deciding to go to our seminars what would take you maybe 5 years to learn you can learn in 6 months.

I remember when I was only training for 8 years. I got tested by someone who had been training for 20 years. Going into it I thought for sure that this gentleman was going to school me. I mean he should of because my 8 years was nothing on his 20. Or was it? I ended up schooling him. I could tell that he had a big ego and I also could tell that he couldn’t live with the idea knowing that someone who has been doing it a lot less than him was able to beat him.

So to help him save face, I lied to him and told him I’ve been training about 17 years. But what I walked away with was realizing it’s not only important to put the time into your training it is also important to learn the right things. Because if you don’t you could find yourself 20 or 30 years later realizing you don’t really know that much at all.

Yes, I train people who have 15+ years or more than me but are not as good as me. It’s not because I am special, because I am certainly not. It’s because Sifu Phu taught me right. I learned the right knowledge that allowed me to continue to learn even without him having to be there.

The key to learning every time you touch hands with someone is to understand what I am saying in this article.

The takeaway message…

You NEED to come to seminars. You NEED to train in chi sao, push hands, grappling and sparring.

With that said, you don’t have to come to seminars if you don’t want to. We aren’t forcing you to and only you know for sure if they are right for you.  I am simply saying that you absolutely 100% need to if you really want to further your progress.

I couldn’t learn what Sifu Phu was teaching me if I never touched hands with him. Because I needed to FEEL what he was talking about with the body I can now watch any martial art video, understand the lesson and learn from it. (That is a powerful ability to have).

Imagine for a moment to literally be able to understand any martial art lesson simply by watching it. The way to do that is to know how energy works, what it looks like moving through the body.

When you are at the level you are only limited by your personal ambition.

I am going to leave you with this Potentially Fatal Warning…

If you don’t recognize that you need to come to our seminars you are in danger of never getting to the point in your training where you understand what it means to…

FEEL THE FORCE AND NOT FORCE THE FEEL -Sifu Phu Ngo

Have you signed up for the seminar yet? The early bird special ends the 31st. (Click the image below to reserve your spot.)

Sije Jamie is offering to split the payment into two payments, paid in full by Nov. 12th. Simply choose the check/money order option and email her here and let her know to please send you an invoice to split it up into 2 payments.

Not sure what the benefits are of attending a seminar?

WATCH | The Importance of Attending Seminars

What’s new this week?

WATCH | Kung Fu Training & Tips Q&A

We just released a new video on Patreon!

We could use everyone’s support in getting the DVD project up as well as the equipment to have our seminars be able to livestream. In exchange, you get our gratitude, a shoutout and some more great training you won’t find anywhere else!

To help us, help you more, become a Patron here:

Become a Patron!

SHOUT OUT:

Thank you to our new Patron Alban for believing in our vision and helping us build the dream.

Now on to your training…

What’s New In The Training Hall This Week:

(ACCESS LEVEL: Junior, Senior & Abbot)

Ngo Dac Na

• What You Should Do In Your Solo Training
• Ridge Striking Techniques

Wing Chun

• Game Of Hands Lesson Two | Cycling With Deflections And Parries

Happy Training,

Sifu Larry Rivera
& The Enter Shaolin Family

1-844-9-KUNGFU