Discussion re the Combined Scholar-Warrior Project in Amsterdam

[Anke Verhees]

Dear Chiahua, thank you. I very much agree with you, and we will aim to highlight the more intuitive, appreciation from the heart element in this workshop. I am looking forward to experiencing all the different people and their unique responses! All the best, Anke

[Joan]

My Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

I wish everybody a wonderful week in Amsterdam at the combined Scholar-Warrior courses.

My deep appreciation to Sifu, TaiSiheng Kai, Priya, Anke and Kirsten for teaching such inspiring courses.

My very special thanks to Darryl for hosting and organising such a special line up.

May everybody have a wonderful scholar-warrior time

Smile from the Heart,
Joan

[Robin]

Nice

Very very very cool series of workshops!

I hope more will be organised in the future, and that I can be there.

Best

Robin

[Andrea]

Much scholarly joys to all who can take part! The program looks fantastic!

Andrea

[Darryl]

1st day highlights

Thanks everyone. Well, for a quick reflection - What a day!

• TaiShing Kai explaining what it means to be a Warrior and how to apply it in daily life.
• Sifu's love of art and his favourite painting in the Reijksmuseum .. and why.
• Good food and laughter (of course)
• Anke Verhees hosting an excellent and educational workshop, with everyone sharing their insights and understanding

And now, off to collect Sifu for another beautiful dinner!

[Jeroen]

Being a scolar and a warrior

Some Highlights for me:

Awesome combination of scolar- and warriorship
I love the combination between the warrior project in the morning and the scolar project in the afternoon. It's great to feel totally charged with chi and force after the morning kung fu session and then taking the extra energy to deeping on the four arts of the scolar: skills of “qin”, “qi”, “shu” & “hua” . Today was "Hua" in the form of visual art appreciation.

Enjoying the benefits of practice in daily life
I myself am normally more engaged in the Kung Fu and Chi Kung aspects of shaolin wahnam. So, I am very happy to extend my skills to the scoalr aspects that simply make me enjoy the finer things in life. It is amazing how different a museum is that I have visited many times, if you walk around with Sifu darryl, Taisipak Kai and Sigung.

It's about skill
One of my key insights is that being a scolar and being a warrior is also a skill that you can deepen and deepen. And I feel that developing my scolar skills improves my warrior skills. Don't really understand how, but that is the way it feels.

Warrior project
The skill of being a warrior is profoundly deeper than knowing techniques or having force. Even combat application skills are factors which a real warrior will know how to use to his advantage. Do less, achieve more

And now..on my way to dinner.. or enjoying the finer tastes of food.

Jeroen

[Anke Verhees]

thanks you!

We had a wonderful, amazing scholar-warrior project these past days in Amsterdam. Diving deep into the skills of what it means to be a warrior, and finetuning our sensitivity on a completely different, but just as profound level with the scholar sessions.

My biggest learning was that it is all about skill, no matter what you do. Be a warrior and a scholar in every aspect of your daily life.

Thank you Sigung, Taisipak Kai, Sifu and all my fellow students for sharing so much wisdom, knowledge and fun! We has a blast! This first scholar warrior project was definitely unmissable, and I hope many will follow.

Have a great day :-)
Anke

[Dave]

Hear Hear!

I completely agree with Anke,
and long may the Scholar-Warrior ideal blossom for us all.

Dave.

[Diederick]

My experiences

I was fortunate to be able to join the Dan Tian Breathing course as well as the two last days of the Scholar/Warrior project last week. Thought I'd share my experience of these three awesome days.

During the Dan Tian Breathing course, Sigung talked about the different levels at which we can practice our Chi Kung and Kung Fu (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual). I had an important insight when he gave the example of a man leaving his family to meditate on a mountain to 'return to God'. In the past years I have focused a lot on the 'upper levels' of practice, and recently had gotten somewhat obsessed with seeking meaning and spiritual fulfillment. Sigung's remark helped me see that life is Chi Kung/Kung Fu and that it's important to really honour the fundamentals, such as enjoying vibrant physical health, being of service to others in your work, and enjoying the beauty of relationship and community. It has given me renewed clarity around my aims and objectives, giving myself 'permission' to really focus on health and vitality for some time.

Another important insight came during the two mornings with Sipak Kai in the Warrior project. When gripped, I tend to focus on what has been locked, e.g. a wrist. Sipak Kai pointed out that even when your wrist is locked, you still have about 95% free. All of a sudden I could see how this insight transfers to daily life, where a situation comes up and I focus on what's not working, rather than on what is. This also reminds me of Sigung's point about there only being two ways to perceive a situation: the negative way, or the Shaolin Wahnam way. I will practice on the application of this skill, not only in my Kung Fu, but also in daily life!

