Helping Others!

Helping others! That's what martial arts was created for. In movies and stories from the many different martial arts folklore, students were reminded by their sifus who say:

"This (martial art) was created for helping others! Use it wisely. Do not go and fight others"

I strugled with that idea. I mean, different people learn the arts for different reasons but LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE LEARNING... its a series of movements specifically designed to put the other guy on the floor! Wing Chun is a no nonsense art which people use to make sure the other guy never wake up again in the shortest time and the most minimal number of movements possible! Karate and Taekwondo are empty hand martial arts designed to hit through armour for the 1 hit 1 kill purpose. Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu and those within that family might seem soft but they have many times broken people's arms and legs. Hung Gar, Choy Lay Futt and other Chinese Arts have strikes that are both powerful and continuous coupled with pressure points strikes that really was designed to kill. Most Silat will lock you up in very awkard and very painful positions that the pain itself will knock us out!

For those of us who have been doing this long enough, we understand one thing. It is very easy to hurt and maim. My sifu hit me from a very short distance which caused me to stop breathing almost immediately (talk about POWER!). He also turned me upside down many many times without even using his hands. Taiji people are also powerful enough to throw people around like dolls. Even I was able to stop many of my friends' breathing (for about 1 or 2 days) with zero inch punches.

I guess what the sifus from the old folklore and the movies are trying to say is,

"Once you have conquered a challenge, Look for what's next (the future) and challenge yourself more so you keep becoming better and better. If something has become easy (it was hard to hurt people before but it has become easy right?) then look for a new challenge and conquer it!

So, let's go out there and look for something more challenging, something more fulfilling. I admire Cikgu Hisham Giant of the Lian Padukan for this. He and his team went around helping orphanages around Malaysia by donating stuff and giving free lesson. Check out his blog http://lianpadukanacademy.blogspot.com/ for more info. For those who can contribute, I suggest you do so. I can't wait for my Taman Tun Dr. Ismail to do this.

There are many things that are both challenging and fulfilling out there. Don't just talk. DO IT! (That goes for me too! hehehe)