How to make sure your teachers will teach: Avoiding the cult of secrecy in Martial Arts.

by Sigung Clear

In the traditional Chinese martial arts including Tai Chi Chuan, Xing Yi Chuan and Ba Gua Zhang there is a culture of hiding information.

It is not done by all, but, it is done by many.

Most often this is seen as private or behind “closed doors” (disciples only) information and public open door information.

Historically (prior to the proliferation of guns) this made sense for safety and security. In the modern world it is much easier to pick up a gun than it is to spend 6 months to several years learning how to perform high level skills for fighting.

When it came to the health aspect of these arts it also made sense to hide information due to the need for personal security. If my family and tribe are really extra healthy and my enemies are not very healthy then we are in a much better position to defend ourselves.

But in the modern world this is just plain messed up.

If a teacher wishes to keep the secrets by only teaching a small handful of folks and not teaching publicly then I feel they are completely within their rights to do so.

If they are going to teach publicly and charge money for what they are teaching then it is a different matter entirely.

I find it slightly hard to grasp the following scenario and yet in the Chinese internal arts this is often the case:

A teacher has a method and the means to make folks healthy and publicly offers classes.

The students know or feel that the teacher has the info and they want to be healthy and want to have the health benefits the teacher has.

They pay the teacher good money (and often a lot of it) to learn how. But, the teacher is not teaching them the real way to be healthy?!?!????

The same goes for self protection skills!

In the modern day, I am completely against this policy of secrecy for a number of reasons including what I consider the unethical circumstance I detailed in the last paragraph.

One of the biggest complaints that I have against this policy is that it has caused the quality of these arts to be greatly diminished almost to the point of causing them to flat out disappear.

Really high quality practitioners of these arts are hard to find.

The first and foremost thing I dislike about this deception & abuse of power (from teachers who really do have the goods) regarding secrecy is the situation where a teacher has a few folks who get the real thing and everyone else gets crap.

The thing that I really don’t like about it is when high level teachers (who have the goods) do this and then charge for the crap as if the student is getting the goods. This IMHO amounts to fraud!

Also, today, there are a lot of folks who are masquerading as the real thing when they are not. This includes but is not limited to folks who have a “few” higher level things right but who are missing many of the other skills relative to the art they claim to teach. This culture of high level teachers hiding information while charging for it and teaching crap instead creates the environment where folks who do not really have the skills can “also” rip off the public.

In any other buyer / seller situation fraud can be criminally actionable and is certainly subject to civil action. (By the way, I am not an attorney and nothing I write here should be construed as legal advice).

There are a number of simple solutions to the problem.

First and foremost, teach the real thing that works.

Most of the skills in these arts take a lot of time and effort to train and develop. They are not quickly or easily attained.

Even when teaching folks correctly only a handful will get to the real intermediate or advanced material because most folks simply won’t put in the time and work required.

Another way to do this is for potential students to take some responsibility. Vet the teacher thoroughly.

1. Do they have something of value to teach you?

2. Will make you noticeably healthier, stronger, better able to defend yourself and will work for you in old age as well or better than you can now?

3. Can the teacher do something that you would like to be able to do?

- Ask them how long and how much time it will take for you to be able to perform the skill. The best answer will tell you how long on average it takes for a student of theirs to learn it and specifically how much it will cost you to learn it. If it is a skill that is gained over a long time of training then ask for benchmarks that you can use to really gauge progress.

If the teacher is vague or evasive with their answers or simply seems completely unable or unwilling to answer the questions then BEWARE!

Pay close attention so that you can reasonably pick up the difference between con-man tactics and someone who simply has not considered teaching their art with these benchmarks in mind. Remember that it is them who are selling and you who “MAY or MAY NOT” be buying.

4. Does the average student that has been with them for 6 months to a couple of years have some ability with these skills that makes it obvious that the skills are actually being taught?

- Ask to visit a class and speak with students who have been attending for 6 months to 2 years. Talking to folks who are indoor disciples doesn’t cut it because they may be getting the goods but it is not guarantee that you ever will.

