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There has been a number of threads about this in the past, but with the completion of the latest intensive course, and to go nicely with this thread, I thought I would share my experience on the matter.
If it's your first intensive course, you will undoubtely have noticed that a huge amount of material has been covered. So, what to practice? When? How?
In order of priority, and based on my experience:
Advice #1: Do what sifu said.
But what exactly did Sifu say? Well that's where it gets tricky, as everyone will usually remember what he/she needs. So in essence Sifu said different things to different people (even though he said the same words...). What can I say, do what you remember he said, and discard whathever I say that conflict with it.
Advice #2: Do what you feel like doing.
Careful, it is different from "practice randomly". It litterally means "practice what you feel like practicing". Ultimately, you know yourself better than everyone else, providing you pay attention to what your are trying to say to yourself (now I sound like my big brother Darryl
).
If you listen to your dantian (i.e to yourself), you will know if you need to spend more time on stance training, on sequences, on kicks, on clearing, on building force, and so on. So don't argue with yourself and do it.
Advice #3: Set some clear aims and objectives
A lot has been said about this - rightly so. Only with good vision and direction will you get somewhere.
you might mistakenly thinks it contradicts the previous advice. Actually, they go hand in hand! If you are not sure what aim or objectives to set, well, listen to what you need to do. Similarly, as you practice in a non-rigid way, always adapting to your needs, stay close enough to the objectives you have fixed yourself.
For example, if one of your current objective is to remain 5 minutes in golden bridge, and if one day you don't feel like doing golden bridge (not that you're lazy, but you might feel you already have gathered too much energy), you can spend more time on combat sequences, but with emphasis on strong stances. It will benefit your golden bridge practice.
Advice #4: Enjoy!
The best way to manage to train regularly is to look forward to it. If you enjoy your training, not only you will get more out of it, but it will be much easier to keep it consistant. How to enjoy your training? Simply spend some time smiling from the heart before you start training, and make sure you have a quality chi kung state of mind. From those short minutes will depend the quality and enjoyment of your session.
Advice #5: Pace your training
If we want great results, we have to put in the work, which is why all of us are so dedicated to our practice. However, this is an extremely powerful Art, not to be under-estimated. After the intensive course, you will find that you can last longer in stance training, and feel eager to practice all the material all the time. As you are riding the momentum of the course, you will be able to do more.
Your body, however, might not yet be ready to! All of us have experienced intense cleansing during the course. Physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. As we benefit from Sifu's energy field even months after the course, the cleansing will carry on, at a rate that can be uncomfortable. Only you know how it will manifest for you, so when you feel it gets too much, slow down. It is important, as if you just carry on regardless of the warnings, you will have to stop for some time anyway (I know what I'm talking about!)
Advice #6: Persist in correct practice
I know, I didn't make that one up. I just want to stress that point. Persisting is one thing. Persisting in correct practice is another thing. Sometimes, stopping your practice for a few days is correct practice (see advice #5).
You will all get through stages where suddenly everything seems harder. Your stances seem all wrong, you feel weird after training, it doesn't seem so enjoyable,... When it happened to me (and it happened a number of times), and once I got through it, everything was better than before - including daily life! In just two years, my current lows are higher than my previous highs. So do yourself a favor, and don't bother giving up.
Advice #7: Don't be too hard with yourself
Ok, be hard enough to get yourself to practice regularly, but I'm sure you will all do. You spent time, money, and effort to attend this course, so there is no doubt you are all determined to get the most of it. However, if you miss one, two, or three sessions because you had no choice, well, that's ok! Likewise, if you struggle at one particular point, or have one bad session, that's ok too! Don't blame yourself, you will only create additional blockages. Just carry on the best you can, without fuss.
Advice #8: Spend lots of time on the basics (and come back to them regularly)
I know I said you will intuitively know what is good for you, but at times we lose track of our dantian, so we need structure (and a good Sifu - which we all have). After a first intensive course, there is no escape: practice your stances, the Art of flexible legs, and the Art of one finger shooting zen.
Moving in stances is essential, but for me I found that it was more cost effective to practice it as part of the sequences, as opposed to spending time just moving in stances. I spent maybe one month doing it on its own, and then I would just pay attention to it while doing the sequences.
For stances, after some time, it may start to take a while to complete all of them. You can then vary and only practice certain stances on certain days. Personally, when doing stance training, I do as I feel on the day. If I have some time I would do them all - say 10, 15, or 20 breath each - and when I don't I just do golden bridge, or horse/bow arrow/false leg/golden bridge. Or you can focus on different stances each day of the week. No hard and fast rules.
As for One finger shooting zen, well, just do it every day. Things magically happen from it.
Advice #9: Practice the sequence-sets often
This is especially true if you have no training partners. I love the sequence-sets (Black Tiger Steals Heart, Fierce Tiger Runs Through Valley, Happy Bird Hops on Branch, and Felling Tree With Roots), because as we have practiced the sequences before, we know exactly what is the purpose of each pattern as we go through the set. They are also an excellent way to remember the sequences, and keep them fresh.
Say you are currently focusing on kicks. You will spend slightly less time on stances, but more on the Art of hundred kicks, and sequences 9-12. At the end of your practice, quickly throw in the Fierce Tiger and/or Felling Tree sets! That way you can still cover everything while focusing on one precise point.
That's it for now - I'm hungry.
All of the above is based on my own experience, not armchair-talking or theories. Others might have different opinions, or additional advices - they are all welcomed in this thread!
