Stitches. Something has been created, wrapped up and sown up shut. Yet how long will it last? How quickly do the seams show themselves? And how quickly will they burst?
We practice leisurely. We practice slowly and diligently. However, it isn’t guaranteed that this training will display at self. For ex. at higher speeds will we be able to retain perfection? In other words, the stitching may come off.
The seams appear to be intact when we enact movements slowly. But executing movements under high pressure, speed, and/or power, may cause these seams to burst. What was once executed properly and effectively is suddenly not working. How is this possible? Hours upon hours of training things – footwork, hand techniques, kicks has no apparent effect. To remedy this, one needs to cultivate a mindset and expand it. It is not fighting. Nor is it about learning self-defense to protect one’s self from others. It is always about self-cultivation.
To think about this in another manner, think of mastery. We are not able to retain mastery for long periods of time. This is the stitching unraveling or breaking apart.
So when doing footwork, hand techniques, chi sau, the forms – whatever, the objective is cultivating a mindset. And this mindset must manifest itself every day and in every part of training. Eventually, it should manifest itself in everything we do, not just training. That is when mastery is revealed. Mastery should be sought for it is effortlessness. It is what we seek to do purely.
We can all be masters. But for how long? If we practice a technique we may be able to do so for a minutes or a few hours without getting tired. Yet what of after? Will we have to recharge ourselves? If so, for how long?
I believe that this time limit determines our mastery. We may be able to fight a few rounds but will end up getting sore, tired and injured. What if we could continue more rounds? What if we could continue more rounds without getting tired or injured? We have to be even better, more efficient than how we previously were. It is not a comparison of us vs others. It is an evolution of ourselves.