5. If and when appropriate and if it is a skill that pertains to body quality or self defense ask to try out a class and feel / experience the teacher or one or more of his senior students. IMHO, you should really feel & experience the teacher or senior students of theirs if they are making some fairly lofty claims and you cannot figure out from looking if they are skilled enough to really increase your current abilities.

Of course it’s hard to go check someone out first hand and feel what they have when you live halfway across the country or on the other side of the world.

That’s what’s so great about todays world of Youtube and DVDs.

You can check someone out on Youtube, you can try some of their DVDs. Sometimes you can even chat with them by email.

It makes it much easier to get a feel for what a teacher has and will teach before you put in all the time, effort and money to work with them live.

If you’re curious about what you can learn from me, go check out the Internal Combat Arts Course:

www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

You’ll learn a bunch of fun stuff and it will give you a really good idea of whether our programs our a good fit for you.

Best Wishes,
Richard Clear

Filed Under: Kung Fu

Kick down the pedestal and drag your martial art down into the mud!

by Ben

The Internal Martial Arts are human.

They were not handed down from on high.

They did not simply materialize, whole and complete, out of the ether.

They did not appear in some vision like a Matrix style download from god.

The Internal Martial Arts are human.

  • They were created by PEOPLE.
  • They were created to be USED by people.
  • They were created to be LEARNED by people.

Regular HUMAN people.

Just like you and me.

When you place your martial art on a pedestal…

…when you claim they are too profound to ever be truly mastered…

You are creating an excuse for inadequacy. You are accepting failure.

If the art cannot be mastered…

…the student cannot be blamed for failing to train hard enough.
…failing to study hard enough.
…failing to find the best teachers.

And the teacher cannot be at fault,
…for a terrible curriculum.
…for bad information.
…for failing to deliver.

That all sounds a little too convenient for my taste.

The martial arts are not meant to be pondered and theorized and placed on a pedestal.

They are meant to be taught, learned and USED.

Come kick down the pedestal and drag your martial art down into the mud where it belongs.

Come join us in the Internal Combat Arts Course.

www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

Filed Under: Kun Tao

What is the difference between Pentjak Silat and Tai Chi

by Ben

Here’s another question I was asked recently:

What is the difference between Tai Chi & Silat?

We often talk about the differences between Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua.

  • Hsing-I moves forward in waves like a sine wave or water rolling into the beach.
  • Bagua moves more like a gyroscope & a spinning sphere within a spinning sphere.
  • Tai Chi moves more like a large ball that can expand or deflate instantly from the inside & outside.

But what about Silat?

Well that’s a little tougher.

Unlike Tai Chi, Pentjak Silat isn’t a single art. It’s a whole category.

There are around 900 styles of Silat including arts like Tjimande, Tjikalong, Harimau, etc…

So it really depends on which type of Silat you compare it to.

Here are a few generalizations to get you started:

  • Tai Chi is usually much more concerned with health in the beginning.
  • Silat usually starts with survival first.

 

  • Tai Chi uses very refined structure.
  • Some Silat will throw structure completely out the window in very effective ways.

 

  • Tai Chi will tends to use a very calm quiet mental & body state.
  • Silat will often do the opposite.

 

There’s a lot more…

Keep in mind that with a category as big and diverse as Silat there will always be exceptions to the rule.

You can learn more about how these arts compliment one another in the Internal Combat Arts Course:

www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

 

Filed Under: Pentjak Silat Tagged With: ,

Slow Kung Fu is Better (and being faster doesn’t work.)

by Ben

Why slower?

So, first the training benefits of slower. (we’ll get the martial application in a minute.)

Start slow to learn then speed it up.

Obviously you need to train at medium and fast speeds on a regular basis.

The thing with the Internal Martial Arts is that we’re always adding layers of depth and refining to a higher level.

So, for example, in the Tai Chi section of the Internal Combat Arts course…

www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

…you learn how to dissipate a punch using movement & softness.

You start slow. That way you learn the skill and no one gets hurt.

Then you have 2 options.

1) Slowly increase the speed until you can do this against a full speed attacker.

OR

2) Refine the skill.

Stay slow or go even slower. Use less movement. Use more softness. While getting even better dissipation of the incoming force.

Of course you should do both.

