Jemil training the kids class

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Steal my kung fu

by: Kevin Kawada

When I teach my children’s class and adult class, I often tell students to “steal my kung fu”. What I am trying to convey to them is two fold. First, I want them to realize that it is always the student’s responsibility for how much they progress and how much they learn. Many time a student will put the responsibility on the teacher for whether they are learning or not.

In the beginning stages of training, students may feel that they do not really know their form or they do not have any skill. I do not want them feeling that way. Instead I want them to have a different mentality or outlook when entering class. I want them to not focus on what they cannot do but instead focus on what they should look like. One way to know what they should look like is to observe the teacher very carefully. Observe the instructor in detail. Students need to concentrate on increasing their general level of coordination.

Pay attention to detail

Study the intricacies of the way he moves and what he doesn’t do. Know what the technique involves and most of all try to understand the principles of what is being taught. Students need to concentrate on increasing their general level of coordination. Coordination will lead to being able to perform the move correctly but more importantly it will permit the student to modify and perform variations of the same movement many different ways. A student should not think about being skilled sometime in the distant future but rather try and focus on details of the movement right now which will give them skill. They should focus on perfecting the techniques they do know, and moving smoothly rather than focus on what they don’t know or what they can’t do. This will set them up for being able to add on movements to the drill and a greater understanding of the principles involved.

Secondly, I want all of my students to be better than myself. I am probably one of a few martial art teachers out there that has this as a goal. I always ask my students, “Are you going to be better than me?”, “Are you going to be faster than me?” Many times students look at the instructors with a sense of awe. The blurring speed and whipping power of kung fu can sometimes be intimidating. However anyone can move with blinding speed. In fact sometimes genetics plays a role in how talented a student can get in kung fu. There are many students in my school who have a genetic advantage over me. They may have a longer reach or are predisposed to building muscle tissue fast or have a very high metabolism.

Power vs. shortening movements

The one caveat to the minimizing of movement in blocking is to not sacrifice ant power. Remember that all blocking is really striking. When blocking the arm you are really striking the arm in an attempt to cause damage to his main weapons which are his hands. When blocking the legs your goal is to damage the legs as he kicks at you. So the trick is to move as little as possible while still having tremendous amounts of power.

There is nothing magical about the way the instructors move. Speed and technique can be accomplished regardless of size or age. The fluidity, speed and power can only come with dedicated training. Once students realize that this they can visualize themselves moving in the same manner. When students go in to each and every class with this type of mind set, they can accomplish much. They can now “steal my kung fu.”

There is nothing magical about the way the instructors move