Aims and Objectives - An Evolving Process

[drunken boxer]

Siheng Jonny,

Thanks for the further advice, I'm taking my time to digest it and try to apply it to my aims and objectives. I've put some timeframes in to start with!

Would definitely like to meet up again for training - I've moved a couple of hundred miles further south now, but after the Intensive Course, I'd love another weekend up in Scotland!

Paul

[Akemi]

I have a confession to make.

A while ago I noticed that my timing and spacing were a little off in sparring. I resolved to gently focus on this skill throughout my day. It may seem surprising to you that the most useful time of practice outside of sparring was in my car.

You see, I used to be really hesitant about making turns or crossing roads with my car. I knew that being clear about my aims and objectives in kung fu would naturally benefit my daily life. I resolved to be in a qigong state of mind while driving; my mind focused and relaxed. As a result, my timing and spacing while driving have improved over the last month or so . I've shaved about 20 seconds of 'hesitation'.

This little experiment led me to see how useful my practice is, and how it benefits myself and others.

Thank you, Jonny, for starting the thread and your two very good articles. I look forward to learning more.

[Molly]

Arghhh!
My whole post just got erased!! So I'll make this concise. Thank you Sihing Johnny for starting this thread, it's really really helpful in showing me where my gaps are that I need to fill in my practice.
One of my biggest concerns this thread brings to mind is how I often feel like I'm neglecting certain areas of my practice when I focus on others. At present, my emphasis in practice is on force training (okay, that one is a constant) and solidifying and rooting my kicks and stances. Focusing on force training, kicking, and LOTS of footwork is great, but I sadly only have so much time to train and often feel like I let developing flow in my sequences and sparring fall at the wayside. At to this the myriad of techniques here and there that I'm really not happy with, and you get one Molly who just wants to quit her job and practice all day. *Sigh*
I'd like to hear from all of you who may have similar concerns and any methods you may have developed for your own practice. Thanks and best to all!
Molly

[Marcus]

Hello to everyone and special thanks to Jonny for staring this excellent thread. It is a subject very close to my heart and during my "slot" at the All Nations Gathering on the 27th January 2007 I will be covering the subject of Aims and objectives in great detail.

I would like to make a few additions to the wonderful material already presented here.

First a quote from Sifu's "The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu":

Aims are general in nature and long term in perspective, whereas objectives are specific and immediate.

Pages 46-53 of this book are essential further reading for anyone interested in this subject.

Many people set their aims and objectives, then never look at them again. I encourage you to review your aims and objectives on a daily basis. Use them as a compass to guide your practice.

WHAT IS S.M.A.R.T.?
Time references are an essential part of a SMART objective. There is an acronym commonly used in this subject matter which is S.M.A.R.T:

S = Specific - does your objective say exactly what it is you need to do?
M= Measurable - can you show proof that you have achieved your objective?
A= Attainable - can you achieve your objective in the time you've given yourself?
R= Relevant - is your objective in line with your Aims?
T= Time related - is your objective set within a time frame?

Let's take an easy example. Suppose someone comes to me, and their objective is that they want to be financially richer. I give them £1 and send them on their way. Their objective was not SMART. A SMART objective would be: "I want my bank account to be £3 000 in credit by April 10th 2007. Is it Specific? - Yes. Is it Measurable? Yes (£3 000). Is it Attainable? - Yes. Is it Relevant? Yes (this persons aim is to be financially independant). Is it Time related? - Yes.

WHY YOU MUST FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Apparently the 13th January 2007 was the day when most people gave up on their New Years Resolutions, apparantly this is statistically proven . It was on the radio as I went to teach a Shaolin Cosmos Chi Kung class in Bristol this weekend. It made me wonder how many people set goals/targets/resolutions/aims/objectives etc only to give up on them. I know I have set many objectives in my life that I havn't achieved. So I'll share a secret with you. If you set objectives, you must set objectives that you are excited about. If you're not, come the first set of challanges (and there will be challanges) you'll give up. Why? Because the objective you set wasn't important enough to you. You must get passionate about your objectives. E.g. 2 smokers want to quit. 1 because they know it's bad for their health. The other because they want to be around when their Grand children are growing up and they want to be in a healthy enough state to play and run around with them. Who do you think is more likely to stick to their objective? You must want to achieve your objectives. 15 minutes in Golden Bridge may seem like a nice idea to you, but unless it is a MUST for you it is unlikely you will ever get there.

A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
From my experience of working through aims and objectives with students it boils down to this:

Knowing exactly what you want + Knowing why you really, REALLY must achieve it + following a time tested strategy = Success.

Having access to a "Mentor" will allow you to speed up this formula dramatically. This is where having regular classes and access to a Sifu really benefit the student.