You also learn a bunch of different ways to generate power in the Internal Combat Arts course. (Around 6 – 8 different methods. I’ll count up exactly how many soon.)

So you learn several of them. Then you have the same two options with each of them.

You use option 2 to continually refine them and increase the amount of power they generate.

Then there’s a third option.

3) Combine.

You take the power methods and the dissipation skill and you start combining them. So they all happen at once. Correctly.

Then we’re back to the first two options… …and of course we do both.

It’s a never ending cycle of refining skills and combining skills.

…and so the ‘start slow to learn’ part of that first statement never ends.

Now the martial benefit of slowness.

We have to assume the attackers are faster than us.

If you don’t make this assumption you are in for a very unpleasant surprise,

…if you ever have to use your art for survival.

So, we must train to use Position, Timing to overcome faster opponents.

(Of course we build speed too.)

The good news is that not only will Position and Timing beat speed.

Position and Timing will continually improve as long as you work on them.

…at some point your speed will decline no matter what you do.

So, if you move faster than your partner you are making a dangerous assumption and building bad habits.

(Moving sooner than your partner is ok. Faster is not.)

Moving at the same speed as your partner(s) is ok.

Moving slower than your partner(s) (and learning to still completely dominate the situation) is better.

The way we often determine speed on slow drills & sparring is:

Go as fast as you can while still being able to see EVERYTHING you and your partner are doing from head to toe. Training this way will rapidly increase the speed at which you perceive everything that is happening around you.

When you start to get good at moving slowly your partners will begin to walk right into things because your position is smarter and they are moving faster than what they can effectively perceive.

So, take all the different push hands games and drills in the Internal Combat Arts Course and spend time training them at an excruciatingly slow speed.

If you put in the time to do that, you’ll find your skill actually increases faster.

One last thing, instead of starting slow and speeding up. Try starting slow and slowing down. This will magnify the benefits discussed above and you’ll get other things out of it as well.

Filed Under: Kung Fu Tagged With: , ,

Lower Training is Better Training.

by Ben

I received some great questions about the Lower, Slower, Softer training article.

So, Why Lower?

Well, your ability to relax and move well at ‘thighs parallel’ has a direct impact on your power and quality of movement when you are standing up.

One aspect of this is that the stronger your legs are the less effort it takes to support & move your body weight. The less effort it takes to stand and move the more you can relax and be softer.

The stronger your legs are, the softer you can be.

So, even in arts like Tai Chi and Bagua that often (though not always) fight standing up, this low training will greatly improve your expression of the art.

Also, as soon as you start working low, tension and structural errors stick out like sore thumb. Forcing you to correct them.

Low training allows you to use all 3 dimensions much more effectively.

Many Silat systems work from a medium height…

…but can instantly be flat to the floor or standing all the way up.

This freedom of movement not only adds a lot of power,

- It also greatly increases your ability to use ALL the space around you,

- It increases your reach,

- It’s one way to say out of of your opponents reach but keep them within yours,

- and it allows you to capitalize on any stiffness or hole in your opponents range of movement.

Of course it takes time to build this kind of leg strength.

So, you need to start training with things you can use right now.

…with things that work well with the strengths and weaknesses that you have at this very moment.

You DON’T need to spend years training low postures BEFORE you can fight with the art.

This is why we created the 16 week Internal Combat Arts Course. Because we believe you should start these arts by learning how to USE them.

That’s the Kuntao tradition: Function First.

There are no forms in the course,

just a whole bunch of fighting methods and internal principles

(and a few Chi Kung exercises.)

www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

Filed Under: Kun Tao

Greatly Improve Your Kung Fu Training in 3 Simple Steps

by Ben

Here are 3 simple ways to greatly improve your Kung Fu training.

Apply them to your form, your techniques, your applications and especially your drills & sparring.

Just a word of warning first. Simple does not mean easy.

1. LOWER

Everything you train today should be a little lower than it was yesterday. And make tomorrow a little lower than today.

Keep at it until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Don’t compromise structure or softness.

Once you can move as comfortably, easily and softly at thighs parallel as you you can standing up then your work here is done.

2. SLOWER

How slow can you train without stopping?

Now work on going slower.