Another beautiful breakthrough came when I was driving Sifu Darryl and Sigung through Amsterdam after a wonderful dinner. I generally enjoy driving, but not in Amsterdam as the intensity of traffic there tends to freaks me out a little. Trams will be coming from unexpected angles, there's cyclists weaving their way across the street at every turn, and other drivers are often overly touchy. Even though I'm used to cycle through Amsterdam and know my way around fairly well, when I'm in the car I really feel I need a navigation system to make sure I don't mess up. However, when driving Sifu and Sigung around town, I switched of the navigation as we were going nowhere in particular. I tensed up a little but then remembered to relax and enjoy my 'practice'. This really worked out very well as we drove around the city and I found myself able to find my way even without the navigation system. For me, this was another great reminder of the power of the Shaolin Arts.

All in all, I had a beautiful couple of days, and I want to thank Sifu Darryl for creating the opportunity here in Amsterdam, and Sipak Kai and Sigung for generously offering their wisdom and joy to the benefit of myself and the other students.

From the heart,

Diederick

[Jeffrey Segal]

Thank you Jeroen, Anke and Diedrick for sharing your experiences and insights

Wonderful!

[Bart]

Dear all,


looking back on the wonderful Scholar Warrior Project I would like to share some of my experiences.


During one of the meals, Sigung emphasised realism when it comes to obtaining your goals. For instance when aiming for mental clarity: you cannot expect to have no thoughts overnight. When starting you might have for instance 500 thoughts in a particular period of time, later 495, 493 and then maybe 497 again, 494 etc. The important thing is that “eventually you will get there” if you keep on training and enjoy it. A valuable one for me because sometimes I am a bit too focussed on the results instead of the fun doing it.


The main thing I learned from the Warrior Project is to always stay relaxed and open minded: there is always a solution or a way out. However, with some of the grips Sipak Kai pulled on me it still seems a bit hard to believe . This lesson is very applicable to daily life indeed.


Kirstens Singing Workshop showed me that singing with the right intention and adding emotion creates wonderful performances. For myself: 'sitting at the dock of the bay' as simple jazzy song or sung as if in prison for the next 30 years made a huge difference!


I would like to thank Sifu Darryl for organising the combined Scholar Warrior Project and Sigung and Sipak Kai for coming to Amsterdam to share their teachings. Thanks also to Anke, Kirsten and Sippe for their inspiring workshops and to everyone who participated. It was great.


Best wishes,
Bart

[Roeland O]

Dear Family,

The first combined scholar-warrior project was definitely a success. The combination of kungfu in the morning with scholarship in the afternoon, plus a day of Dan Tian breathing to pulsate with the cosmos; I can’t think of time better spent. Here follows some of what I have taken home from the workshops:

Warrior project: Tai Siheng Kai taught us what it means to be a warrior + act upon it. A warrior always looks for opportunities, so instead of focusing what he can’t do, he/she will look for what he can do. A perfect example, already mentioned by Bart, is the handling of grips and locks. Just focus on what is free and feel your way out of the difficult situation.

Art appreciation: we all had to choose an art piece in the Rijksmuseum and tell why we choose that particular object. I found it interesting to see what people chose and what their explanations were. It shows a lot about the person, which is always beautiful. Thank you for this workshop Anke!

Singing: It was amazing to hear and see how the voice of people, who often do not have much singing experience, changed when mastersinger Kirsten worked with us. I often could not ‘understand’ what she was doing but the effect was remarkable. When I was performing a short solo for example, she told me to sit down with Taisiheng Kai and Siheng Darryl holding me still. People were surprised how my voice got deeper and more rooted. According to TaiSiheng Kai, you could feel the energy changing making it more internal. It was a very good learning experience for me because I felt the difference clearly myself too. I tend to move and make gestures a lot when I get excited. I clearly felt how the energy then dissipates in comparison to a much more internal vibration when producing the sound.

Strategies in daily life: Sifu took us straight away to a chi kung state of mind, an excellent preparation to handle any challenge. Actually, it would be very good if any meeting would start with it! When Sifu taught the audience the four modes of preparation and the three modes of arrival, it came to my mind that we train these skills in our kungfu all the time, preparing and equipping us better and better for life.

Sutra recitation: First of all, it felt really pleasant to do! ☺ The resonance of the sounds vibrates strongly inside and it is very easy to be focused a 100 percent, maybe because it gives your mind something complicated to do. What I especially found interesting was how Sutra recitation is designed to work as a practice in all walks of life. If we would like to really learn this we will need to find a teacher for it. I can imagine this would be great to do, maybe some other day! For now, thank you Siheng Sippe for the excellent introduction to this art and Sije Priya for the necessary help with the Sanskrit pronunciations.

Finally, I would like to thank Siheng Darryl for organizing this first big event in The Netherlands, Sifu for his all time inspiration, Tai Siheng Kai for being our warrior and great company and the teaching scholars for giving their inspiring workshops.

Greetings,

Roeland Oevering

PS. I wish everyone a great wedding-week of laughter, love and joy. Unfortunately, I will not join you but I will be there in spirit!