FINAL WORD
Students of the Shaolin Wahnam Institute are so incredibly fortunate. We have many time tested strategies for achieving our aims and objectives, whether they be combat efficiency or spiritual cultivation. There is a wonderful saying (I don't know who to attribute it to):

You can have anything you want, but you can't have everything you want.

Setting SMART aims and objectives can benefit all aspects of your life, just like the Shaolin Arts that you practice. Life is short and your time is precious. Make sure you spend it wisely. Setting the right aims and objectives for you will help you to live a full, rich and worthwhile life.

Kind regards
Marcus
Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha

[Jordan]

Great post, Marcus.

Being passionate about your aims and objectives is vital for most people. Only the very few will pursue through difficult times for a goal that they're not truly passionate about.

This thread is a gem, thank you Jonny for sharing your wisdom.

[Jonny Say]

Dear Friends,

It was great to come back from a study trip to find such a rich selection of posts. I welcome others to post, as this thread is becoming more and more useful with every reply.

I have a few more posts in mind, but bear with me if any of it is going over old ground as there is a wealth of material on the forum, website and books on this subject.

I have a confession to make.

A while ago I noticed that my timing and spacing were a little off in sparring. I resolved to gently focus on this skill throughout my day. It may seem surprising to you that the most useful time of practice outside of sparring was in my car.

I resolved to be in a qigong state of mind while driving; my mind focused and relaxed. As a result, my timing and spacing while driving have improved over the last month or so . I've shaved about 20 seconds of 'hesitation'.

Thanks Akemi for your useful points. One point I would mention is that as timing and spacing is a skill it is something we continue to work on and get better and better at through out our development. Imaginary partner training and lots of real partner training are crucial in developing this skill, it will develop steadily and swiftly.

Focussing on this is skill in daily life is a very good idea and one I also practice when driving. Whats interesting is that we can choose to train this daily and watch it improve or we can, watch it improve naturally as our Kung Fu improves. Ive found my own driving for example has increased as I have deepened my relaxation and clarity of mind.

Paul - give us a shout any time you want to stay your welcome.

All the best

[Jonny Say]

Dear Molly

Thats a frustration Ive experienced before!

Arghhh!
One of my biggest concerns this thread brings to mind is how I often feel like I'm neglecting certain areas of my practice when I focus on others.

I think this relates to alot of what Marcus Sipac's excellent post is getting at. Also I would say it relates to my point about being honest to ourselves. We can't achieve everything in Kung Fu at one time, so we must set our aims and objectives in accordance with what we want the most above all else and are thus passionate about. Keeping it simple means we will achieve one set of objectives then move onto the next, remembering the concept of gradual progress.

At present, my emphasis in practice is on force training (okay, that one is a constant) and solidifying and rooting my kicks and stances. Focusing on force training, kicking, and LOTS of footwork is great, but I sadly only have so much time to train and often feel like I let developing flow in my sequences and sparring fall at the wayside.

A few points come to mind here. If you set time frames you can achieve the first set of objectives and then move on to the next (flowing kung fu). Alternatively you can be strategic with your approach and use one exercise to practice many objectives, for example one sequence to train solidity, force and flow.

Im going to cover my experiences with force training aims and objectives in a later post, but it would be useful for others to share their experiences on this.

One method that Sigung teaches which is excellent for covering your above objectives is to first train moving into one stance at a time. In this mode we are focussing on solidity so every stance should have correct form, relaxing and sinking down to our dan tiens. The next stage is that we move through three stances retaining the feeling of solidity but also every movement flowing together as one movement. You can do the same incorporating kicks, patterns or sequences in order to cover a variety of objectives in a shorter space of time. The key from my own experience is to keep this as simple as possible.

At to this the myriad of techniques here and there that I'm really not happy with, and you get one Molly who just wants to quit her job and practice all day. *Sigh*

I empathise whole heartedly on this one, having to every so often remind myself to take a step back from my training and just enjoy daily life.

From my experiences which are similar to yours: keep it simple, cover the material which "speaks" to you the most in accordance with aims and objectives which you are most passionate about and realise that you will have time to cover all the areas you talk about in due course.

[Jonny Say]

Dear Marcus Sipac

Thank you for sharing that wonderfully informative post, very much a "print-off-post" for a Scholar Warrior. I fully agree with Jordan Sisook, and some of my later posts link well to the material.

Any one going to the three nations take your list of questions to gain the most from the session on aims and objectives!!

[Mark Blohm]

very much a "print-off-post" for a Scholar Warrior.

My thoughts exactly, Jonny.................

Regarding the "cousin" (i.e. classmates of the same generation with different teachers), they would address each other like "siblings" (i.e. use either siheng, sijie, sidai, or simui). Please note that the seniority of the teacher is not a factor in determining the seniority between cousins. The rules for "kungfu siblings" apply for "kungfu cousins".