Make sure to maintain constant, smooth movement the whole time.

No starts and stops.

This is especially important training for partner drills and sparring.

3. SOFTER

There’s no end to this one.

Sigung Clear is much softer than I am and he’s still working at it.

His teacher’s, in their 60’s, 70’s & 80’s are much softer than he is and they’re still working at it.

So relax more and deeper and more completely.

…and then become even softer.

Lower, Slower and Softer.

These are not fun to work on.

…mostly because progress feels slow and the more you improve the more you realize how much more room for improvement you still have.

Don’t get discouraged.

Kung Fu training is supposed to taste bitter. Internal Kung Fu even more so.

Even a little bit, done consistently will produce great results…

As long as you have good training methods to start with.

Like the stuff in the 16 week Internal Combat Arts Course. If you join that program and practice the material you’ll get a lot of great stuff out of it.

But if you train that stuff AND apply Lower, Slower, Softer the benefits will be greatly enhanced.

http://www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

 

Filed Under: Kung Fu Tagged With: , , , ,

The Kung Fu Con Exposed by Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Ben

This very important quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. has been around for a while.

…but martial artists seem to have missed it for some reason.

I guess they’re just too busy quoting Bruce Lee and Mister Miyagi to notice this ‘secret’ hidden in plain site.

If they had paid attention it could have saved them a lot of time and effort.

Here it is:

“Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

This means if something takes too long, it’s worthless.

…but we’ve been trained and conditioned to think otherwise.

Over and over we’ve been told that these arts…

…that Internal Kung Fu, takes a lot of hard work over a long long time before you can use it.

Everytime you hear that remember:

“Skill too long delayed is skill denied.”

Sure, SOME things take a while to learn, and others take a while to master.

However, FUNCTIONAL SKILL can be developed very quickly.

The old Kuntao masters knew this.

They also knew that if their students couldn’t fight very well and very quickly, the students wouldn’t be around long enough to learn anything that took a while.

That’s why these methods are so powerful.

It’s why they’re so effective.

I’m surprised more people don’t teach this way.

I’m surprised more students don’t expect this from their teachers.

There’s so many people out there stumbling around in the dark, learning form after form, memorizing abstract sayings and studying classic texts…

…when they could be out there learning to USE the art they love instead.

Our goal is to help people make that transition from abstract form and theory to practical functional skill.

If you’d like to join the our other students who have made that transition, go check out the Internal Combat Arts Course.

http://www.clearsilat.com/internal-combat-arts

…and the other cool thing about developing functional skill quickly is that it builds a much more solid foundation for advanced skill later on.

Filed Under: Kung Fu

5 Ways You Should Be Training…

by Ben

How Often Should I Train?

is a very common question.

You’ll have to find the answer that best fits you.

Your goals, Your body & your schedule.

Here’s a few guidelines to follow:

1) 24/7

Use as much of your training as possible ALL the time. Stand with perfect structure, constantly identify and remove tension from your body & mind, Breath correctly & fully etc…

2) Daily practice.

You should have something you do every day. It may only be 5 -10 min. It could be an hour or more.

Whether it’s a little Chi Kung or practicing your latest skill. Make sure you have something (usually something you can practice by yourself) that you do no matter what every day.

I’m terrible at this one. I usually manage to do something every day, but what I do each day varies quite a lot. I could probably gain a lot from working the same thing consistently for several weeks at a time.

3) Frequent dedicated practice times

Right now I train Xing Yi for two and half hours three times per week. Personally I’d prefer less time more frequently. But 3 days a week is the most often that me and Sigung Clear’s other Xing Yi students can get our schedules to line up.

Ideally you want 45min to an hour or more.

Enough time to fully get into the swing of things but short enough that you can work it into your schedule (and those of your training partners) as often as possible.

4) Teaching

If you’re an instructor then you also get to practice every time you teach class. It may not always be exactly what you would like to focus on but you should always approach it as an opportunity to refine your skill and brush up on whatever your students are working on.

Here in Maryville we have a number of different classes throughout the week and I find I get to fix errors and refin things while working with beginners. I also usually learn something new even from classes I’ve seen several dozen times already.

5) Learning

It’s important to schedule time for learning new things.

