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Martial arts study: the error that most beginners do

If we approach the study of Kung Fu (or any other martial art) only with the idea of:

Acquiring specific skills (eg. Iron Palm, read Iron Palm: 7 facts to know before starting)
Learning specific combat techniques (eg. Chin Na, read Chin Na techniques)
Demonstrate something to someone (read Wrong motivation: demonstrating something to someone)
…

We will leave the practice in less than 2 months.

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

Many people confuse martial arts with a sort of “list of knowledge” whose study corresponds to martial mastery: nothing could be more wrong.

Techniques, methods and training are only the direction of a path, not the path in and of itself, which arises instead from the meeting of theory with practice and is refined by our personal understanding (in years and years of daily application).

This path has a beginning and it has also intermediate goals but not an ending. For example, in every serious school, the black belt is the starting point, not the arrival one (read Martial arts: how to never stop improving).

What is the secret to reach the highest levels of martial arts?

3 words: focus on improvement. Just that and let’s forget the rest because it will come by itself at the right moment.

If we train with the idea of making each second better than the last: we ideally train like the ancient Shaolin monks (read Ancient Shaolin monks vs modern ones) and our martial growth will be unstoppable.

We have to understand that Kung Fu is not merely a collection of combat moves: it is a way of life (it encompasses physical and mental conditioning that is not limited to the time of study or practice, read The constant training in everyday life).

The term “Kung Fu” itself translates to “skill achieved through hard work and practice” (read Kung Fu or Gung Fu? What is the difference?), emphasizing the importance of dedication, the summary of the 3 pillars of 6 Dragons Kung Fu:

Discipline
Concentration
Preparation

The right focus allows faster results

If, for example, to acquire real combat skills is necessary N amount of focused hours, we have to understand that:

All the X time that we dedicate to try to shorten our journey will have the effect of elongating it; in other words, instead of N hours, we will need N+X hours (or worse we will never reach our goal)
Even only 1 hour of martial training done with deep concentration (active learning) is worth more than 10 hours done thinking about something else (passive learning); this means that if we are distracted the hours become N * 10

A note by Master Kongling – Regarding the rapport between active and passive learning we have directly tested it with the collaboration of our younger students and it truly corresponds (on average) to a x10 faster (and better) interiorization of our teachings.

The right path to follow to get solid results

What we are trying to say is that there are no ways to shorten a real martial preparation and if we are willing to travel this journey this is not bad news.

The reason is that the things that really have value are those that inevitably require time and effort: all the rest (good or not) is within everyone’s reach and therefore of no use to us (especially in combat).

A skill that can be acquired in a short time is not a skill (read How to acquire special abilities).

True Kung Fu is a path without shortcuts that tempers us by teaching the must crucial life lesson: move forward where others stop, in the face of pain, deprivation and fatigue (it substantially teaches us not to give up and in a world where most people leave even before starting this can be a game-changing advantage, in any field).

The strongest skill of a martial arts practitioner

The strongest skill of a martial arts practitioner is patience (read Patience):

In the long run, no natural talent can beat patience (read Natural talent and martial arts)
On the contrary, impatience inevitably leads to frustration and then to disillusion

It is for this reason that we have to use our fickle initial passion to immediately:

Put the bases of self-discipline (read The first martial skill to be acquired)
Build real motivation (read Motivation: from passion to self-discipline)

The goal is not training for something but training (read How to start practicing from scratch).

A note by Master Kongling – Only when training becomes a physiological need does it really make sense to start thinking about specific and more advanced goals (read 7 principles to become a better fighter) but let’s repeat it: this will come naturally, by itself.

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – The best starting point for 6 Dragons Kung Fu
Mind self-control hacks – How to improve the quality of the work of our brain and reach our goals
How to build strong self-discipline – A step-by-step path to that kind of self-control that brings results (in life, martial arts, work, etc.)

In-depth articles

Training in negative – Have you ever heard about the risk of negative conditioning?
The right thing to do – The solutions are all within our reach, we just have to learn to listen to ourselves

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

In which cases did you benefit from patience’s power?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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