As a reminder for everyone, here are the general rules in determining seniority:
Whoever has first learned from the teacher/school system is most senior.
If it is uncertain who had learned first or they learned at the same time, then the student with the higher attainment is senior.
If seniority cannot be determined by who has learned first and attainment level, then seniority is determined by birth age. The older student would be more senior.
I hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Mike

................. Siheng I apologize for not adressing you correctly in the past

Mark

P.S. Thanks to Michael Siheng for his recent post regarding Kung Fu Family Titles.

[Molly]

Hello Johnny Siheng,
I fell off the forum for a little bit- I was busy with my family, tearing up the Rocky Mountains on skis. Thank you for your well-given, straightforward advice. It helps me greatly to simply and make more efficient my solo practice.

Also I would say it relates to my point about being honest to ourselves. We can't achieve everything in Kung Fu at one time, so we must set our aims and objectives in accordance with what we want the most above all else and are thus passionate about. Keeping it simple means we will achieve one set of objectives then move onto the next, remembering the concept of gradual progress.

This is something I need to always bear in mind. Ah...I guess I still need work on my patience .

A few points come to mind here. If you set time frames you can achieve the first set of objectives and then move on to the next (flowing kung fu). Alternatively you can be strategic with your approach and use one exercise to practice many objectives, for example one sequence to train solidity, force and flow.

A great point- nothing I'm working on in my practice right now is mutually exclusive with anything elsein it (nor will it ever be!), therefore I can actually train many different things at the same time.

Thanks again. I'm looking forward to your further installments!
Molly

[Jonny Say]

Partner Objectives

Dear Wahnam brothers and sisters

This is an area which my Siheng Jamie and myself have just started to utilise with good results, and I urge anyone with a regular training partner(s) to try it out.

Working Together

If you have a regular training partner(s) you might like to sit down with them and see if any of your objectives overlap. You might also like to discuss mutual weaknesses which you would both like to overcome.

For example, you might both decide that you have trouble overcoming powerful pressing attacks. You might set an objective for you both to be able to reverse pressing attacks in 3-6 months depending on your level. Then you may work sequence 10, later with variations, for some time working on this skill. You might also take a versatile pattern such as the "single tiger-golden dragon" from sequence 5 (as discussed on another thread) and specifically train this excellent counter to pressing.

Also you may take the strategy of defending with kicks, like in sequence 9's Happy Bird, and practice this. Over the months you may both progress in speed and force in your pressing attacks untill at the end of 3-6 months (or longer if applicable) you would test with your training partner/senior/other style practitioner to see if you have achieved your objective.

Working together you can share vital feed back on what is working and what is not in order to move swiftly to achieving your objective.

Relation to Personal Objectives

In my opinion it is crucial that any partner objectives overlap with your personal objectives. In the above example you would ensure you were training sequence 10 with your imaginary partner or training the pattern from sequence 5 many times on your own so that you become skillful with the technique or strategy.

This way you constantly get feedback from partner training which will influence your solo training so you can most effectively achieve your objective.

Also exploring the sparring methodology you will get a clear indication of where one's weak areas are in order to set appropriate objectives so they become your strong points.

Taking a Step Back

This concept is vital in our Kung Fu, such as when there is seemingly no other alternative we take a step back, and in our daily life when we feel stuck. I think this is a very important principle for working toward our own objectives and one which partner training has clearly taught me.

If something isn't working with your partner go to the level before, which may be a technique, slowing down, a sequence etc, and work this for longer.

If we don't achieve an objective, take a step back and see what went wrong. Then make the necessary adjustments to go for it again.

All the best

[Mark Blohm]

Dear Marcus Sipac

Thank you for sharing that wonderfully informative post, very much a "print-off-post" for a Scholar Warrior.

I actually just printed it off. What do you think of a thread discussing essential documents to print-off?

Mark

[Jonny Say]

Great minds think a llike Mark! I was planning on doing a similar thread when I have time, feel free to start it off!

Best wishes

[Josh]

Dear Jonny,

I'm playing catch-up on all the posts I've missed the last couple weeks here and had to post a quick 'thank you' for starting this thread. I've come to really appreciate just how much good setting aims and objectives can do for ones practice. And this thread comes at a great time as I'm nearly at the point of needing to choose new aims and objectives and have been thinking about it a lot. So thanks for the topic and thanks for the excellent posts.

All my best,
Josh

[Marcus]

Hello everyone,

I was reminded of something that I wanted to share with everyone today. I was experiencing a very trying situation, involving nasty, rude and hostile behaviour. Thanks to Aims and Objectives that I have and have set in the past, I have been able to ride through the situation unharmed (physically, emotionally and mentally) and I feel even stronger as a result of it.

Remember this as you set your Aims and Objectives: The achieving of your "Goals" is important, but what is more important is the person you become in the process of achieving your Aims and objectives.

If you're not yet setting your Aims and objectives, now is the best time to start.

Kind regards
Marcus
Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha Namo Amitabha Buddha