What format this takes and how often can vary greatly but you MUST plan for it or your training will stagnate and your skill will plateau.

This could be a weekly class (I usually get anywhere from 30 min to an hour or so with Sigung Clear to work on what ever my next thing is each week.)

This could also be seminars, workshops, DVDs or whatever.

Ideally our long distance students will spend an hour or so a couple times per week to get out one of our DVDs and review a couple chapters or study a new chapter or three.

And then also schedule time to get with us live a couple times per year.

(like at the Xing Yi workshop on July 20, 21 & 22 – only 2 days left to register)

http://www.clearsilat.com/xing-yi-quan-workshop

All 5 of those may seem like a lot and the more you can do the better.

But remember, something is better than nothing.

Focus on what you CAN find time for not on what you can’t do.

Take Care,
Ben Sterling

P.S. We also have a seminar with Uncle Bill (Ba Pak Willem DeThouars) on August 11 & 12. Email me for details.

Filed Under: xing yi

Which internal art do I start with?

by Ben

Here’s a common question:

“I really love the Internal Arts and I want to do all 3. Where do I begin?”

Start with Xing Yi.

It’s powerful, aggressive and it will get you up to fighting speed quickly.

Xing Yi is the steel ball. It fortifies the center. You can see it. You might be able to hit it, But it IS GOING to run you over.

Then move to Bagua.

Bagua adds a lot more complexity to the movement. It will refine your understanding of position as you train for multiple attackers.

(The only down side here is that you need at least 4 (6 is better) training partners to really develop the skills Bagua is striving for.)

Bagua is the barbed wire ball. It moves the center. You can try to hit it but you’ll just get tangled up and hurt.

Next move to Tai Chi.

In Tai Chi your physical movement will become a lot smaller and more refined as you take your internal skill to another level.

(Longevity benefits also increase.)

Tai Chi is the energy ball. The ghost. It dissolves the center. You can’t find it, you can’t hit it and when you try it pwnes you.

Take Care,
Ben Sterling

P.S. If health is your top priority start with Tai Chi. If self defense is your primary motivation try out Kun Tao Silat program.

http://www.clearsilat.com/clears-kun-tao-silat

(It also follows the Xing Yi, Bagua, Tai Chi progression once you get past the basics.)

.

Filed Under: Kun Tao Tagged With: , ,

Why is Xing Yi so deadly?

by Ben

“Xing Yi Kills in One Year. Bagua is 10 years indoors.”

That’s the old saying anyway.

Now, we’re not trying to pick on Bagua (we like that art quite a lot too)

The point is folks who study Xing Yi learn to fight very effectively and very powerfully…

..And they learn this very quickly…

…Or at least they’re supposed to.

Unfortunately that’s not usually the case. In today’s world it’s tough to find Xing Yi at all much less find someone who will really teach you how to use it.

…quickly…

..Without lots of forms and standing practice.

We’d like to see that change.

We’d like more people to have access to quality Xing Yi training.

So, Sigung Clear has designed this program to help us achieve these goals.

Why is Xing Yi so deadly?

That is the question this program will answer.

This program is fast, powerful and efficient.

We are not going to waste any time on forms or the other public trappings of the art that you can get on dvd from amazon for $10. (or find for free on youtube.)

This program contains just the good stuff.

Only 5 moves… (the 5 ‘elements’ of xing yi)

…and how you really use them…

..With all the power, explosiveness and effectiveness that Xing Yi is famous for.

Our goal is to train folks who want to teach. Folks who will become instructors in the art and who will go out and teach it to others.

With your help, we can make sure this art grows and flourishes in the coming years.

On July 20, 21 & 22 we are holding a workshop where we will film this program.

And we just added an option where you can pre-order the dvds at an extreme discount when you register for the workshop:

http://www.clearsilat.com/xing-yi-quan-workshop

So not only will you be able to train live with Sigung Clear, you will be able to take that training home with you and review it over and over.

Workshop is in 6 weeks…

Deadline for registration is in 5 weeks…

I hope to see you soon,
Ben Sterling
Ben@ClearSilat.com

Filed Under: xing yi Tagged With: , , ,
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