Some thoughts from a student

"So, for me, when I think about training and the two schools of thought that I have been brought up in, I like to think of the below analogies for training for myself and my students (and anyone who will listen).

In ancient times mirrors were not made of processed glass with a reflective background, they were rocks or stones, or a naturally-formed glass such as obsidian; however their size was small due to the material from which they were made.

And so, people from many cultures moved to polished metal to create a reflective surface.

The thing I like about this, is that you could only see yourself in the mirror if you put in the effort to polish it. Only then would you see what you wanted to see, but still even after you polished it the mirror would tarnish, and your image would become less clear until eventually, you could not see a reflection any more.

It would take constant polishing to be able to see yourself in the mirror and to maintain the desired effect.

With my students, I call the polishing “drills for skills” as any style of Kung fu (or other martial art) is a learned skill. I tell my students, “if you don’t do the drills you won’t get the skills”. As it says in the Bible, “you reap what you sow”. If you do not plant anything, nothing will grow.

So grow deep roots my friends, and stay polished!"

Justin Fitzhugh