Hey family if you have spent anytime going through our weekly update posts or watched our videos you realize that we are definitely into personal development. The beginnings of Enter Shaolin came out of the pursuit of becoming better versions of ourselves. We lose ourselves in life when we start trying to figure out what we have to do to be successful in our lives.
Find that awesome paying job. Start a family. Travel the world. Whatever it is we are looking for in life it often ends up not being the thing we really want. Maybe you can identify with what I am saying. For example you finally get that job that starts paying you really good money only to find out that you lost your time freedom.
What I found out in life is unless you are following your inner vision of your life you will never find true happiness or sense of accomplishment. The thing is we often don’t really know what our vision is for ourselves.
…It’s funny,
in the internet marketing world I learned that it wasn’t the money that I was after. Money is nothing more than giving you the ability to buy things. Things can never make a person happy. The more money I made the more I realized that what I was trying to accomplish in my life had very little to do with the money I was making regardless of how much or how little it was.
I thought my goal in martial arts was to be a good fighter. What I have learned in my martial arts training is being a good fighter had nothing to do with me training in martial arts.
The irony if you will is in both cases I was looking for the same thing.
Understanding The Real Reason You do What You Do | Seeking Personal Development
I am not a technical writer or even a big thinker. When I was 14 in a million years I never thought I would be doing something in my life that required me to write frequently. I never thought I would sit in front of video cameras and expose myself to the world. These where things I never had the desire to do. In fact these things made me feel very uncomfortable.
When I say personal development, it’s an umbrella statement that can be anything from spiritual growth to intellectual growth. Anything that causes change in your mind is what I am referring to when I talk about Personal development.
So the question today is: Why are you training in the martial arts?
It’s a very important question to ask yourself. The answer to that question is what is going to take to you to a place you never could of imagined you would be at.
I remember the very first time I made a real sale online. A sale that I earned a $1000 commission for. I also remember the very first time I felt my body connected in my martial art training.
In both cases my life changed in an instant. The way I saw the world around me changed in an instant. Change happens fast in someones life. Here is the thing though, to get to that instant is at the cost of time. Lot’s of time and dedication to an idea or vision you have for your life.
In 2003 when I started doing internet marketing and network marketing stuff, the people around me laughed at me. They said I would never be able to make money in those scams.
…Scams,
I suppose that’s what people call things they don’t understand. Now the same people ask me how they can learn how to do my “scams”. In my kung fu training when my friends use to always challenge me and argue with me about what will really work in a fight. Those people use to laugh at me too. Until they started asking me to train them and their children.
My Reason For Training In Martial Arts
Growing up I felt like I failed at everything thing I did. I came from a broken family. For all intent and purposes I started self raising myself at the age of 15. While I won’t go into the details of my youth I will say. I gave up on Karate before I got my black belt. I stopped going to Boy Scouts before I got my Eagle Scout achievement. I stopped taking Classical Guitar lessons before I actually got good at it. I dropped out of High School in 10th grade.
I couldn’t hold down a job, I simply hated every job I ever had. In my young life I literally tried practically every type of job you can imagine. I worked in a lumber yard, a Auto Mechanic shop, Car Detailing Shop, Machine Shop, Got My CDL license, Worked for a Septic company and the list goes on…
Every single time I felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like I wasn’t doing what I was suppose to do with my life. I started training in Kung Fu with Sifu Phu early in my life. Because at the time I felt like I failed at everything I made a promise to myself that I would not stop training in Kung Fu till I was a master. Because Dam it ! I will be good at something I told myself.
As I stayed committed to my training I got hungry for growth. I wanted to be the best I could be. What I discovered is it wasn’t the ability to beat people up that kept me training. It wasn’t making $1000 sales that kept me marketing on the internet.
I did what I did and I do what I do because I felt alone in my life. I felt like a failure in my life. All that I learned and all that I continue to learn I realize that If through my story in life I can inspire someone else. If I can in some positive way effect another persons life then everything I have done, everything I have been through and everything I will do. Would have been and will be worth it.
Because the only thing that really matters in the world is what we contribute to life. Everyone deserves to live an amazing life. Every training session, every bruise, every time you get knocked down physically and emotionally and when you fight through the pain you start looking at life a little differently. You become someone else. You are always becoming someone else. And I know through martial arts the only thing you can become is better. Better at everything in your life. The longer the train the better you become in everything.
