BENEFITS OVER THE YEARS FROM LEARNING THE ESSENCE OF SHAOLIN SET
Single Leg Flying Crane
Question
How have you benefited over the years from learning the Essence of Shaolin set from Sigung?
FJ
Answer
My tremendous benefits over the years from learning the Essence of Shaolin set come from three sources:
1. I learned the Essence of Shaolin set from my sifu, Sifu Lai Chin Wah, or better known as Uncle Righteousness.
2. I learned internal force and combat application which I could apply to the Essence of Shaolin set from my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam.
3. Over my many years of teaching, I worked out the marvelous combat application of the Essence of Shaolin set, and transferred these skills to daily living.
Those invited to the Essence of Shaolin course will derive these wonderful benefits.
I am very grateful to Uncle Righteousness for teaching me the Essence of Shaolin set, a top-secret set taught only to selected successors. If I was not taught this set, even when I learned combat application and internal force from Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, and even I have the intelligence and make the necessary effort to work out marvelous application, and apply the skills to daily living, I would not have a base to do so.
Now I have posted this top-secret set on my website. People may learn the set, but they lack the combat application and internal force, and they lack the marvelous way of the application and transference of skills to daily life.
My learning of combat application (not necessary of the Essence of Shaolin set) and internal force from Sifu Ho Fatt Nam was priceless. A person may know the set, but he does not know how to apply the techniques in the set for combat, and he has no internal force.
Even when a person can use the Essence of Shaolin set for combat, and has internal force, he does not know how to apply the techniques in the set in a marvelous way. To do so, one must have intelligence and make the effort.
There are many intelligent people, but they may not make the effort. On the other hand, those who want to make the effort, may not have the intelligence. Further, it is not just intelligence. It includes wide understanding of kungfu philosophy and experience of applying kungfu techniques in a marvelous ways.
Over the years I have benefited much from the Essence of Shaolin set.
As many of you know, in my younger days I went out to look for sparring opponents to confirm my combat efficiency, and I remained undefeated. At the beginning, I looked for opponents whom I could beat. I made my victory doubly sure by practicing on my own combat sequences I could apply to them in sparring.
Later when I was sure of my combat efficiency, I did not have to look for sparring opponents, but they looked for me instead. I could defeat them. Much of this was due to my training in the Essence of Shaolin set.
If I applied a technique used in a marvelous way on my opponents, they have no chance to escape. I did not have to do that in free sparring with other people, because I could defeat them using simple techniques in simple ways. However, in class demonstrations, I sometimes applied techniques in marvelous ways. This, again, was due to my training in the Essence of Shaolin set, though the actual techniques used might not be from the set.
Many people were kind to comment that I was marvelous. They might not use the word “marvelous”, but that was what they meant. I just recall at random two examples, one in a kungfu situation and the other in a non-kungfu situation.
Once I was sparring with a Ng Mui Kungfu master who applied his “ultimate” technique on me, which was “Single Leg Flying Crane”, striking my eyes with his two hands, which were actually a feign, and simultaneously executing a double flying kick, which was kicking with one leg, and if an opponent avoided it, kicking with the other leg. I retreated to avoid all his attack, and as he landed I drove a phenix-eye fist to his solar pluses. I intended to stop an inch or two away from target, but as he was flying in, I had to release my phoenix-eye fist and let his chest brush against my fingers.
“Why were you so fast?” he asked. I believed most people would be taken aback by the question. But because of my training in the Essence of Shaolin set, I answered in a marvelous way. “I was ready for you,” I replied.
The other occasion was in Hawaii. Emiko and some Japanese and Canadian disciples invited me and Simu for lunch. The waitresses put us in separate tables, but I insisted that we all sat in one table so that we could talk together.
The waitresses were reluctant, but our Japanese girls were very fast. Before the waitresses realized what had happened the Japanese girls had arranged some tables so that we could all sit together. I took the lead and we all sat down, with the waitresses not knowing what to do. But I gave them a big tip at the end of the meal.
Being marvelous is not easy. Even real masters themselves cannot apply their kungfu in a marvelous way. There is a kungfu saying that “strength is inferior to techniques, techniques are inferior to force, force is inferior to speed, and speed is inferior to the marvelous.”
A person may be strong, but he can be beaten by another person who uses techniques. A person may know a lot of techniques, but he can be beaten by someone who has force. A person can be forceful, but he can be beaten by someone who has speed. A person may be fast, but he can be beaten by someone who is marvelous. To be marvelous is to accomplish something in a manner that even opponents are surprised.
There are 108 techniques in the Essence of Shaolin set, and each technique is used in a marvelous way. Even when a course participant may know nothing about being marvelous, but after learning how to apply these 108 techniques in marvelous ways, they would be marvelous.
There are many situations in daily living when you can apply your marvelous ways. After attending the Essence of Shaolin course, you can be marvelous.
Beautiful Hawaii
This question and answer are reproduced from the thread 10 Questions on Essence of Shaolin in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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