If it's your first intensive course, you will undoubtely have noticed that a huge amount of material has been covered. So, what to practice? When? How?
In order of priority, and based on my experience:
Advice #1: Do what sifu said.
But what exactly did Sifu say? Well that's where it gets tricky, as everyone will usually remember what he/she needs. So in essence Sifu said different things to different people (even though he said the same words...). What can I say, do what you remember he said, and discard whathever I say that conflict with it.
Advice #2: Do what you feel like doing.
Careful, it is different from "practice randomly". It litterally means "practice what you feel like practicing". Ultimately, you know yourself better than everyone else, providing you pay attention to what your are trying to say to yourself (now I sound like my big brother Darryl
).If you listen to your dantian (i.e to yourself), you will know if you need to spend more time on stance training, on sequences, on kicks, on clearing, on building force, and so on. So don't argue with yourself and do it.
Advice #3: Set some clear aims and objectives
A lot has been said about this - rightly so. Only with good vision and direction will you get somewhere.
you might mistakenly thinks it contradicts the previous advice. Actually, they go hand in hand! If you are not sure what aim or objectives to set, well, listen to what you need to do. Similarly, as you practice in a non-rigid way, always adapting to your needs, stay close enough to the objectives you have fixed yourself.
For example, if one of your current objective is to remain 5 minutes in golden bridge, and if one day you don't feel like doing golden bridge (not that you're lazy, but you might feel you already have gathered too much energy), you can spend more time on combat sequences, but with emphasis on strong stances. It will benefit your golden bridge practice.
Advice #4: Enjoy!
The best way to manage to train regularly is to look forward to it. If you enjoy your training, not only you will get more out of it, but it will be much easier to keep it consistant. How to enjoy your training? Simply spend some time smiling from the heart before you start training, and make sure you have a quality chi kung state of mind. From those short minutes will depend the quality and enjoyment of your session.
Advice #5: Pace your training
If we want great results, we have to put in the work, which is why all of us are so dedicated to our practice. However, this is an extremely powerful Art, not to be under-estimated. After the intensive course, you will find that you can last longer in stance training, and feel eager to practice all the material all the time. As you are riding the momentum of the course, you will be able to do more.
Your body, however, might not yet be ready to! All of us have experienced intense cleansing during the course. Physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. As we benefit from Sifu's energy field even months after the course, the cleansing will carry on, at a rate that can be uncomfortable. Only you know how it will manifest for you, so when you feel it gets too much, slow down. It is important, as if you just carry on regardless of the warnings, you will have to stop for some time anyway (I know what I'm talking about!)
Advice #6: Persist in correct practice
I know, I didn't make that one up. I just want to stress that point. Persisting is one thing. Persisting in correct practice is another thing. Sometimes, stopping your practice for a few days is correct practice (see advice #5).
You will all get through stages where suddenly everything seems harder. Your stances seem all wrong, you feel weird after training, it doesn't seem so enjoyable,... When it happened to me (and it happened a number of times), and once I got through it, everything was better than before - including daily life! In just two years, my current lows are higher than my previous highs. So do yourself a favor, and don't bother giving up.
Advice #7: Don't be too hard with yourself
Ok, be hard enough to get yourself to practice regularly, but I'm sure you will all do. You spent time, money, and effort to attend this course, so there is no doubt you are all determined to get the most of it. However, if you miss one, two, or three sessions because you had no choice, well, that's ok! Likewise, if you struggle at one particular point, or have one bad session, that's ok too! Don't blame yourself, you will only create additional blockages. Just carry on the best you can, without fuss.
Advice #8: Spend lots of time on the basics (and come back to them regularly)
I know I said you will intuitively know what is good for you, but at times we lose track of our dantian, so we need structure (and a good Sifu - which we all have). After a first intensive course, there is no escape: practice your stances, the Art of flexible legs, and the Art of one finger shooting zen.
Moving in stances is essential, but for me I found that it was more cost effective to practice it as part of the sequences, as opposed to spending time just moving in stances. I spent maybe one month doing it on its own, and then I would just pay attention to it while doing the sequences.
For stances, after some time, it may start to take a while to complete all of them. You can then vary and only practice certain stances on certain days. Personally, when doing stance training, I do as I feel on the day. If I have some time I would do them all - say 10, 15, or 20 breath each - and when I don't I just do golden bridge, or horse/bow arrow/false leg/golden bridge. Or you can focus on different stances each day of the week. No hard and fast rules.
As for One finger shooting zen, well, just do it every day. Things magically happen from it.
Advice #9: Practice the sequence-sets often
This is especially true if you have no training partners. I love the sequence-sets (Black Tiger Steals Heart, Fierce Tiger Runs Through Valley, Happy Bird Hops on Branch, and Felling Tree With Roots), because as we have practiced the sequences before, we know exactly what is the purpose of each pattern as we go through the set. They are also an excellent way to remember the sequences, and keep them fresh.
Say you are currently focusing on kicks. You will spend slightly less time on stances, but more on the Art of hundred kicks, and sequences 9-12. At the end of your practice, quickly throw in the Fierce Tiger and/or Felling Tree sets! That way you can still cover everything while focusing on one precise point.
That's it for now - I'm hungry.
All of the above is based on my own experience, not armchair-talking or theories. Others might have different opinions, or additional advices - they are all welcomed in this thread!
) to back it up.
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