My reason for training in kung fu is because I know everyday I am better than the day I was before.
So i’ll repeat my question to you..
So the question today is: Why are you training in the martial arts?
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Wow. You have come a long way.
Thank you for picking this topic for the update and sharing parts of you.
Part of what i enjoy about learning and doing martial arts is the “universal truth” aspect of it. Kind of like math.
If i do the technique, a predictable result will occur.
1+3 = 4 always.
Also, I appreciate the history, that thousands of years ago, people through trial and error, investigation and effort, learned how to optimize body movements.
Finding connection to the world and meaning to life is a big topic.
Personal goals, professional goals, family, relationships…all huge topics.
I agree finding peace and stability through kung fu creates a foundation for peace and stability in other parts of life.
As you guys have quoted before, mind your thoughts for they become your actions, which define your character and your destiny.
Sometimes it works in reverse…do something positive (action)…and you will feel better and have happier thoughts or at least clear out the negative ones.
“Life is as much about the journey as the destination.”
And who you are blessed to share it with.
~still learning.
Thanks David! I also enjoy the universal truth 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Dear Sije Jamie, thank you for your words, they got me thinking…so why am I training in the MA? The more I take my time getting in contact with myself I become the person I like to be; I feel… with all my conscious perception, having a serene mind and being more accepting with me, others, the whole world. Its like believing in god…for me it is a deep path I’m on and I feel AND actually I know (!) here I am right.
Besides it’s all about being in contact…thru Wing Chun, Thai Chi…being in contact with me, nature and of course with others, to feel their Energie, feeling their development thru my own training process is incredible. Getting in contact, body to body is the best time..at last we all are social beings and we don’t need to be alone. So MA is like breathing to me…that’s my answer, I guess: i do it for Life ???? god bless u, Jamie for your lovely and shiny soul, you do inspire me…thank you! Warm greetings from Germany, Thalia
Hey Thalia! Thank you for all the love and support… But, I can’t take credit for this post. This was Sifu Larry’s post. 🙂
At the top and bottom of the post, you can always see who the author is for future reference.
I love your purpose for studying Martial Arts and indeed it will also strengthen your relationship with our Creator as you feel connected more and more with all that surrounds you.
As you refine, connect and control yourself more and more you cannot help but have more peace, energy, and connection around you. Indeed it is like breathing! When we breathe properly we can get control of our emotions, have more peace, are more centered and are able to be calm, cool & collected. Which also creates greater health!
God bless and thank you for all the love, Thalia!
I think that what you published made a ton of sense. However, what about this?
suppose you were to write a awesome headline?
I mean, I don’t want to tell you how to run your website, but suppose you added a post
title to possibly get folk’s attention? I mean Personal Development Through Martial
Arts Training | Enter Shaolin Updates is kinda boring.
You couild glance att Yahoo’s front page and note how they
write post headlines to get people to click. You might add
a related video or a related picture or ttwo to grab
readers interested about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it could make your website a little livelier.
Thanks for the input. Ya we could be more click bait. But the headline isn’t for people it’s for search engines. Web Crawlers don’t
care much about click bait. So in this case we are more interested in getting indexed over the long term rather than short term gains.
Thank you sifu larry for what you posted. Everytime i read your topics it really helps and makes me think. You really have come a long way in your journey and your story gives me hope. I had a similar up bringing and same issues bouncing from job to job. I think alot about why i started training and my reasons have evolved from healing from an accident into something way more. Months ago you had a talk with me about some things i was and am still going through. You pointed something out to me that really hit home. The term empath. I read about it and it explained alot of my life and very early child hood. I also connect martial arts with god and being the best version of myself. What you made me realize is i was always a martial artist i just didnt always know it. I startef this journey to heal myself physically than it turned into a passion than it turnef into this is something i wanna teach one day than it became who i was becoming than i finally figured out its who i always was and didnt know. Since i was very young i felt peoples energy around me hence the empath the problem was i was to young to deal with it and it caused anxiety anger etc. God led me to sifu when i got older and sifu teaches all about energy how to control it and how to control yourself first. Thank you for helping me realize who i always was martial arts was always in me the way i always thought and seen the world it was always in my mind. You are a great teacher thank you god bless.
You’re Welcome!